What will smartphones be like in 2030?

Predictions about the future of cell phones are varied and often surprising. While some are convinced that they will disappear altogether, others simply believe that they will feature new materials and designs. Recently, the CEO of Nokia, Pekka Lundmark, claimed that the arrival of 6G would render the current concept of the smartphone a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, Yann LeCun, Chief AI Scientist at Meta, stated publicly that the future lies in augmented reality and virtual reality glasses. Similarly, the renowned futurist and professor of strategic foresight, Alexander Manu, predicted the demise of cell phones as we know them today.

These predictions raise one obvious question: what will happen to cell phones? In fact, two different trends are already evident. The first and more conservative trend is towards foldable phones that are easy to carry and can be used to contact people, play, work, and perform a variety of tasks.

This first trend is not significantly different from the current situation. However, it calls for improved materials, processors, and batteries to turn devices into more efficient and user-friendly products.

By contrast, the following options are quite different from what we know today. This trend embraces augmented reality and the use of virtual reality glasses, a concept that has already been adopted by major companies such as Apple and Meta. On the horizon are groundbreaking capabilities such as receiving real-time directions projected in the user's field of vision, translating conversations instantly, and even being able to try on clothes before buying them.

Two other technologies that are likely to shape the future of smartphones are artificial intelligence (AI) and neurochips. It is expected that AI will become a personalized system capable of learning the user's preferences and needs. This would help automate processes such as answering emails, organizing agendas, and saving time on routine tasks.

Going one step further in terms of innovation, neurochips would connect your phone to your brain to perform functions without the need to touch the screen. Simply think about doing something, such as turning on the camera, and the phone would perform the task.

6G networks will become commonplace at the start of the next decade. These networks are set to deliver unprecedented speeds, which will revolutionize the mobile experience. While this may seem an already familiar scenario, 6G will make it possible to perform real-time surgery with robots or to safely deploy self-driving vehicles—two applications that far exceed the current capabilities of smartphones.

Regarding its applications for cell phones, at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2022, Pekka Lundmark predicted that 6G could make it possible to integrate smartphones into our bodies through the use of chips. Such a breakthrough would have implications for health monitoring and disease prediction.

Sustainability is the big macro-trend of the future. The European Union, the USA, and China have all set time targets for emissions reductions. Furthermore, in the EU, these targets represent more than just objectives and are enshrined in legislation.

For this reason, manufacturers of mobile devices are increasingly developing products with recycled materials, longer-lasting and energy-efficient batteries that require less charging, and even self-healing materials.

Given all of the above, smartphones are likely to be more efficient, connected, and time-saving in the coming decade. However, we will also experience significant transformations, such as connecting with augmented reality to perform useful tasks such as translating languages in real time or playing videos as holograms.