Now with so many people using tablets and smartphones, laptops are likely to be outdated in the future. If it depends on Microsoft and Qualcomm, this situation will not happen soon. More specifically, both companies announced their Always Connected line of personal computers. This is an interesting thing to see, although the market for such devices is yet to be seen.
While it may be convenient to use a smartphone or tablet for productivity purposes, they will never truly replace laptops. The disadvantage of most laptops is their lack of battery life, which can be troublesome without the WiFi hotspot. There are always ways to get around these problems, but for the average consumer, they are a huge drawback. Microsoft and Qualcomm acknowledge that change is also needed in this area.
Their new line of personal computers is called the Always Connected series. These devices run Windows 10 and can open in seconds and will always have an LTE connection ready for use. More importantly, their battery life is measured in days instead of hours.
On the surface, there is nothing that dislikes these devices, as they seem to have checked many correct boxes for people who travel frequently. In addition, some of the largest computer makers will start building hardware for this new product line, which should introduce some competition in this market.
At the same time, it feels like it used to be the same. Microsoft tried to introduce people to ARM devices running Windows using Surface RT tablets. Sadly, these tablets never reach too much because they are expensive and do not provide the solution most people are looking for. It’s commendable to see Microsoft running again in this market without having to create a tablet at this time. Instead, connect the computer forever and look and feel like a small laptop, which is a good place to start.
Using a Qualcomm chipset to power Windows 10 computers is not a new idea. Microsoft hinted this development a year ago, though not much news came. The only major development is the demonstration of Win32 applications running on this hardware, but very quiet after the fact. Although the new equipment is not yet in production, it will be available in the spring of 2018. The price has not yet been announced, it is only expected.
According to Microsoft, the selling points for these devices include instant-on screens. This seems to confirm that these devices lack sleep patterns, but this should not negatively affect battery life. Built-in LTE is also very interesting, but if this is the feature consumers are willing to use remains to be seen.
Moreover, charging these devices once a week should be more than enough. All of these points sound great, but we will have to await real-life tests to make sure the devices can deliver on their promise.
Since the device natively supports Win32 applications, most users should not have problems running their favorite tools. They support Paint, Office, Minecraft and anything else that one can think of. The default browser is Edge, though most people may replace it with something else in the future. The initial operating system will be Windows 10 S, but upgrading to Windows 10 Pro will be provided free of charge. This is a nice performance for Microsoft because Windows 10 S is too limited for many people.
Reference: https://themerkle.com/microsoft-and-qualcomm-unveil-lte-enabled-always-connected-pcs/