Smartphones or cell phones are now an inseparable part of everyday life. But according to the President and CEO of Nokia Pekka Lundmark, this device will soon be abandoned in the near future.
When speaking in a discussion panel at the World Economic Forum, Lundmark predicts that 6G networks will begin to be rolled out commercially. The presence of this sixth generation network is predicted to make mobile phones obsolete.
"Right now, we're all building 5G networks, but by the time quantum computing matures for commercial applications, we'll be talking about 6G," Lundmark said, as quoted by Business Insider, Tuesday (31/5/2022).
"By then [2030], surely the smartphone as we know it today will no longer be the most common interface," he continued.
According to Lundmark, 6G will bring the physical and digital worlds together. As a result, mobile phone users will turn to devices such as VR glasses to implantable chips.
Ruth Parlot, Alphabet's Chief Financial Officer, also spoke at the same panel. He predicts that in the future people will be able to instantly translate conversations in real time using AR glasses.
Currently, there is no standard definition of 6G, although several countries and companies have started exploring the development of 6G. 5G networks alone have not fully rolled out in many countries since they were first launched commercially in 2019.
Lundmark said the migration to 6G would require a wider range of computing resources, including networks that are hundreds to thousands of times faster than 5G.
Some experts also predict that 6G will bring not only faster internet but also a big shift in the network. One of the shifts in question is interactive technology that involves other human senses, such as through the medium of taste, smell, and touch.
"There will be a physical world and there will be a digital world. Later there will be a digital twin for everything that is out there," said Lundmark.