Thinking about John Gruber’s post about AI as a technology, not a product:

Does AI “threaten to disrupt the entire iPhone ecosystem”? It’s possible, but it doesn’t seem nearly as likely to me as Levy asserts. Changing the iPhone ecosystem? Sure — that’s already true. Obviating the iPhone ecosystem? I don’t see it.

To his later point about wireless networking, it’s true that wireless enabled a whole bunch of new mobile apps. But AI is not just a supporting technology. It’s inseparable from the new products that it enables. Makes sense to build new devices around AI assistants in particular.

@manton It is quite difficult to one-up the smartphone at this point. Any new device, genAI powered or not, will need to be super compelling that having 16-hour battery life, a screen, a touch keyboard won’t matter anymore.

@manton @rom

long - sorry. and one day with time I will tidy it all up as a post … but you’ll get my drift.

we shouldn’t confuse an iPhone with a phone - it is a very capable very small computer. It hasn’t been a phone for years. It might always stay that way - I still find myself hoovering floors - not dysoning them.

The iPhone eco system? It sits on top of the Apple ecosystem.

AND

Apple Mission: : To bring the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services.

What Apple Does: Apple is a technology company that “designs, manufactures, and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.”

Apple’s Category : Were I to put them in a single category - ‘consumer electronics’ ?

Choose any one of them … AI devices are clearly part of their story and will sit in/on whatever the eco system is.

ipod arrived 3 years after the first commercially available portable player

airpods 12 years after the first bluetooth headphones appeared

apple watch came 2 years after pebble watch

we can all choose our device and highlight that apple follows

same as it ever was - what Apple wins at is getting it (nearly) right before release, watch mistakes as they are made by others - and themselves - and of course an extraordinary long vision into where they are going with an unmatched PESC for manufacturing in the age of reason - which won’t be going anywhere any time soon - and a nascent - but still leading and ever developing - CEDN as the world transitions into the the age of experience.

As for AI destined to always be secondary?

How far out are we looking? And what is an AI device - exactly?

Apple has had a lot of AI in its little computer for a while now - at what point does it turn into an ‘AI device’?

Humans operate with 5 or 6 senses - depending on your perspective - that inform our brains we have also processes like gesture, tone, body language etc that all add up to how we engage.

• phone: i can see a screen - I can touch a screen - i can talk to a screen - I can listen to the sound - can’t yet smell or taste
• airpods - I can hear sound - not just from a computer - ambient sound - even as hearing aids and shortly cameras - no smell of taste
• glasses - yet to be released - but when they do - will have a similar combo

etc etc

and we also have gestures - as input - not a sense - but we have already got gestures for and output

bottom line NONE of this matters until the I/O is aggregated and we have triangulated and checked and made sense of things (our brain does that)

the pocket in your computer does aspects of that in the tech world - and that requires processing power - the computer in your pocket - your local and personal hub - and definitely NOT on Sam and Jonys new device talking to the cloud and the borg - without my express request.

Failure to take this road takes us down the Pluribus route.

@manton an AI device that has a screen, camera, and a decent battery that will last a day - yes. Right now, that is what Google is pitching.

Highly doubt SamA can sustain an AI phone hardware business. Software looks easy but hardware isn’t. Look what happened to Zuck’s phone. Hahaha

It is (un)fortunate that Apple and Google are in the best position to do this.

@JohnPhilpin @manton agree! And I do agree that AI is a technology. Have been and will always be.