Do you really want to drive your smartphone?

By the time this article is published for public view the iPhone 7 will be available in stores. Only then will we know what all of us have wondered since it’s “unveiling” earlier this month, will it live up to the hype?

Leading up to its release it seems that people have had a “meh” kind of attitude about it (concerned mostly over the lack of a headphone jack that isn’t really necessary anyhow). That always seems to be the case with each subsequent iPhone. Each new model seems to have less of a wow factor than the previous version. After all, Apple hasn’t really done anything truly radical with it’s most popular product since enabling video capabilities with the release of the 3GS (rejoiced ever since by aspiring stars on YouTube — a current subsidiary of competitor Google). Yet that never stops the most devoted of fans from camping out overnight and standing in line to get their hands on the newest iPhone each time, just to say they got it before almost anyone else.

Speaking of Google, does anybody ever really know what it is up to? Personally, I prefer the Google/Android/Chrome products (because I’m a techie geek who prefers the customization capabilities), but every time I read about Google’s future plans it’s all speculation that often doesn’t come to life. I read a lot about Project Fi, Project Ara, project this and project that, as if it’s all just a series of never-ending experimentation. I mean, this is a company that doesn’t seem to be able to make up its mind over whether it wants to champion Android, Chrome, or an amalgamation of the two as its primary OS.

At a time when both companies seem to have run out of world-changing ideas (in the realm of smartphones anyhow) both have turned their attention towards developing the cars of the future, with help from Tesla and others. With technological giants like Google and Apple leading the way, maybe we will see Jetsons-like technology within our lifetime. My reservation with this possibility is that, as someone who works with — and often troubleshoots problems with — iPhones and Android smartphones, I have my concerns about where this technology will lead us. Then again, as a self-proclaimed techie geek, I’m excited to see how it will turn out.

Let’s just hope that Microsoft doesn’t decide to get in the game too.

Can you think of any other company better known for “crashes?”

(Sorry.)