History Main / EveryDeviceIsASwissArmyKnife

* Apple achieved success with the iPhone and iPad by deliberately avoiding the worst aspects of this trope. Both iProducts defeated more powerful and versatile competitors by offering ''only'' the most popular functions out of the box and streamlining them to be as user friendly as possible rather than trying to 'open a whole new world of possibilities' like other companies' flagships.

See DoAnythingRobot for the humanoid example of this. Related to EverythingIsOnline. See also SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaid. See ShoePhone for when its primary function differs from the one you'd expect from its appearance. You might see a lot of {{SwissArmyWeapon}}s and {{SwissArmyGun}}s in a setting which uses this trope extensively. Taken to the extreme it might result in a GreenLanternRing.

See DoAnythingRobot for the humanoid example of this. Related to EverythingIsOnline. See also SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaid. See ShoePhone for when it's primary function differs from the one you'd expect from its appearance. You might see a lot of {{SwissArmyWeapon}}s and {{SwissArmyGun}}s in a setting which uses this trope extensively. Taken to the extreme it might result in a GreenLanternRing.

* AxeCop. His axe has dozens of functions (normal axe, axe-shooting gun, skateboard, guitar, etc.), and his mustache is a multifunction robot.

* Modern {{PC}}s in general.
* How often do you use your smartphone to call someone, as opposed to texting, surfing the web, taking pictures, listening to music, playing games, getting directions...?

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver. It can (of course) unlock anything but a deadlock, it can scan for nearly anything, and it can do all kinds of hacking with its psychic interface. It cannot, however, triplicate the flammability of port.

Remember the good old days when a phone did what it was intended to do and nothing else? Remember when game consoles and handhelds were for precisely games? Not so anymore. In a more contemporary (and/or futuristic) setting where folks have high expectations in terms of technology, any device that doesn't have multiple functions beyond its initial one is better of being classed off as Crapola Tech even when it genuinely does work. The general logic of the "jack of all trades" convenience being superior to the specialized frequently plays a part in this. And on certain occasions, SpyFiction will feature technology of this caliber, particularly in the form of [[WeaponizedCar weaponized vehicles]]. A common joke related to this is that the machine is so complicated, people can't figure out how to use it for its intended purpose. Most definitely TruthInTelevision.

See DoAnythingRobot for the humanoid example of this. Related to EverythingIsOnline. See also TheMario and SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaid. See ShoePhone for when it's primary function differs from the one you'd expect from its appearance. You might see a lot of {{SwissArmyWeapon}}s and {{SwissArmyGun}}s in a setting which uses this trope extensively. Taken to the extreme it might result in a GreenLanternRing.

* On a smaller nature was the Starfleet Tricorder, essentially an iPod that did anything the plot demanded. Except, oddly enough, be a communicator.

* ''DoctorWho'': The Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver. It can (of course) unlock anything but a deadlock, it can scan for nearly anything, and it can do all kinds of hacking with its psychic interface. It cannot, however, triplicate the flammability of port.

* How often do you use your iPhone to call someone, as opposed to texting, surfing the web, taking pictures, listening to music, playing games, getting directions...?

* Omnitool in ''MassEffect'' is a bracelet that acts as a set of tools for a ship mechanic, a lockpick, a number of scanners, a communicator/laptop and an EMP weapon capable of overloading enemy shields. The name says it all, really.

See DoAnythingRobot for the humanoid example of this. Related to EverythingIsOnline. See also TheMario and SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaid. See ShoePhone for when it's primary function differs from the one you'd expect from its appearance. Contrast WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer which is where a device is used in this way regardless of its actual flexibility.

See DoAnythingRobot for the humanoid example of this. Related to EverythingIsOnline. See also TheMario and SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaid. See ShoePhone for when it's primary function differs from the one you'd expect from its appearance.

* Obligatory ''{{Discworld}}'' example: the Lancrastian Army Knife in ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'', which has a number of strange and metaphysical features such as the Device for Ascerting the Truth of a Given Statement and the Attachment for Winning Ontological Arguments. There's ''probably'' a blade in there somewhere as well...

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Modern {{PC}}s in general.
* How often do you use your iPhone to call someone, as opposed to texting, surfing the web, taking pictures, listening to music, playing games, getting directions...?

* Every device available to ''InspectorGadget'' had this nature.

* PlayedForLaughs with Randall Peltzer's inventions in {{Gremlins}}. Particularly the Bathroom Buddy.

* DoctorWho 's Sonic Screwdriver. It can (of course) unlock anything but a deadlock, it can scan for nearly anything, and it can do all kinds of hacking with its psychic interface. It cannot, however, triplicate the flammability of port.
* "Globals" in EarthFinalConflict were a spot-on prediction of smart phones from back in the mid-nineties. Looking at the way the characters use them (like pocket sized laptops), they could easily be iPhones or Droids. They even have a camera function.
* In the StarTrek universe, the deflector dish's role is to push particles and small objects out of the way so they don't collide with the ship at warp speed. Throughout [[StarTrekVoyager Voyager]], however, the deflector dish was somehow "reconfigured" to do just about anything, becoming a common DeusExMachina.

* Omnitool in MassEffect is a bracelet that acts as a set of tools for a ship mechanic, a lockpick, a number of scanners, a communicator/laptop and an EMP weapon capable of overloading enemy shields. The name says it all, really.

* One episode of TimeSquad had Buck getting a brand-new laser gun with a myriad of functions...so many, in fact, that he couldn't figure out how to make it shoot lasers.

Laconic: All devices have mass customization.

* Modern {{PC}}s in general are the MostTriumphantExample of this.