Is there anyone in 2025 still using cable phones? The answer is yes, my grandfather! While many of us rely on smartphones every day, he still chooses the comfort of a landline. For some older adults, newer technology is harder to maneuver while younger people find it to be second nature. This contrast reminds us of how easy it is to take our phones for granted which lets us forget how much they’ve evolved. In fact, most people don't stop to consider what's inside our smartphones that make this possible; semiconductor devices. This piece will provide more information on semiconductors devices and their role on smartphones by sharing my grandpa’s interview, the breakthroughs of semiconductors, and the impact they’ve had on society in our daily lives today.
To better understand life before and without semiconductor technology, I interviewed my grandfather since he grew up with cable phones and later watched smartphones appear. He described an era when communication moved at a slower pace and demanded patience. Privacy was rare because the phone’s fixed spot made every conversation a shared soundtrack for the household. When I asked why he still prefers a landline today, he explained that he likes the familiarity of it and that modern smartphones are complicated to learn for him. Listening to him helped me see how habits and comfort play a role in influencing our technology choices. It also sharpened the contrast with my own experience with phones. Because of semiconductor devices, I carry a pocket-sized computer that connects me instantly to friends and family, stores photos, and is accessible at any time. His continued reliance on older phones and my dependence on a smartphone just highlights how semiconductors have transformed everyday communication and became a part of daily life across generations and communities alike.
Now that we know that semiconductors are significant to technology today, what exactly are they? In short terms, semiconductor devices are microscopic electrical switches that can precisely control electricity. In huge numbers they form the chips that power every part of a smartphone; its brain, memory, camera, radios, screen, sensors, and power system. The major breakthrough that allowed this to happen is the invention of the transistor in 1947 which later earned the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956 for replacing bulky vacuum tubes and making electronics smaller, faster, and more reliable. Soon after in 1958, integrated circuits put many transistors on a single chip (Łukasiak & Jakubowski, p. 5), and Moore’s Law described how their numbers would keep doubling, creating fast progress (Łukasiak & Jakubowski, p. 7). All this led to stationery cable phones such as my grandfather’s being turned into pocket sized devices that have multifunctional uses aside from just calling and allow us to connect anywhere to people around the world.
Today, that same progress puts information, entertainment, and connection just a thumb-press away. That reality is built on decades of progress in microelectronics and these advancements are still accelerating at the national level. In 2024, the U.S. The Department of Energy committed $179 million to launch three Microelectronics Science Research Centers which were funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 in order to speed advances in materials, device design, and manufacturing (DOE, 2024). The initiative recognizes that AI, edge computing, and data-heavy apps need smaller and efficient technologies that can also work in extreme conditions like high radiation or cryogenic temperatures. These centers connect research to manufacturing, to turn discoveries into real components that will drive the next wave of consumer tech and infrastructure. Ultimately, this support keeps advancing the shift that began when cable phones gave way to mobile phones, setting the stage for what follows the smartphone in our daily lives today.
Looking back at my grandfather’s preferred phone choice to the smartphones in our pockets, one thread runs through it all, semiconductors. The transistor made electronics smaller and more reliable while integrated circuits packed millions of switches onto a chip. Today's national investments will push microelectronics even further. That progress is why a family phone once tethered to the living room became a private, always-on companion. Older generations may still choose the simplicity of a landline but my generation relies on semiconductor-powered phones for work, safety, and staying close to the people we love. The contrast isn’t just nostalgic, it’s a reminder that we shouldn’t take this technology for granted. As semiconductor innovation continues, it will shape how we connect and communicate long after the smartphone era, in daily life across communities and generations.
About the author: Bryanna Gonzalez is an undergraduate student in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, Merced. Her academic interests include sustainable energy technologies and data-driven engineering applications. She has conducted research in agrovoltaics through the CITRIS and the Banatao Institute alongside Professor Sarah Kurtz. She is actively involved in engineering organizations on campus and plans to pursue a career that integrates renewable energy with real-world problem solving.
Works Cited
"The Nobel Prize in Physics" 1956. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Thu. 4 Sep 2025. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1956/summary/
“History of Semiconductors” Cornell University. https://djena.engineering.cornell.edu/hws/history_of_semiconductors.pdf
“Department of Energy Announces $179 Million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers” U.S Department of Energy. https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/department-energy-announces-179-million-microelectronics-science-research-centers
Gonzalez, Roberto. Personal Interview. 23 Sept. 2025
