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Handoffs fail because we treat them as state sync when they're actually context translation problems. When you switch devices, you often switch modalities. The same task needs fundamentally different representations optimized for each modality's strengths.

You're planning a family trip to Costa Rica. You'll use your laptop for research, phone for quick decisions with your partner, watch for confirmation while shopping with the kids, and voice while driving to check readiness.

Current approach: sync 47 browser tabs to your phone. Show the spreadsheet on a 6-inch screen. Give your watch all the data. This is technically correct but experientially broken. Great handoffs don't replicate state—they translate intent.

01

Modality Translation

Each device has different strengths. Laptop: keyboard + large screen for exploration and input. Phone: touch + voice for quick decisions. Watch: glance for instant facts. Voice: audio for hands-free status.

When you hand off from laptop to phone, 12 data elements don't become 12 smaller elements. They become 3-4 cards optimized for touch. The content compresses intelligently—preserving essential decisions while discarding keyboard-optimized details.

Each handoff asks: "What's essential?" and shows only that.

The visualization shows this transformation in action. Watch the elements flow and merge as they adapt from one modality to another. Same data, different density, each optimized for its target device.

02

What Actually Transfers

This is the core insight: what transfers between devices isn't browser tabs, isn't spreadsheet state, isn't app data. It's a context object that captures intent, progress, and cognitive state.

The context object includes: task (what you're doing), phase (where you are in the process), decisions made (what's already locked in), cognitive state (focus level, time pressure), and social context (who else is involved).

Each device reads this context and asks: How should I represent this task for my modality?

When your laptop knows you've finished research and made a resort decision, your phone doesn't need to show research tabs. It shows the booking flow. When your watch receives a query about dates, it doesn't show the calendar—it shows the answer: "Dec 15-29."

03

When Handoffs Break

Handoff failures aren't rare—they're the default experience. Most cross-device experiences are just "dumb state sync" with predictable problems:

Modality Mismatch
Watch trying to show a spreadsheet. Unreadable, useless, frustrating.
Context Loss
Phone gives you all 47 browser tabs. You forgot what you were even doing.
Wrong Density
Laptop shows minimal "glance" view. You have a keyboard—give me details!
Social Blindness
Can't easily share your shortlist with partner. Screenshot and text? Really?

These aren't edge cases—they're the standard experience. Every time you've had to manually rebuild context after switching devices, the handoff failed. Every time you've been frustrated by "your stuff" being technically present but practically useless, the system prioritized sync over translation.

State sync is technically correct. Context translation is experientially correct.

04

The Right Interface, Now

Consider the Costa Rica trip throughout a single day:

Morning (Laptop): Research mode. Multiple tabs, spreadsheet comparing resorts, keyboard-heavy exploration. High information density because you have time and a large screen.

Lunch (Phone): Partner texts asking for update. Phone shows the top 3 options as swipeable cards with large images. One tap to favorite, one tap to share. No tabs, no spreadsheet—just decisions.

Afternoon (Watch): Shopping with kids. Partner texts: "Did we decide on dates?" Watch shows: "Costa Rica Trip / Dec 15-29 / Playa Hermosa / Next: Book flights." Three-second glance, question answered.

Evening (Voice): Driving home. "Hey Siri, am I ready for Costa Rica?" Audio summary: what's booked, what's not, offer to send links to phone.

None of these showed the same interface. That's the point.

The laptop wasn't "the full experience" with other devices showing lesser versions. Each device showed the right experience for its modality and moment.

Tools, Not Containers

We've been treating devices as containers for our stuff. Open your phone, there's your stuff. Open your laptop, same stuff, bigger. Open your watch, same stuff, tiny. This model is broken.

Devices aren't containers—they're tools. You don't use a hammer like a screwdriver. You shouldn't use a phone like a small laptop. Each device has strengths: the watch excels at glanceable status, the phone at quick touch decisions, the laptop at deep exploration, voice at hands-free updates.

Context transfer means understanding that continuity isn't about seeing the same pixels everywhere. It's about maintaining intent while adapting representation. The task stays the same. The progress persists. The decisions are preserved. But the interface transforms completely based on what you're holding and what you need to do.

The future isn't "your stuff, everywhere." It's "the right interface, right now, for what you're actually trying to do." That's how you plan a trip across five devices and have it feel like magic.