Will Glasses Replace the Smartphone?

Evan Spiegel says glasses will not replace the smartphone. He does not think computing is moving beyond the phone. The smartphone, he says, is going to play maybe the most important role of legacy technology.

What he wants from glasses is a way to bring computing into the world. Computing has been isolating for a very long time. Growing up, he loved computers and built his own, but using one meant the computer lab at lunch while his friends were on the schoolyard. Phones continued that trend, pulling people into the screen instead of helping them share an experience with friends.

See-through glasses go the other way. Two people can sit across from each other and play chess, design something, build something, or watch something together. That is unlike any computing experience that exists today. Asked what the mix looks like in 10 or 15 years, and whether this was a move beyond the smartphone, his answer is no. The phone stays.