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Key Takeaways Veteran tech investor Keith Rabois says he stopped using laptops and desktops in 2010, running his work life from an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch instead.
He was inspired after seeing Jack Dorsey operate his fintech business from an iPad, which convinced him that traditional computers weren’t necessary for high-level executive work.
Rabois says that mobile devices make him more focused and productive.
Keith Rabois hasn’t touched a laptop or desktop computer since 2010 — and insists he is more productive without one. Instead, the longtime investor and former executive at PayPal, LinkedIn and Stripe runs his entire professional life from an iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad.
Rabois recently told Lenny’s Podcast that he traces his laptop breakup to his early days at fintech company Square, now Block. He watched cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey run the company from an iPad. Seeing a CEO operate a fast-growing startup on a tablet convinced him that traditional computers were optional for serious work.
“I immediately converted in September of 2010, and haven’t looked back,” Rabois told the podcast.
The shift wasn’t a casual experiment. For more than a decade, Rabois has described his iPhone as a “persistent computer, not as a ‘phone.’” His argument is simple: smaller, lighter devices make him more focused and more mobile. Working from a phone, watch or iPad forces him into tighter interfaces and shorter interactions.
He also believes carrying a laptop means lugging a heavier machine than he actually needs, along with the distractions that come with traditional desktop-style computing. “There’s no reason to use a more powerful, heavier-weight, less flexible machine,” he said on the podcast.
Over the past year, new AI tools have shifted more work to mobile devices, including “vibe coding” apps that let users create apps through AI prompts on their phones. Vibe coding apps are attracting more interest — and funding. For example, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian invested $9.4 million in seed funding for Vibecode, an iPhone app that lets users build new apps directly on their phones by prompting AI.
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