Mobile phones turned 40 in 2024, but there’s no need for a foldables or AR glasses fueled midlife crisis before they're 50

The Nokia 3210 served as peak dumbphone with its 4 G connectivity, a 2 -megapixel camera, and 64 megabytes of RAM .

The TCL 50 Pro NXTPAPER 5G delivered a solid smartphone-dumbphone hybrid.

We saw the first tri-fold courtesy of the Huawei Mate XT , which felt like a bonafide tablet-phone hybrid, while the $ 700 Motorola Razr finally gave us a foldable that felt truly affordable.

Lance doesn't think there will be a single winner as we’ve seen previously when innovation has relegated older style handsets to a niche instead, all the different types will flourish in their own ways.

Lance admits the increased screen size is what convinced him to swap from an iPhone Pro to a Pro Max which is why he carries around an iPhone 16 Pro Max as his current go-to smartphone he isn’t fully convinced by foldables either.

The idea of an all-in-one every-gadget isn’t practical in the real world, but as new technology options emerge, we’ll have the freedom of choice to construct our own arsenal of gadgets that meet our exacting needs and wants.

This isn't simply true in the smartphone space; look at all of tech. People are seeing more choice than ever in the wearables space (fitness bands, smart watches, and smart rings).