In the desktop world, we have the option to use the command line: a uniform interface for a multitude of apps that would otherwise be very different when implemented as GUIs.
Using the same interface, I can move or edit files, cross out tasks on my to-do list, retrieve my password for my email account (using Bitwarden or pass), etc. All in the command line. The GUI for each of those are wildly different.
The other benefit is it is very easy to create a new command line app, as opposed to a GUI.
Is anything like this possible for the smartphone world (even if it doesn’t or will never exist)? What would it look like?
Since smartphone typing is much slower, we can’t simply reuse the command line. We’d need something different. An interface that can still support a various spectrum of different operations, yet ergonomic for a smartphone. What are your thoughts?
I use the CLI because it’s keyboard-focused (though I use lots of mouse-enabled TUIs) and because it’s programmable.
Generally though, I kind of get what you’re trying to say, but ‘uniformity’ feels like an unfortunate choice in the context of your question, as the meaning can be very arbitrarily defined, hence the confusion. I could, for example, claim that GUIs are more uniform because all chat apps, browsers etc… are so similar to each other that once I’ve learned one I can use all.
Which is why It’d probably be better if you tried to reword your initial question avoiding that term, focussing more on describing the desired benefits of your definition of uniformity.
Otherwise I’d point towards voice recognition, as that’s very similar to a CLI, but probably not what you had in mind, I’m guessing?