Not quite. One of the selling points when GIS entered the market was that it would provide a “Digital Terrain Model”, including elevation.
Besides, (topographical) maps allways contain elevation data.
I work with GIS on a daily basis in my current job, and it is a very powerful and convenient tool. It doesn’t do anything that I couldn’t do with a stack of paper maps and charts and files and whatnot (and training and experience); but using GIS I get the information I need in minutes instead of days.
AR on tablets is an interesting step towards using GIS data in the field; as @Roy_Brander pointed out, laptops never quite really cut it.
But never, never forget that the map is not the territory… it’s usually a good idea to allow for test drillings/excavations in the project budget.
