Get on-board before the trend hits.
What does a world ten years from now look like when you wake up, and instead of going straight for your phone, you put on a pair of glasses, and then say, “What’s on my schedule?” And the things you need to do today appear before your eyes, and then you glance at the coffee machine, and quietly say, “Get me more pods,” and they’re delivered — no touch screen, no swipe, no glowing rectangle competing for your attention.
That’s the kind of world this prediction is painting.
Not a world without technology, but rather a world where the smartphone is no longer the main character. Your phone will remain the computer in your pocket that does all of the heavy lifting, while your AI-powered wearable, specifically normal-looking AR glasses, becomes your primary device, your way of looking and talking to your digital life.
Currently, your smartphone is your window to the online world; however, it is also a bottleneck. To access information on the web, you have to pull out your phone, unlock it, open the application, and tap through multiple layers of menus.
The current wave of innovation in technology is working to eliminate that friction by developing products that sit on your face, shirt, or arm, and are constantly listening for your voice commands, seeing what you see, and providing immediate responses via visuals, audio cues, or slight visual queues.
In that world, you look at a foreign menu and say, “Translate this,” and glance at a broken piece of equipment and say, “Show me how to fix this.” Or whisper “Remember her name,” and a small pop-up overlay displays her name. The phone will not disappear, but it will cease to be the controlling mechanism. The phone will remain the brain trust behind everything. But your glasses (or other wearables) will control the experience.
At its core is a larger shift in how we interact with technology. Currently, we speak to AI through apps, chat windows etc., we still point, type, click, and scroll.
In the future described in this prediction, we will speak much more than we type. We will show much more than we search. Our AI agents will intuitively know our preferences/, likes/dislikes/history/context, etc.
Instead of using five applications to book a vacation trip, you’ll simply say something such as: “Book me a long weekend getaway in October sometime in a warm destination for less than $1000. Only give me options that provide non-stop flights.”
Your AI agent will handle booking the trip. Oftentimes, while you walk down the street.
But this impending trend will not create the same feeling for everyone. For example, busy parents who are traveling with children will appreciate having hands-free assistance with getting directions to places they need to go. They’ll be able to receive reminders for upcoming events. They’ll be able to make or receive calls without having to dig for their phone. And students/Workers will appreciate receiving real-time captioning during lectures. They will also appreciate instant document summaries. During presentations, they will enjoy quiet prompts. And older adults will benefit from gentle health reminders and easier navigation around town.
However, there will also be some concerns surrounding this. For example, some individuals will feel uncomfortable wearing camera-equipped devices on their faces. Others will worry about being captured or analyzed without their permission. Many will simply think “I’m happy with my phone…Why should I change?”
Therefore, the large questions consumers will ask themselves when considering a post-smartphone trend are not entirely technological. Rather, they are related to issues of Privacy (“Can someone see what my glasses see?”), Social Norms (“Is it considered impolite to wear these in a meeting?”), Mental Health (“Would I want a device that follows me everywhere?”), and Cost (“Will only those with means be able to purchase the better models?”).
So will phones no longer be our most important device in 10 years?
Answer: Ultimately, as I hinted above, you can anticipate a lengthy coexistence period. Some users will be quick to adopt AR-glasses/wearables. Others will hold onto their smartphones, similar to how some users continue to hold onto flip phones. And most will utilize both for extended periods of time.
You probably don’t need to run out immediately to purchase AR glasses. However, if you’d like to prepare yourself for where this prediction indicates technology is headed, it would be helpful to begin familiarizing yourself with interacting with technology via voice commands. Also, notice how you feel about AR-wearables and privacy. Finally, identify which daily activities currently seem cumbersome when using your phone — those are the first ones AI devices will attempt to replace.
If this predicted trend develops as envisioned by its proponents, the future won’t feel like one day your phone stopped working. Rather, it will feel like one day you realized you hadn’t removed your phone from your pocket the entire day — and you missed it too.
