Qualcomm & AMD Unveil Always On, Always Connected Thin Machines That Are The Future Of Laptops

Laptops are dead, smartphones are in. If I had a rupee for every time someone mentioned this to me over the last five years, I would've been a millionaire.

Qualcomm Always Connected PC Prototype

There's no doubt laptops are stagnating and a lot of device level innovation is happening on smartphones. And someone has finally decided to funnel all of that smartphone goodness into laptops, giving the category of devices a new lease of life.

Earlier today, Qualcomm announced that it's rolling out a variety of Windows 10 laptops and hybrid 2-in-1 devices based on its Snapdragon 835 processor -- which is found on all of this year's flagship smartphones like Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 & OnePlus 5T, to name a few.

Beyond Intel powered laptops

Where most Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 laptops sold in the market currently fail to last for more than 3-to-12 hours at a stretch, these Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chips can power full-fledged thin and light laptops and 2-in-1 tablet-laptop convertibles that can last up to 20 plus hours on a single battery charge -- some models are expected to last even as much as 25 hours. These future thin laptops will also have Qualcomm¡¯s Snapdragon X16 Gigabit LTE modem which supports 1Gbps speeds on 4G LTE networks, doing away with the need for a Wi-Fi connection.

Qualcomm showcased two such thin laptops and 2-in-1 convertibles from HP and ASUS running Windows 10 on Snapdragon 835 processor.

ASUS NovaGo

The ASUS NovaGo is a 13-inch tablet-laptop hybrid with a Full-HD 1080p touch display, 8GB of RAM, and up to a 256GB Solid State Drive. It comes with USB 3.1 ports built in, including a microSD card slot, and is expected to sell at US $599 or around Rs 39,000.

Similarly, the all-aluminium HP Envy x2 is similar to a Microsoft Surface Pro -- a premium 2-in-1 with a kickstand design, which is a premium-built 2-in-1 detachable with a kickstand design. It's thin at 6.9 mm, offers 20 hours of always-on battery life, has a Full-HD 1080p touch display with a stylus included, a 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM complete the package. It sells around the same price as the ASUS NovaGo.

How to make the PC more like a smartphone

With the Always On, Always Connected Snapdragon 835 laptops, Qualcomm's trying to encroach into traditional PC market dominated by Intel processors, and they're crystal clear about their strategy.

"We¡¯re not trying to create a PC that basically is designed to compare with what the PC is today," said Cristiano Amon, Head of Qualcomm's chip business. "What we¡¯re thinking is how can we make the PC more like a smartphone."

For most consumers, who just want a thin and light laptop that can last as long as a smartphone can, connect to 4G networks (thanks to plunging data access costs), and let you stay connected for the maximum amount of time, no doubt these Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (& 845?) chip-based re-invented laptops will be a big hit.