What are experts saying on what spatial computing looks like in the next 2-5 years?

Within the next two to five years, the spatial computing landscape will be defined by a race to establish a dominant hardware form factor and a symbiotic relationship with artificial intelligence. A leading vision, articulated by Snap's Evan Spiegel, posits that lightweight, sunglass-like augmented reality glasses will emerge as the next primary computing interface [1, 10]. This approach, backed by a **12-year investment** and vertical integration of key components, aims to combine the wearability of normal glasses with the power of a spatial computer like the Apple Vision Pro, directly contrasting with what is described as a "road to nowhere" with bulky VR headsets [2, 4, 10]. Snap plans to release its Spectacles to consumers in 2026, marking a significant step in this direction [6, 21]. The market is expected to be fragmented, with success depending not just on hardware specifications but also on ecosystem integration and fashion partnerships .

The initial adoption of AR glasses is predicted to be driven by productivity and large-screen replacement rather than entertainment. Experts anticipate that use cases for **TVs and desktop displays** will be the first to transition to AR, effectively bringing the power of a multi-monitor setup to a mobile form factor [7, 13, 29]. This shift is intended to overcome the single-app limitation of smartphones, enabling powerful on-the-go multitasking . While millions of people are expected to be trying AR/XR glasses by 2026, they are not projected to become as mainstream as smartphones within this immediate timeframe . The core value proposition is a move from isolated, single-player computing on phones and laptops to shared, collaborative experiences where multiple users can interact with the same digital objects overlaid on the real world [1, 12].

Artificial intelligence is viewed as the primary catalyst that will accelerate AR adoption. The paradigm of work is expected to shift from manual operation to monitoring AI agents, making a persistent, portable workstation more valuable [18, 19]. This aligns with broader predictions that every knowledge worker will have a personal AI agent within **three to five years** and that AI environments will become the primary operating system for work [26, 27]. AR glasses are positioned as the ideal hardware for this future, enabling tasks like AI-assisted on-the-job training and real-world problem-solving . This new platform will be populated by a wave of new applications, with some experts believing that 99% of the software the world needs will be built in the next five years, largely driven by AI's new capabilities .

Despite the momentum behind AR glasses, a significant strategic tension exists regarding the future of the computing interface. While one camp champions a new hardware form factor to unlock spatial computing's potential, a contrarian view holds that the industry's focus on screenless or new-form-factor devices is misguided [10, 25]. This alternative perspective argues that the true next-generation platform will be the smartphone, but with a revolutionary, **AI-first operating system** that deeply integrates local model execution and personalization at its core, rather than as an application layer . This disagreement highlights a fundamental debate: whether the next leap in computing will be driven by a new physical interface that brings digital content into our world, or by a profound software and AI-based reimagining of the devices we already carry.