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What a 6yo can tell you about how far mobile phones have come. A THREAD.
This weekend I went to my friends’ house for dinner in Nairobi. I got through the door and their little one grabbed my hand, sat me down at the table in front of her drawing and told me she needed help.
This weekend I went to my friends’ house for dinner in Nairobi. I got through the door and their little one grabbed my hand, sat me down at the table in front of her drawing and told me she needed help.
‘I need help finishing my phone’
For the record she doesn’t know I’ve worked in the mobile industry for over a decade now. Or maybe she does?
My first question was to ask whether they were buttons or apps. Her dad told me he’d asked the same. ‘Of course’ they were apps.
For the record she doesn’t know I’ve worked in the mobile industry for over a decade now. Or maybe she does?
My first question was to ask whether they were buttons or apps. Her dad told me he’d asked the same. ‘Of course’ they were apps.
So I asked her what apps she’d drawn so far. She described a game for her little brother (row1,app2), an app to write things (row1,app3), a weather app (row2,app3) and a few more that only a 6yo entrepreneur could have designed (and whose concept I couldn’t fully grasp).
One was called 1849 (top left), which I was told by her dad was her favourite number. I think he was teasing me.
Anyway, she asks me what apps she can add. And I start thinking. There’s only space for 15 more so I want to make a good impression and recommend the best ones...
Anyway, she asks me what apps she can add. And I start thinking. There’s only space for 15 more so I want to make a good impression and recommend the best ones...
And then I realise: she didn’t include a ‘Phone’ app. She’d designed a phone, thought about the 12 most important apps she could add, but a ‘phone’ app didn’t come to mind. And for a new generation of ‘digital natives’ it makes complete sense: Our phones are not phones anymore!
She grabs her pen, stops in mid-air, and asks: ‘What does a phone app look like?’
So I put out my phone and show her the ‘Phone’ app icon. She looks like she’s going to draw it but she stops again. She seems quite puzzled and asks: ‘But what is this?’...
So I put out my phone and show her the ‘Phone’ app icon. She looks like she’s going to draw it but she stops again. She seems quite puzzled and asks: ‘But what is this?’...
Of course. She might never have seen an old-fashioned receiver before. So her dad and I explain than phones used to be those clunky boxes attached to a wall by a wire, with a receiver with its own wire. She stops us: it turns out her doll house has one of these. She gets it.
She adds the Phone app.
And then draws inspiration from my phone and her mum’s to fill in the blanks: she adds Waze, Netflix, WhatsApp, Word Reference...
I try to convince her to add a clock app but she doesn’t see the point: the time’s shown at the top of the screen. Right.
And then draws inspiration from my phone and her mum’s to fill in the blanks: she adds Waze, Netflix, WhatsApp, Word Reference...
I try to convince her to add a clock app but she doesn’t see the point: the time’s shown at the top of the screen. Right.
Then she puts in the Health app, a calendar, TripAdvisor... and a Yoga app (Daily Yoga, bottom left - full disclosure: this one was from her mum’s phone, not mine).
I quite like the last 3 in particular.
Even though I told are my work app folder was pretty unexciting for a 6yo she insisted she’d go through it, so Outlook, Workday (financial management) and Concur (expenses) also made the cut... and I had to explain what they’re used for...
Even though I told are my work app folder was pretty unexciting for a 6yo she insisted she’d go through it, so Outlook, Workday (financial management) and Concur (expenses) also made the cut... and I had to explain what they’re used for...
Voilà! The final result is this fancy smartphone designed by a smart little girl whose wit and candour made me look back for a second at the incredible journey phones have been on in the past decade.
Next time I see her I’ll ask her to design the phone of the future for me...
Next time I see her I’ll ask her to design the phone of the future for me...
Btw she proceeded to cut it out, and carried it with her for the rest of the evening.
Until an hour later she cried: ‘I lost my phone! Where’s my phone?’ Her dad found it for her in a flash (it was under a pile of drawings), but her short-lived distress sounded very familiar...
Until an hour later she cried: ‘I lost my phone! Where’s my phone?’ Her dad found it for her in a flash (it was under a pile of drawings), but her short-lived distress sounded very familiar...
