On Friday, Sept. 16, thousands of customers received the highly anticipated iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Equipped with a fresh design and unprecedented capabilities, the devices now offer entrepreneurs opportunities to step their business game up like never before. Having features like water resistance design and eliminating the headphone audio jack, it can’t be ignored that major changes will affect the way businesses interact with their customers.
Long gone are the days of bulky payment software that must be run in an office or huge building space. Mobile point of sale systems like Square Up and PayPal Here allow owners to operate their businesses on the go. From stylists to caterers, these valuable systems have created opportunities for growing companies to meet the customer wherever they are.
However, until now, these systems have been strictly operating from the audio jack that was just eliminated by Apple. This new upgrade will make it extremely difficult for business owners to make sales as effectively as with previous iPhones.
In order for businesses to run smoothly with the new iPhone 7 upgrades, companies like Square Up will be forced to create a product that can produce the elements of card readers without the dependence of a phone adapter. This may take longer to test and develop and must be considered for entrepreneurs.
[Related: Cool companion pieces for the new iPhone 7]
These point of sales systems have made it hard for small businesses to thrive in the past but there is a very huge opportunity for these processing companies to make a big impact. For example, PayPal Here currently uses an image capture technology to deposit checks. Utilizing this feature to collect credit card payments could eliminate the use for a physical card swiper. In addition, most companies use a variety of apps to collect payments, billing, invoices and much more. The new upgrades will spark a conversation to create all-inclusive software that can meet all needs of businesses.
Until then, entrepreneurs must consider the new iPhone features and analyze if it will be a good fit for their company at the moment. Other alternatives are to watch how the market will respond to the iPhone 7 and to research the ways to currently collect payments.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are officially available for purchase. For more information visit their website here.
