BY MARIA KOROLOV · JULY 31, 2016
The smartphone is able to replace a lot of the things we use to need. Alarm clocks, GPS devices, cameras, mail delivery, televisions, radios, tape recorders, record players, calculators, guitar tuners, pedometers — the list goes on and on.
The next-generation augmented and virtual reality headset, which looks like a pair of sunglasses, promises to add even more things to this list.
That’s not to say that the devices will no longer be used at all. People still buy cameras, enough there are cameras in their phones. People still buy newspapers, magazines, and printed books. It’s rare that a new medium completely destroys an old one. After all, we still have live concerts and movie theaters. We still create and buy sculptures and paintings.
What the new mixed reality headsets will do is replace the low-end, commodity versions of those things. The traditional alternatives will remain but will be aimed at the high-end markets, the collectors, and people who want to have special experiences.
One thing is for sure, though. The world is going to look a lot different when mixed reality glasses — or contact lenses — become ubiquitous.
