Dell claims future of the PC lies in wireless charging, augmented reality and subscription payment
Dell introduces what it claims is world's first wireless-charging two-in-one laptop at Dell EMC World, as it shares its vision on where the PC market is heading
Dell has pledged that client computing "remains core to our business", and lifted the lid on what it sees as the future of the PC - including augmented reality, subscription payment models, and wireless charging.
At the inaugural Dell EMC World event in Las Vegas this week, Dell has not shied away from talking up its end-user computing past - and future. In the opening keynote speech of day two of the gathering, Dell Technologies chief marketing officer Jeremy Burton shone a light on how the company believes the PC will evolve in the coming years, as well as some of the technology the vendor is ready to bring to market now.
Burton introduced the Latitude 7285, which Dell claims is the world's first wireless-charging two-in-one laptop. Also showcased was the Canvas, a 27-inch monitor pitched at the design industry, which customers can use with a stylus, for drawing, and a ‘totem' dial-style tool for cursor control.
"The PC is smack bang in the centre of what is going on in the world," said Burton. "Augmented reality and virtual reality are technologies that are now at the tipping point. This will be a $45bn [annual] hardware market, and a $35bn software market by 2025."
Daqri, an augmented reality specialist which makes gear including smart glasses and helmets, partners with Dell, and its technology can be used in conjunction with Dell's ruggedised mobile computing devices. Daqri CEO Brian Mullins singled out the construction industry as one in which augmented reality (AR) already has demonstrable business use cases.
"The partnership between Daqri and Dell will allow us to bring [to market] enterprise-scale AR for the first time," he said.
Beyond this relationship, Dell is also looking to forge partnerships with other AR and VR players, and is launching a partner programme through which to formalise ties with industry specialists.
"We want to work with a broad ecosystem to make this a reality," said Burton.
Another client innovation will be embedding VMware's AirWatch enterprise mobility management into some of its client computing devices, a move announced onstage by CEO Michael Dell. The company founder also revealed that the vendor's PC-as-a-service offering will be available across the world during 2017.
"We are announcing the global rollout of our PC-as-a-service, which combines the latest Dell PCs with financing services and support for a single predictable price per month," he said.
Shipments, revenues, and ASPs up
The vendor has also pointed to the quantifiable success of its existing PC portfolio this week, and claims that it is currently in the middle of what will be its 18th consecutive quarter of market-share improvement in the PC market. In Dell's fourth fiscal quarter, which closed on 3 February 2017, the vendor indicated that its worldwide PC shipments grew 8.2 per cent year on year to 11 million - its highest quarterly total in six years. Michael Dell stressed that this expansion in the number of units shipped has not come as a result of slashing prices, with both the company's revenues and its average selling prices rising in recent months, he claimed.
Dell added: "To make it extremely clear: the PC remains core to our business and strategy - it is how work gets done."