I don’t think it’s one product, but the convergence of everything. The difference between the average persons iPhone/iPad/Computer is shrinking by the day. Soon all your data will be accessible everywhere, and seamless enough the average person isn’t going to notice the bridge between devices.
Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
11–20 of 29 posts
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#12[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#13A chip inside your brain if the transistor gets small enough.
I agree, at least as far as direct brain-to-device communication, blue-tooth-like. You won't need a screen, you just "think" to the UI. I suspect this trend will start in some poorly regulated country and when they show promising results, research interest will spike and safer products will then come out.
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#14Smart watches. They will do everything that a smart phone can do today minus the display and camera. When you need a display or keyboard, you will walk up to a work station which is literally nothing more than a display and keyboard that connects to your watch via Bluetooth. The watches CPU and storage is the primary compute resource. The smart watch will also be used to authenticate you. Three factor authentication will be the norm: watch, PIN, and thumbprint.
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#15Asking in 2020 what will replace the smartphone feels like asking in 1950 what will replace the motor car.
Augmented Reality contact lenses are the modern equivalent of 1950s predictions of nuclear-powered flying cars.
I don't think smartphones will really be replaced for forty years or more. It sounds like a long time but it really isn't. We've not come that far since the original iPhone. And that itself wasn't that much of a leap from various form factors five to ten years earlier - just a lot slicker in terms of UI. So phones will just get better. One can easily imagine the battery tech improving, perhaps practical rollable or foldable screens, lighter weight, etc. Fundamentally one wants something that easily fits in a pocket (current modern flagship phones are too large), provides a good display for interactive content and allows silent text and voice input.
I think cars, phones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers and TVs will all converge more in terms of control interfaces. There's plenty of evidence of this already with Android Auto in things like the new Polestar 2, the decline of custom TV software in favour of Android/Amazon's FireTV OS, etc. That's felt around the corner for years now, but feels like it might finally happen soon.
Evolution not revolution, in other words.
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#16Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#17AR contact lens
+1, Sony has patent.
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#18Smart watches. They will do everything that a smart phone can do today minus the display and camera. When you need a display or keyboard, you will walk up to a work station which is literally nothing more than a display and keyboard that connects to your watch via Bluetooth. The watches CPU and storage is the primary compute resource. The smart watch will also be used to authenticate you. Three factor authentication…
I have to respectfully disagree here. Smart watches are not really useful in most on-the-go situations. E.g., on a subway and wanting to read the news or play a game.
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#19Autonomous vehicles. It’s a lame answer but hear me out. When you look at many of the major developments in human history many of them have been about connecting things. Often times connecting people but sometimes goods, if you look at containerization (not docker, real containers on ships). Autonomous vehicles just open up a massive new wave of being able to connect people to people, things to people, and things to things on a scale and speed that is not possible today. It will likely change all infrastructure around us, and therefore may be the thing that “replaces” the mobile phone. Not saying all interactions will happen in person but communication will change to something we might be able to imagine in this moment.
Re: Ask HN: What Will Replace Smartphones?
#20Smart watches. They will do everything that a smart phone can do today minus the display and camera. When you need a display or keyboard, you will walk up to a work station which is literally nothing more than a display and keyboard that connects to your watch via Bluetooth. The watches CPU and storage is the primary compute resource. The smart watch will also be used to authenticate you. Three factor authentication…
They might be interesting to use for authentication and maybe even cashless payments. Everything in my wallet - cards, identification, licenses, should be set into a smart watch. Bonus points if I can get driving directions on it.