Phones are dead.
I love my phone. It’s a nuisance, but I love it. Unfortunately, it’s destined for extinction.
In the very near future you’ll carry: Smartwatch + Earpiece + Visor + Tablet
At a minimum
… you’ll have a smartwatch and an earpiece. Notifications and calls will be routed to your watch. To accept a call, tap your watch and then just talk through your earpiece. Need to ask Google a question? Press the watch face and listen for Google’s pleasant little chime sound in your earpiece, and then start talking, “Where is the nearest laundromat?” Someone sent you a Vine video? You’ll watch it on your wrist. No phone necessary.
The nerdiest of us
… will also have a “heads-up display”. (I hope we just call it “glasses” or maybe a “visor” if we want to feel futuristic.) It’ll work like Google Glass but look like a regular pair of glasses. This is where you’ll watch the 3 minute YouTube videos that friends send you. This is where you’ll see search results when you search for “What does a Klein bottle look like?” This is where the emoji that people send you in Facebook messenger will appear (and then disappear). This is where you’ll look when mom calls you on Facetime. No phone needed.
The tablet?
You’ll save that for when you’re sitting in a self-driving Uber for 15 minutes and want to catch up on the latest episode of Silicon Valley but don’t feel like digging your Oculus out of your backpack.