Why Apple Watch Will Never Replace iPhone

I believe in genius and ingenuity and the unremitting march of technological advancement. But I also believe that categorical limits exist. I believe in logical conclusions.

That’s why I believe Apple Watch will never replace iPhone. Ever. For Apple Watch is not the logical conclusion of mobile communication. It is merely an extension of it.

Here’s my rationale, in no particular order (although many points will be related to one another, and you should consider them together as a total package, even if any single aspect is a deal-breaker in and of itself):

• People want big screens
  This, not even a year ago, was a demonstrated truth when Apple itself resized (for the second time) the standard iPhone and introduced the hot-selling iPhone 6 Plus and sold 75 million of them in three months. For years, Steve Jobs stuck by his one-thumb guns and advocated the merits of that original 3.5-inch iPhone screen. And he was right, from a one-handed usability perspective. But global demand won out, and Apple slowly upscaled. That hasn’t stopped, although I do think that the current two sizes finally represent the sweet spot. And as you can see, that sweet spot is big.
• People need big screens
  Of course, it isn’t just about “want.” Smartphones — led by iPhone — were immediately compelling (and remain so) because of their melding of work and play capabilities. Nowadays, smartphones represent the fastest growing segment of global personal computers, with a huge percentage of users having those handsets as their only connected devices. Many folks do everything on their smartphones, where they’re able to access the entire Internet, research anything they like, purchase from any online store, read reports, check the news, compose and revise emails and presentations, take and edit pictures, browse and interact with their social networks, play robust (often console quality) games, watch TV and YouTube and Netflix, and so on. As long as pocketability is maintained, the bigger the screen for all this, the better. This is a long-established trend, and it’s not going anywhere.
• QWERTY is king
  Siri is not very good, and after several years, she shows little sign of meaningful improvement. Sure, the assistant can do things like call up a map destination or set a timer or compose a quick message to a friend or acquaintance who’s good at reading between the typos, but she’ll never be able to use the Internet’s evolving vernacular. She’ll never be adept at getting acronyms right, at understanding hashtags and @ symbols, at 1nt3rm1x1n6 13773r5 and numb3r5 the way the 1337 like to do. She’ll never catch on to the cues and curiosities and quirks of a given clique’s secret codes and inside jokes. The solution to all this, of course, is a simple keyboard. The iPhone excels at this, while Apple Watch — with vocal workarounds and whatever sure-to-be-annoying gesture-based editing they implement — never will. And a full keyboard on something the size of Apple Watch is a nonstarter anyways. On iPhone, I can text with one hand or two (depending on what else I’m doing and how fast I need to get my message across). On Apple Watch, QWERTY would be a slow, two-handed affair at best.
• Apple Watch lacks mobile productivity potential
  Extending the point above, the lack of a direct, quick, accurate means of input means Apple Watch cannot replace the mobile workstation that smartphones in general — and iPhone in particular — have become. Multitasking would be frustrating, professional document creation would be nonexistent, and you simply wouldn’t be able to get any work done. For lots of folks, that’s not so important, but with more of the planet keeping their work and private lives close by in their pockets, a small-screened smartwatch (or, for that matter, a large-screened smartwatch) is not the answer. You simply can’t automate enough of what counts to make such a paring down effective or efficient. People need a workspace. In iPhone, they have it. In Apple Watch, they never will.
• Apple Watch lacks mobile gaming potential
  While there will be decent games for the wearable, they are guaranteed to be text-based or short puzzlers, and the platform will not be compelling as a standalone suite for engrossing entertainment experiences. Apple Watch might shine as a peripheral for iPhone and iPad gaming (which I personally believe will be the case, particularly considering its haptic feedback and second screen “inventory” and “HUD” potentials), but Tamagotchi will only getcha so far. People expect real games on the go these days, and the App Store’s best-sellers always seem to be of that categorical variety. This proclivity to play and be entertained is a fundamental part of human nature, and it’s here to stay.
• Apple Watch is not a viable video player
  Yes, video support is coming to watchOS 2, and while that might work for a service like Vine, it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to stream YouTube or Hulu or HBO NOW content to the thing. And even if you could, would you want to? Watching videos, whatever their source, is a de facto use case for mobiles in 2015, and commuters everywhere agree that it’s a fine way to pass the time. Kids in the backseat are similarly onboard with this idea. You can hand your iPhone to Junior to make him STFU on the drive home from school. You can’t do that with Apple Watch. (Although you can still get notifications on your wrist while your kid calms down, underscoring Apple Watch as the accessory it will always fundamentally be).
• Apple Watch’s camera will always be limited and sub-standard
  …if it ever gets one. And I think it probably should. But even if people use their Apple Watch cameras for selfies, that’s only half of the matter. Environmental shots (that is, taking snaps of anything that’s not your stupid face) are a major iPhone use case. Indeed, iPhone, as we all know by now, is the most popular, most used camera in the entire world. And while it’s been a great shooter for years, it’s about to get even better. And that slow-mo? That’s a killer app. But you won’t get any of that with Apple Watch, and even if you did, framing such environmental shots with any kind of accuracy or artistry would be impossible. A camera’s viewfinder is on the reverse of its lens side for a reason. People aren’t going to go selfie or bust. Apple Watch or not, they’re always going to want something bigger and better close at hand.
• Apple Watch makes private texts public
  Texting and messaging is where it’s at. And needless to say, much of what we write to our friends is #@*! we would never say out loud at the time and place of said writing. Apple Watch, however, mandates that we do say those things out load, so it either forces its users to be “that guy” or makes them censor themselves. Neither is ideal when a pocketable answer is readily available. And even if Apple offers some sort of keyboard solution (see point number three above), nobody’s going to use it for any true texting session. (I just wrote this paragraph on my iPhone. I shudder to think how long it would have taken had I been forced to compose it on something as small and limited as my Apple Watch. But I am glad to get notifications there while I’m writing here. And if you think my articles are longwinded, you should see my texts. My iMessage windows are literally figurative walls of blue! Probably about like an average teenaged girl’s.)
• Apple Watch makes private calls public
  Apple Watch, in addition to being poor at messaging privacy, is even poorer at call privacy. One of the key aspects of iPhone is the “phone” part. And while people text or use messaging apps more and more these days (which, again, is something Apple Watch is not well-suited to), the intimacy of voice still resonates deeply with the human psyche. On iPhone, holding it up to your ear, it’s possible to have a quiet conversation where eavesdroppers (witting or unwitting) are only privy to — at most — half of your conversation. On Apple Watch with its speakerphone-only build, everyone around you gets the 4-1-1 on all your personal business. Quality of speaker notwithstanding, that sounds like a very loud and clear “Heck no!” to me. Thus, you’ll need your iPhone handy for when private matters need attending to in public places. And that happens a lot.
• Apple Watch will not resurrect the Bluetooth earpiece
  Sure, the call privacy issue could be alleviated by the historically ridiculed Bluetooth earpiece, but there’s no chance those things are coming back into popularity. I’m not sure they were ever even popular to begin with. (Please dont confuse this with my stance on the deprecation of the audio port and the rise of Bluetooth — namely Beats — headphones, as that’s a different issue and not germane to this discussion.)
• Apple Watch can’t replace iPhone without adding more wearables to the mix
  Like the example of the Bluetooth earpiece above, if you want the benefits you enjoy with iPhone (privacy, in that case), you’ll need another device anyways. That’s kind of the thing about (or problem with?) wearables in general: For maximum usability, you’ll need several of them working in tandem. An Apple Watch camera — for taking actual pictures — would stink. But pair it as viewfinder/controller of an always-on, quality lapel “Life Cam,” and maybe you’ve got something. Or meld that camera and aforementioned earpiece into a slick pair of virtual big-screen smartglasses, and you can really start replacing the old slate. Maybe keep a foldable Bluetooth keyboard in your pocket for messaging (or download an app that lets you spaz out like Tom Cruise in Minority Report), and iPhone could finally be eschewed. But this efficacy does not equate to efficiency. Just ask the goofy dude up there in the lead image.

So there you have it.

I’m sure I’ve neglected to mention about a thousand other useful things smartphones do that smartwatches never will, but that only strengthens my argument: Apple Watch isn’t meant to replace your iPhone. It never was, and it never will.

For some users, it will enhance their mobile iPhone experience and be a perpetually compelling accessory that they find they can’t live without. Others will find they really don’t need it. But to maximize attempted adoption, I’m hopeful that support for Apple Watch also comes to the rest of Cupertino’s excellent devices and the wearable settles as intended into its supporting role.