• Slate, Tuesday, December 22, 2015 1:05 PM

Remember when smartphones and tablets were exciting? The past decade has seen stunning advances in mobile computing, with devices growing more powerful even as they became slimmer and sleeker, thanks to the march of Moore’s law. By now, however, they’ve gotten so slim and sleek, so blazingly fast, that processing power is no longer the operative constraint. Battery life is—and that’s a problem, because Moore’s law doesn’t apply to batteries. That’s one big reason why, after years of downsizing, phones have grown larger again. Now tablets are doing the same. Where big tech companies once faced the challenge of persuading the public to get worked up over smaller, lighter devices, they now must convince us to celebrate larger, bulkier ones. The most anticipated new gadget of the year—the Apple Watch—disappointed many consumers when they learned they’d have to charge the thing every night. (Get past the disappointment, though, and you’ll find it still has its merits—keep reading!)

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