The tech industry is looking to replace the smartphone — and everybody is waiting to see what Apple comes up with

The tech industry's next bet is a series of technologies usually called augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality. The few companies who are actively producing AR glasses are mostly focused on work scenarios, like manufacturing and medicine. MicrosoftMicrosoft HoloLens 2 MicrosoftMicrosoft announced its augmented reality headset, Hololens, in 2015, and released the first version in 2016. Facebook's enthusiasm for augmented reality is driven in part by its dependence on smartphone platforms from other vendors today. With cameras mounted on the front and powerful processing, virtual reality headsets can approximate augmented reality by displaying a real-time feed of the outside world.