If recent rumors are to be believed, Apple is releasing a new Apple Watch with cellular connectivity this year. I read all the hot-takes and listened to the podcasts, and I’m surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming device. The way I see it, if Apple can deliver an iPhone-independent Watch, it will enable an all new kind of relationship with computers, and one that really excites me.
The Feed Machine
What do we use our phones for? Everything, I know. But what are the main tasks smartphones excel at? I thought it over, and here’s my list:
- Communication (Delivered by notifications)
- Camera
- Feeds (social media)
It is clear that the smartphone is well-suited for these tasks because the smartphone largely enabled the preponderance of them. The issue, I’d argue, is that the smartphone is too good at these tasks. I’m as much of a tech-optimist as the next person, but I will admit that receiving a single notification instantly breaks even my most productive streak. I’ve spent whole afternoons with friends staring at my phone screen. I recently took a trip to Europe and spent a huge amount of time taking pictures that I may never look at again. Social media feeds are a particular problem for me.
Is social media content worth my time? Yes sometimes. Social medial allows me to be more involved in the lives of people I care about. But the amount of benefit I get from reading the latest Twitter controversy or dumb autoplay videos on Facebook is completely out of proportion to the benefits.
What do I do about this? Get more self-control? Well yes, but let’s make technology work for us instead of the other way around. And to defeat my over-reliance on technology, I (maybe naïvely) propose the addition of more technology.
The Anti-Feed Machine
Due to the smartphone’s ability to ruin productive times and genuine human interaction with notifications and dopamine-releasing feeds, there is an opportunity for a device that is intentionally more limited in abilities. There is opportunity for a cellular Apple Watch.
I see two great merits of this new Apple Watch: 1. The Apple Watch is great at notifications but responding is limited. If my phone runs out of battery before the end of the day, I instantly start sweating that someone is trying to talk to me. (I’m not even that popular, imagine what someone with more friends must feel like!) I need a way to look at notifications to avoid my irrational fear of missing out, but I almost never need to respond right away. And if I do, the voice dictation and scribble features on the Apple Watch are actually pretty good.
- The Apple Watch is terrible at Feeds. I was initially allured at the idea of reading news or flipping through Twitter on an Apple Watch. I tried it for 30 seconds and my weak little arms quickly got sore. I’ve read Watch reviews that count this as a negative, but since I hate feeds but seem to be chemically addicted to them, I see this as a strength of the device.
Cellular connectivity allows an Apple Watch to be my primary computer through the day. This gives me distance from my feed machine, and thus enables a more present and thoughtful life.
