Smart Devices/Dumb Cloud vs. Dumb Devices/Smart Cloud

Benedict Evans:

I’ve said before that Apple’s approach is about a dumb cloud enabling rich apps while Google’s is about devices as dumb glass that are endpoints of cloud services. That’s going to lead to rather different experiences, and to ever more complex discussions within companies as to what sort of features they create across the two platforms and where they place their priorities. It also changes somewhat the character of the narrative that the generic shift of computing from local devices to the cloud is a structural problem for Apple, since what we mean, exactly, when we say ‘cloud’ on smartphones needs to be unpicked rather more.

Nailed it. My only quibble is that Evans addresses the future of smartphones specifically, whereas I think this applies to all computing devices, regardless of size.

★ Tuesday, 8 July 2014