According to a recent study based on a hundred thousand respondents concluded that mobile phones are going to be replaced by artificial intelligence and upgraded mobile technology. Though the technology experts are predicting their death soon, we don’t think they will cease to awe the user this soon. The time has yet to see what will possibly replace our most prized possession.
Matt Weinberger, a prominent technology reporter, is of the view that smartphones if, at all, eliminated then the advent of technologies like voice and physical gesture activated devices, VR, and augmented realities would be the sole contributors to that occurrence.
As shocking as it sounds to most of us looks like it does have some truth backing it. Our beloved mobile phone, the one we are used to spending the most time of our day with is being led towards extinction. Sounds surprising? Feels too soon to be true? Well, it is. It’s no surprise that mobile phone companies for the very first time are facing “softer-than-expected” demand. This rectangular pocket-size device has been with us for decades and as the technological world is moving at a great pace, this could be one of the things it might engulf on its way towards progress. Just as mobile phones did, ages ago.
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Our Swiss Army Knife
Starting their journey from simple standard-sized phones mostly used for making calls, where the most enticing feature would be to have “Snakes” in it. Then came the camera phones, a breakthrough in mobile phone technology. Growing ever since their inception, the mobile phone companies introduced Smartphones, gaining popularity among the masses as the Swiss Army Knife, the all-purpose solution to our communication and entertainment needs. Looks like every invention has a limited age, and so do our pocket-fitting mobile phones are coming of age. It is being predicted that voice-activated smart assistants are going to be the ones immediately replacing this product thus connecting users in ways different than mobiles did. Hence for many tech giants, it is argued that coming years would be the time for mobile technology but not for mobile phones.
Mobile phones – inception and growth
We might live in a future where we may not have this prized possession of ours, we are used to seeing it first thing every morning as if one cannot start a day without it. We might just ask our voice home assistant to go through our social media highlights, make appointments, respond to emails or messages, and call our family instead of us (not a great idea though, but it is possible and being vastly utilized). For over a decade smartphones have grown from shiny devices with attractive features, HD screens, and great cameras to servicing more complicated needs with cloud technology. According to experts, if anything more can keep the appeal alive, it could be the shift from rectangular devices to more curvy and foldable ones. And such devices have very recently been launched by many tech giants like Samsung.
What might knock out our Prized Possession?
Flexible displays are rushing in as a thing of the future, small enough to fit the pocket and expandable up to 10-14 inches to handle more serious work. Microsoft’s Andromeda is a reported foldable tablet and other companies following suit, have launched similar products in 2019 and the following years. This appears to be another one of Microsoft’s first-mover initiatives to do the 2-in-1 PCs, which now happen to be one of the most popular steps. In defense of the claim that mobile phones might be dying but it is just the beginning of mobile technology.
With the development of this technology, the effort on our behalf would be reduced significantly as compared to the times when we have to enter everything manually/haptic-ally. The future artificially intelligent entities like Siri, Alexa, or Cortana will learn through our behaviors, adapt, and grow their algorithms to our personalized needs and sometimes do things before we even realize we needed to do it.
Intelligent Implantations
Another breakthrough from MIT’s Media Lab by Arnav Kapur is “Alter Ego”, as he calls it. He claims the device being able to do sub-vocalization (speaking to our heads). The technology is capable of detecting questions in the mind, google-ing it, and transmit answers through bone vibrations to our ears that we can choose to speak. Although very raw, but this technology is creating waves in the tech sector, where you can silently google questions and have answers at the tip of your tongue. However useful, the future of these technologies depends highly on the future of better internet connections. Check CenturyLink to have yours already.
This technology has numerous future applications, just as if something skips our mind when we are trying to recall, it may flash in front of our eyes or like Alter Ego, may whisper it in your ear.
However, the race is just beginning according to CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber as it will raise serious concerns for the consumer privacy dilemma if the developers are equipped with all these tools to play around and innovate with.
Blaber claims that no wonder Amazon will have to fight to maintain its mark in market share but Alexa, for Amazon is a visionary development that is only going to grow positively.
Conclusion
Research claims that households using home assistants use their cell phones a lot less around them. Approximately 66 percent of owners of digital assistants, using early-stage Artificial Intelligence say they use their smartphones less for entertainment, searching general information, and online purchasing when around them. They slowly are becoming the central hub for all activities at home.
Their easier accessibility and quality service are attracting more and more people into buying them. As eerie as it might sound to most of us, it sure is going to take some time until this wave gains momentum.