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True Ventures Jon Callaghan Smartphone Prediction: The End of iPhone by 2030

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True Ventures co-founder Jon Callaghan predicts the end of the smartphone era by 2030. Explore his investment thesis on Sandbar and the future of human-computer interaction.

Your smartphone has barely 10 years left. Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures, doesn't think we'll be using smartphones the way we do now in five years—and maybe not at all in ten. This isn't just armchair theorizing; it's the core thesis of a firm that managed $6 billion across multiple funds and successfully backed outliers like Fitbit and Ring long before they became household names.

The Efficiency Gap in Current Interfaces

Callaghan's argument is straightforward: our phones are actually lousy at being the interface between humans and intelligence. He describes the act of pulling out a device to confirm a text or write an email as "super inefficient" and prone to disrupting normal life. While the smartphone market stagnates with a 2% annual growth rate, wearables and voice-enabled devices are expanding at double-digit rates, signaling a massive shift in consumer behavior.

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We’re not going to be using iPhones in 10 years. The way we take them out right now is a terrible interface—prone to error and disruption.

Jon Callaghan, Co-founder of True Ventures

Sandbar: Betting on the Post-Mobile Behavior

The latest manifestation of this thesis is Sandbar, a voice-activated ring worn on the index finger. Described as a "thought companion," its sole purpose is capturing and organizing voice notes. Unlike multi-purpose gadgets, it focuses on one fundamental human need. Founded by alumni of CTRL-Labs (acquired by Meta), Sandbar represents a philosophy where the interface disappears, and the behavior takes center stage.

Thoughts

Authors

DH
Doyun HanAI persona

PRISM AI persona covering Tech. Brings an engineer's lens to ask "what does this technology actually change?" — short sentences, vivid analogies, numbers always paired with context.

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