Intel has highlighted recently a new trend in mobile computing that signals the advent of laptops behaving increasingly like smartphones. The giant American chip maker discussed at its annual Intel Developer Forum a technology that may signal more futuristic laptop designs.
A couple of examples already on the market are the HP's cutting-edge EliteBook Folio 1020 and the extremely thin 12-inch MacBook. The interior design of these innovative laptops is closer to smartphones rather than to traditional PCs.
Intel's Skylake newest chip is already the 6th generation of Intel processors. According to EE Times, its design has several features in common with smartphone processors from Apple and Qualcomm. On the same conclusion also has come an analysis of the new chip at Ars Technica. The publication also highlights the new chip's increasing similarities to smartphone processors.
It seems that Intel's principal goal is to make laptop processors more about saving power rather than keep improving their performance. This is the same guiding principle that stands behind the Apple processors that power the iPhone. The overriding objective of Apple, besides incremental increases in iPhone's performance, is to increase the battery life.
The same objective stays behind the mobile version of Skylake, in an attempt of Intel to keep pace with Apple. As smartphones become more and more popular, Intel is forced to emulate the best things about the iPhone's processor. This means focusing more on video and image processing and less on traditional math performance, in addition to maintaining good battery life. According to Intel's statement, we will be able to find first laptops with the mobile version of Skylake inside by the end of the year.
Another new trend is the extreme laptop design. An increasing segment of the market is morphing into a kind of hybrid between a traditional PC and a large smartphone. Apple launched the trend earlier this year with the introduction of the 12-inch Retina MacBook. The emphasis of the gadget is on portability rather than performance.
However, it's not just Apple. One of HP's most advanced laptops is the 12.5-inch EliteBook Folio 1020, which it's also a candidate for a future Skylake chip, same as Apple's Retina MacBook.
By using soon Intel's 6th generation of processors with increasing characteristics of smartphone chips, both companies will push the laptop out the box. The laptop as we know it might have no future. A new generation of hybrid mobile computing devices, at the edge between a smartphone and a tablet PC, might soon replace the "old" laptop design.
