• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The U.S. campaigned to host the World Cup. Now soccer fans will trade their countries' train system for the U.S.'s 'D' rated infrastructure

2

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

3

The pig in the python: Baby boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire

1

The U.S. campaigned to host the World Cup. Now soccer fans will trade their countries' train system for the U.S.'s 'D' rated infrastructure

2

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

3

The pig in the python: Baby boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire

Evernote CEO: Apps will become obsolete

By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 10, 2014, 7:15 PM ET
“Apps as a concept don’t make a whole lot of sense anymore,” says Phil Libin, CEO of the productivity app maker Evernote.

FORTUNE — Phil Libin, CEO of the popular productivity app company Evernote, has an issue with the phrase “the Internet of Things.”

It has come to refer to any device, appliance, wearable, or object that’s connected to the Internet, and Libin thinks that’s just awful. In his words, it’s “the worst and most obnoxious name ever.” His comments were made from the stage at F.ounders, an annual private gathering of tech company leaders held at the NASDAQ Stock Market in New York Thursday.

The reason for his ire? He predicts the Internet of Things, or connected devices, or whatever you want to call it, will be huge. Connecting devices is a “super-important idea,” he said, but it’s being undermined by a terrible name. (Heartbleed, on the other hand, has done a much better job with its branding, he joked.)

The Internet of Things will be so huge, Libin said, that it will eventually make apps obsolete (yes, even Evernote, which has been among the top 25 productivity apps in Apple’s App Store for the past four years).

MORE: Food startups are cookin’: Munchery raises $28 million 

“Apps as a concept don’t make a whole lot of sense anymore,” Libin said. “They don’t make sense on your TV, or on your watch.”

That’s because session length for wearables will shrink. We won’t have time for apps, he said.

Session length shrinks each time we move to a smaller, faster, more convenient computing system. We went from desktop computers to laptops, and then to smartphones and tablets, and now to wearables and connected devices. We use desktop computers, or laptops, for two to three hours, and we use smartphones for two or three minutes at a time, 50 times a day. On computers with long session lengths it makes sense to use powerful software with files and databases. On phones, it makes more sense to use apps for our two-minute interactions.

But when we move to wearables, session length will drop from two minutes to two seconds, Libin said. The challenge will be figuring out how to make someone productive for one second at a time, 1,000 times a day. Apps are irrelevant in the world of wearables, because “when any given interaction is a second long, you definitely don’t have time to think about apps,” Libin said. “It has to be more of a service.”

MORE: eBay gets ‘even’ with Carl Icahn

It’s a design challenge that any app maker will need to figure out if they agree with Libin that wearable computing and the Internet of Things will eventually overtake mobile.

“Evernote and other companies that make this transition will have to be a service that’s just there,” he said. “The right design in augmented intelligence is stuff you don’t notice. It just sort of works.”

About the Author
By Erin Griffith
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Sam Altman, wearing a suit, speaks in front of a dark red background.
AIOpenAI
Sam Altman and Dario Amodei are both walking back their AI jobs apocalypse prophecies as they eye blockbuster IPOs
By Sasha RogelbergMay 26, 2026
5 hours ago
The 5 Best Massage Chairs (2026): Expert Tested and Reviewed
HealthDietary Supplements
The 5 Best Massage Chairs (2026): Expert Tested and Reviewed
By Emily PharesMay 26, 2026
5 hours ago
Mark Cuban speaks onstage during a conference in Austin
CryptoBitcoin
Billionaire Mark Cuban says bye-bye Bitcoin: Why he is ‘disappointed’ by crypto
By Jack KubinecMay 26, 2026
5 hours ago
Dozens of people sit on a stairs and hold a large banner reading 'Freedom to unionize now'
EconomyUber Technologies
Uber drivers in Massachusetts just pulled off the biggest labor win since 1941 — just before the robots arrive
By Leah Willingham and The Associated PressMay 26, 2026
6 hours ago
tt
HealthWhite House
Trump spent 3 hours at Walter Reed. he claims ‘everything checked out PERFECTLY’
By Collin Binkley, Nick Lichtenberg and The Associated PressMay 26, 2026
6 hours ago
pp
PoliticsElections
Graham Platner runs controversial ad during Red Sox game vowing to ‘reverse the private equity curse’
By Patrick Whittle, Kimberlee Kruesi, Kyle Hightower and The Associated PressMay 26, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

The U.S. campaigned to host the World Cup. Now soccer fans will trade their countries' train system for the U.S.'s 'D' rated infrastructure
Travel & Leisure
The U.S. campaigned to host the World Cup. Now soccer fans will trade their countries' train system for the U.S.'s 'D' rated infrastructure
By Catherina GioinoMay 25, 2026
2 days ago
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
5 days ago
The pig in the python: Baby boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire
Economy
The pig in the python: Baby boomers are strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire
By Nick LichtenbergMay 25, 2026
2 days ago
The Supreme Court handed Trump a Golden Chariot on tariffs — now he just has to take it
Commentary
The Supreme Court handed Trump a Golden Chariot on tariffs — now he just has to take it
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven TianMay 26, 2026
15 hours ago
Elon Musk's best friend could make more than $100 billion from SpaceX's IPO. His firm is also owed billions by SpaceX
Investing
Elon Musk's best friend could make more than $100 billion from SpaceX's IPO. His firm is also owed billions by SpaceX
By Eva RoytburgMay 25, 2026
2 days ago
A billionaire and an A-list actor found refuge in a 37-home Florida neighborhood with armed guards—proof that privacy is now the ultimate luxury
Real Estate
A billionaire and an A-list actor found refuge in a 37-home Florida neighborhood with armed guards—proof that privacy is now the ultimate luxury
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 25, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.