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The world was dramatically changed when Alexander Graham Bell invented the revolutionary first telephone in 1876. Telephonic gadgets have been a mainstay of the modern world and an integral component of our daily lives since then. Of course, phones have come a long way from those early cable phones to today’s high-tech smartphones, but the core concept remains the same. They’ve only gained in popularity since the invention of the telephone. The vast majority of the population now owns a smartphone and utilises it on a regular basis.
Indeed, it’s hard to imagine a world without cell phones, but it’s possible that in a few decades that will be the reality. We’re already witnessing the beginnings of technology that has the potential to replace smartphones, and as this technology advances and grows more sophisticated, cell phones repair as we know them may become obsolete.
Let’s take a closer look at three significant technical advancements that could someday render cell phones obsolete.
1. Wearable Tech / Augmented Reality
Wearable technology is already common – think Google Glass, fitness bracelets, and smartwatches – but some futurists believe we’ve merely scratched the surface of this game-changing technology. While Google Glass may have been a flop, the technology was still in its infancy at the time. Every year, augmented reality becomes more sophisticated, and many experts expect that it will reach new heights in the next decade or so. Consider a pair of smart glasses that, by sensing the movement of your pupils or via bone conduction technology, allow you to accomplish anything your smartphone can. All from the comfort of your glasses, you can now check emails, send messages, play games, make phone calls, and shoot photos. Imagine they can also deliver real-time information about what you’re looking at right in front of you, similar to what you’d see in a spy movie. Isn’t that the kind of technology that will render cell phones obsolete? So, who knows for sure? What we do know is that this technology is almost certainly on the horizon. In a few years, the next generation of smart glasses and goggles may render our current smartphone devices obsolete. Many large tech corporations have already begun investing a significant portion of their research resources into this field. Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and other companies are examples of this. It’s also not only goggles and glasses. In-ear implants and AirPods are two examples of wearable technology that are growing increasingly advanced. If this type of wearable technology becomes sophisticated enough, futurists and tech experts believe it will completely replace not only smartphones, but also any other screen-based devices you may own. There will be no need for anything else if technology can beam movies, games, and whatever else you do on a screen directly into your eyes.
2. Virtual Reality
Now we move on from augmented reality to virtual reality, which is much more immersive. Virtual reality headsets have come a long way since the first novelty devices we saw a few years ago, but there’s still a long way to go. Futurists anticipate that one day, technology will improve to the point where it will be difficult to tell the difference between virtual reality and reality. Virtual reality technology, in this ideal, will not only influence what you see and hear, but also all of your other senses. Full-body virtual reality outfits, for example, are already in development and will allow you to experience virtual reality. Imagine combining that with movement pads that allow you to roam around in a virtual world, and we’d have a virtual playground at our fingertips. Smartphones would quickly become obsolete if this type of technology was widely available and everybody could access the virtual world. You could simply walk into a world where you can engage physically with your emails, games, and everything else instead of using your smartphone. You might think it to be science fiction at the moment, but who knows what will happen in the future.
What About the Immediate Future?
We’ve been gazing ahead so far. All of the technology we’ve discussed so far is unlikely to take off until the long future. Don’t panic; smartphones aren’t going away anytime soon. Our smartphones will only get better and better in the near future. Air-changing screens, bendable screens, and total waterproofing are just a few of the new technical innovations that will be available in the next few years.