GoKawiilApple execs reportedly once expected the iPhone to be replaced by smart glasses by 2029, with Eddy Cue later updating this prediction to 2035.
However, one high-profile former ardent supporter of this idea has now changed his mind completely, and now believes that we will still be using smartphones 20 years from now …
Smart glasses replacing smartphones
Neal Stephenson first coined the term “metaverse” in his novel Snowcrash, and later worked as chief futurist at Magic Leap. Snowcrash described virtual reality goggles, and essentially described the kinds of three-dimensional virtual worlds that would be created by Meta and others.
Stevenson later went on to argue that smart glasses were the future, saying it was “obvious” that they would replace smartphones within 20 years. Apple too appeared to share this view – a report about an internal company presentation in 2019 said:
Longer-term, Apple believes this type of device will eventually replace smartphones, execs telling the team this will happen ‘in roughly a decade.’
SVP Eddy Cue appeared to echo this view only last year, though he still considered it to be ten years away from then.
“You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now as crazy as it sounds,” he said. “The only way you truly have true competition is when you have technology shifts. Technology shifts create these opportunities.
Though it should be noted he was using this argument in an antitrust hearing to suggest that nothing could be taken for granted, including the continued success of the iPhone.
Stephenson no longer believes in this future
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