Will mobile technology trends kill the smartphone by 2021?

A recent study has shown that consumers feel artificial intelligence will have taken over this tech in half a decade.

According to a survey conducted by researchers commissioned by Ericsson, many consumers are under the impression that within the span of five years from now, mobile technology in the form of smartphones will no longer exist.

This research was conducted by ConsumerLab, with the participation of 100,000 customers across 40 countries.

The study looked into the predictions and expectations of consumers with regards to mobile technology that will be used over the years to come, as well as what they would like to see in the future. Approximately half of the respondents to this survey said that by 2021, the most common forms of mobile tech – more specifically, smartphones – would no longer be in use by the year 2021. The reason, according to the survey respondents, would be that developments in artificial intelligence will have superseded many of the current functions of smartphones.

Many people feel that the concept of current mobile technology still carries too many levels of impracticality.

According to Ericsson ConsumerLab’s Rebecka Cedering Ångström, “A smartphone in the hand, it’s really not that practical. For example, not when one is driving a car or cooking. And there are many situations where display screens are not so good. Therefore, one in two think that smartphones will belong to the past within five years.”

Cedering Ångström also forecasted that the evolution of tech will make it possible for consumers to enjoy their downtime more effectively. She gave the example that someone could not only watch a football game, but they could also decide from which vantage point they would like to view it, or choose tow different places at once. She also pointed out that shopping could also be an experience that could be vastly improved through the use of virtual reality advancements, such as the ability to use VR to “try on shoes and see how they fit on your own feet.”

The Ericsson ConsumerLab head of research, Michael Björn explained that while some of the mobile technology future trend predictions discussed in the company’s report may seem to be rather futuristic, it shows that there is solid “consumer interest in new interaction paradigms such as AI and virtual reality (VR), as well as in embedding the internet in the walls of homes or even in our bodies.”