Apps are only incidentally software; software is an implementation detail. Instead, apps are experiences.

Design an experience. Make it as beautiful - and as emotionally resonant - as it can possibly be. Then adorn the core experience and content with only as much functionality as is absolutely necessary. Functionality - and software-based thinking in general - is like seasoning. A little is an enhancement; any more destroys the flavour, subsumes the artistry of the chef, and may well be bad for you.

These new classes of devices, so immediately personal and portable and tactile, aren’t desktop-era shrines demanding incantation and prostration. They’re empowering extensions to our real, actual lives - and that’s a profound thing. They take what was once prosaic or mundane, and give us just a taste of superpowers. They’re augmentations, and they should be beautiful.

The more I use my iPad the more I like the size of it, the quality of the screen, the ability to immerse myself in whatever I'm doing. My iPhone feels small now in comparison, it feels hard to use and a lot of apps feel cluttered. After a few days away with just an iOS device I find a desktop based OS, either MacOs or Windows just a bit too distracting - too many things vying for my attention - too busy. I, like Matt, like Instapaper on iOS. It is simple, it doesn't distract me with unnecessary options there isn't a lot to learn to get the most out of it, it just gets out the way and allows me to focus on the article I wanted to read.