​Top 5 PC Trends for 2017

Peering into the future (David Vespoli, Flickr)

Millennials are spending more, not less, time with their PCs than before. Studies indicate that the average time spent on a PC has gone up by 12 minutes since 2012. In addition, consumers are spending twice as much time watching movies and TV shows on PCs rather than tablets and smartphones combined.

As consumers become prolific creators, consumers and sharers of content, we believe that display innovations will be a key feature that will drive customer satisfaction. Against this backdrop, there will be plenty to look forward to in the personal computing space in 2017.

• AR/VR Gaming – The AR/VR gaming space is projected to explode as a trend in 2017. With over 50 different headsets displayed at CES 2017, gaming systems are set to dominate the PC market. We can anticipate that these technologies will grow beyond the PC gaming world as new uses are discovered for the technologies. For example, schools are piloting “Virtual Reality Corners” to diversify the learning process, bringing headsets and AR-compatible devices into the classroom.
  
  
• Display Innovations – Thanks to growing consumer interest for AR/VR gaming, display innovations subsequently follow on the fast track to growing PC trends. Curved gaming displays, as with AR/VR technology, call for vibrant, snappy visuals. Outside of gaming displays, we introduced the ThinkPad X1 Yoga with its OLED display. Meanwhile, 4K displays are fast becoming a standard.

• IoT Integration – IoT will continue to leave an impression in 2017 as industry observers are already predicting “The Internet of Everything” to be a disruptive trend in technology for the year. Expect to see significant growth in both the consumer and B2B market where smart connectivity extends to virtually any endpoint in the home or workplace.
  
  
• Versatility in Laptops and Tablets – In a recent report, IDC forecasts that detachables can be considered as a PC replacement in the commercial space, with the detachable category expected to account for 31 percent of the tablet market by 2020, an increase from its current market share of 16 percent. 2017 will undoubtedly see an abundance of convertible and detachable devices on the market as portability and versatility remain top of mind for PC users who are becoming more mobile at work and at home.

• Extended PC Lifecycles --– In the commercial space, analysts forecast PC-as-a-Service (PCaaS) will help PC vendors transform transactional PC sales into longer-term and more profitable engagements by expanding their services portfolios bundled with PC sales. IDC also surveyed IT buyers across a range of company sizes about PCaaS, and found that almost half of respondents said they engaged in the past 12 months or are considering engaging in the next 12 months in PCaaS. This means IT decision makers are positioned to drive and grow the PC market with customised add-on services to maintain and extend the lifecycle of the device.

Matt Codrington, Managing Director, Lenovo Australia and New Zealand