(Note: This story appears in the June issue of STOREROTICA Magazine)
The Satisfyer Connect App will integrate 200-plus products under one app tech spanning sound-related features, remote play and wearables.
If youāre reading this on your phone, you are reading it from an app. Apps are now synonymous with smartphones and as tech capabilities for phones augment, so too do app development teams, eager to test the limits and ultimately lure in customers to the point of rote dependency.
Apps are not a revelation in the adult industry either, where many toys and products have become sleek and futuristic descendants of their more clunky and obtrusive ancestors.Ā
Satisfyer is well aware that evolving tech correlating with a modernized customer that has more refined sexual tastes translates to a market share waiting to be seized ā akin to the phone carrier arms race to conquer 5G.Ā
āCustomers have been positive about opening up their play experience and trying out new ways of exploring their sexuality,ā says Megwyn White, director of education for Satisfyer. āWeāve heard quality- and price-related problems with the current sex tech competitor offerings with connected devices and apps, so the feedback was also around people desiring a better alternative.ā
This month, Satisfyer is rolling out its Connect App for public consumption. An undertaking almost two years in the making, Satisfyer unveiled the app at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.Ā
āWeāre going to be adding tremendous value for the consumers because so many people have been asking for app technologies integrated with their sexual devices,ā adds White. āBecause Satisfyerās main goal is to create products that are technologically evolved and high quality, weāre able to integrate the app without adding extra cost to consumers.āĀ
āBeast of a programā
According to a 2018 Forbes.com article, āWorldwide smart wearable device sales will double by 2022, becoming a $27 billion-plus market with 233 million unit sales. Thatās the word according to industry analyst CCS Insight, who state that the growth is being powered by smartwatches, with fitness trackers on the slide in the next four years.ā
Case in point, the Satisfyer Connect App comes as a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices, as well as an app on the Apple Watch.Ā
Both offer functionalities for close-range play, and the Apple Watch app showcases a gyroscope control function.Ā
āThe mobile app is a beast of a program, with a lot of opportunities for customization of programs, and net-based partner experiences,ā says White. āIt has a number of sound-related features (music vibes or ambient sounds); a built-in partner play section for remote experiences with others over a net connection, including text and video chat with toy control.ā
The mobile app also allows for simultaneous control of up to four devices using Satisfyerās haptic touch control (with āfine tune functionalityā to allow users to adjust intensity of each stimulation element on their toys).
āOur brand new range is expansive and we will soon have connected products covering a huge number of play types,ā says White, citing new types of products for male users, more wearable products in line with the app, and a new series of electrostimulation toys (āwhich is very exciting and totally new for usā).Ā
For established Satisfyer users, the app offers new ways to play and expand the productsā possibilities. White says theyāre also working on integrating educational content to bolster the overall user experience.Ā
Many of the newer products that will be paired with the app will have features that are particular to sexual wellness like kegel strengthening devices, newer forms of erogenous play like heat, and electrical current, and the aforementioned wearable products.Ā
āThese types of products will be especially useful when paired with the app as they will support personalization needs,ā says White.
“The mobile app is a beast of a program, with a lot of opportunities for customization of programs, and net-based partner experiences,ā says White. āIt has a number of sound-related features (music vibes or ambient sounds); a built-in partner play section for remote experiences with others over a net connection, including text and video chat with toy control.” ā Megwyn White
For instance, a kegel product or wearable can be utilized with the alarm feature to āturn onā as either a reminder to connect to their bodies and exercise, or as a form of long distance intimacy with a partner.Ā
āPersonalization will help to augment excitement while also catering to the individualsā threshold of stimulation without having to fumble with control panels,ā says White. āWe came to a space where we all agreed this was going to surprise and delight people but it wasnāt going to overwhelm them.ā
Connecting to the future
Much like the first generation of smartphones were touted for being tech Swiss Army knives āĀ able to act as a calculator, camera, address book or phone ā Satisfyer is banking on its app to add value to its entire portfolio.Ā
āOur focus is to continue to create a well-rounded and robust line of products that will now
be integrated under one app technology. Most companies that integrate app technology have considerable price differences which forces them to shift their marketing direction,ā says White. āThankfully, we donāt have that as a barrier. Our focus can remain on giving the consumer more of what they need without stretching their budget beyond whatās reasonable. We can simply focus on distinguishing ourselves in the market, and highlighting the fact that our app will integrate 200-plus products without price gouging.ā
And while that number may seem daunting for less tech savvy users, White reassuringly points out the app is optional, a āvalue addition to our products.āĀ
Itās a value that will only continue to grow exponentially, coinciding with the progression of available tech and Satisfyerās R&D team.Ā
āOur brand new Berlin-based Future Lab is working on future innovations and weāre keeping track of these and other types of trends and technologies; dreaming up ways that they would fit Satisfyerās innovation in the short- and long-term time frames,ā says White.Ā
āWith any technology, itās more about how it can serve our usersā needs and provide joyful ways to help them expand their own sexual wellbeing,ā she adds. āThereās great potential to use combinations of tech to provide richer experiences and also to help people become more in tune with their sexual needs, but we do see potential for augmented and mixed reality, and also AI.ā
Depending on the state of lockdown reductions across the world, the app will be thrust into opportunity right away, with countless potential users encouraged ā or forced ā to stay apart to stem a second wave of the novel coronavirus.Ā
āItās an exciting time to bring this to market now, as thereās a real need for it and so a great potential to make a positive impact on peopleās ability to connect during this difficult time,ā White says.
At a time when the last thing people would want is more information to process, the Satisfyer Connect App is attempting to get people to discover new ways to feel that most natural process.
āJust like any new technology, you want to start out with features that focus on the main mission at hand,ā White says. āAnd the main mission for us is really to help build connection and really inspire people to explore themselves using the products. I expect people to get really creative with it. I think thatās going to be one of the most exciting things that will come out of this. This will help people connect with the tech as actually being part of the creative process as opposed to just being consumers.ā
For more information, visit satisfyer.com.Ā
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