Leverage AI to Elevate Product Performance: Tactics for Product and Technology Innovators

Technology often moves so fast that yesterday's innovations become today's expectations. As a result, enhancing product performance is imperative. Here, we explore diverse tactics to amplify the performance of technology products, illustrated with current AI and tech examples, ensuring your offerings not only meet but exceed modern consumer expectations.

More Speed

In the realm of productivity, technological advancements have transformed efficiency. Where once typewriters ruled, now AI-driven tools, like FireFlies.ai’s and Otter.ai’s voice-to-text software, empower users to effortlessly transcribe meetings. Such advancements underscore the shift towards faster, more intuitive interaction with technology, facilitating a seamless bridge between thought and digital documentation.

More Power

In categories where performance is paramount—such as automotive, computing, and home appliances—offering high-end, robust options is essential. NVIDIA, now the world’s most valuable company, uses AI as a tool in the chip design process to help their chip designer create increasingly more powerful GPUs to fuel the AI revolution.

More Accuracy and Precision

Advancements in sensor technology are revolutionizing precision in devices. From health-focused wearables like Whoop, which increasingly approach the precision of medical-grade devices in heart rate monitoring, to AI-powered hearing devices like Starkey that makes over 80 million adjustments per hour to automatically adapt settings like noise reduction, directionality, and gain to provide optimal sound quality tailored to each listening situation.

Starkey’s AI-Powered Hearing Aid Product

More Details

The evolution of technology has also been characterized by an increase in both the breadth and depth of details. Wearables like Whoop and the Garmin Fenix series exemplify this, offering extensive health metrics beyond mere step counting, including stress levels, sleep quality, and even blood oxygen levels. In audio technology, the transition to immersive sound experiences through products like Apple’s AirPods Pro, which offer spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, demonstrates the industry's move towards creating more detailed, depth-filled user experiences.

More Duration

Electric cars increasingly integrate AI-powered battery management systems to dramatically increase range and overall performance while minimizing environmental impact. Eatron's AI, for example, unlocks an additional 10% of battery capacity and extends battery life by up to 25%. 

More Integration

The trend towards greater integration is evident in the miniaturization and multifunctionality of electronic devices. High-performance in-ear hearing aids like Phonak Lumity come with additional features like Bluetooth connectivity, allowing users to enjoy music or answer calls without additional devices. It also utilizes AI for advanced signal processing to optimize the audio signal for music, applying features like vent loss compensation to deliver richer low frequencies for an enhanced music experience.

Dos and Don’ts for Elevate Performance

⚛️ Synergize Performance Attributes: Successful products often excel in multiple performance areas, offering a compelling performance claim and outstanding user experience.

🪁 Stay Ahead but Grounded: The technological landscape evolves rapidly. While striving for the cutting edge, ensure your innovations remain relevant and sustainable.

💲 Price with Perspective: High performance commands a higher price, but value for money remains an important factor for the majority of consumers. Ensure your product justifies its cost through tangible benefits.

In conclusion, elevating performance in technology products requires a varied approach, balancing speed, power, precision, detail, duration, and integration. As we continue ahead in the digital era, these principles serve as a guide for innovators aiming to not only meet but redefine consumer expectations. Embrace these strategies to create products that stand out in the competitive tech landscape.

This article is is part of a series of 24 articles sharing practical, actionable tips on how to design tech products that people don't just use, but love. The articles build on the world’s leading design methods for designing successful tech products, as described in the book “Design Things that Make Sense”. Visit www.designthingsthatmakesense.com to learn more or download the free toolkit.