“I’d Just Use My Phone”

Years ago, Marco Arment said something that I think about all the time: Don’t bet against the smartphone. It’s amazing how many products have run straight into this idea, like a sprinting outfielder who hasn’t slowed down in time to avoid the wall. There are some obvious examples, especially in our AI-crazed day. The Humane AI pin never stood a chance. The Rabbit R1 is beautiful, but is at best a novelty. The friend is never going to escape the gravity of its own domain name. I think there are some less obvious examples as well. Think back to 2014, when Tim Cook announced the Apple Watch, and Kevin Lynch’s wide-ranging demo that showed the Watch as capable of almost everything the iPhone was. Apple has since learned that the Watch is a peripheral to the iPhone for folks who want health and fitness tracking, as well as easy access to notifications. I mean, how many times do you glance at your watch, see a message, and pull out your iPhone to respond? The HomeView may be on a similar…