The Apple Watch Is the New Starter Phone

Apple’s new features bring a new generation of kids into its ecosystem

Dave Gershgorn
OneZero
Published in
3 min readSep 15, 2020

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Image: Apple

Apple doesn’t want to just sell you one product.

The company’s entire gambit is that its phone works better when paired with its watch, and each additional computer, tablet, or streaming device adds more to the experience. Any one of these products can stand on their own, but they all work better in concert together. It’s an effective sales strategy: A 2017 CNBC survey that found the average American owned more than two Apple devices.

The first gadget, whether that be a phone, a laptop, or a tablet, is the cornerstone to the whole enterprise. Now Apple is trying to get that first device into younger hands.

Previously, getting your child — or a grandparent — connected in the Apple ecosystem, meant buying them an iPhone, and doing your best to safeguard that device from being misused. On Tuesday, the company announced a feature called Family Setup, which is specifically catered toward younger and older people who do not yet have iPhones. The new feature allows a user to sync multiple Apple Watches to their iPhone. That means grandma and the kids can all connect to a single iPhone, making it a hub for the entire family.

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Dave Gershgorn
OneZero

Senior Writer at OneZero covering surveillance, facial recognition, DIY tech, and artificial intelligence. Previously: Qz, PopSci, and NYTimes.