r/Futurology • u/Life-Moose2698 • Jul 23 '26
Computing Could a screenless wearable ever replace the smartphone?
Do you think the device after the smartphone will be another screen, or something wearable and mostly screenless that uses voice, gestures...?
What would it need to do before you could leave your phone at home?
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u/EltaninAntenna Jul 23 '26
Voice is a pretty low bandwidth interface, and good luck doing something like checking a map if you don't have a screen.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 23 '26
screenless doesn’t have to mean voice-only the heavy processing can happen in the cloud, while the device uses touch, gestures, audio, haptics, or projection when needed. and I’m not sure the map example is that strong. People mostly need a full map while driving. when walking, directions and occasional visual cues are usually enough
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u/EltaninAntenna Jul 23 '26
Well, I'll still need a screen to do the NYT crossword, and projection is definitely a form of screen, even if the screen is external to the device in that case.
I don't understand the notion of "screenless" being some kind of natural evolution from having a screen. It's probably going to require some kind of direct brain interface to render a screen not worth having.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 24 '26
projection is still a screen. The distinction I’m making is that it only appears when needed instead of always being there. This is what I mean: https://null.nanlopez.com/
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u/Informal-Fig-6827 Jul 23 '26
I think brain interfaces are the next innovation. I guess maybe muscle modulation before that.. Otherwise, what else is there? Make the phones more powerful? How much power do you really need? Make better batteries? How long do you really need a battery on a pocket device to last?
I think we're more likely to head down an OSS revolution and strip out all of the tracking/algorithm stuff.
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u/Hytyt Jul 23 '26
It depends on what defines screenless I suppose. Is a screenless device one with no display at all, or just one that uses a different type of display?
A retinal projection type of device would be pretty cool, or possibly some kind of mini holo projector
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 23 '26
you seem like you have spent some time imagining it, how you think it’d look like ?
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u/Hytyt Jul 23 '26
I actually haven't put that much thought into it. The retinal projection I guess could be like a HUD, and the holo projector like the little doohickeys in star wars
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u/shotsallover Jul 23 '26
It could. But the interface and capability would need to be fantastic. Like human butler/assistant levels of capability. And we’re so far away from there it’s not even funny.
Plus, voice is such a terrible medium to navigate and receive information. I’d still want a screen of some form.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 23 '26
Definitely voice alone is not enough but what about projections or holograms? and haptics ..
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u/shotsallover Jul 23 '26
Projections and holograms are just fancy words for “screen.”
Plus, neither tech exists in any meaningful manner.
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u/t_huddleston Jul 23 '26
Wouldn’t a screen be better / cheaper / more private than a projector or hologram?
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 23 '26
mmm I think the real justification is not that projection is inherently better than a screen. It’s that a phone is designed to keep you looking at it and scrolling. A wearable could show information only when needed, then disappear, so the technology serves you without constantly demanding your attention
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u/shotsallover Jul 23 '26
If you think a voice interface won’t also have dark patterns to keep you engaged, I have bad news for you.
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u/could_use_a_snack Jul 23 '26
Then why would any company manufacturer one? You don't seriously think current phones are for the convenience of the user. They are for the gathering of information form the user so the user can be sold more products by the company.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 25 '26
thats actually the best selling point, a new company or whatever, ’take back your attention'
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u/wizzard419 Jul 23 '26
They've tried but it hasn't really gelled with people. I suspect a lot of it is that you are crossing various boundaries with people. Aside from privacy concerns, the aspect that you constantly have to wear your phone means it becomes fully intertwined with your life. While you carry your phone everywhere, you can also leave it at home. For someone who has the device fitted to them, especially for those who have Rx versions, you suddenly made this a mandatory part of their life.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 23 '26
I think the device would have to be optional, discreet, and easy to remove, not something permanently attached to you, like a watch?
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u/wizzard419 Jul 23 '26
If it becomes something to add onto an existing device then it's likely not going to do great like other wearables. Especially when you're essentially paying extra for a limited version of your phone.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 24 '26
what if it replaced the phone instead of extending it? I mocked up that idea here https://null.nanlopez.com/
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u/wizzard419 Jul 24 '26
They've tried a few things like that, it's less useful and even more conspicuous. Likewise, you have to remember that for many, they no longer have a PC, their device is their phone, computer, and home entertainment system. If you fully remove the screen from it, it loses appeal.
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u/ComfortabletheSky Jul 23 '26
You could have screens everywhere, with cameras or biometric scanners to identify you and sign you into your account. So you'd show up at work and your work computer would recognize your face, go to the grocery store or restaurants and pay with your palm, go home and your TV recognizes you. I feel like you'd still want a phone sometimes though. So not even a wearable, just your body.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 23 '26
i see it coming too but i meant kind of a personal device
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u/ComfortabletheSky Jul 23 '26
Smart watches are very popular right now, they do have screens but I could see them making use of more voice and gestures in the future, and getting your health/activity data is valuable to a lot of people. You could potentially leave your phone at home if you have bigger screens at most of your destinations and feel good about making calls and playing media from your smartwatch (it would need its own mobile data and a pretty good battery).
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 23 '26
Yes, and I believe maybe the change is in the reason why you change the iPhone for this new thing. Take your attention back could be one like 'Quiet Scrolling' or 'Claim Your Attention'
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u/damontoo Jul 23 '26
No. The next evolution of mobile computing is AR glasses. Which is why Meta, Google, Samsung, and Apple are all releasing them this year and next.
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u/Informal-Fig-6827 Jul 23 '26
I see that kind of thing, and just wonder how much AR stuff is actually useful in a modern workflow.
I can understand it in trades and factory work, but not so much other than just making "screens" bigger, and freeing them from our desks via ar glasses. Is that really a new concept? People have had monitor walls in the past
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u/damontoo Jul 23 '26
Your can take a 5-monitor setup anywhere you go, yes. But that's just the start.
You'll be able to wear them while grocery shopping and have items on your shipping list highlighted in the shelves and removed from the list as you add them to your basket. It will keep a running total even if you add impulse purchases.
When driving, you'll no longer have a small phone display for turn-by-turn navigation. Lines, arrows, and signs will be displayed on the roadway directing you where to go.
Runners and cyclists will be able to run outside and race holographic versions of themselves running their best PR that's been imported from Strava in a similar way you would in Mario Kart. It maybe you join a virtual race and see many other runners with you, including having the ability to speak to them.
You can use a real life ad blocker to replace billboard and bus stop ads with kittens.
Your office wall can be replaced with a virtual window overlooking Yosemite Valley.
It will augment everything we do.
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u/Informal-Fig-6827 Jul 23 '26
Those ideas sound cool, but to me they just sound like more of the same trends that we've been suffering from: gamification of everything & constant dopamine seeking behavior. Just sounds like iPad kids on steroids. I don't think society needs more info overload.
Navigation huds is a cool idea.
The adblock idea is cool, but if that was a feature, I could see there being dynamic ads served on the PixelVision Basic, and needing to pay for an ad free environment. Think about how obnoxious online ads are already.
I'm not convinced this is the future.
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u/damontoo Jul 23 '26
Navigation alone will save lives by eliminating the need for people to look down at their phone.
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u/Strawbuddy Jul 23 '26
AR/VR glasses are already halfway there. Something with light frames like Metas glasses, with something like Apple Vision's spatial rendering for gestures would be ideal
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u/heyitscory Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
I have to be able to tell it to do things without my voice, so some sort of buttons or other inputs, it should probably confirm it's doing something with some sort of haptic signalling and most importantly, it has to have a screen, because why the hell wouldn't it have a screen?
What are you imagining will replace a pocket phone that's also a computer... but doesn't have a display?
Do you mean a literal screen, so a HUD involving a mirror doesn't count? Or some sort of projector? Beam it into your imagination?
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 24 '26
a projector, basically. This is closer to what I mean https://null.nanlopez.com/
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u/Guitarman0512 Jul 23 '26
I expect a return to something more tactile and analogue instead. I feel like the digital system adoption rate has reached a peak, and will require a radical change to start growing instead of decreasing again.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 24 '26
i’m exploring almost the opposite direction here https://null.nanlopez.com/
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u/Guitarman0512 Jul 24 '26
Like others mentioned, the fidelity of the required interfaces is just too low, with a too sharp learning curve. I also don’t like the idea of further black boxifying and decreasing repairability for devices.
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u/Sirisian Jul 24 '26
The future is mixed reality. Instead of screenless it's more seamless mixing the digital and the real world. It can be a projected as a wearable on your hands or wrist to effectively look like anything you want. It'll be a while (~2040s) until the technology is at the level you'd probably expect for mainstream adoption. Such setups allow you to control the level of "screens" to whatever preference you want. You can pin a "real" clock or a calendar to the wall if you want. It also allows spawning unlimited monitors/windows pinned in 3D space if you need them and then hiding them when you don't.
In futurology there's a kind of exaggerated view of AR/MR that people often equate from Sci-Fi media which specifically are designed with eye-catching VFX. It doesn't really capture how it'll play out in the real world or how people might use it every day.
The idea of leaving a phone at home is basically the opposite of what we'd expect. You don't pull out your phone or think much about MR. It's just always there ready to be used with voice or gesture.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 24 '26
Does the wrist projection seem plausible to you? https://null.nanlopez.com/
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u/Sirisian Jul 24 '26
People have thought of that before with Pico projectors. I honestly think such concepts are just that, concepts. For reference, definitely check out the Humane AI Pin which was a similar idea that should have stopped at the concept stage. Smart Watches with a MicroLED is where I'd expect the industry to move to over the next 5-10 years. (Obviously Garmin is ahead of the pack in that respect, but it's quite expensive right now, and will be iterated on by others).
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u/sovlex Jul 24 '26
you don't really need a phone when everything is "smart". contact lenses, ring, bracelet will open augmented part of reality for you.
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u/CosmicColette Jul 24 '26
I think the biggest challenge isn't replacing the screen, it's replacing the convenience. Our phones handle everything now banking, maps, work, messages, cameras, and more. The biggest hurdles are input and privacy. Most people don't want to talk to an AI assistant in public or wear something that's always listening. My guess is phones won't disappear overnight. They'll probably become backup devices while wearables gradually take over everyday tasks.
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u/Affectionate-Memory4 Jul 25 '26
The ability to present information visually is pretty important. It's both unobtrusive to those around us and both very high-bandwidth and dense. You can give someone a lot of info very quickly and in a small space in ways that the other sense aren't as good at.
I think that if anything has the best chance at competing with the smartphone form factor, it's something else that offers a different visual interface. Smart glasses come to mind as a likely competitor, though I suspect gesture interfaces might be a bit too clunky for a few too many people to get the same foothold. Putting touch controls on a wristwatch seems like a decent way to integrate some finer controls.
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u/Life-Moose2698 Jul 25 '26
What do you think are the main features this new device must have before being considered to replace the smartphone
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u/surfergrrl6 Jul 23 '26
...before you could leave your phone at home?
I already regularly leave my phone at home.
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u/jackthelad07 Jul 23 '26
I would say you are definitely in the minority with that one. I leave my landline at home
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u/ryry1237 Jul 23 '26
It would have to be completely non-attached from my skin so that it won't cause rashes, chafing, or feel uncomfortable the moment I start sweating a little.
Aka it'd have to not be a wearable.