I grew up programming in late 1970s. Early computers were simple, simple to understand, and simple to program - whether in assembler, BASIC, or anything else.

I grew up programming in late 1970s. Early computers were simple, simple to understand, and simple to program - whether in assembler, BASIC, or anything else. The closest modern equivalent to the early 70s/80s computers as something to learn programming on are things like the Arduino. Smartphones just don't compare - they are inherently complex, not fully open/documented anyways, and tooling doesn't help. Can't even develop for an iPhone without owning a Mac too.