For almost thirty years, smartphones have been central to our everyday routines, helping us communicate, navigate, and entertain ourselves. But Zuckerberg thinks we might be nearing the end of the smartphone era. It’s tough to picture life without one, but he insists the shift is already happening.
He mentioned, “The trend in computing is to become more omnipresent, more natural, and more social. You want to interact with people around you seamlessly, and I think that will probably be the next big platform after phones,”
His idea is that smart glasses will let users access info, chat, and engage with digital content in a more natural way, without the constant need to look at a screen. He envisions a future where people will grab their phones less often, opting instead for the ease of augmented reality (AR) glasses.
While swapping out a smartphone for glasses might seem far-fetched, major tech companies like Apple and Meta are pouring resources into wearable tech. Meta is working on the Orion smart glasses, and Apple has introduced the Vision Pro, signaling a potential shift in personal technology.
Zuckerberg predicts that by the 2030s, smartphones will take a backseat, with AR smart glasses becoming the go-to device, providing real-time info, hands-free interactions, and even AI virtual assistants ready to help on the fly.
He foresees a time when your smartphone will spend more time in your pocket than in your hand, as users will prefer the convenience of glasses to get things done.
This new wave of smart glasses has the potential to take over a bunch of smartphone tasks, such as:
- Navigating in real-time without needing to check a screen.
- Quick access to news, weather updates, and notifications via an AR interface.
- Effortless communication, letting users make calls, send texts, and surf the web without holding a device.
Even though smart glasses are still in their infancy, the tech world is quickly heading towards wearable computing. With progress in augmented reality, AI, and lightweight display tech, everything is coming together for a future where smartphones aren't the center of our digital lives anymore.
Smartphones are a huge part of our daily routines, so moving to smart glasses will need not just tech advancements but also a shift in how we think about them.
However, with big tech companies racing to create the next-gen AR gadgets, it looks like our digital habits are bound to change.
Experts suggest that it’s still unclear if smart glasses will fully replace smartphones or just serve as an alternative, but one thing is for sure—our interaction with technology is on the brink of a major transformation.