Russell Jennings
Thoughts on the Future of Mobile Computing
If you're anything like me, you probably have several computing devices of various forms.
You probably have them connected to accounts in such a way that any documents, photos, or other files you want to access on one, can be accessed on any other (provided they have a network connection).
Should you be forced to, you could probably make do with any one of those devices if the rest just vanished, at least for a while.
But what if you only ever needed one?
Almost ten years ago, Microsoft unveiled their last attempt at a flagship Windows 10 Mobile device.
Sure, the ill-fated Lumia 950 had its' share of issues, but it also had an ambitious feature that opened my eyes to what I believe is likely to be a significant part of the future of personal computing.
Imagine taking your phone, the device that's almost always right by your side (if it isn't in your pocket, or already in your hand), connecting it to an external display, mouse, and keyboard (either via a USB-C connection or through wireless means), and gaining a desktop environment with access to all of your applications and data.
Or just as seamlessly, disconnecting and having everything now mobile with you.
In late 2015, Microsoft introduced Windows Continuum to the world as a feature offered by the Lumia 950, and that's precisely what was promised.. and it would have worked out far better had Windows 10 Mobile not been a ghost town.
Samsung revealed their take on this concept with DeX, included on their high-end mobile devices since 2017. Continued support from Samsung has meant the feature has only improved to this day.
There are others, too. For example, Motorola has "Ready For", and Huawei has "Easy Projection". I haven't used them personally, but my understanding is that they accomplish the same goal as DeX.
But where is Apple in all of this?
November 2020 saw Apple release their M1 SoC, followed by the M2 and now M3. Truly impressive processors, powerful and energy-efficient.
You will find Apple's M-series SoCs across most of their lineup; desktop Macs of all kinds (iMac, Mac Studio, Mac Mini), MacBooks, iPad Air & Pro, even the Vision Pro.
Everywhere but the iPhone, which until recently was also the only device that did not have USB-C connectivity.
Apple has been busy these past few years getting all of their software running on the same family of processor, and we're already seeing the benefits; if you have an M-series-equipped Mac, you can run iOS apps natively within MacOS.
Why not the other way around?
It's my belief that sometime soon, within the next few years, Apple will further blur the lines between their hardware and software such that iOS and MacOS may simply become a unified AppleOS, running across all of their current-generation hardware as they're all running M-series SoCs.
Imagine connecting your iPhone/iPad to a USB-C dock, and it's now your Mac, just like that. Running all of your formerly-desktop-exclusive software. Perhaps slightly slower due to possible thermal constraints, but otherwise fully-featured.
One device, able to handle your entire digital life, wherever you are, no matter your preferred device form-factor as they're all using the same processor and running the same software.
This is where I believe personal computing has long been headed, and we're almost at this point. Hell, if you use Samsung devices and are happy with DeX then you've been in that future since possibly 2017.
What a time to be alive.
Thank you for making it through my first ever blog post. More to come. Probably.