Cupertino, CA—Apple launched the iPacifier™, reimagining parenting as a screen-based experience for the 21st century. The iPacifier™ transforms an analogue soother into a data-powered entertainment device that speaks the language of the pre-verbal and sends parents push notifications for diaper changes and milk refills.
The iPacifier boasts an elegant 360° rotational screen that activates social media feeds in response to a baby’s natural sucking reflex. Bonding Time mode flips the screen to face the adult and simulates genuine eye-to-eye contact between the parent and child.
The interface, resembling an iPhone covered in chewable silicone, is an innovation that builds upon Apple’s design legacy of blending hardware with primal human instincts.
Marty McSilicon, Apple’s head of Baby Engagement, stated, “While scrolling has had a wonderful uptake from 3-year-olds and up, too many babies are excluded from the pleasure of a steady stream of digital dopamine.”
iPacifier’s features include:
-Built-in haptic feedback: provides babies a comforting buzz
-Lick2Unlock™: offers tongueprint ID technology
-Facial recognition: uses baby data to personalise feeds from day one
-Cry2Scroll™ AI: delivers curated content that matches scream intensity and pitch
The iPacifier is a response to users who have become recent parents. Apple’s User Experience Panel found soothing a baby felt inferior to using an Apple product. Parents also voiced concern their babies weren’t getting the most out of life—something only an Apple device can bring. Apple users entering the parenting phase of their user journey have been quick converts, yet the company has received backlash from child psychologists and government regulators that the iPacifier is outsourcing parenting to Silicon Valley.
Apple has dismissed the criticism, stating, “We are not replacing parenting. This is a device that supports busy parents navigating life’s challenges within the broader Apple ecosystem.” In a press briefing, the company added, “Our synchronised haptic feedback is a digital heartbeat that connects the child to their remote parent. It feels like you are napping on Dad’s chest, even when he’s out of town.” However, critics have dubbed the device the “iSuck”.
Apple also teased a follow-up transitional oral interface that targets teen vaping. Critics were quick to label it the “iSuck2”.