What Will Replace Smartphones?

I don't think there's a replacement. I see it getting more powerful but there won't be a replacement anytime soon. I think it's like saying what will replace the bicycle. The answer is , there is no replacement.

The big issue is: how do you request information? Voice, is impractical. There's no direct mental link. I see minor improvements but no replacement. At least within our lifetimes.

> Smartphones were sort of obvious. We didn’t predict we’d all be using phones as primary devices per se, but it was obviously going to be some portable screen computer device.

It was a wide prediction, for a long time, sure.

> We’ve all heard about wearable computers, VR/AR. Well the technologies here and nothing seems revolutionary.

We had “portable screen computer devices” a long time before smartphones clicked, too. Handheld devices with full programmability, and the ability to load software, existed a long time before even the first pre-iPhone smartphones, and even pre-iPhone smartphones and PDAs weren’t convincing as the broad “portable screen computer device” that everyone expected, but no one had seen the right implementation of.

So the predictions of wearables (maybe integrated in a personal-area-network) being the next thing may be spot on – we may just be for wearables where “portable screen computing” was in the days of the Apple Newton.

> People love to fantasize about wearable devices tracking bio information, doing away with checkups. We all know how the Theranos story went, you just can’t do it.

Wearable monitors for various bioinformation exist, and did so before Theranos was dreamt of. Theranos was a fraud, but that doesn't negate wearable biomonitor devices, which continue to advance.

> VR is impractical, having to use parts of your body for what used to be at your finger tips is a step backwards.

Fingertips are part of your body, so, no, its not a step backward to use a part of your body for something that used to use a part of your body.

> The amount of obscure gestures one would need to know, they might as well learn command line.

Is this an argument for why smartphones won’t be replaced by VR, or for why smartphones won’t replace keyboards? Because you seem to be presenting it as the first, but it seems to make as much or more sense for the second. Turns out, people actually are fine learning “obscure gestures”.

I really hope something ergonomic replaces smartphones. The size means everything is modal, and also implies an unusably tiny li'l fucking horrible keyboard. Also text input is often too small to contain context for what you're writing. In the sun, the screen is unreadable. They're expensive, yet fragile, a bad combo.

Somebody replace these pieces of wet garbage, I beg of you.

Hopefully nothing. I don't want to go back to phoneless life, and I also don't really want AR Glasses all day.

Wearable bio trackers will happen eventually, but that's a phone accessory, not a phone replacement.

The closest thing to a real replacement may be flip phones, for some people who choose to use them.

However, I very much hope future Androids get side touch scrollbars, and we move the keyboard up by a bunch for less thumb bending. The ergonomics could use some tweaks now that they're primary devices for most.

For me smartphone screens are too small, the keyboards too fiddly and yet too big in my pocket and due to their size easy to drop.

How about a flip phone, like the Nokia 2720, but with an Apple M2 SoC and camera. When you activate its HotSpot any device can connect to it via WiFi and use it as a personal server. That way you can have a convenient sized screen, keyboard and any other devices. It basically would be like a ChromeBox in your pocket.

The wrist watch replaced the pocket watch, and the wrist phone will replace the pocket phone.

Paired with AR glasses though, for screen size.

I used to think that about smartwatches, but after buying one, I don't anymore. It makes a lot of things really easy, much easier than the same task on a smartphone. For example – buying stuff via contactless card (by scanning the watch) is extremely convenient and has mostly replaced my physical wallet.

My guess: the future is a smartwatch linked to eyetracking-based AR glasses. Looking at a screen will seem blasé in 2050.

I'd vote on smart contact lenses or ear implants, depending on whether augmented reality or voice recognition are better.

The less we have to think about interacting with computers, the more prevalent they'll be.

We've kind of min/maxed the design of the smartphone at this point. It's at a physical minimum: a touchscreen and maybe a couple of buttons, but it's also at a utility maximum: you can do almost anything with a phone that you need to use a computer for.

What's next would be what comes after an advanced computer in your pocket. Logically, that must be either a wearable or an implantable device.

At some point, they stopped being phones and became extremely powerful all-purpose computing devices. What comes next?

I just wish alternate form factors of phones had gotten more attention. A plain glass rectangle is absolutely a local minimum of design, but I think it's very far from the best form factor.

For my money, I bet we're stuck with phones until implants become commonplace. There's just not that much else you can do with the 'computer in pocket' form factor

My only other thought is if we discover a reliable method for producing holograms. Then we'll probably see something similar in form to a phone, but which projects a full desktop computer environment, or whatever computing environment is appropriate for the task.

Earbone pods with personal AI concierge/friend. Kind of K.I.T.T. in head.

It will be constantly hearing and learning user habits to entertain and serve one. Conversation will be fluent like with real human. User can set it up to allow active mentor mode, to get advices during any life activities.

Then some kind of minimalistic bent display in form of wearable bracelet, wider than any smartwatch, touch sensitive, equiped with sensors and cameras, synced with that AI asistant will be used to present or record graphical information: maps, pictures, video.