Search, swipe, repeat? Not for long: the tech giants planning a post-screen future

Are smartphones dying? It sounds absurd in 2025 when most people are still glued to them. But last week's announcements from Google and OpenAI suggest something more profound is starting to stir beneath the glossy glass of our handheld companions.

What we're seeing isn't just a new app or hardware refresh. It's the start of a shift that could rival Google Search in 1998 or the iPhone in 2007. Both moments transformed how we interact with information and each other. This next chapter could do the same.

Except it begins not with a screen but with a conversation. It's the kind of shift Steve Ballmer famously failed to recognize when he laughed at the idea of a phone without a keyboard right before the touchscreen changed everything. Let's unpack what's happening.

Google takes aim at its own core offering

At its I/O 2025 event, Google did something that caught even longtime observers off guard. It stepped away from its cash cow. Search, the tool that built its empire, is being quietly set aside for a more conversational, AI-first experience.

In the US, users can now toggle into a new mode that trades the familiar wall of links for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered assistant. Instead of directing you to ten possible pages, it simply provides an answer.

Google just announced their massive AI update in Search.

Google will now Google for you.

Here's what you need to know: pic.twitter.com/xXmWHN29hF

undefined Min Choi (@minchoi) May 15, 2024

That might sound like a user-friendly option. But it changes everything. Co-founder Sergey Brin revealed that this AI system doesn't just skim the top search results. It can analyze the top thousand, follow up with more in-depth queries, and produce insights that go beyond what a single person could reasonably achieve. Search becomes synthesis.

Except, there's a downside.

The slow fade of the scroll

The new zero-click AI search mode buries traditional links. Instead of nudging you toward websites, it keeps you inside the AI interface. That means less traffic to independent sites, fewer clicks on actual content, and a slow strangling of the open web. Google's algorithm created the clutter, and now the company is cleaning it up by skipping those same pages entirely.

If AI tools are now capable of researching, comparing, and summarizing information, what does that mean for us? We're on the edge of becoming less involved. Instead of clicking and browsing, we might soon be delegating. We are increasingly outsourcing our critical thinking to an increasing number of AI agents who will shop, book, browse, and watch on our behalf. Our job? Just approve or reject.

That naturally raises questions about the device itself. If the primary interaction isn't visual, do we still need to keep looking at a screen? Do we still need a phone in the traditional sense?

Jony Ive's next big thing

This is where Jony Ive enters stage left. The man who helped shape the iPhone has returned to design the next phase of computing. Only this time, he's not refining what exists. He's trying to leave it behind.

OpenAI has merged with its hardware company, io Products, backed by Microsoft. Their goal is to develop a new kind of AI-powered interface that relies on no traditional screen at all.

Whether it's glasses, a wristband, or something else entirely, they want to build what feels as natural as breathing. Always there, always listening, always helpful.

We break down the recent OpenAI-Jony Ive deal, its ramifications for the future of tech aesthetics…

…and how the partnership just opened up an important conversation in tech that we’ve never had before. 👇 pic.twitter.com/S382xfoa1D

undefined Pirate Wires (@PirateWires) May 24, 2025

The real contest isn't about phones or glasses. It's about where your attention lives. Whoever owns that owns everything. That's why Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, and now OpenAI are chasing new ways to interact. Meta's glasses, Apple's headset projects, and Amazon's Alexa+ initiative. Each of them is a shot at becoming your default assistant.

The moment mainstream audiences talk to their AI instead of swiping, everything changes. The app becomes irrelevant. The brand matters less. What remains important is who delivers the best outcome with the least friction.

Frictionless is precisely what AI aims to be

Think about how we use phones today. We unlock them, tap around, and scroll through screens. Shortly, much of that may be handled behind the scenes. You tell your assistant to book a trip, and it handles flights, lodging, and itinerary. You ask what to wear, and it checks the weather and your calendar.

The device becomes more like a shadow than a tool. Something ambient. Something responsive. Something invisible until you need it. That's not a wild guess. It's already in progress.

Goodbye to the web we knew?

There's a cost to this convenience. If AI tools no longer refer you to the source material, what happens to the people creating that content? Writers, artists, coders, or businesses that spent thousands on SEO to get to the front page of Google are now at risk of becoming invisible.

🤖 New Google Documentation with guidelines for AI search with a final recommendation to stop focusing on visits as a metric 👇

* Focus on unique, valuable content for people: Focus on making unique, non-commodity content that visitors from Search and your own readers will find… pic.twitter.com/qtz3GDUYLm

undefined Aleyda Solis 🕊️ (@aleyda) May 21, 2025

Even when AI provides correct answers, there is no guarantee that it will indicate the source of the information. The summary might be spot on. Or completely wrong. And most users won't double-check - that puts trust in the system rather than in individual sources.

AI can do in seconds what would take a human a week. But that power demands scrutiny, mainly when it feeds on the work of others.

Glasses are the stepping stone

When Google Glass first launched, it was widely mocked. However, battery life is now better, voice technology is more accurate, and users are more open to new formats.

Meta already has smart glasses on the market, and everyone wants them. Amazon, Apple, and Google are all reportedly preparing AR glasses. But these aren't the finish line. They're just what comes next. Something else is around the corner. Something smaller. Less visible. More powerful.

Smart glasses finally make sense 😎#AndroidXR #GoogleIO2025 pic.twitter.com/zD5PURygsg

undefined Oleh Zasadnyy (@ozasadnyy) May 20, 2025

Imagine stopping the way you use your phone today. No more browsing for the best deal or scrolling through recommendations. Your assistant learns your habits, understands your preferences, and acts on your behalf.

That shift could redefine everything from e-commerce to entertainment.

Carl Pei thinks apps are done. Critics say it's a trap

Not everyone agrees on how this shift should unfold. Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing and a frequent critic of Apple, recently argued that the company has lost its creative spark. He claims the future of smartphones won't be shaped by hardware at all but by a single, intelligent application that replaces the need for multiple apps.

In his view, the operating system will become the primary interface, learning from user behavior and automating daily tasks without requiring step-by-step input. But this idea has sparked considerable pushback.

Many see the "one app to rule them all" model as little more than a gateway to platform consolidation. If a single interface controls your calendar, search, shopping, and communication, the risk of lock-in grows exponentially.

NOTHING PHONE CEO: undefinedIn the Future There Will Be No More Appsundefined

In the Nothing YouTube channel, CEO Carl Pei revealed his groundbreaking vision for the future of AI in smartphones. With over 4 billion users and 1 billion smartphones shipped annually, Pei emphasized the need for a… pic.twitter.com/dX2EpYGdgI

undefined AIIA (@Aiinaustralia) June 10, 2024

Pei acknowledges that consumers aren't ready for that future and says adoption would take at least a decade. However, critics argue that removing choice in the name of simplicity benefits companies more than it does users. The question isn't just whether this future is possible, it's whether it's desirable.

Still swiping? So was everyone in 2007

Let's be honest. The smartphone isn't going away next year. Neither is the current form of the web. These changes will take time, but the early indicators are here. The tools are maturing. The interfaces are shifting. The ideas, once fringe, are becoming mainstream.

AI companions. Voice-first devices. Context-aware systems. They aren't labs anymore. They're showing up in product roadmaps and everyday use. The companies betting on this future aren't small.

This part feels strange to write on my laptop, with a phone nearby, browser tabs open, and half my attention on the screen. But I can feel it. The same hesitation Ballmer showed in 2007 when he laughed at the iPhone. A phone with no keyboard? Who would want that? Turns out, most of us.

At the time, the idea seemed impractical. Today, it feels like second nature. Now, we're hearing similar reactions about AI assistants and screenless devices. Too weird. Too niche. Too early.

Maybe. But not for long.

The death of websites and smartphones is still a long way off, but we're entering a new phase of computing. Not driven by more megapixels or slimmer bezels but by intelligence, context, and conversation. We're not up there yet. But the future isn't tapping on a screen - it's listening, and it's already responding.