CUPERTINO, Ca. – Apple didn’t invent the smartphone — companies like Palm and Blackberry had been selling them for years. But the iPhone introduced a totally new way to interact with computers. The always-on internet connectivity, finger-friendly touch screen, and interface based around clickable app icons all seem commonplace now. But at the time, the whole package felt revolutionary.

The smartphone was a seismic shift for the technology industry, creating entirely new business models — apps became $100 billion companies — while replacing everything from digital cameras to in-car GPS systems.

But smartphone sales have dropped two calendar years straight for the first time, according to Gartner. Smartphones are old news.

The tech industry’s next bet is a series of technologies usually called augmented reality or mixed reality. The vision usually involves some kind of computer worn in front of the user’s eyes.

To read more, click on https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/20/apple-facebook-microsoft-battle-to-replace-smartphone-with-ar.html