The iPhone’s Days Are Numbered—Thanks to AI

It’s ironic our smartphones are called “smart” when, in fact, we have to do a lot of things ourselves. Sure, it’s smarter, faster, and more advanced than our feature phones back in the day. But “smart”? That’s a stretch. However, a decade from now, Apple executive Eddy Cue believes AI will become so advanced that it could eventually replace devices like the iPhone.

AI replacing the iPhone

“You may not need an ‌iPhone‌ 10 years from now, as crazy as it sounds,” Cue said, while he was testifying in the Google vs DoJ antitrust case. “The only way you truly have true competition is when you have technology shifts. Technology shifts create these opportunities. AI is a new technology shift, and it’s creating new opportunities for new entrants.”

AI has indeed simplified a lot of processes. For instance, instead of searching manually on Google and then having to comb through dozens of websites to find what you need and to understand a topic, AI can summarize everything for you in seconds. You can get it to expand on issues or explain it in simple and easy-to-understand terms.

It also makes tasks like photo editing a lot quicker. Back then, removing an unwanted person or object in a photo would take Photoshop trickery and know-how. These days? Google’s AI tools like Magic Eraser can get the job done just by tapping on the object you want removed. Then Magic Editor will go one step further to fill in the space naturally. No degree in graphic design needed.

Apple Intelligence has a long way to go

That being said, let’s hope that Cue’s statement isn’t prophetic. Apple is falling behind in the AI space. The company’s Apple Intelligence suite of tools pales compared to what we’ve seen from both Google and Samsung. Apple even needs to rely on other companies like OpenAI for more advanced AI tasks.

Let’s not forget that Siri, which was supposed to get an AI revamp, is still as terrible as ever. So, the potential for AI to replace the iPhone in a decade is very likely. However, the question is whether or not Apple will be behind that change, or if its hand is being forced because it failed to keep up.