More of our lives will happen online
We spend a lot of time online. Between phones, laptops, tablets, and smartwatches, we are surrounded by and addicted to portals to the internet. Not to mention TVs and other connected devices in our homes. I’m reminded of a joke I read once on Twitter:
This is so true that it’s almost not funny. People who know me have heard me say that I’d love to throw my phone into the ocean—and I mean it. Living a disconnected life is the ultimate status symbol.
And yet, I’ve come to terms with the fact that we are about to spend even more of our lives online because there will be more screens in our lives and the apps we use will deliver more value at work and home.
In the near future, roughly 3-5 years, screens will be right in front of our faces thanks to new categories of wearables, specifically AR glasses. We’ve yet to seen a VR product breakthrough to mass daily usage and we may never because of how isolating it is to the folks around you. So my bet here is that AR glasses are the market-transforming form factor. I don’t think this is a controversial take. Meta’s Orion is the most exciting entrant to the space, and I’m sure Apple is pushing to release a similar product at a cheaper price point by decade’s end.
Who knows, maybe screens on fridges will make a comeback.
All these screens will give us access to apps that are more personalized and powerful than the ones we use today. Some of these will be familiar, like better language and health apps. Some will create entirely new experiences and categories (I’m actively thinking about these, reach out if you are too). Incumbents better be pivoting their roadmaps or face disruption by startups that are just now getting off the ground.
It feels almost impossible to think that we could be more online, but I think it’s inevitable. Perhaps apps get so good that we don’t need to be involved at all. Certainly there are parts of the internet that we could do without, but more screens and better apps will mostly be great developments as technology solves more of our problems.
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