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Are laptops becoming obsolete?

Moltres Rider

Banned
992
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13
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Everything is tablet computers nowadays... so are regular laptops becoming obsolete??? All I hear are about tablet computers and not too much about laptop computers. Are laptops starting to become obsolete?
 
22,952
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Until business travelers can do all of their work efficiently from a tablet, traditional laptops will not be obsolete. What we're far more likely to see is a fusion device that has a touchscreen and a full-size keyboard, a few of these types of devices already existing on the market.
 

Gyardosamped

entering snake habitat
1,462
Posts
18
Years
Actually, one could argue that desktops are becoming obsolete rather than laptops. I mean, yeah, tablets are starting to take on more of the duties that a normal computer can do (and you can even connect a bluetooth mouse/keyboard to most of them), but I don't think most have enough power to process what a normal computer/laptop could, like gaming, for example. Both tablets and laptops are convenient because they are mobile and efficient, but I see tablets as more for reading, casual browsing of the internet, and for apps/games, and maybe for some word processing, whereas laptops are able to take on more complicated functions. I don't know.. just my take. But I feel as though desktops are becoming more obsolete because they're just so inconvenient to use now..
 

Emburn

<3
102
Posts
10
Years
I hate touch screens, really. They seem to get laggy and glitchy fast and it's harder to game on them. Therefore, laptops are much better. Tablets just make you look young and hip.
 
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If tablets ever become as powerful as a laptop can be, then yes, laptop will slowly be obsolete. I don't see it happening in the immediate future, though.
 
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Oh god no, I don't see laptops becoming obsolete for a good 20+ years, and that's only if the majority of computer companies throw all their resources and upcoming software at tablets. I know tablets are currently the new fad, but if anything from what I've seen it's been replacing peoples smart phones. People who I have seen with tablets have still had a computer, but have had a bog standard calling/texting phone.
I could however see hybrid laptops replacing laptops and tablets if they take off. Things like microsoft surface and such could potentially be very popular if they become more cost friendly. So far they are much more expensive than most laptops and aren't even working towards standards that will allow you to comfortably run most up to date software people use nowadays.

Also on a quick side note
Actually, one could argue that desktops are becoming obsolete rather than laptops....

Even desktops aren't really becoming obsolete. Yes they're becoming less mainstream, but laptops will never be as powerful as the best desktop computers. And laptops come with a higher security risk as their high portability is a huge risk. Think about places like libraries, companies and even school. A lot more laptops would go missing if people were able to pick them up and slip them into a bag when nobody is around.
 
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Laptops are most definitely not becoming obsolete! I mean, I may have gotten a tablet recently, but the reason I bought it was to not replace a laptop. I would still use a laptop for assignments for college and certainly to browse with a full-fledged computer on the go. Tablets also don't have physical keyboards, which mean typing won't be as proficient as it is with a laptop.

Sure tablets may be the thing for now, but honestly, laptops will live to be forever, unless tablets can somehow gain the ability to run just like a laptop (which would essentially turn the tablet into a laptop itself) or if laptops somehow get banned from production, which is highly and extremely unlikely.
 
5,281
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14
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  • Age 29
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As someone who personally finds it much more comfortable to browse the internet stretched out with a laptop on my knee typing with my hands resting on it than to have to use one hand to hold the tablet and another to jab at the screen...no, laptops are not becoming obselete.
Desktops, for the casual user such as myself? Possibly. But as laptops and tablets get more powerful, so too do desktops, so they're probably just going to go back where they started as a niche for techies. Just my thoughts.
 

Purple Materia

Shape the future!
785
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  • Age 29
  • Seen Apr 12, 2014
Noooooooooooooooo way.

Tablets have come a long way, but nothing beats the accuracy and feel of a keyboard and (USB) mouse.
 
7,741
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17
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  • Seen Sep 18, 2020
Not obsolete, no. They might replace them in market niche, which would be cause for many to consider them obsolete, but laptops are essentially different. It'd be like the silent death of the CRT, superseded but not unanimously improved upon by its replacement.
 

Meganium

[i]memento mori[/i]
17,226
Posts
13
Years
My former networking professor once told me that laptops are slowly becoming obsolete and the time for tablets are quickly taking over. Sooner or later we're going to see more people using tablets for basically everything. We're going to minimize the use of keyboards as most touchscreen keyboards that come with laptops & tablets are mostly going to be used/accustomed.

Personally, I still want laptops to remain in existence as I'm still not too fond with tablets and touchscreen keyboards. But sometimes the slow transition from laptops to tablets are becoming extremely helpful, especially for the disabled who cannot use a keyboard to get by on the computer and have to rely on everything on the touchscreen.

I'm sure laptops will continue to stick around for many more years to come, just updated and more suitable to the touch and hopefully we don't have to rely on *just* tablets.
 

New Eden

Ascension to heaven
406
Posts
10
Years
I doubt it. Sure the two may be in the same market, and tablets might take the market share away (unless it already has,) but there are still plenty of things that my laptop can do that my tablet cannot. If the tablet can compare itself to a typical laptop in terms of features and power, I do not think they will be making the laptop obsolete any time soon.
 

Legendary Silke

[I][B]You like dragons?[/B][/I]
5,925
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13
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  • Age 30
  • Seen Dec 23, 2021
Until we see tablets that can truly take over productivity tasks well, we probably wouldn't be moving to tablets anytime soon. Typing on a touch surface feels very different from typing on actual keyboards, even of the scissor-switch variety.

...That's why I'm quite interested in the Microsoft Surface with the Type Cover. Tablet with an actual keyboard and trackpad? Sign me up.
 
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15
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  • Age 32
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Tablets are just not as efficient for normal usage, at the moment. They require a stand and an attachable keyboard to enable faster typing (and multitasking is a pain).

I'm pretty sure that, outside of workplaces, offices, etc., that laptops are more commonplace that desktops, nowadays.
 
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  • Age 25
  • Seen Dec 16, 2022
No they aren't. The day that tables replace laptops and psychical keyboards are obsolete is they day i become Amish.
 

Synerjee

[font=Itim]Atra du evarinya ono varda.[/font]
2,901
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11
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No. Laptops are a necessity in almost every student's lives. Imagine typing out a 2000 word essay on an iPad or a Samsung Tab. Possible, yes, but highly inconvenient. I personally prefer the solid and convincing touch of a keyboard than a pane of glass. I do use tablets, but I won't be permanently switching over to them anytime soon.
 
1,959
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13
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  • Age 26
  • Seen Jul 14, 2021
I don't think it will displace the laptop. The laptop is just a portable computer while a tablet sometimes needs a laptop to do things, so its like a 3 year old kid without his parents before he could do anything. Like many of the others had said, typing on a touchscreen is just too difficult and a physical keyboard would be better obviously. There are also games that are only compatible on a Computer (i call laptops and PCs them), as tablets probably couldn't catch up with the laptop with its thin and small, making the space for the computer chips limited, and hence, wouldn't have the same amount of horsepower squeezed into a laptop.
 
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