What is a desktop? New designs will change home computing, says Intel
At its keynote at Computex 2014, Intel sees unconventional design as the future of the PC in your home.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- From cheaper All-in-Ones to mini PCs, Intel has told Computex a wide range of new PC designs will grow the market for computers around the typical home.
There has already been growth in PC sales in 2014, driven by factors such as the end of XP. NPD data saw March 2014 deliver 16 percent growth year-on-year in the desktop category. Intel thinks a lot of users might be looking to swap their old computers not just for the same big box and screen, but something different. And there's plenty of different coming soon.
New, lower-powered chips are set to increase the range of All-in-One (AIO) PC options in the market, with Intel predicting a 50 percent increase in the number of available designs. This includes a mix of portable and stationary AIO products, including lay-flat options and battery powered designs. In a shift from typical entry pricing in the US$849 to US$999 range, Intel expects to see new AIO price points starting from US$599 (£359, AU$649).
For this year's 'Back to School' season in North America and Europe, Intel also predicts we will see Baytrail-D powered AIO computers starting from as low as US$349 (£209). That compares with pricing from US$499 (£299) around the same time last year.
Alongside these AIO designs, Intel points to 2.5x growth in the mini PC market since 2012. Right now Intel is tracking 20 designs in this space across partner organisations. This includes computers like the Intel NUC, Apple Mac Mini, Asus Chromebox, HP Chromebox and the Gigabyte Brix. Intel expects we will see a lot of very compact, highly powered devices popping up over the course of this year.
Intel expects such mini PC boxes to be capable of acting as media centres, gaming PCs, home hubs, personal clouds, as well as serving many commercial applications.
We're already seeing some of these new approaches and price points, like the Dell Inspiron 20 3000 , here at Computex. No doubt we'll have more as we continue to explore the show floor.