Everyone hates mobile phones, yet Apple has never sold so many The dichotomy of digital dependencies
Dumb phone, doom scrolling, raw-dogging, digital detox. Over the past five years, numerous trends have defined our relationship with smartphones — objects that, in just over a decade, have gone from being the greatest technological revolution to one of the main sources of discomfort and dependency. If until recently the conversation revolved around Millennials and Gen Z, today it is Gen Alpha leading the discussion. According to McCrindle, they spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes a day in front of a screen. Yet, while Gen Z seems to reject phone use, constantly creating trends to “disconnect” from the digital world, Apple has just recorded its most profitable quarter in years — and it did so without even launching a new iPhone.
Tim Cook stated that the final months of 2025, with the launch of the iPhone 17 Air and Pro, will mark a new sales record for the Cupertino-based company. However, as reported by the New York Times, analysts were not so optimistic. Difficulties related to trade tariffs caused by production in China, and the limited integration of artificial intelligence systems, had raised doubts. Despite this, the numbers tell a different story: quarterly revenues rose by 8% compared to the previous year, surpassing $100 billion for the first time, while profits increased by 86%. All this at a time when, culturally, the collective narrative seems intent on abandoning the very product that made Apple what it is today.
Soon, smartphones may no longer exist
@sineadbovell Smartphones and the Internet (as we currently know it) will eventually go away. An agent- first world changes what we need from our devices and how much we need to look at screens. Which changes who and what will need to be on the Internet in its current form. This isn’t me personally building this and making it happen. The trend lines and investments have, for years, pointed to what changes are on the horizon. The biggest smartphone providers in the world have been investing in what they believe will be the next device. AI companies like OpenAI are also acquiring device companies. These changes aren’t going to happen overnight. I’m talking YEARS from now. But we are at the beginning of the end of the smartphone era. I’ve written and posted at length about the challenges that need to be solve with ai agents, along with the ethics and security vulnerabilities.
original sound - Sinead Bovell
The contradiction is clear. On one hand, society is obsessed with detachment, with a “return to reality”, with time spent away from screens. On the other hand, the market shows no sign of slowing down — in fact, the more we try to free ourselves from our phones, the more we end up using them to do so. And in this tension, Apple continues to thrive, even though it seems the Cupertino empire may not remain intact for much longer, at least not as we imagine it. Perhaps it is not entirely coincidental that the ultimate Big Tech giant seems uninterested in heavily investing in AI.
Wired explains that in a not-so-distant future, we may wake up without feeling the need to look at a display anymore. Screens — symbols of an era of constant connection and distraction — could disappear, replaced by wearables and artificial intelligences spread throughout our environment. Homes, cars, and objects will be able to anticipate our needs, and voice will become the main form of interaction. It will be the beginning of the “de-screening era”, a transition that will forever change the way we experience technology.
What will AI look like in the future?
the more i study AI, the more i realise most people dont understand it. It's more than chatgpt or image generation. It's everywhere, even in something as simple as your keyboard, learning your typing habits ..
— a (@notaluagain) November 2, 2025
Even Bloomberg points out that Apple’s quiet withdrawal from the AI race is no accident. While competitors such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft chase increasingly complex language models, Apple focuses on the imperceptible integration of AI within its ecosystems. An invisible AI that doesn’t show itself but accompanies the user. According to analysts, this strategy aims to avoid the “technological saturation” effect that is fueling the growing desire for simplicity, especially among younger generations.
The truth is that, whether we like it or not, we are not moving toward a world without technology but toward technology without a visible world. Phones may disappear, but artificial intelligence will be everywhere, just like in Orwell’s 1984. Omnipresent, silent yet constantly active, and according to Wired’s estimates, by 2040 we will be used to living immersed in an intelligent environment, where every gesture and word will be interpreted and translated into data, and AI will be integrated into our daily routines to the point of becoming imperceptible.
There will no longer be any need to hold a device in our hands, because the device will be everywhere. Screens will become nearly nonexistent. This is where the true contradiction of our time lies: while we dream of returning to freedom and disconnection, we are moving closer to an era in which connection will be total, permanent, and uninterrupted. Which season of Black Mirror will we find ourselves in?