In the recent times, there are
various speculations about the future of personal computers and evolution of
smartphones to replace PCs in the long run. Smartphones are on the rise due to
portability, easy access and affordability but on the enterprise front, it is
still used as a supporting device for performing simple tasks such drafting
e-mails, connecting to peers or surfing the web. Over time, experts believe
that smartphones may take over Wintel PC in the work place due to their dynamic
tech facilities.
Wintel PCs – Technology That Changed The Enterprise Segment
Wintel is the term for personal
computers that run on Microsoft Windows operating system and Intel microprocessors.
Microsoft built the operating system and Intel built the chips which together
formed the foundation of personal computers. For decades, these two companies
worked side by side and managed to fulfill the vision of putting a windows
computer on every desk and in every home. Intel’s influence in the tech world
runs for decades and it still rules the tech market across the world. About 99%
of computer servers in the world use Intel chips and it is pretty much the only
option for availing decent chip. There
is no other competitor for intel; even digital companies like Google, Amazon
use intel chips.
In enterprise segment Wintel dominated
the market for over 2 decades with tech innovations. However, with the
advancement of smartphones, the influence of Intel has diminished. Tech giants
are looking at other options for their business. In a recent press conference,
Microsoft announced its plan to work with ARM chips. The two companies have
decided to walk their separate ways. This doesn’t mean the end of Wintel as the
device will still continue to work but there will not be upgrades or new Wintel
models coming up.
Smartphones – A Game-changer
Smartphones are your handheld PCs
that can help to perform simple tasks like responding to e-mails, scheduling
meetings etc. However, smartphones have evolved over the years and are gearing
up to replace the traditional PCs at workplace. Smartphone giants like Apple
and Samsung create their own chips and devices, dominating the mobile phone
industry.
These days, smartphones have
better specifications that PCs such as 2.5 GHz octo-core processors, 4 GB RAM
and expandable memory. With large screen tablets and advanced smartphone
features, people abandon traditional PCs for their everyday work. Many have
increasingly comfortable using smartphones with bigger screen to work on
anything from viewing a spreadsheet to writing a full report on Word. The
modern day smartphones have become the primary gateway for internet and media
usage due to the rise of cloud computing.
Smartphone makers have developed
suites to replace personal computers with smartphones. Recent launch of Samsung
DeX running with Android, Windows Continuum and Remix Singularity using Android
are some of the examples that bring the possibility of transforming smartphones
into PCs.
New versions of smartphones are
designed to run productive and creative applications along with the ability to
scale and adapt to any screen size. They can be attached to tablets, laptops,
TV, Monitors and other consoles even using Bluetooth.
Android open source project paved
the way for smartphones to scale up the demand of running on ARM processors
which are expected to be a competition to Intel processors. Cloud computing,
web apps and streaming services of smartphones are invaluable as they reduced
the dependency of PCs for work related projects.
The Real
Question: Are We There Yet?
Though smartphones are at the
summit of innovation, are they good enough to replace PCs in the enterprise sector?
The answer is no. People are still reluctant to change to smartphones due the
comfort of using PCs for complex tasks than the capability of the device. They
are not used to perform heavy work on a small screen and thus convenience
overtook technology.
Also, Microsoft released an
update on Windows OS which has made a positive change in the enterprise sector.
Companies have updated to Windows 10 which brought a better PC sales and
expected to grow in 2018. According to a survey conducted by Gartner in the
USA, United Kingdom, China, India and Germany, it is reported that the business
PC shipments will return to growth by the end of 2017 and PC market is set to
grow 0.8% in 2018.
Also, the smartphones that are
capable of transforming into PCs have technical glitches like only one screen
can be operated at a time, lag in heavy application run, lack of creative apps
etc. Due to these factors and the development of PC operating systems, it is
likely that the personal computers like Wintel may not disappear from the
enterprise world.
What May Come In 5-Years’ Time?
The smartphones are undeniably a
part of our work culture as people tend to use Google services for e-mail,
hangout sessions and other applications for swift communication like messenger
and Whatsapp applications. Now that the smartphone makers know the pros and
cons of transforming smartphones to PCs, it is only a matter of time that we
bid good bye to Wintel PCs and welcome much user friendly and affordable
smartphones on our desks at workplace.
