The Post Smartphone Era

At the same time, several signs are indicating that we are ready for new interfaces. Smartphone sales and ¬usage peaked in 2017 and are both starting to flatten out. We ¬observe signals indicating that people want to spend less time staring at screens. Considering that the average person spends around 3.5 hours on their phone each day, this is probably good news. Research also shows that phone overuse is making us unhappy, alters our memory, and some even classify internet addiction as a new mental disorder.

Even the big tech players are listening to these signs and making some efforts to optimise for “time well spent” and offering built-in screen time tools where users can set limits to their phone usage.

But more effective in curbing our screen addiction is the rise of new user interfaces that naturally draw our attention away from our phones. Voice and augmented reality are often referred to as ambient user interfaces because they appear in our immediate environment but are invisible unless called upon or contextually relevant. Therefore, when we lift our eyes off the screen, we can interact with new ¬interfaces in a manner that lets us be more present in life.

Voice is the most natural user interface. I would argue that the keyboard, mouse and, touch screen have been intermediate steps to communicate with technology. Voice as a user interface removes a lot of traditional barriers to technology adoption and is suitable for both old and young audiences. AR represents the next significant innovation in how we produce and consume content, to which pictures and motion pictures were the preceding ones. AR gives us the ability to teleport someone into an environment or situation that would otherwise be impossible for them to experience. This brings about a whole new world of opportunity, not only for storytelling or commerce but also for entertainment and medical purposes.

Spending less time on our phones is not going to be easy ,and it will not happen overnight. Virtually all the products we interact with on our phones are built for instant gratification and addiction, releasing the same hormones as drugs and sugar when in use. We stayed locked in and logged on to these apps because we fear that if we stop using them, we might miss something important. We might not be ready or able to ditch our smartphones just completely as yet,, but a combination of AR and voice commands will soon be the primary interface for anything spontaneous. This means that technology could help you be more present in the real world, while elegantly serving you with information, assistance and immersive experiences on demand.