How Smartphones Will Impact the Next Generation of Laptop Designs

We at Creative Strategies recently conducted a study on what consumers want in the way of technology and specifically, how they use technology in their business and personal lives. We are especially interested in the technology workflow of the knowledge workers and what technology they use to do their jobs.

An early analysis of the data highlights one thing that is coming up about their use of smartphones and how it impacts their business workflow and how they think about getting things done. For over 25 years, the PC was the central tool for these workers to do their jobs. They would spend most of their day in front of their PC’s or taking their laptops with them to meetings if they needed a more mobile solution.

But ever since the iPhone debuted in 2007 and smartphones have become our most handy personal computer and these devices have had an impressive impact on people’s workflow. Early results of the study suggest that while knowledge workers still spend about 40% of their day on their desktop and laptops, the smartphone has become more of their go-to devices to do a quick check of their emails, check social media, do text messages and in many cases, use it for actual productivity in one form or another. The iPhone and most Android phones have major productivity apps from companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, Slack, Evernote, etc. and make it possible for smartphones to be used as productivity tools often and when needed mostly due to a more mobile business lifestyle.

There is an interesting dynamic in the works because of people’s usage and familiarity of a smartphone and how that could impact the design of things like laptops in the future. We are finding that one of the critical features of a smartphone that people love is that it has instant on and instant connectivity and they are now asking why their laptops cannot do the same thing. Even security and authentication features now the norm on smartphones are desired experiences on their notebook. Consumers are used to the way a smartphone works, and many seem to want many of those same features on their laptops as well.

This type of dynamic seems to be at the root of the Always On, Always Connected PC push by Qualcomm, Microsoft and key partners like Lenovo, Acer and others and soon to be an emphasis by Intel and some of their partners too. If you look closely at Microsoft’s broader strategy for Windows, they are purposely creating versions of Windows 10 that can run on various processor architectures besides what is offered traditionally on Intel Architecture.

Windows on these Always On, Always Connected PCs is critical for them to gain acceptance in business circles. And given what we see from our research, these could find their way into businesses and consumers over time.

One other thing that seems to be resonating with people when it comes to Always On and Always Connected PCs is that they want them ultra thin and light and very easy to pick up and use as needed. Like their smartphones, they don’t want to lug around heavy laptops that are bulky or thick. Their familiarity of the smartphone’s weight and design is going to carry over to business users, and consumers are demanding that laptops act, and in some ways, are as easy to use and access as their smartphones.

The initial Always On, Always Connected PCs were too underpowered to be considered a business productivity tool and seemed more appropriate for consumers. However, Qualcomm’s new 8CX processor that can go head to head with an Intel Core i5U chip should make the next generation of these Always On, Always Connected PCs more attractive to business users. And by early next year, Intel should have a similar low voltage processor that can go toe-to-toe with Qualcomm’s 8CX and we should see some innovative laptops in this genre by the end of 2019.

To date, we have predicted that Always On, Always Connected PCs would only account for 10% of all PCs shipped by 2022. But these new developments in faster and more power efficient processors, incorporated into really thin and light laptops that mirror smartphone experience, could gain more traction in both business and consumer markets if their designs genuinely meet the needs of users that have become more dependent on their smartphones and would like to have those types of features in their laptops as well.

Published by

Tim Bajarin

Tim Bajarin is the President of Creative Strategies, Inc. He is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts and futurists covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. Mr. Bajarin has been with Creative Strategies since 1981 and has served as a consultant to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry including IBM, Apple, Xerox, Compaq, Dell, AT&T, Microsoft, Polaroid, Lotus, Epson, Toshiba and numerous others.

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