I bought my first almost-smartphone — a Nokia 6610 — in 2002, and even back then, mobile phones had a wonderful, intuitive, simple technology to engage or disengage with them called a power button. When my Nokia was off, I pressed the power button for a few seconds to turn it on. When it was on, I pressed the power button for a few seconds to turn it off. Such an easy-to-learn, easy-to-replicate behavior! Every piece of electronics I’ve had before that Nokia exhibited the same intuitive power button behavior, so I didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what the button does.
Fast forward a couple of decades and the beautifully elegant and simple behavior of the power button is under assault. Suddenly, this reliable on/off shortcut is no longer just that; it’s a button to call up a voice assistant, start a contactless payment, control a smart home, or I don’t know what else.