Whether you love them or hate them, it’s hard to imagine life without smart phones. They regularly get a bad rap these days, with particular anxiety circling round their use by children and teens, but the possibilities they offer in terms of communication, navigation, information and entertainment are unparalleled.

Naturally their ubiquity has also led to the constant question of what might be coming next to revolutionise our lives. For a while VR was the hot take but while headsets have finally entered the mainstream and become affordable for many, their isolating nature means they have broadly remained in the realm of gaming.

Following VR came mixed-reality headsets such as Apple Vision Pro or wearable tech such as Google Glass. Both arrived with much fanfare but faded fast either due to cost, usability or other concerns. Nothing could come close to the convenience and accessibility of the phone format.

But perhaps we gave up on glasses a little too quickly. Signifcantly, Google announced a return to the ‘extended reality’ space at the end of last year with the Android XR, due to be released later in 2025, while Meta, Microsoft and Snap are also in the race to develop a successful smart wearable product.