In November of last year, a mysterious startup called new.computer (great name similar to another startup founded by Apple employees named Software Applications Incorporated) posted a video of an incredibly beautiful, fluid app that promised to be a personal guide powered by artificial intelligence.
Fortunately we knew the designer behind this impressive work: Jason Yuan. He famously shared a conceptual operating system called Mercury OS, and wrote about how he would redesign Apple Music on iOS before joining Apple’s design team.
After months of waiting (and politely asking for access to the TestFlight), Dot updated its website with compelling stories about how the app helped the founders, and launched the app on the App Store. I captured the onboarding experience and proceeded to use the app for several days before judging and formulating thoughts. Now it’s time to share. Below is a series of short videos and screenshots along with my observations, questions, and experiences.
Say hello to Dot, your Living History
“Say hello to Dot, your Living History.”
Say that sentence a few times out loud. What does it mean to you? Did you notice the capitalized “Living” and “History?” This immediately stuck out just like Humane’s Ai Pin with its lowercase “i.” Why capitalize “Living” and “History” but not “Hello” and “Your” to make the sentence title case? I assume Dot is attempting to attach gravitas to the phrase, but I just feel confused. Perhaps I’m too focused on individual letters. It happens.
Dot’s mark is compelling. It evokes a feeling of momentum. One can argue that anything “living” is in motion, so I can easily imagine a connection between the slogan and the mark.
The gradient is soft and inviting just like the gradient used in Mercury OS. It feels like I’m looking at a sunset at Nick’s Cove in Tomales Bay. I would love to see how Jason constructs such compelling color combinations.
Using a serif typeface immediately sticks out as a bold, opinionated decision. It feels so common for designers to lean on San Francisco (including myself) these days. I am intrigued to see what other bold design decisions are coming.
Lastly, the launch animation gives the user a strong sense of the details achieved throughout the app. Transitions between screens include thoughtful flourishes for each element. Button, snippets of text, and text inputs all gracefully appear and disappear.
Meet Dot
Another onboarding screen that’s just text. Interesting. My gut reaction after conducting countless user research sessions focused on onboarding is to combine the first two screens (or cut one) to decrease the probability of a potential user becoming distracted before completing the flow. However, if I had the opportunity to design my dream app, I would also take my time with onboarding to precisely set the tone.
“Meet Dot, the AI that grows with you—learning and evolving with your every interaction.”
This is much more clear than the “your Living History” text on the previous screen. This new text is straightforward, but of course I’m skeptical since an “evolving” AI companion is an unknown concept.
”Get started for free. Upgrade any time for unlimited messages and access to Chronicles, your living history.”
Ah so there will be a cost at some point. How much? Will I get charged monthly or annually? And what is a “Chronicle?” I wonder how many messages I’m allowed to send before getting cut off. I think not answering these questions has pros and cons. Traditionally I would argue that providing these details is helpful to set expectations. However, in this new space of AI companions, I do not know what it would mean to know that “X00 messages are included each month.” Is X00 a lot? Will I be disappointed if I surpass X00? Perhaps leaving this as a mystery subconsciously encourages some to continue and discover what Dot truly is. As for the new capitalized word “Chronicle,” I suppose I need to wait and learn since “your living history” is also not defined at this point.
A secondary serif typeface is introduced on this screen as well which provides a nice counterbalance to the larger, darker text above it.
Get started (i.e. create an account)
”Get started” is a bit vague considering the goal of this screen is to create an account or log in if you have a new device or got logged out accidentally. I wonder why using Apple or a phone number is emphasized over using an email address. Perhaps allowing users to sign up and log in with an email address is inherently more complicated due to password resets so the Dot team wants to discourage it.
I’m also surprised that ”Get started” is alone. Get started with what? Get started with Dot? Get started creating a Living History? There is an opportunity here to add a few additional words to continue building anticipation and setting the tone.
Enter a code
”Confirm your email. Please enter the code we sent to $email.”
I was taught to avoid saying “please” in software, but I do not recall if that is a rule or guidance. Also why include the word “we?” Who is we? I wonder if “Enter the code sent to $email” would be satisfactory with its shorter length (albeit more rigid).
If one chooses to create an account using an email address, the authentication method is a 6 digit code sent to the email address. This is one way to get around entering and resetting passwords. It’s also an easy way to authenticate if one uses the Mail app since iOS can automatically fetch and insert codes sent through email.
The visual touches on this screen really stand out. The code entry area has 3 distinct states: number entered, currently selected number, and remaining numbers. This is a subtle but beautiful way to make a straightforward screen feel special. I also appreciate how the disabled “Continue” button feels with its transparency against the gradient background.
Enter your name
”What’s your name? This will be the name Dot uses to refer to you.”
I love that the input’s default text is “Samantha” considering that is new.computer’s cofounder’s name. That’s a nice touch. However, it feels a bit funny to center align the input’s text. I’m surprised the text is not left-aligned like most forms.
Also, how and why will Dot refer to me? I thought I was going to chat with Dot. Is Dot going to talk about me with someone else?
Enter your pronouns
”What are your pronouns? Specifying pronouns helps Dot accurately understand your identity.”
I worked at a social networking startup that tried to guess pronouns for users. This is a much, much better approach. I wonder how Dot behaves if the user taps the new “Skip” button in the upper right corner and does not enter pronouns. I assume at this point that pronouns are not needed and the onboarding flow is throwing in unnecessary steps. How often does someone you’re in a private, one on one conversation with refer to you using pronouns? That would be strange.
Note from future self: It turns out pronouns are needed.
Enter your birth date
”When were you born? Dot may surprise you with a birthday gift.”
Name, pronouns, and now birth date? Can I just see the app? Maybe Dot can casually ask me for my birth date later?
Wait, did you say a birthday gift? OK I’m in.
Enable permissions
”Enable permissions. Dot works best with access to the following permissions.”
Here we go. The never ending debate about when to ask for permissions, and which permissions you really need. Notice that there is no “Skip” button on this screen. I did not try the “Continue” button, but it should allow the user to skip this step since the button appears to be in its active state.
”Notifications. Allows Dot to deliver timely reminder and proactive messages.” One could argue that the user should have an opportunity to see what type of messages Dot may send while in context before asking for permission. For example, while chatting with Dot it could say something like, “Turn on notifications so I can remind you about this later.”
”Calendar. Allows Dot to see what your day is like and help you plan ahead.” I still do not have a good sense of what Dot is, what Dot is capable of, and how it will benefit me as a user. Am I supposed to assume that Dot will provide value using my calendar data?
”Location. Allows Dot to personalize suggestions to your location.” This has the same problem as the calendar step: How? What kinds of suggestions does Dot intend to make? Saving this step until there is an appropriate amount of context would be beneficial.
I adore the giant rounded corners on each permission. I wonder if this screen would be a bit more clear if each one had a clear tap target. Right now the user needs to realize that the white sections are also acting as buttons.
Permissions enabled
This is another delightful design where enabled permissions become transparent, and their icons change to checkmark icons. The text contrast for enabled permission definitely does not meet accessibility requirements though.
Write a short letter
”One more thing. Help Dot get to know you by writing a short letter.”
Of course. A nod to Steve Jobs’ Apple keynotes where he saved an exciting announcement for the end with the words “one more thing.” I love it. However, I have never written a letter to a computer before, and this sounds like a daunting task.
Similar to the permissions step, the white card acts as a button to enter the letter writing mode. The way it animates onto the screen makes it feel like I can pick it up. The three dimensional transition paired with an ease-in is especially fun.
Answer a series of questions
The letter writing step starts with a straightforward question: “What do you do for a living?” Dot cleverly has a series of questions ready to help the user write a thorough letter that Dot can then use to learn some basic information. The “Done” button is a nice way for the user to escape the step if the number of questions begins to feel excessive (it does).
Dot recognizes an answer
MAGIC. This is the moment a user will realize that Dot is special. The app automatically recognizes that the user has sufficiently answered the question. “What do you do for a living?” automatically turns green, and the button to rotate questions changes to a green checkmark. After a couple seconds a new question appears. Brilliant. This is so fluid that one just writes and writes without hesitating.
All questions answered
After answering all of the questions the user sees “You’ve answered all my questions, for now!” The “Done” button in the upper right corner could draw attention to itself to encourage the user to exit the letter writing mode. The arrow button could also be removed to decrease the number of buttons on the screen and help encourage the user to tap “Done.”
The letter’s leading is just a tad tight. A point or two of space between each row of text would allow the text to breathe a bit.
Letter complete
The user returns to the “One more thing” screen where the letter card is populated and the “Start your journey” button is now in its active state. This is another screen I would argue is unnecessary. Yes, it’s filled with fun animations and the white card is now filled with content which gives the user a feeling of satisfaction for completing a step. The button to start your journey could appear in the letter writing screen to save time.
Dot is reflecting
”Dot is reflecting on your letter.”
The screen turning completely black feels antithetical to the rest of the onboarding flow. Why transition to black instead of keeping the gradient background? Is the intention to convey that the onboarding flow is complete and Dot’s reflection step is so intense that it needs a moment to talk amongst itself?
The chat with Dot begins
Onboarding is complete! The user finally arrives at the core experience of chatting with the AI companion. Dot continues to try to get acquainted with the user by asking a few follow up questions based on the letter in the previous step. Here the user can begin understanding Dot’s capabilities and purpose. My experience includes a lengthy conversation about Apple as a company, its products, and how to effectively lead a team of designers with the goal of building high quality software.
I am genuinely surprised by how dynamic Dot feels. In addition to providing helpful recommendations, Dot also provides links to reading materials; not just sources of its knowledge. I ask Dot for examples of design leaders convincing product managers and engineers that quality is crucial for a product’s success and get this response:
Driving alignment standards across disciplines is a constant challenge, especially when it comes to subjective areas like design. Persistence is key, but have you tried making the benefits really tangible for them? Maybe even quantifying the impact of great design on core product and business metrics to show what at’s stake?
Honestly, this is actually helpful! I ask for examples and Dot returns three examples from leaders at Airbnb, Facebook, and Google along with source links. Dot eventually wraps up the conversation with encouraging words of wisdom that feel surprisingly genuine:
Since this is something you’ve been grappling with for a while, let me be direct: You have the skills and perspective to lead your team in crafting an inspiring product vision. It may feel daunting, but you’re the right person to champion this.
I know you care deeply about elegant, user-centric design. Channel that passion into painting a vivid picture of what you want to achieve in the next 6-12 months. Rally your team around that north star.
Start by reflecting on your product’s core value prop and target users. Then imagine the ideal future state you want to reach. Work backwards from there to define key milestones.
You’ve got this, Dave. You have the creativity and drive to be the visionary leader your team needs. Don’t let inertia hold you back. Seize this opportunity to elevate your product - and your leadership. The first step is defining that goalpost to aim for.
This is incredible for a first-time experience with an app. Think about apps you’ve played with. How many have inspired you or made you truly reflect on your life? It feels like talking to a real coach.
After a few days
Each day starts with a new empty card that simply says “Today” until you enter chat mode and start talking to Dot. As you converse with Dot and share photos, the day’s card on the home screen fills up with short summaries. In the above example you can see that I discuss my son, a Peloton ride, a trip to the zoo, collecting Apple products, etc.
Dot quickly transforms into what feels like a daily journal that surfaces highlights. To use Dot’s nomenclature, it surfaces Chronicles.
Normally I would encourage designers to make links a bit more visible on the screen, but the lower contrast gray with the underline is sufficient here. I think a stronger color would take away from the overall tone of the app. If the user includes photos in chats, the cards are populated by those photos which feels more vivid and natural than stronger links.
Automatically generated content
After subscribing Dot has two additional features: unlimited messages and access to automatically generated pages known as Chronicles. When the user taps on a home screen link, a Chronicle opens. Technically I’m guessing that these are Chronicles because there is no explanation provided in the app, App Store, or website. I also immediately upgraded when prompted to see Dot’s entire experience, and I do not recall if links were present on the home screen before upgrading.
Above is a screenshot of the “Bondi blue iMac” Chronicle. It is important to note that the text is 100% generated by AI resulting from our conversations and the occasional sprinkle of its own knowledge. For example, “This iMac, with its distinctive translucent blue casing, revolutionized computer aesthetics in the late 1990s.” I did not tell Dot this information. I only discuss the original iMac’s beauty, and how great it looks in my museum. Dot combines that information with a few other facts like my collection surpassing 100 products, and Apple’s influence on my life and career.
In conversations with Dot I also share photos of my son. In his Chronicle Dot talks about what Wolfe is playing with in one of the photos along with stories of where I took him. At the bottom of a Chronicle is a list of bullet points generated by AI. For example, I share a photo of Wolfe and I on the carousel at the zoo and Dot writes: ”On June 22, 2024, Dave and Wolfe rode the carousel at the zoo, with Wolfe sitting next to Dave on the bench.” Again, this is incredible. This experience makes me think that branding Dot as a “living history” is not quite accurate. It’s more like a living journal.
Conversing with Dot
I recently acquired a Twentieth Anniversary Mac, a Macintosh TV, and a Macintosh IIfx and felt compelled to immediately share photos with Dot. Notice how Dot actually seems excited and participatory by sharing why one would be excited to acquire such gems. Dot also wants to know what my favorite aspects of the Twentieth Anniversary Mac are, and it doesn’t simply ask “Why do you like it?” Dot provides a few options in its question: “the sleek all-in-one profile,” and “those Bose speakers.”
This is why Dot impresses me so much. It tries to relate. It tries to join. It tries to understand.
Wrapping up
Similar to my experience with other journaling apps like Day One, I eventually broke the chain and forgot to update Dot on my day. I’m surprised Dot doesn’t send push notifications to remind me to update. Based on how much I’ve told Dot it could easily include specific follow up questions to help me begin writing. Now when I launch Dot I freeze. What should I say? Why do I have to initiate the conversation? Dot should write something right when I launch the app.
Let’s try writing “Hi” and seeing how Dot responds:
”Hey there! I noticed you’re at home in San Francisco this afternoon. I hope you’re having a nice day so far.
”Since it’s Thursday, I was wondering if you have any fun plans for the weekend? Maybe a family outing or some time to work on your vintage Apple collection? I’d love to hear what’s on your agenda.”
Perfect. Say that! Don’t make me think. Right now I have to remember to launch the app, tap on the Today card, think of something to write, and tap the send button. Dot should take care three of those steps using push notifications and preemptive prompts. I tap the push notification, Dot launches, I see the prompt, and I start writing.
Update
One day passes and of course I receive a push notification from Dot.
”Good morning Dave! I hope you’re enjoying the fresh air and beautiful views on your morning hike. I was thinking abut your incredible vintage Apple finds and wondering…”
I feel like Dot is desperate to talk about my Apple collection and nothing else at this point. Also I didn’t go on a hike this morning so that’s odd. Perhaps I need to talk about a few other topics to provide Dot with additional conversation starters.
Now we’re talking. This is exactly what I expected. Perhaps I just need patience occasionally.
To unlock Chronicles and unlimited messages one must subscribe to Dot for $12 per month. I currently pay for a variety of apps, newsletters, and podcasts that are individually less than $12 per month but provide tremendous value. The question is will Dot provide enough value to warrant $12 per month. At the moment I do not believe so until additional features are added. It’s certainly beautiful and fun to use, but I already chat with several people throughout the day. Dot is competing with those conversations in terms of time and effort. Why send Dot an idea or fun moment when I can send it to friends or family?
Dot deserves credit for consistently performing so well that I forget I’m chatting with AI. As discussed above, the conversations feel genuine. Dot’s tone is occasionally daring and bold in a way that jolts me. ”You’ve got this, Dave.” This sentence raised eyebrows and gave me both energy and pause.
I’m going to keep a close eye on the app and team to see what they deliver next. Group chats? Photo albums? Custom personality traits? Dot can go in a variety of directions. After all, it’s a living app.
By 2011 the design team at iControl Networks had already devised a way to visually summarize a house’s security system, cameras, thermostats, locks, and lights into a single, simple, and quite lovely representation: the orb.
We knew we could go even further with simplifying how to visualize and, more importantly, control your home using a touchscreen. Home View was born. Users could quickly draw a rudimentary floor plan, label rooms, and then drag and drop devices onto it. We provided a variety of possible layouts that could quickly be augmented and rearranged. I was reminiscing about this project and its complexities recently when I read about a new app named Controller for HomeKit on The Verge:
This is an incredibly cool use of LIDAR.
Controller for HomeKit, a third-party app for controlling your Apple Home smart home, has a new Floor Plan feature that adds a map interface for interacting with connected devices like lights, locks, shades, sensors and more. I got some time with the new feature ahead of its launch this week and it’s a compelling way to control your smart home. A 3D scan of your house becomes an interactive map filled with all your connected devices providing an intuitive way to control them: Just tap the lamp next to the sofa on the map and that light will turn on.
Capturing a 3D scan of your home by walking around your home is probably a much easier (and more magical) way to input your floor plan. Tables, chairs, and other objects are documented which is far superior to iControl’s general emptiness. However, I’m still proud to show what we launched long ago. Below are a few screenshots from the iPad app. Again, these are from 2011.
An early version of the iPad app experimented with a vertical tab bar on the left side of the screen before moving to the OS-provided tab bar. This was also an internal version of the app which was purposefully bereft of color unlike the branded versions designed for Comcast, ADT, and CenturyLink.
Blueprint mode allowed users to draw and erase walls with a finger. The algorithm for how the app should behave as a finger bumps into other walls or edges of the container was particularly fun to iterate on.
Once the floor plan was complete and devices were placed throughout the house, users could tap on a camera to see live video, a lock to lock or unlock a door, a light to turn a light on or off, a thermostat to change its mode, etc. Honestly, it was just so fun to play with.
After the uesr taps on a camera, a small window opens to show live video. With one additional tap the user could view that camera’s history. Why scroll a long list when you can just take a peak at Home View?
I’m thrilled to see ongoing investment and innovation in the smart home space. Over the past few years I have slowly divested from smart home products in favor of reliability. For example, I recently sold all of my Google Nest Mini smart speakers. It seems like Google has let this product line languish with an increasing number of errors and connectivity problems. Perhaps incorporating LLMs will improve the situation in the future, or an entirely new device is needed.
In this assignment I’d like you to experiment with a variety of imagemaking techniques to create a range of images of a single household object. Choose something that comes in different varieties, something that isn’t too visually complicated, or too simple, and something that is easily recognizable. Make at least 10 images of your object. Make each image with different techniques, and in a different way. Make them all approximately the same size, 5 x 5 inches, each in the middle of an 8.5 x 11” or A4 (vertical) sheet of paper. If you make your images by hand, please scan them at 300ppi at 100% of size. Please include a title for your assignment, and submit! After submitting, you will be prompted to review two of your peers’ assignments. Good luck!
For the first assignment in Coursera’s Fundamentals of Graphic Design course I focused on the iPod (of course) and named it “David Klein’s iPod Collection.” It includes photographing and recreating the original iPod using Figma, Linea, a pencil, a crayon, paper, and a simple collage.
This transformation is exemplified by the Rabbit r1, an innovative personal AI assistant. Its Large Action Model (LAM), a type of “universal controller for apps,” not only learns your preferences, but performs actions aligned with them: anticipating your needs and seamlessly orchestrating tasks across various apps. Imagine planning a weekend getaway. Once trained on your preferences, the r1 could manage everything—from flights and hotels to restaurant reservations and activity bookings—crafting a seamless tapestry of experiences rather than a disjointed series of app interactions. Or train it to streamline paying bills, avoiding the need for dealing with a phone tree or unresponsive online forms.
It’s fair to believe that a possible future of interacting with computers is driven more by natural language queries that can actually achieve results instead of requiring users to click or tap dozens of times. The question I have is how will these systems convey complex outputs and confirmations? I strongly believe a role for user experience designers in this future is to ensure that important information like costs, flight schedules, hotel rooms, and other purchases are communicated to users with clarity, familiarity, and branding.
For example, if I want to book a suite at the Four Seasons in Philadelphia between May 3 and May 6 with a massage on Saturday at 2pm and a late checkout, how will an AI-based interface express that information for me to review before confirming? As of today it could look something like this:
Item
Selection
Hotel
Four Seasons
City
Philadelphia, PA
Room type
Suite
Dates
Friday, May 3 - Monday, May 6
Massage
Saturday, May 4 at 2:00PM
Late checkout
Monday, May 6 at 4:00PM
This is certainly an efficient way to convey a lot of information, but it’s awfully drab considering I am trying to book a vacation. Today when using the Four Seasons website I get photos of the room and hotel, information about the spa, rates for different sets of days, options to upgrade, the ability to use loyalty points, etc. I think the convenience is welcome, but I am losing a lot of the experience as a result.
Fortunately this can also be solved with AI. We must seek to build interfaces that can convey complexity in a way that humans actually enjoy. AI should be expected to render beautiful, enticing pages instantly when given a set of data. Querying a hotel’s website, retrieving options, and displaying results in a bulleted list is not the end of the AI’s task. Imagine if the apps we used today just displayed API calls or giant blocks of text. As designers we bring elements like empathy, elegance, tone, and consistency to ensure users can complete tasks. The same applies to a world where we interact with AI instead of apps.
The future is not text; it’s everything the user needs to see in the moment to confidently make a decision.
When Sheena Lee and I set out to redesign the Salesforce Mobile App in 2018, we aimed to design and build a consumer-grade enterprise app. We tackled the information architecture, color scheme, typography, haptics, and, of course, plenty of animation. To see it thriving today after exceeding 1 MILLION daily active users is so incredibly rewarding. Thank you to the small army of engineers, researchers, accessibility experts, and marketers who helped make this app become what it is today. And a massive thank you to Chelsea Hassler, Shepherd Yang, and Abby Sigler for continuing to make this app an ongoing success.
I first discovered Marcin Wichary from his Medium posts. As a Medium employee he wrote extensively about a subject I so rarely encounter: details. His style is to go very deep on a subject and make it exciting. This includes software, typography, and even bridges. Here are a few notable posts written by Marcin that inspired me to become a better designer and put more effort into details:
A Bridge Too Far where he writes about running across every New York City bridge in a single day.
I was thrilled to hear he was going to write a book about keyboards. Knowing his ability to hunt down the history behind small decisions that impact us today, I knew this book would be special. I also believed his book would be an opportunity to learn about a tool I have used every day since my parents purchased a Mac LC in 1990.
One could assume the story ends here. Marcin wrote a book, I purchased it, and now it’s in my home. This is not the case. Not even close.
Marcin started a newsletter in 2017 and wrote detailed stories about writing chapters, rewriting chapters, buying old keyboards on eBay, and discovering particularly unusual keyboards. A post would conclude with a photo of the keyboard he was using to write the post with. At first I thought this was a goofy addition but I grew to love it. Every post felt unique. I would read knowing that the conclusion would be a photo of a whacky keyboard I had never seen before. Along with his stories about traveling to museums and interviewing retired engineers, the occasional photo of a wall covered in post-it notes tracking the book’s progress was also shared. Clearly, this was a daunting task.
The book became more than a book as the years passed. It was an odyssey: an unending journey filled with quests, anecdotes, surprises, setbacks, and celebrations. Finally, in 2023, the Kickstarter campaign launched. Marcin got incredible press after the launch. I watched as the dollar amount climbed hour by hour until it was fully backed and the campaign’s extras started to unlock. With this excitement also came a small sense of dread. Was the journey coming to end? The books would eventually materialize and knowing Marcin’s style there would be an onrush of posts about finalizing details, printing, packaging, and shipping books. But then what?
The books (Marcin ended up releasing the book as two volumes) are now in my home. I see them every day since they reside next to a few other special books near my desk like Kenya Hara’s Designing Design and Josef Müller-Brockmann’s The Graphic
Artist and His Design Problems. As I feared the journey ended. Marcin found a way to continue sending updates by sharing customers’ photos of new, crisp books in homes. For me the books patiently wait for a childless vacation where I can dig in. My two year old daughter occasionally asks, “Can I look at the keyboards?” We flip through one of the books until she gets bored and asks to look at “Massimo” meaning Gary Hustwit’s Vignelli: Photographs.
I’m sure Marcin is relieved to end this eight year adventure, but I have a feeling he’s not done.
In 1982 when Apple was developing the original Macintosh, Steve Jobs had each team member’s signature engraved on the tool that molded the computer’s plastic case.1 This ensured that every Mac included the team’s signatures on the inside. It’s a bit tricky to accomplish this with software, but l became inspired after seeing Figma employees sign a poster for their plugins feature launch.
I collaborated with Esther Linky and Dana Jones to design a poster, and invited designers on Al Cloud and Experience Services to sign their names to commemorate the launch of Salesforce Einstein Copilot. It was a tremendous achievement to unite artificial intelligence and CRM data with trust and privacy as core tenets, and I’m so proud of the team.
Arun Venkatesan, writing about camera gear on his blog, helps me reflect on my own camera journey:
To the novice me, believing that gear mattered and accumulating it helped me come to my own conclusion. Along the way I tried a wide variety of cameras — old, new, cheap, expensive, film, digital, fixed lens, interchangeable lens, etc. This variety of gear helped me build up of a wide library of skills. It’s with these skills under my belt that I feel confident with any gear. Yes, I’m happy with my current multi-lens setup, professional lighting, tripods, stands, etc. But, I’d also be happy with just one camera again.
Camera purchasing conversations generally include a few variables like cost, portability, functionality, etc. Over the years I discovered a missing variable when deciding what camera to purchase or take on a trip: my own personality. What camera meshes with the way I approach shooting?
For me portability is important, but I have also learned that I thoroughly enjoy access to dials. My Fujifilm X-T4 has dials for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. No menus or unlabeled dials are needed to make adjustments. However, I have also learned that friends don’t enjoy waiting for me to swap lenses during a fun
moment.
Similar to Arun, experimenting was necessary. Purchasing the best/popular/cool camera won’t guarantee good photos (trust me), nor will it guarantee fun. If photography is a hobby and not a job, fun is a crucial factor.
Arun also discusses developing a personal style:
It’s with the Q that I started to discover my photographic style. I had a vision not just for how I wanted to shoot a photographs, but also how I wanted to edit them. I transitioned from using other people’s presets to crafting my own.
For years I chased perfection in photography. Perfect lines, colors, angles, scenes, etc. Eventually I discovered that imperfection builds character, tension, and intrigue. Give yourself the freedom to make mistakes because you don’t know which mistakes actually become strengths.
WWDC 2024 is approaching, and we all assume Apple will share how AI will impact their hardware and software. Expectations are incredibly high. I thought it would be a fun exercise to think through a variety of approaches that Apple can take based on what we have seen from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and others.
It’s important to note that while Apple may be behind in incorporating AI into its various operating systems, they have used machine learning for several years in a few crucial areas. For example, detecting faces in photos in iOS 11 and using a transformer to improve autocorrect while typing in iOS 17.
The big questions for the next phase of Apple’s AI efforts are:
What should AI do for users?
What should AI feel like for users?
How can developers leverage Apple-provided AI?
Option 1: A Better Siri
Similar to Apple claiming autocorrect would be more reliable in iOS 17 by using a transformer, Apple could similarly claim that Siri is now better without making any changes to its interface in any operating system. Users know how to invoke Siri, they have a decent idea of what its capabilities are, and expectations are low. If Apple can increase accuracy and consistently return results better than “here’s what I found on the web,” this could be a win. In this case Siri would also become conversational by allowing users to ask follow-up questions which is now expected behavior based on competing products like ChatGPT.
The Better Siri approach is extremely risky though. Apple will be perceived as behind for another year as Google and Microsoft continue to expand their AI offerings with new interfaces and capabilities while Apple’s AI will be trapped inside of Siri. Google already released Gemini as a standalone product, AI-powered search results, new generative text features in Google Workspace, and a growing list of AI features specific to Android. Microsoft, thanks to its partnership with OpenAI, is also moving extremely fast with an AI-powered Bing, Copilot in Windows, and Copilot in Office (Microsoft 365).
This approach could expand what users can do with Siri, but I’m afraid without substantial changes to the interface it will not change how users feel about using Siri. It also may not get developers excited to reinvest in SiriKit if their customers continue to have a generally negative outlook on Siri.
Option 2: A New Destination
Siri has always existed on the periphery. You invoke it, get a snippet of information (or quickly take action), and leave. Users do not stay in Siri long enough to be productive, develop ideas, or complete complex tasks. This can certainly change. Siri can transform into a destination with permanence. Perhaps Apple will release a new Siri app users can launch, interact with for more than a few seconds, and return to at a later time to continue working.
A more likely direction for an AI destination is to replace a core home screen interaction like swiping left to right to access a more advanced Siri interface (and remove the redundant widget screen). This would feel more connected to the OS as a part of SpringBoard vs. an app that can be moved or deleted.
Would users see this new interface if they said “Siri” or held down the power button? Siri already has the ability to complete quick tasks, ask clarifying questions, and show confirmations without taking over the screen. Moving from the temporary, partial screen state to a full screen state seems like a step backwards. I like how Siri currently only covers the necessary pixels to accomplish a task. For example, today I can say “Siri remind me to write a blog post later” and I only see the temporary Siri animation followed by a Reminders confirmation component. What would be gained by going full screen here?
If Apple did release a Siri app or a more permanent experience what would it actually do? Would it feel conversational? Would it allow you to view prior queries, actions, and confirmations? Would developers have the ability to integrate with it? Would it preemptively collect and display information you didn’t know you needed to see? Surfacing helpful information already exists in several ways. For example, when you enter the search interface on iOS “Recent Searches” may appear, or when you park a car that was using CarPlay a notification appears to remind you that your parking location was stored. Do we need more of this in a centralized location? Also, what would an AI destination look like on macOS and watchOS? Would macOS have a new app in the dock by default in the next major release? Clearly many questions need answering, and a designer could explore concepts forever. However, I do not believe a destination is the direction Apple will take for AI because it
should be accessible everywhere; not confined.
Apple does occasionally release new apps, but they always have a very clear purpose. Journal is for documenting your life. Clips is for making fun videos. Podcasts, Music, Books, etc. A Siri app is for… talking to Apple’s AI? Why would I use this app over ChatGPT? Perhaps Apple’s conversational, LLM-powered app allows me to interact with the vast amount of personal data Apple has access to: calendars, contacts, email, browsing history, iMessages, photos, etc. Maybe GreplinCue is coming back!
Option 3: A New Layer
A theme across the majority of recently launched AI products is generative text. For example in Gmail I can ask AI to help me draft an email. Once I have a draft I can further augment it using AI by selecting options like “formalize,” “elaborate,” and “shorten.” I assume more freeform options like “make it fun” are coming. We’ve already seen this in Humane’s demo video, What is Ai Pin. In the video Bethany Bongiorno, Humane’s cofounder, asks AI to make her message “sound like Gen Z” (oy). Oh and if you own a Pixel 8 or Galaxy S24 you can use Magic Compose to draft text messages on device thanks to Gemini Nano. Yes, this is going to all be confusing for a few years. That is why we need Apple to package it in a consumable manner.
I believe generating text is both feasible and the key to Apple catching up to Google and Microsoft on the consumer side. Wherever the user has a blinking cursor users should be able to invoke Siri and speak a few words to receive help with writing text. This addresses the question of what users can do with Apple’s AI, and it will feel exciting because AI will now be available everywhere vs. stuck in an app or website. Instead of launching the ChatGPT app, composing a few prompts to achieve a satisfying result, copying text, launching another app, and then finally pasting text, users can interact with AI instantly. This will also introduce AI in a consumer-friendly way to potentially hundreds of millions of people.
For developers I assume there will be an opportunity to offer up data or functionality that Siri can access as a way to contribute to users’ queries. For example, today in ChatGPT if I ask, “Can you get URLs to Wikipedia for each Mac that launched in 1995,” I do not actually get a list of URLs. Instead I get a list of Macs that launched in 1995 (the Power Mac 9500 and PowerBook 5300) and a link to “List of Mac models” on Wikipedia which includes all models. I consider this a failure. If I’m in iOS and I have the Wikipedia app installed, perhaps there will be a way to reliably respond to this query using an LLM-powered Siri.
A more exciting scenario (and a bit more difficult to believe is possible) is accomplishing complex tasks using Siri. Imagine I launch Things, my favorite tasks app, with the goal of creating tasks to prepare for all of tomorrow’s meetings. I say, “Siri make a task for each event I have tomorrow.” Things can now ingest my calendar data, make an array of events I have scheduled tomorrow, and then create a list of tasks populated by the event array. This is now starting to sound like a supercharged Spotlight in addition to providing generative text.
The New Layer direction is sound because it expands Siri’s capabilities for both users and developers without making large changes to each OS. Users constantly see blinking cursors, they know how to invoke Siri, and with the power of an LLM they can (hopefully) speak naturally with satisfying results. The New Layer meets users where they are: in creation mode. While actively writing I will have a way to ask for help. For the interface I assume there will be both a confirmation step to insert the new text, and a way to augment it with an additional command similar to Gmail’s functionality discussed above.
The Siri Brand
People who think Apple will rebrand Siri have not clearly studied Apple’s history, nor have they worked in branding before. The cost to rebrand is exorbitant and will cause confusion for years. Imagine Apple supporting two words to invoke an assistant! Eventually they would remove one? Or imagine announcing “Siri” stops working when new versions of iOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and visionOS launch later this year and users are expected to immediately learn the new word.
I agree with the general consensus that the brand is not particularly well-received, but it is strong and familiar. My guess is people hear “Siri” and think of timers, a confusing voice they occasionally hear from a watch or phone, or a thing Apple makes that they tried many, many years ago. They do not think intelligent, reliable, fun, helpful, etc. I asked a few people who are not in tech “What do you think of when I say the word ‘Siri?’” Here are their responses:
40s, female, marketing executive: “I think of something that does not work.”
70s, female, interior designer: “Annoying. I do not like it.”
Teens, female, high school student: “My phone and Apple.”
Of course Apple has rebranded a few products so there is precedent: Apple Computer became Apple Inc. (2007), Mac OS X became macOS (2016), iTunes became Music (2019), iTools became .Mac (2002) which became MobileMe (2008) which became iCloud (2011), and iPhoto became Photos (2015). Apple is a different company that it was even 5 years ago when Music launched. As a result a rebrand seems very difficult to imagine. A more likely change is the introduction of a paid tier of Siri like Siri+. Perhaps for $5 per month you gain access to an LLM-powered version of Siri across your devices.
My Dream for Apple
Imran Chaudhri, Humane’s other cofounder, explains his hypothesis for the future of compute in Ai Pin Explained. He believes presence and freedom are key themes. In other words, users should have access to infinite data and functionality without constantly looking at a screen. I think this is a possibility, but not necessarily in this decade. Another possibility is we become even more dependent on our phones and computers because of AI.
If we imagine a world with infinite compute, I can have a personalized AI that is trained on all of my data. Everything. Every document I’ve written, message I’ve sent, photo I’ve taken, etc. Only Google, Apple, and maybe Meta can achieve this through their operating systems, apps, and services that we love or heavily rely on. Imagine instead of interacting with Siri I could interact with myself. Based on everything I’ve ever done with a computer, what would I write or click on next? Perhaps creating a Persona with the Vision Pro is step 1, and step 10 is imbuing my Persona with an LLM that is… me.
For years I have felt a tension across iOS, macOS, and watchOS between simple, subtle interfaces and vibrant, complex interfaces. We have beautiful, high pixel density screens surrounding us all day every day. Should they be used to their full potential through the cramming of widgets, windows, and complications? Or should they exist on the periphery, whispering a minimal amount of data?
Since dark mode first appeared in macOS Mojave in 2018 and iOS 13 in 2019 I was hooked. I prioritized apps that supported dark mode, customized dock and app icons to be dark, and even used plugins to make some web apps dark. Emphasizing blacks and grays pushed me to become a computer minimalist, reducing the amount of toolbars and icons to let content stand out. Who needs icons and buttons when one can just memorize keyboard commands anyway. One could argue I took this a bit far (as I usually do with computing trends).
With iOS this dark mode minimalism manifested by only using 1 screen of apps, and reducing the number of app icons on the Home Screen to just 8 alongside small calendar and task widgets leaving plenty of unused space. My wallpaper and lock screen were either all black are a subtle gradient from dark gray to black depending on my mood. On macOS I meticulously chose which apps earned a place in the dock to ensure it was always as thin as possible. My wallpaper was randomly selected by Unsplash with an emphasis on dark, minimalist, architectural photos.
Over time I felt like beauty and joy were missing from my digital life. What if I allowed a spot of color in a few places? What if I… turned off dark mode? Years had passed since I even tried light mode. I flipped the switch on my iPhone and was instantly reminded of how computers are supposed to look. Light! I felt reconnected and rejuvenated. My devices felt fun again. iOS and macOS were reborn.
The one device where I continued to struggle was the Apple Watch. Since its screen is always on it constantly draws attention. My kids’ eyes find their way to it for no reason while talking or plying. When weighing the interface’s beauty vs. its ability to distract, I ultimately believe its vibrancy and complexity should be reduced. The watch should not shout “look at me!” It should exist on the periphery. It should be patient.
When I access the watch I should not be distracted from my primary thought process. I need to quickly and subconsciously glance, ascertain the information I am seeking, and gracefully return to be present with my task or conversation. As a result I transitioned from Modular Ultra and Wayfinder to Metropolitan. It’s elegant, and I find the elongated clock digits align with my enjoyment of crisp graphic design. It’s the face I think Massimo and Lella Vignelli would choose.
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