You'll rarely meet a more tech-positive person than me, but even I have my limits. With what I now know about children, teens, and technology, I'm certain there's one place the next great iPhone (likely the iPhone 16) doesn't belong, and that's in the classroom. We're likely just a few weeks away from Apple unveiling a collection of iPhone 16 handsets, including the iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 Plus.
My guess is that every model will be equipped to run the eagerly-anticipated Apple Intelligence, Apple's first attempt at integrated generative AI. When Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stage on, according to most recent guesstimates, September 10, he'll tout design updates, a faster piece of Apple Silicon (probably in an A18 line of mobile CPUs), and, naturally, all those Apple Intelligence capabilities. if there's one place where being online or on social media and constantly interrupted by notifications is a potentially net negative, it's in schools and the classroom.
Cook will speak just as millions of kids in the US return to public school (elementary and high school). It's unlikely, though, that he'll make any mention of the back-to-school set, though perhaps he should. What I'd like to hear from Cook is something to the effect of, "The all-new iPhone 16 is a beautiful device, made more powerful by Apple Intelligence.
Because it understands your iPhone and you, it can assist you in every part of your life, and it should, in every part, except the classroom where the iPhone doesn't belong." Cook won't say that any more than Samsung's execs, Google's execs, or any other company making broadly-available and popular smartphones would. That might be a shame because while the global use of smartphone technology is net positive, the impact of being constantly online for children and teens is questionable.
And if there's one place where being online or on social media and constantly interrupted by notifications is a potentially net negative, it's...
Lance Ulanoff.
