Are Smartphones Going to Be Obsolete in a Few Years?

Technology has come a long way since the first smartphone was made available for consumers in 1994. Ever since smartphones have hit the market, almost all consumers have relied on them to get through their lives. Smartphones have forever changed the way we interact with one another and stay connected to the world. They have also altered our lives in terms of the way we operate in the world by making a notable transformation in numerous industries. We are now able to order food without even talking to anyone (even over a call), connect to our close ones through social media apps, and do so much more with the help of a single device.

Smartphones, as we know them today, have so many features like touchscreen displays, high-definition cameras, and high-tech features like 3D recognition. While back in the day, these gadgets were primarily used to make calls, we now use them for listening to music, browsing the internet, playing games, and watching video content, from 6-second clips to full-fledged feature films!

Before the smartphone revolution, it was common to possess several gadgets for performing different tasks; an MP3 player to store and listen to all your music, a film camera to click pictures, and even handheld game consoles to play games. However, following the smartphone outburst, these gadgets gradually became obsolete. Smartphones have now become our constant companion and have absorbed the capabilities of a PC, television, camera, and similar gadgets along the way.

However, smartphones are over 25 years old now, which in the technology industry might as well be 250 years. The manufacturers have incorporated almost everything they could, in your pocket-sized device, be it on-screen fingerprint sensors, face-recognition features, or multiple-lens cameras. The disheartening truth, however, is that smartphone innovations are grinding to a halt. Nowadays, every smartphone looks and feels the same and comes with only slightly upgraded features. Even adding a curve to a smartphone’s rectangular shape has now become run of the mill. Our smartphones are filled with super clever features which we might not even know exist, and certainly, have never used.

So the question remains, will the smartphone, one of the most omnipresent gadgets in our lives today, ever cease to exist? When this question comes to mind, there are a few thoughts that emerge; one is to think about the decline of smartphone sales, and the other is an optimistic thought about the possibility of better technology in the future.

What Comes Next?

A device like a smartphone on which almost every person depends today, won’t evaporate that easily. It might be modified into a computing device that provides the smarts of the gadget that’s your current information source, whether it is a wearable device like a smartwatch, smart glasses, a digital voice, or even something that is directly connected to your brain. The technical aspects that powers today’s smartphones will evolve and probably make it possible to walk around and grab information without even looking at a screen.

More Powerful 5G Smartphones

With each leap in the Generations, we experience unexpected and impossible technological advances. With the introduction of 3G, there was better video calling clarities; with 4G, live streaming of videos and movies, and playing online games became possible. Once 5G is up and running to its full potential, we’ll be able to experience something that was never even imagined before! Superfast download and upload speeds, introduction to autonomous vehicles, and better public safety and infrastructure, are just some of the predictions of 5G networks. It will be a huge step in the right direction, towards augmented and virtual reality.

Artificial Intelligence Embedded in Our Devices

Artificial Intelligence is going to play a crucial role in making small devices into viable alternatives to devices like PCs or laptops, even for complex tasks. Soon enough, one would be able to edit movies and videos on smartphones just like you would do on a proper editing system. While Google has already leapt forward in this direction, as Google Photos is able to edit simple videos on our smartphones with the help of machine learning. Even if an individual isn’t good at editing videos, they can leave it to Google and it will simply do it for them.

Smart Assistants

When voice assistants were first introduced in the world with Siri, back in 2011, no one ever predicted that these voice assistants would be a driver for technological innovation. Companies like Amazon and Google are constantly fueling this trend. Voice interface is evolving at a fast rate in a lot of industries, as companies are continuously innovating as per the consumers’ demands. This shift is a result of touch being less intuitive and responsive than voice commands, which get your job done instantly with the help of more powerful assistants.

As far as mobility is concerned, mobile phones might be replaced by Apple’s Siri in your car or Amazon’s Alexa in your home. Smart assistants will be integrated pretty much everywhere you travel in your daily lives and will eliminate your need to carry a handheld device!

More Capable Wearable Devices

Wearable technology is becoming extremely popular. With the integration of smart assistant technology and virtual reality, one will be able to do anything that a smartphone can do, except with something that you can wrap around your wrist, tuck in your clothes, glasses, or even something that is implanted in your brain. You’ll no longer need to pick up your phone to make payments, calls or send text messages. This has brought us closer to the point where people prefer technology that would get more work done without carrying too much around.

Augmented Reality Could Be the Next Big Thing

Augmented reality blends virtual reality with the real world. Companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, Tencent, and Alibaba, have all announced sizeable investments in Augmented Reality, a digital overlay atop of the real world. AR is already present on our mobile phones in the form of filters on apps like Instagram and Snapchat, or even in games like Pokemon Go.

Once we have unrestricted access to AR, we no longer would be required to experience products at a physical store. In the future, AR will allow us to try on products anywhere we want, like in our workstation or in the comfort of our homes!

The phones in the future will be smaller, and more compact, seamless and powerful. Everything that will be connected to a smartphone, or whatever device that replaces it, will communicate smoothly with almost every virtual device. The devices of the future, whatever form they end up taking, will still drive the smartphones’ mobile computing experiences of tomorrow.