A new breed of laptop
Is this the dawn of the multi-day laptop battery? ‘‘Always connected personal computers’’ – or ACPCs – refer to a new breed of Windows laptops with three key features: a battery that can last multiple days; instant-on access when you open the lid or touch a key; and an optional high-speed cellular connection, to avoid hunting for a wi-fi hotspot to get online.
In other words, your laptop will behave a lot more like your smartphone.
Qualcomm, the world’s largest smartphone chip maker, is largely spearheading this emerging category. ‘‘Today, you’re lucky if you can get 15 hours of battery performance so where I see the breakthrough here is a new benchmark of 22 hours, and standby of at least a week,’’ says technology analyst Tim Bajarin.
In fact, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, manufacturer ASUS is claiming battery life of up to 22 hours of continuous video playback, and up to 30 days on standby.
At US$799 (NZ$1100), the ASUS NovaGo will also be the first always-connected PC with a 360-degree flip hinge, making it a ‘‘2-in-1’’ that can convert from laptop to a tablet by bending back the 13.3-inch screen and the first with Gigabit speeds, for an alwayson, always-connected experience.
‘‘I’ve been using these devices for many months, and the one thing that often gets overlooked is the ‘always on’ feature,’’ adds Miguel Nunes, senior director of product management at Qualcomm.
‘‘Like your smartphone, even when the screen is off, it’s still connected, so when I open the lid, it does facial recognition, and I’m ready to go.’’
Speed boon, too
Along with multi-day battery performance, these always-on PCs take advantage of ubiquitous cellular connectivity.
ASUS is supporting both a nano SIM and built-in eSIM, the latter of which allows you to easily switch networks in areas that support it.
Cellular connectivity is optional with always-connected PCs, since the user must pay for data.
Details are still scarce on provider pricing plans.
ASUS says users may work directly with Microsoft on data plan activation or directly with a provider, for instance – but SIMsupported laptops haven’t been adopted by the mainstream in the past.
‘‘Consumers are often reluctant to pay extra money for an additional data SIM, so until we see people actually putting down dollars for connectivity, I’m not sure if that will drive ACPCs,’’ says Bajarin. ‘‘What will drive this is 22 hours of battery life. Ultimately, the consumer wants all-day computing, even though always-connected would be a good feature, too.’’
Tradeoffs? Perhaps
These always-on PCs sound amazing, no doubt, between long battery life, always-on architecture, and LTE connectivity. So, what’s the catch, you ask?
Though it’s too early to know for sure, power and compatibility might not be what you’re used to with previous Windows laptops.
Intel has been trying to make PCs more mobile for six or seven years, with ultrabooks, then with 3G and 4G connectivity options.
Even Qualcomm concedes it is not going after those who demand serious horsepower.
‘‘For full disclosure, we are not a high-end gaming PC. That’s not Qualcomm,’’ says Nunes.
‘‘Our strength is in mobility, thin and light devices, and with Microsoft, we focused heavily on what people are doing with their devices.’’
While ASUS and HP have confirmed support for Qualcomm’s ACPCs, not everyone is on board.
‘‘Dell is not planning to announce any PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors in the foreseeable future,’’ said Jay Parker, president of the client product group at Dell.
‘‘We find that our customers don’t want to sacrifice full functionality and performance – that’s what our products deliver. The current Snapdragon processor doesn’t allow us to strike that right balance today.’’ – TNS