What does Eddy Cue’s vision of an iPhone-free Apple future look like?

I’d say it’s funny how offhand comments can turn into news stories, but given the state of American politics, it’s practically par for the course. The latest one in the tech world comes from Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, who — during a Google antitrust trial, of all things — noted that “you may not need an

iPhone
10 years from now.” He even hinted that the iPhone might eventually go the way of the

iPod
, which was discontinued in 2022 despite once being vital to Apple’s bottom line.

What might be Cue be envisioning? And is it at all realistic to put an iPhone-free future that close to 2025? I do think it’s possible, but my own expectation is that the iPhone will still be around in some form, even if it doesn’t look anything like an

iPhone 16
.

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Cue’s vision of the iPhone’s demise stems from the growing role of generative AI, according to The Verge. He notes that it has the potential to reshape the tech industry, much in the same way that other trends have seen businesses rise and fall. Companies like HP, Sun, and Intel were once the invincible giants of Silicon Valley, after all. These days, HP and Intel have plenty of competition, and Sun has long since been absorbed by Oracle.

Apple should theoretically remain relevant because of

Apple Intelligence
, but there are at least two major problems the company needs to overcome. The first is that, frankly, Apple Intelligence just isn’t that useful at the moment. I do sometimes take advantage of Visual Intelligence, ChatGPT integration, and notification summaries, yet even those can be questionable. The best use I’ve had for Image Playground is making avatars for my family, and I don’t use Writing Tools or Genmoji at all.

To replace the iPhone, Apple Intelligence will not only need to be better than it is now, but better than any other generative AI product on the market. Most AI systems are tied to the cloud, which makes them slow, unusable without the internet, and prone to “hallucinations,” a euphemism for getting facts wrong. If I ask

ChatGPT
to plan a day in Austin for me, it’s no big deal if it’s inaccurate, since I can always turn to apps and websites — without apps or the web to fall back on, I might end up going to Taco Bell for Tex-Mex food, or driving I35 in rush hour traffic.

The second obstacle is some means of serving up AI. Conceivably, Apple could attempt its own version of the Star Trek-like

Humane AI Pin
, or the Rabbit r1 — but those products were abject failures, lacking reliability, and offering just a fraction of the capabilities of a smartphone.

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Apple

Honestly, I doubt that Cue had any specific replacement devices in mind when he made his comments. But there are products in Apple’s lineup that could hypothetically replace the iPhone someday, if not in their existing form.

The most obvious choice is a follow-up to the

Vision Pro
. The current headset is too bulky, fragile, and expensive to wear outside, but it’s arguably even more powerful than an iPhone, with support for both desktop-style productivity apps and a variety of tools, games, and other experiences for AR and VR. Apple is reportedly working on

cheaper and more mobile AR glasses
, so it’s not hard to foresee a future in which we’re talking to Apple Intelligence in our heads, asking for directions on the road, or help with a work project at home. Ten years from now, display and processor technology ought to be more than capable of handling this at a reasonable price. Companies like Meta and Google have already demonstrated similar prototype devices.

An advanced Apple Watch is another possibility, but I’d bet my money against it. Even with major technical achievements, it would be difficult to run a powerful AI model entirely on your wrist. You could, conceivably, enlarge the product into an Apple Cuff — which would look very futuristic — but you’d still have to solve problems like meaningful display space, and the awkwardness of holding your arm up the entire time. I wouldn’t want to watch YouTube videos on my wrist, much less dictate an email or count calories that way. Even navigation would be superior on AR glasses, projecting onto your environment instead of showing up on a tiny screen.

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Maybe the iPhone is here to stay

But not as you know it

I’m struggling to think of anything besides AR glasses that could satisfy the requirements of being as mobile and powerful as an iPhone. In fact, I think it’s entirely reasonable to expect the iPhone to persist for another decade — it’s hard to beat the concept of a pocket-sized computer that doesn’t need to be strapped to your body.

The proper question, then, could be what iPhones will look like a decade from now. Most likely they’ll be similar to Samsung’s

Galaxy Z Fold 6
, capable of expanding into a tablet simply with far more advanced features. Rollable OLED screens are already a reality, so it’s not hard to picture a foldable product that stuffs into your jeans, but then snaps to iPad size with the press of a button. We also have transparent OLED screens, too, so you could hold your phone over your environment to learn more about a place or object.

I’d like Apple to surprise me with something I’ve never thought of, though. It’s possible — it’s not like most people in 1997 were predicting something like the original iPhone. Heck, in 1974, the original Macintosh would’ve been a fantasy. Time has a way of making fools of us all.

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