We see progress in several tech areas, such as smartphones and cars.You might be asking, will the current laptop ever evolve?
On December 5th, at the Qualcomm Tech Summit, Microsoft partnered with Qualcomm to showcase “Always-Connected PCs”. The uniqueness of these laptops lies on the collaboration between ARM, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, and Windows 10. The Snapdragon 835 is best known for being included in a wide variety of smartphones. The inclusion of the mobile chip into laptops carries many benefits such as up to 22 hours of battery and instant connectivity through the integrated LTE modem. These new mobile laptops are going to ship with Windows 10 S, which depends on the Microsoft Store for their applications. Windows 10 Pro will be offered as an upgrade and will enable the devices to run full desktop apps, such as Photoshop. The initial companies bringing the concept to life are Asus and HP. As of December 17, Samsung, Xiaomi, and Lenovo have announced their involvement for 2018.
The fact that the Always-Connected PCs are priced on a similar range as full Intel core computers is worrisome. Will the power and average consumer replace processing and graphics quality for longevity and connectivity? I am not totally convinced. The Snapdragon laptop offers significant benefits to consumers that are always on the move. Maybe it will be of utility for the business owner that travels on a daily basis. Is it a niche product? I think so. In a market full of Chromebooks and full-featured laptops of all price ranges, it won’t come as a surprise for Always-Connected PCs to struggle with the mainstream consumer. Even though I have placed the product in a bad light, I still think its a clear indicator of mobile computing moving forward.
Sources
https://www.windowscentral.com/hands-hp-envy-x2-always-connected-pc-video
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3240991/computers/the-always-connected-pc-is-coming-but-its-full-cost-remains-unknown.html
http://pocketnow.com/2017/12/05/qualcomm-and-microsoft-bring-on-always-connected-pcs-asus-novago
http://pocketnow.com/2017/12/17/samsung-and-xiaomi-reportedly-also-bringing-windows-10-always-connected-pcs
