Motorola Exec: Smart Glasses Are the Future, But They Won’t Replace Phones

Smart glasses and VR headsets may be the future, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be abandoning our phones any time soon. That’s according to Ruben Castano, Motorola’s head of customer experience, who spoke with CNET exclusively ahead of the company’s Edge Plus launch.

“At the center of it will always be the smartphone,” Castano said when asked about how the metaverse will influence smartphones and future devices such as smart glasses. “The smartphone is a very personal device. It’s something that you always carry with you.” 

The metaverse is a blanket term that describes online spaces where people can work, play and socialize through digital avatars, as my colleagues Scott Stein and Andrew Morse explain. The concept itself isn’t new, but there’s been a boom in interest lately as companies including Meta and Microsoft have made it a core part of their businesses. 

At the same time, tech giants such as Meta, Sony, Snap and Microsoft have made progress in the development of smart glasses and VR eyewear in recent years. Both advancements are expected to play a crucial role in the future of personal technology. If the metaverse becomes the next major evolution of the social internet, then smart glasses could one day be our preferred method for accessing it. Even Apple is rumored to be working on a headset of its own.

But a future in which people are regularly using smart glasses is still far out, according to Castano. For the time being, the most popular iterations of the metaverse will be the ones we can access in the palms of our hands. The games Minecraft, Fortnite and Roblox have been cited as examples of metaverse that exist through our phones today. 

“It’s extended reality, and there are many different flavors of that,” Castano said in reference to the metaverse. “I think normal consumers will still be able to access a lot of this metaverse, of this digital overlay, through their phone directly.”

Motorola is best known for its phones, but it’s also exploring emerging technologies like smart glasses. Its newly announced Motorola Edge Plus phone supports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Spaces XR software development platform for augmented reality glasses. Its parent company Lenovo also makes a pair of smart glasses called the ThinkReality A3.  Motorola recently announced a “5G Neckband” with Verizon, which is designed to house computing components in the interest of making smart glasses lighter. 

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Castano has thought about smart glasses and the metaverse. Smart glasses will be “the next level” devices for accessing the metaverse, he says. But they shouldn’t be considered a replacement for the phone; the two devices will likely work in tandem.

It’s emblematic of the shifting role of phones. While it’s true that we largely use them for communicating, reading emails and watching movies, they’re also becoming our digital wallets, car keys and connection hub for newer devices such as smartwatches and wireless earbuds. 

“More and more smart devices become available to consumers,” he said. “But at the end of the day, the phone will always be kind of that central controller for them.”

Still, the industry faces several important hurdles before smart glasses can become ubiquitous. That includes improving battery life and phone compatibility. There’s no telling when smart glasses will play a role in our lives, if at all. But what does seem clear is that smartphones will be a big part of that transition. 

“We’re still not there yet,” said Castano. “But we’re planting the seeds right now.” 

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