Design Better

Tony Fadell: iPhone inventor on how to build the future

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Mar 28, 2023
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ANECDOTE

Building The iPhone Too Early

  • Tony describes General Magic as building the iPhone 15 years too early with touchscreen, downloadable apps, and early lithium-ion batteries.
  • The team solved problems nobody yet had because the internet, mobile data, and societal timing weren't ready.
INSIGHT

Design The Story Before The Tech

  • Start product work by defining the audience, pain, and story arc before building tech.
  • Use a one-page press release and storyboards as the project's North Star to avoid building for yourselves.
ADVICE

Start With Pain, Then Add Technology

  • Find problems you can feel and that cause real pain, then map new tech to solve them.
  • Aim to be slightly early so you educate the market but not so early that timing makes you irrelevant.
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