Comment by nunclieh

@achrono (I cannot reply to the other post, I don't know why). Yes, you can use just a web browser.

> Mobile Payments They work with a card, no smartphone required. Moreover, cash didn't cease to exist.

> Navigation Again, physical maps are a thing. Google Maps or OpenStreetMap are accessible by browser. Having a physical map and having to follow road signs can be a beautiful experience. If one is addicted to a machine that tells them where to go, navigators are still a thing (no smartphone required)

>All manner of IoT devices

Don't put an IoT device in your house if you don't know what it does and how it works. If the only way to interface to it is via an app... then you don't know what it does and how it works. Don't put it in your house.

>Wearables

I don't even know what are wearables: if I write it on Firefox it underlines it in red. By doing a quick search, I can see images of watches. Watches can work without an app. Moreover, watches that work without an app are usually less expensive than the other kind.

>Digital versions of ID (Mobile Passport Control)

Don't. I know that some governments are pushing this crap thinking it's the future. Simply don't. Imagine you're at the airport and you accidentally drop your passport. You pick it up, nothing lost. Imagine you drop your phone and it stops working. You lost:

- Your documents - Your money (if you rely on your phone for paying and don't have cash with you, which seems a growing trend among people I know) - All your ways to contact people for help

Instead:

- Your wallet is stolen: you lost all your money and your cards, but you have your documents (at least the passport because it surely does not fit a wallet). - Your phone is stolen: you lost all the ways to contact people, but you can buy another one - Your passport is stolen: you can contact your embassy.

Smartphones are becoming a SPOF (Single Point Of Failure) for our lives.