Laptops have been with us for a while now but they are far less portable than they appear to be on first sight.
There is a very logical way to break a laptop down in to units that are more practical on their own and which don't necessarily need to be carried with you at all times although when they do they can be compressed using individual space optimisation techniques that allow the whole to be easier to carry.
If you simply break a laptop down in to:
- keyboard
- cursor movement device
- "mothership"
- screen/webcam/speakers/mic
then you suddenly have more freedom to choose what you carry and how you transport it:
- Offices can supply monitors, keyboards, etc. and you can have them at home as well. During the commute you simply have your mothership
- Airports and other public spaces can have monitors allowing you to only need the input device(s) and mothership for carry on whilst your screen can be stored away
- Borrow input and monitors at friends places, etc. so rarely need more than your mothership
- Different IO devices depending on context
- Future proof:
- A "dumb smartphone", a smartphone-like IO device connected to the mothership
- Various VR/AR devices
- Various input devices, smart clothing, etc.
- Evolving individual components without affecting the entire spectrum (eg. improved input devices, new processing units)
With the freedom to think about how to compress each device individually and the freedom for people to choose what devices they use there is better opportunity for individual choice, accessibility, etc. there are still possibilities for adaptations that match those of a laptop for example.
Whilst it seems obvious to include a touchscreen device on the mothership I imagine this would be limited in use, more for docking so small widgets, notifications, etc. due to the bulkiness. By having a connected mothership which is calable of the heavy lifting, mobile devices are able to consume less power and become less restricted ergonomically whilst still being highly capable.
This would require some sort of resiliant connection protocol that can work across an array of connection standards to allow the devices to have a direct, secure, connection as long as they're both on and connected to the internet that can handle a richly coupled experienced. I imagine this can be handled elegantly in application execution with straightforward user experience that doesn't require much knowledge about how this all works in general. Same at the API layer. This same standard should be applicable for all mothership IO device connections, with the expectation that all IO devices have some sort of CPU and software controlling them.
Today Steam announced a device that I think is a good step towards achieving the above: https://www.steamdeck.com/en/tech
The ergonomics of:
- having a smaller device than a laptop
- that's more powerful than most laptops
- that's affordable
- that can be connected to external input/output devices
are an excellent design decision in collaboration that can be used with slightly smarter work/home office setups.
This is a very smart device. It has stirred my imagination.
