Kodak always thought of a camera as a separate device. People had to think, "I am going out, should I take my camera with me?" But then people started carrying around smartphones, and the phones had cameras included with them. The quality wasn't quite as good, but it was "good enough," and so people suddenly stopped choosing to carry along their separate camera, because what they were already carrying was good enough. Kodak was completely locked out of the phone market, and never saw that coming.
I agree that we are going through a period of tremendous transformation. There will be a lot of wonderful things that will come about, but a lot of pain for individuals to adjust. The great depression was like that too. It was prolonged because the transformation from a horse based society to a car based society was occurring at the time, throwing people out of work, with little skills for the new economy. This is why I am strongly against the large immigration that we are allowing right now. It would be easier to digest rapid technological growth if we were not also absorbing lots of immigrants, which typically have performed the work we are now getting rid of.
Kodak was killed by digital cameras,not smartphones. Compact digital cameras,in particular, a huge segment of the camera market, has been killed by smartphones.
I hate using my phone for photos. It’s an Apple but the photos are always blurry. We prefer the separate camera.