The smartphone industry has become lazy. Every year brings a slightly bigger screen, a somewhat better camera, or maybe a new colour to get excited about. But, let’s be honest, it’s been a long time since anything has truly changed. When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, it completely redefined what a mobile phone could be. But it seems as though we haven’t had any real innovation since. We’ve been waiting for the next iPhone moment but the thing is, that moment is already here. It’s called DePIN, and it has the power to wake the smartphone industry out of its long nap, turning the devices we carry everywhere into so much more. The Problem: Traditional Infrastructure Isn’t Working The Problem: Traditional Infrastructure Isn’t Working The problem is the current model that we’ve been relying on. Traditional infrastructure tools such as environmental sensors are centralized, expensive, and unreliable. For example, a 2024 study noted that sensor pods in centralized networks experienced operational failures, with only six out of twenty meeting data quality objectives. Obviously, these issues can lead to significant problems. 2024 study 2024 study Meanwhile, demand for compute and storage keeps going up, and the market just can’t keep up. According to a McKinsey report, in order to meet this huge demand and avoid a deficit, we’d need to build more data centers in the next few years than we’ve built in the last two decades. But building new infrastructure takes time, money, and manual work, so perhaps we need a different approach entirely. a McKinsey report a McKinsey report The Solution: DePIN The Solution: DePIN This is where DePIN steps in. One of the great things about DePIN is that it brings a ton of infrastructure to the table without having to build it — it connects existing devices and hardware into networks that can do real work, at scale. So rather than a city installing hundreds of new air quality sensors, you tap into a distributed system made up of compatible devices ran by communities, not companies. DePIN DePIN Anyone can contribute to the network by offering up compute, connectivity, or data — and they’re rewarded for it. It’s already been put into practice with different DePIN apps in noise pollution tracking, distributed energy resources, weather prediction and more. Ultimately, these networks are real-world applications that are actually useful. real-world applications that are actually useful. real-world applications that are actually useful. DePIN Meets Smartphone DePIN Meets Smartphone Remember how we started off with smartphones? Yes, the sensor-packed supercomputers that fit in your pocket? This is where things click: A smartphone is a perfect device for a whole variety of DePINs. It packs a significant amount of compute power, can store and collect data, can do dozens of other things, and the best thing is—there’s a ton of those around. According to the Digital 2024 Global Overview Report, 97.6% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 use a smartphone. Digital 2024 Global Overview Report Digital 2024 Global Overview Report This is the iPhone moment that everyone is sleeping on. It’s an opportunity for everyday users, a growth hack for DePIN builders, and a new wake-up call to the smartphone industry. Our phones can now be even more than pocket computers, they can make us stakeholders in some of the most innovative industries, running as part of networks that are more than a sum of their components. This should be the rallying cry for those building the next generation of smartphones. Is Widespread DePIN Usage Far-fetched? Is Widespread DePIN Usage Far-fetched? Some will say that widespread DePIN usage seems unrealistic. That people don’t want to be part of a network, they just want their phones to work and apps to load. The concept of widespread DePIN usage can seem abstract — but so did the concept of mobile internet, cloud computing and apps once upon a time. Besides, we have seen this kind of shift before. When the iPhone launched, people didn’t immediately understand what a touchscreen with internet access could unlock. DePIN is the same kind of moment, it won’t click for everyone right away. But what matters is that we stop thinking of smartphones as endpoints, and start thinking of them as starting points to so much more. And even better: DePINs don’t just give you a chance to do more with your everyday phones, they also reward you for your contributions. Rewards are an intrinsic part of the DePIN incentive model, and with the right incentives, scaling from zero to 1M+ users within just a year is very much possible. The Shift Is Here The Shift Is Here The truth is, we’ve been waiting on the next ‘iPhone moment’ but it’s already here. The smartphone you currently have is loaded with endless possibilities, and DePIN is showing us how to maximize that potential. The shift may not happen overnight, but slowly these networks will grow. More phones will start contributing data, storage and connectivity without anyone really having to change their habits. And just like that, we’ll start to see a new kind of infrastructure. We didn’t need a new device to start this shift. We just needed to rethink what our current devices are used for.
