The use of the term NDE 4.0 first emerged in 2017. The more general term Industry 4.0 had been adopted from a German high-tech strategy relating to cyberphysical systems in 2011, and it now describes technical innovations that we currently see in both industry and wider society at large. Any improvement in production technologies has always required corresponding improvements in methods for checking product integrity and quality, using methods which allow assessment without degrading the product. In today’s cyberphysical production systems, machines can potentially communicate with each other and exchange or even modify production parameters, to address needs and make changes and corrections, allowing for the easier creation of customized products. These types of advanced manufacturing processes pose new challenges for nondestructive evaluation (NDE), particularly where a process such as additive manufacturing creates a unique item. The resulting next-generation testing processes and assessment methods, used to evaluate smart manufacturing products, are being termed NDE 4.0. These can also be seen as part of the cyberphysical transformation of the NDE process. Historically, since its introduction, nondestructive testing (NDT)/NDE has continuously evolved to address industry and society needs and provide the required enhanced technical capabilities. The authors will review the transitions in NDT/NDE development using examples, many being based on their own experience. They will then seek to provide some predictions for potential advances that may be seen over the next decades.