The future of preamps

One way or another, there has to be sufficient gain to go from line level, or phono cartridge level, to eventually be able to drive loudspeakers, such that any stages prior to the final power amp gain stage should be considered as preamp. So, in my logic, preamps will always be required as long as we are driving louspeakers.

They'll evolve and stick around for a good while but I would not invest in analog ones. Various forms of digital pre-amps have a healthy future in store still I suppose in various forms only a small % of which will remotely resemble what most of us would recognize as a traditional hifi analog pre-amp.

Tube preamps, a great tube preamp will always be a part of great sounding high end systems. They will not go away. No, they are indispensable to many with an ear for natural tone. They day they do is the day the music dies :-)

...Might be controlled from ones phone.

"Might be controlled from ones phone."

I can control my Squeezebox Touch device (which includes
digital volume) wirelessly from any mobile device including
phone or tablet on my home wifi network today.

The technology exists to control anything from a phone
today. All that is needed is a market.

I use a pre-amp mainly because I have analog source (phono
and tape) in addition to digital. It may sound better this
way as well. Never tried it without the (tube) pre-amp), so
don't know.

Even if direct does not sound sound as good as with pre-amp
in my case, I see no reason why a separate pre-amp is
required for better sound. It may or may not be better
case by case it seems to me.