For years, major technology executives predicted that smart glasses would eventually replace the trusty smartphone in our pockets. Apple even expected its own upcoming wearable glasses to take over the iPhone by the year 2035. However, one of the biggest original supporters of this virtual future just completely changed his mind.
Neal Stephenson, the creator of the term Metaverse, now believes that we will still be staring at handheld rectangles twenty years from now instead of wearing computers on our faces.
The creator of the Metaverse term has changed his mind about smart glasses
Neal Stephenson is famous for creating the word metaverse in his science fiction writing. He later worked as a chief futurist at Magic Leap. He used to argue that smart glasses were the obvious next step after phones. Now, he thinks the idea is basically dead. He recently explained that shrinking these devices down to look like normal glasses makes them feel creepy to people.
He pointed out that Google faced this exact issue with its early products, and Meta is dealing with similar pushback right now.
People will always prefer a simple touchscreen phone in their pocket
The main problem with smart glasses is that most people do not actually want to wear something on their faces all day. People who already wear prescription lenses know that glasses get dirty, fog up, and block out their peripheral vision. Meanwhile, the standard smartphone design just works incredibly well. A flat, pocket-sized screen with touch controls is simple and easy to use.
While Apple is still working on its own augmented reality glasses, it might end up selling them as a small accessory rather than a full replacement for the iPhone.
