Are smartphones obsolete, headed for the tech graveyard?

Once upon a time, the Nokia text phone was king. Then, the smartphone took over.

But now, the tech titans are plotting its overthrow of smartphones.

How?

Let's count the ways:

Brain implants

Let’s start with Elon Musk — never one to dream small.

With Neuralink, he’s imagining a world where phones are relics and you can surf the web, send messages, or even launch cat videos just by thinking about it.

Brain-computer interfaces are no longer sci-fi. Two brave souls already have Neuralink implants, and they're proving that the future may literally be all in your head.

Skin deep

Bill Gates, meanwhile, is placing his bets on something a little more skin-deep. He’s backing electronic tattoos that can collect, send, and receive data via nanocensors.

It turns out "nano tattoos" are significant for the future of communications technology for a number of reasons.

The ability to create high-resolution patterns (down to 72 nanometres) on living organisms demonstrates progress in precise nanofabrication (for context, a human hair is about 100,000 times larger than 1 nanometer).

Successfully tattooing living things (i.e. on human skin, behind the ear) indicates potential for embedding sensors, circuits, and other nanodevices directly into living organisms or bio-compatible platforms.

What this means: innovative bio-communication systems could be embedded in people, where information can be exchanged between biological and electronic entities seamlessly.

A study published by researchers at the Technical University of Denmark in the April 2025 edition of Nano Letters shows that these nano tattoos can withstand environmental stresses and remain functional, essential for creating reliable communication interfaces at the nanoscale.

The technique could be applied to develop tiny, intelligent bio-robots or sensors that communicate within complex environments.

One upside: a revolution in fields such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, or even inter-organismic communication.

The team backed by Gates, known as Chaotic Moon, use high-tech ink jobs that could be used for healthcare monitoring, GPS tracking, and even communication. Forget texting — just tap your arm.

Then there’s Mark Zuckerberg, who sees a different future: one with everyone wearing augmented reality glasses.

According to the Meta chief, by 2030, these sleek specs could handle everything your phone does, from FaceTiming your grandma to binge-watching cat memes, but in a hands-free, head-up kind of way.

Who needs a screen when your world is the screen?

But hold your holograms — Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t ready to say goodbye to your beloved smartphone just yet.

The tech titan chief is standing firm, showing off the new iPhone 16 (and iPhone 17 expected in September) with its AI-powered features, sleek design and Starlink satellite connectivity (with an iOS update, version 18.5, released on May 12, 2025).

Apple’s message?

“Why ditch a good thing?” As far as they’re concerned, the phone is here to stay — maybe as a partner to these flashy new gadgets rather than a victim of them.

Will we soon be mind-messaging with brain chips, flashing data tattoos, or living in AR glasses?

Or will the trusty smartphone stick around, evolving but never really leaving?

One thing’s for sure: The future of tech is shaping up to be one wild ride. Buckle up — your brain, your skin, and your eyes might all be getting upgrades.