Innovation: Global tech giants announce end of smartphones, Apple differs

*As four of the Big Techs announce an end to smartphones with replacement devices, ranging from brain chips, digital tattoos to Augmented Reality glasses, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, however, disagrees, maintaining that smartphones will remain central to telecoms consumers’ everyday life

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As a new wave of innovation is fast sweeping across the Silicon Valley, four global technology giants are making moves to replace the smartphones with devices that sound straight out of science fiction.

From brain chips to digital skin, the future may already be underway, according to report.

ConsumerConnect learnt Apple, one of the Big Techs, however, is refusing to let go.

It should be noted that in recent months, a quiet shift has taken shape across Silicon Valley, agency report said.

This is because some of the most powerful voices in the global technology ecosystem are floating a vision for the future that excludes the very device that has defined the digital era for more than a decade: “the smartphone”.

Report indicates Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Bill Gates have opined the next wave of innovation doesn’t involve a sleeker phone — it replaces it altogether.

From brain implants, digital tattoos to Augmented Reality glasses

Each of the Big Techs is backing different technologies that promise to render smartphones obsolete, report stated.

This comprises brain implants, digital tattoos, and augmented reality (AR) glasses.

Their ambitions suggest a world where humans interact with devices not through touchscreens, but directly through thought, vision, or even skin.

It is a radical break from the present — one not everyone is ready to embrace.

Neural links and digital tattoos

Elon Musk, Founder of Neuralink, SoaceX and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of X (formerly Twitter), is advancing the concept of brain-computer interfaces.

Musk’s concept allows consumers to communicate with machines using only their thoughts.

According to the Neuralink, two human subjects have already received implants.

It was gathered the aim is to remove the need for physical interaction with devices entirely — no tapping, no swiping, not even speaking.

Instead, thought would drive action.

In terms of innovation, Bill Gates is championing a different kind of interface.

He is backing Chaotic Moon, a Texas-based company developing electronic tattoos, report noted.

These devices, worn directly on the skin, are designed to collect and transmit data through nanosensors.

Their applications range from health tracking to communication and geolocation.

The tattoos effectively transform the body into a digital platform, without the need for handheld devices.

On Zuckerberg’s vision-first computing

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s Chief Executive of Meta, is placing his future on augmented reality glasses.

Zuckerberg predicts that by 2030, these glasses will take over as the primary computing device, replacing the smartphone, report said.

The concept is to overlay digital content directly onto a consumer’s field of vision.

Instead of looking down at a screen, people would experience notifications, navigation tools, and communication features through transparent displays worn on their faces.

This strategy aligns with Zuckerberg’s broader ambitions in the AR and metaverse space.

The goal, the CEO of Meta said, is to “step beyond screens” and redefine the way people engage with the Internet and one another.

Apple’s alternate path

Just as other global tech giants as competitors set their sights on revolutionary technology, Cook, CEO of Apple, is sticking with what works as of now, according to report.

The technology company recently released the iPhone 16, a device that incorporates advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance usability but maintains the familiar form factor.

Subsequently, Cook is said to have continued to emphasise refinement over reinvention.

He also argued that smartphones remain central to everyday life of digital consumers.

Aside from this, Apple’s strategy reportedly focuses on incremental innovation, improving existing products while introducing new technologies, such as AR and AI “gradually”.

Cook’s philosophy diverges from his peers in that he views the smartphone not as something to be replaced, but as a core platform to build upon, report noted.

CEO Cook, in his recent public remarks, stated: “We’re committed to improving what people already use,” indicating a favourable disposition to evolution over disruption.

This growing divide represents more than just product design — it’s a split in thinking about how humans should interface with technology in the modern world.

Musk, Zuckerberg, Altman, and Gates are promoting bold transformations that embed technology within the body, or integrate it seamlessly into our surroundings.

Apple, on the other hand, is reinforcing the role of the smartphone by adapting the mobile device to emerging demands without altering its core, report added.

Consumers react to tech giants’ proposed offerings

In view of the development in the digital technology world, consumers have reacted to the Big Techs’ proposals for the future.

“These ‘promises’ are not happening any time soon. “The acceptance of brain implants to replace a phone are not going to be adopted by almost anyone in the next decade, if not much longer,” said a consumer.

Certain Marcel Brown, another digital consumer, Friday, May 30, 2025, wrote on his social media page: “Of course everybody but Apple is promoting the end of the smartphone.

“Apple rules the smartphone market and everyone else wants to find the next big thing. Certainly some of these technologies could find their place in the world, but they are a way off from becoming successful in the marketplace, not to mention even becoming a viable product in the first place.”

Brown stated: “I can totally see a future for direct neural-computing interfaces and augmented reality.

“But the concepts themselves are not enough to make a successful foray into the world.

“It takes a complete user experience and while all these other companies may be good at engineering, it’s going to take a company like Apple, who understands user experience, to bring something successful to the market.”

Yet, another consumer with the tag name Avatar, said: “Yeah I’ve seen enough sci-fi films and TV shows to know that having technology directly fused into the human body is not a good idea! Too many risks.

“Plus I’ve seen way too many people put on AR glasses and what not and walk into objects and people. No thank you.”

In his remarks on the tech giants’ move to end smartphones, Jason noted: “Apparently, our tech overlord masters have deluded themselves into believing that they are the market itself.

“A few years’ worth of being the lucky few to land on top of the digital revolution… fuelled by stock purchasing wealth and science fiction dreams which came to be before they were even born, has them now believing they can just replace everyone’s job and decide what we will be buying.

“Not happening, the original corporate success was one-part luck and one-part psychopathy, now the luck is all played out and humility is coming for them right quick.”

Bonnie Jeffery, in his view, disagreed with the proposal to replace smartphones with other devices.

Jeffery wrote: “Never ever will I believe any of the above is good for humans, and I refuse to put anything inside my body or on it to replace my cell phone.

“They must be nuts to think people will approve of this.

God did not need this junk and I’m with him.”

Kindly Share This Story