In Defense of Dedicated Devices
Technology is at its best when it simplifies and amplifies something we already enjoy, even if that means closing some doors
When I was 14, I got my first iPod, days before my family’s annual beach trip. I’ll never forget the feeling of booting up iTunes and seeing what felt like a near-infinite amount of music at my fingers, or pulling music from my parents’ vast CD collection to add to my digital library. That iPod was the beginning of a teenage fascination with music; it helped shape my childhood and some of my music tastes that persist to today. It was my first real piece of portable technology, and it quickly became my most valuable possession.
If you had told my 14-year-old self that one day I would hold an iPhone — a device with a similar size and shape, but with many, many more capabilities—I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted. Like many other Americans, I use my phone every day. I browse Twitter and Reddit, I read and respond to emails, I listen to music on Spotify and podcasts through Apple Podcasts — in short, I’m a fairly typical iPhone user. I’m still both young and old enough to marvel at the amount of information and processing speed at my fingertips. Just over a decade old, the iPhone already has a rich and storied history.
Recently, I’ve discovered a new form of technology joy, using dedicated devices that only do one thing (or at least only do one thing well). Amazon’s Kindle, for example, only excels at reading and purchasing ebooks. Nintendo’s Switch hardware is terrible for streaming video or web browsing, but it’s easily the best portable gaming console on the market. Neither of these devices is entirely unique from my phone, since I can play games and read books on my iPhone 7’s screen. What these machines do offer, though, is a commitment to performing one task exceptionally well. By purposefully refusing to chase every possible function, dedicated devices offer unparalleled excellence in their respective fields.
Yesterday, I started my biennial thought process of getting a new phone. I’m sporting an iPhone 7, and for the first time in years I don’t feel obligated to upgrade at the first moment I can justify it to myself. I’ve kept this phone in good shape, and I hope that a battery replacement this summer will give it another six months or so of life before I finally do upgrade. A faster processor would be nice, and so would a larger screen, but I use my phone primarily to message my wife, to browse Twitter and Reddit, to listen to Podcasts, and to check my emails. As long as my phone maintains a reasonable processing speed, none of these functions will look much different or better on a slightly newer screen. I don’t even see this as a subtle dig at Apple’s quality — if anything, I’m happy that this phone has lasted so long.
This entire thought process reminded me that while I use my phone more than any other device I own, it’s definitely not the device that I enjoy using the most. That honor almost certainly falls to my Nintendo Switch, with my Kindle and PlayStation 4 following in some order. My years-old Macbook Air might even rank above my phone, since I love writing and do nearly all of it on this machine. My phone is still easily more important than every other device I use, but not because it brings me more joy than anything else. A few examples below will help explain this idea.
Recently, I played the new God of War game on my PS4. I also read Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind, and I’m currently playing through a plethora of games on my Switch. Putting aside time spent with friends or family (which ranks ahead of video games and reading), these activities are the most fun things I’ve done in the last month or so. God of War has incredible gameplay and narrative power, The Name of the Wind reminded me how much I love reading great novels, and playing nearly every game on my Switch is a delight. I still check Twitter and Reddit obsessively (probably more often than I should), but the appeal of these websites pales in comparison to how much I enjoy novels and games.
While it isn’t the only factor, one of the main reasons I enjoyed these games and books so much is because of the dedicated nature of the devices I experienced them on. Amazon’s Kindle, Nintendo’s Switch, and Sony’s PS4 are all devices dedicated to doing one thing extremely well. The e-reader Kindles (not the Kindle Fire models) only read and purchase books, and the reader that I’ve had for over four years now works just as well as the day I bought it. I can’t check Twitter on it, and I’m thankful for that. The same is true of the Switch — it has limited video streaming options and little to offer besides games. The PS4 admittedly has impressive streaming and internet capabilities for a game console, but I only use it for games, making a dedicated device (if only personally).
After some time reflecting on this, I think this dedicated approach has a lot of value. It also makes this trio of devices the perfect complement to the all-encompassing iPhone, a device that makes its living by doing a little bit of everything. I don’t play nearly as many games on my phone now that I have a Switch, and that has been a positive change. Why tap away at a freemium game designed to psychologically manipulate me into spending money when I experience the incredible design of Breath of the Wild? By the same token, I never use the free reading apps on my phone because I would much rather enjoy the unique screen design of my Kindle.
This week marks WWDC, Apple’s big press conference that acts as a showcase in many ways for the rest of the year. Apple makes incredible phones and computers, two categories of devices that are truly essential for modern life. For better or worse, it’s nearly impossible (if not actually impossible) to live in 2018 without access to the internet and a computer. Like I said before, my phone is easily my most important device, with my laptop following close behind. Because of the simple joys that a few other devices offer though, these two aren’t quite my favorites.
