Great stuff from Om Malik. But I disagree with this…

The smartphones didn’t kill the desktop or the notebook computer — it just took away its preeminence as a platform of technology’s future. The “AI” devices are going to do the same for the smartphone — not today, but eventually.

These devices will do nothing to replace smartphones. The only interesting thing they’re doing is integrating AI into core OS features. Smartphones are doing and will continue to do this more. In ways these devices can’t. And nothing about these devices’ form factor or interaction model is truly novel.

Something will replace the smartphone eventually. And its neat that these devices exist and are trying stuff out. But the smartphone will assimilate everything these devices are doing LONG before they’re a threat.