Welcome to the 32 new folks who have joined. That brings us to 109 on this journey.

This is the 4th week in a row of writing this newsletter. I am streaking. Yes, a pun.

But, I missed my Saturday morning delivery deadline. I am not happy about that.

This newsletter turned into a short essay. It also shares a side project of mine that may be of interest.

Moment of Proof

My phone rang. I glanced at it and silently groaned.

It was my mother.

(Now, hold up. Some of you are already at DEFCON 1 with a lecture. Yes, I should be happy any time my mother calls. Just let me finish the story!)

The evening before I had taken my mom’s iPhone and upgraded it to a new iPhone. It was pretty easy. I double-checked data, email, etc.

But guaranteed this was a tech support call. Some are easy. Some are hard. One never knows.

I take a deep breath and answer.

Mom: “Hi, sorry to bother you. I am at the Apple Store buying an Apple Watch. My Apple ID is <xxxxxx>, correct?”

Me: "Correct."

For a second, I am mildly annoyed she didn’t tell me she was doing this. If something goes wrong, guess who is fixing it? But then I get excited.

Me: “Remind me why you are getting an Apple Watch?”

Mom: “I miss calls if my phone isn’t next to me. Sometimes I don’t have pockets when I walk the dog, and I don’t like to carry the phone in my hand.”

Her answer makes total sense. I ask her a few more questions and we end the call.

I am grinning. This call made my day. I was happy for her, and this moment supported a hypothesis I have been exploring.

Invisible Friction

I frequently think about the digital divide. I am not talking about the common definition of high-speed internet access. I am talking about access to better information, content, and communities.

This topic became more personal this past July. I wrote about the moment in an essay Invisible Friction. An excerpt:

While pondering this, I noticed people walking around with old iPhones. Easy to spot: large font on small screens.

What was the invisible friction stopping them from upgrading? It wasn’t money.

And so, I started exploring this subject with the obsessiveness you’d expect from me (remember The Turkey Report?).

iPhone Upgrades

Upgrading technology at the right time improves the quality of life.

To understand user behavior, you need to observe. But first, one needs to take an empathetic journey. So, I went through the upgrade process myself and noted the potential friction points. There were many.

I then sat with my mother and a few other non-digital natives who wanted to upgrade their phones. I watched and listened as they explained their thought process.

Every one of them hit questions where they lacked knowledge or context to answer confidently. When I provide what was missing, they made good decisions and kept moving.

Apple and the wireless carriers cleverly drive customers down a path to maximize their profits. I also pointed out these moments.

I enjoyed helping, and it was fun to see the outcomes. Each person said they would have abandoned the process had I not been sitting there.

There were also funny moments. I live-tweeted my experience with my parents:

When we were done, I read the thread back to them. We were all in tears. We played the stereotypical roles perfectly.

Quick Takeaways

Good news: it has never been easier to migrate the contents from old phone to new phone.

Bad news: there are 20+ micro-decisions one needs to make. You can end up wasting money, wasting time, and/or feeling stupid along the way.

Once you decide to work through the invisible friction, second-order benefits may emerge. Like my mother walking into the Apple Store to buy the Apple Watch she says she’s wanted for years.

There may even be 3rd-order benefits. My father was with her at the Apple Store. He bought an Apple Watch, too.

Next Steps

This experience spurred me to create an iPhone upgrade guide. Once it’s ready, I will share it with everyone here.

Can I get your help?

This guide has the potential to help a wider audience.

If you’re thinking of upgrading or helping someone else do so, please reply to this email. Let me know what kind of phone you have, and what’s driving your upgrade decision. Maybe a pain or something you want to gain? This will help me in creating the guide.

If you already upgraded to any iPhone 13 model and encountered friction with part of the process, please share.

Why am I doing this?

The world is stressed out. One way to repair is through better conversations. Another is to find ways to help one another. I think this can help some folks?

I also like to build stuff. If this is well received, I may build more.

And maybe this inspires someone to build something or help in their own unique way.

To be continued.

See you next Saturday.

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