Person/Tony Fadell/Book/22/Build

• Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making

  • About

    • 2022 book by Person/Tony Fadell on product-building lessons from General Magic, Apple, Nest, and other operating environments.
    • The Planet Money episode Person/Tony Fadell/Pod/26/06/We almost had a smartphone in the 90s. Why did it fail? highlights the General Magic thread: a 1990s attempt to build an early smartphone-like product with abundant funding, elite talent, creative freedom, endless iteration, and too little customer pull.
    • The same episode contrasts that environment with Apple's later constraints: tighter deadlines, clearer product focus, and shipping pressure. Snipd excerpt at about 24:01: "Tony gave his team deadlines."

  • Podcast Citation

    • Planet Money, "We almost had a smartphone in the 90s. Why did it fail?", published June 26, 2026. NPR episode page: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/26/nx-s1-5872785/general-magic-sony-magiclink-constraints
    • Snipd episode page used for the quoted excerpt: https://share.snipd.com/episode/db9f3f36-d7ed-42b6-a6bb-a8ae79329c69
    • RSS metadata checked June 27, 2026: hosted by Erika Beras and Emma Peaslee; produced by Emma Peaslee with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and James Sneed.

  • Related

    • Person/Tony Fadell
    • General Magic
    • Apple/iPod
    • Apple/iPhone