On the latest episode of ATP, Marco Arment tried to make the case that the Apple Watch would never displace the phone as the preeminent mobile device. But his problem is, he doesn’t understand what it is about the phone that makes it everyone’s primary device. He thinks it is because iPhones have the ideal screen size for travel.
He’s wrong. Everyone’s world revolves around their iPhone not because of the screen size but because it is the cellular connection. As we go about our day traveling to and from work, running errands, or just out having fun, it is the cellular connection which is our lifeline. We’re able to communicate with friends and family, get directions, or just surf the web while waiting in line at the grocery store.
I’ve made the case for years now that the Apple Watch is an even better device to be the primary cellular connection. It is strapped to your wrist so you’ll never drop it or forget it when you leave a room. The world should revolve around our Apple Watches, not our iPhones.
Where Marco is correct, is that our iPhones have a much more desirable screen size for viewing maps or playing games when you are out and about. But that is irrelevant. The future will be a world where screen sizes can be matched to your activity. Not the other way around. Why agonize over whether to get an iPhone Mini or Pro Max? Just use both and each day you’ll pick the one that most fits what you’re going to do or wear.
I see a future which revolves around the Apple Watch. You’ll be surrounded by different screen sizes and goggles which all be powered by the Apple Watch. Do you want to sit down on the couch and surf the web? How about reaching for your 13” iPad Pro. Do you want to read in bed? How about the iPad Mini? Are you heading to the gym in some shorts? How about your iPhone Mini?
This all lines up perfectly with Apple’s ethos. Apple wants to connect you with people or content. They remove friction. And having to spend $10 per month for your Apple Watch cellular plan or adding your iPad to your AT&T Unlimited is only enriching your carrier while it imposes speed bumps to you connecting with your family or entertainment. Tethering is great but with current technology, the iPhone is the smallest device of being able to handle it.
It would be a much simpler world if there was one device to rule them all. One device around which everything in your life revolves. That no matter what screen you hold in your hands it automatically is connected with anything you want. People, data, movies, maps, video…everything on any screen you hold with no road blocks. The Apple Watch is the perfect answer for such a device. It doesn’t need to be a big screen. It just needs to be a conduit of connection. All screens should tether to the Apple Watch.
But unfortunately, we are not there yet for precisely the reason that Marco pointed out. The battery life on the Apple Watch is such that it can barely handle it’s own functions let alone share internet access to your other devices. Until there are huge advancements in battery technology this is all fantasy. But fantasy is the beginning of reality.
It’s also possible that Apple may one day figure out how to reverse charge the Apple Watch wirelessly via whatever device you are holding. Meaning if you take an iPhone Pro Max device with you to Six Flags, that in exchange for an internet connection, the Pro Max would provide battery power to your Apple Watch as long as they are near each other.
During this last year and a half, I and many others have been working 100% out of our home offices. And you know what? The iPhone has dropped in the pecking order. Since I’ve been working from home. My iPad has replaced my iPhone as my preeminent device. And anecdotally, I’ve heard others say that while they’re home they don’t even know where their iPhone is half of the time because they are on their laptop or iPad. The iPhone is too big to wear and too big for some types of clothing. It is ill suited to be everyone’s primary device. The iPhone should be just another handy screen size that you use when you leave the house but no more important than your iPad or computer.
Before the iPhone came along, the desktop computer was the primary internet conduit. It was replaced by the phone. Marco misunderstands what it is about the iPhone that has catapulted it to it's lofty perch. The day is coming when the phone will be replaced by a wearable. The iPhone’s job as the internet conduit is better suited to the Apple Watch…of the future.
I’ve made the case for years now that the Apple Watch is an even better device to be the primary cellular connection. It is strapped to your wrist so you’ll never drop it or forget it when you leave a room. The world should revolve around our Apple Watches, not our iPhones.
Where Marco is correct, is that our iPhones have a much more desirable screen size for viewing maps or playing games when you are out and about. But that is irrelevant. The future will be a world where screen sizes can be matched to your activity. Not the other way around. Why agonize over whether to get an iPhone Mini or Pro Max? Just use both and each day you’ll pick the one that most fits what you’re going to do or wear.
I see a future which revolves around the Apple Watch. You’ll be surrounded by different screen sizes and goggles which all be powered by the Apple Watch. Do you want to sit down on the couch and surf the web? How about reaching for your 13” iPad Pro. Do you want to read in bed? How about the iPad Mini? Are you heading to the gym in some shorts? How about your iPhone Mini?
This all lines up perfectly with Apple’s ethos. Apple wants to connect you with people or content. They remove friction. And having to spend $10 per month for your Apple Watch cellular plan or adding your iPad to your AT&T Unlimited is only enriching your carrier while it imposes speed bumps to you connecting with your family or entertainment. Tethering is great but with current technology, the iPhone is the smallest device of being able to handle it.
It would be a much simpler world if there was one device to rule them all. One device around which everything in your life revolves. That no matter what screen you hold in your hands it automatically is connected with anything you want. People, data, movies, maps, video…everything on any screen you hold with no road blocks. The Apple Watch is the perfect answer for such a device. It doesn’t need to be a big screen. It just needs to be a conduit of connection. All screens should tether to the Apple Watch.
But unfortunately, we are not there yet for precisely the reason that Marco pointed out. The battery life on the Apple Watch is such that it can barely handle it’s own functions let alone share internet access to your other devices. Until there are huge advancements in battery technology this is all fantasy. But fantasy is the beginning of reality.
It’s also possible that Apple may one day figure out how to reverse charge the Apple Watch wirelessly via whatever device you are holding. Meaning if you take an iPhone Pro Max device with you to Six Flags, that in exchange for an internet connection, the Pro Max would provide battery power to your Apple Watch as long as they are near each other.
During this last year and a half, I and many others have been working 100% out of our home offices. And you know what? The iPhone has dropped in the pecking order. Since I’ve been working from home. My iPad has replaced my iPhone as my preeminent device. And anecdotally, I’ve heard others say that while they’re home they don’t even know where their iPhone is half of the time because they are on their laptop or iPad. The iPhone is too big to wear and too big for some types of clothing. It is ill suited to be everyone’s primary device. The iPhone should be just another handy screen size that you use when you leave the house but no more important than your iPad or computer.
Before the iPhone came along, the desktop computer was the primary internet conduit. It was replaced by the phone. Marco misunderstands what it is about the iPhone that has catapulted it to it's lofty perch. The day is coming when the phone will be replaced by a wearable. The iPhone’s job as the internet conduit is better suited to the Apple Watch…of the future.
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