It’s been a while since my last post on living the digital life. For those of you just joining the conversation, I’m several years in on trying to live a digital life, by which I mean giving up pens and paper, recording all my records electronically, and enacting all my business digitally. My touchstone for how I know when I’ve achieved this is to be able to leave home with nothing but my iPhone. That means, among other things, no credit cards, no driver’s license, and no house or car keys. Other than my license and car keys, I’m pretty much there. Who knows, maybe Florida will get its act together before I die and I’ll be able to stop carrying a paper license.
In the meantime, the technical world has been moving on and cell phones are no longer the only feasible way staying connected remotely. Devices like the iWatch can now do much of what we previously relied on smart phones for. When the iWatch was first announced, it depended on an associated iPhone for most of its capabilities.
That’s no longer the case. The iWatch and its Android brethren now operate independently and can form the basis of our remote digital lifeline. It’s possible, as this article suggests, that modern e-watches can do most of what we’ve been depending on smart phones for.
After more than 20 years of not wearing watch—I had an iPhone that told me the time and much more; why would I need a watch—I recently got an iWatch to help track my health. I was surprised at how flexible it is. I can use it in place of credit cards, can control my Smart Home functions with it (including unlocking my door), can track my appointments, can receive and respond to texts, and can even make and answer phone calls.
That raises the question of whether the iWatch will replace my iPhone as my go to remote device. I don’t think so. I use the iWatch if in my phone is in my pocket and it’s easier to just use my iWatch but I mostly depend on my iPhone and keep it with me all the time. But who knows? Maybe we really will wear our digital interface on our wrists. What are you guys doing?