We are all aware of the pace and the pervasive nature of technology. Every aspect of our lives is touched by it and it is sometimes difficult to believe that the things that we take for granted didn’t even exist only decades ago.

Technology has really influenced and in many cases, completely changed the various fields of human endeavour. But perhaps the one that changes the most and keeps getting reinvented, is the field of computing.

One after the other we keep getting introduced to such powerful devices that not only change computing itself but influence our entire lives on a much deeper level.

From computers to smartphones to tablets, newer technology has influenced the way we live and work and if you thought we were only getting habituated with it, think again, because there might be another revolution brewing up in the horizon.

An AR Revolution

There is this brand new technology called “Augmented Reality” that most tech companies in the world are heavily researching upon and developing. It has the potential to change a lot of things that I have written about here.

You might have come across just a glimpse of AR in the popular game Pokemon Go, in Snapchat’s Lenses, Messenger’s selfie masks and probably elsewhere. Basically AR means overlaying virtual objects and computer graphics on the real world. And these are not even 1% of AR’s true potential.

Such is the promise of this new tech that some people are touting it as a replacement of most of our other computing devices and one of them is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. At Facebook, the believe that in just 5 years, we will all be using AR glasses that we will wear all the time and this will begin the death of the smartphones.

Yes, AR will vastly change a lot of our computing abilities and habits but will it really, totally replace, say, smartphones and tablets? I don’t think so.

Why It Won’t Happen

I don’t see AR completely replace the devices that we use today. Not even in the next 10 years as some experts are predicting.

Yes, AR headsets or glasses will be an extra piece of technology we will own and use quite a lot but they won’t replace our smartphones.

Let’s see why.

Aesthetics

Augmented Reality right now is experienced with the help of the smartphone but in the not so distant future, we will get to experience it through AR glasses and even AR contact lenses.

The problem however is that AR contact lenses are way into the future and AR glasses will be too clunky to wear all the time.

Can you imagine huge glasses being worn by just about everyone? Even if they manage to somehow incorporate all the technology into sunglass-sized AR glasses, I doubt we will be wearing them all the time.

Obtrusive

Smartphones work because when not in use, they are comfortably away into our pockets or bags and when we need them, there they are. Technology shouldn’t be obtrusive. It doesn’t work that way.

If you had to wear AR glasses all the time, it would be very obtrusive and very hard to get used to. You would have this weight on your face all the time and it just doesn’t feel natural. Technology should “feel” natural.

The smartwatch can be an exception to this and that is only because for generations now, we are habituated with wearing watches on our wrists and frankly, they are not obtrusive at all.

Not Enough To Warrant Shift

Image Credits

Here’s the thing. To completely uproot existing ways and establish new ones, the newer stuff has to be so revolutionary and yet so simple to use that doing away with the old ways is just a no brainer.

Although AR is no doubt revolutionary, it doesn’t have enough to warrant the death of the smartphone and tablets. Imagine walking down the road and having to use gestures on different virtual objects in your field of view.

To someone else, you would look like an orchestra conductor waving around randomly and that’s just isn’t natural. Also, it is not entirely sure how it is “better” and what added benefits it provides.

For gaming purposes, it is definitely a game changer (no pun intended), but for everything else, if there is not an added benefit and convenience at the same time, it just won’t kill the smartphone.

Conclusion

I think that just like a person today can have multiple devices a laptop, smartphone and tablet, I think AR glasses will be just another devices that we own and use for specific purposes.

Let’s face it some things will be really better in AR and that’s where it will really shine. The devices we own also have specific use cases.

For example, there are things that you can do better on a tablet but still the PC hasn’t been killed off. There are things that you can do better on a smartwatch (health tracking) and still the smartphone hasn’t been killed off.

Similarly, AR glasses will provide unique experiences that other devices simply can’t provide but they are not going away anytime soon.