The American technology blog The Verge pointed out that in order to comply with the development trend of the industry, Intel has put forward new requirements for the configuration of the ultrabook, but the cost of seeking a new configuration and the balance between the profit of the manufacturer have become the face of the industry A big challenge. The following is a summary of the content of this article:
Not many companies can determine the direction of development of the entire computer industry. However, there are now three forces in the computer industry: PC manufacturers that are advancing in accordance with Microsoft Windows; manufacturers that follow Apple ’s design; and Intel, which influences the development of the computer industry behind the scenes, with more powerful processors and active marketing activities.
In 2011, Intel announced to all PC manufacturers that it must meet the challenges of Apple ’s MacBook Air and provide $ 300 million to fund the development and promotion of new products by original equipment manufacturers. Intel calls this new product an ultrabook, and regulates the technical requirements of the ultrabook in terms of product thickness, responsiveness, and battery life. PC manufacturers have produced ultrabooks in accordance with such standards. Although some PC manufacturers can't wait to launch those ultrabooks that look like the current ones, but they don't meet the specifications of the ultrabook, but this product caused a sensation once it was launched.
Intel breaks through Apple's inspiration and advances ultrabooks
Now, Intel breaks through Apple's inspiration and advances the ultrabook. Specifically, with the new Haswell chip scheduled for the end of this year, Intel will require all ultrabooks to be equipped with a touch screen. Ultrabooks will have to support Intel's patented wireless display (WiDi) screen sharing technology. In addition, Intel also promises that the battery will last for all day, and a feature called "network standby" allows applications to view emails and download updates even when the computer is in sleep mode. With these new features, Intel has established standards for high-end ultrabooks in 2013 and beyond.
At the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), we interviewed Kirk Skaugen, director of Intel ’s consumer PCs, to see if Intel could really promote the development of the computer industry this time. Let's take a look at each new feature of the future Ultrabook.
Battery life
All-day battery life is a major advantage of laptop computers, and Intel has been researching and developing for 10 years. As early as 2002, Intel established the "Mobile PC Working Party to Extend Battery Life". Since then, Intel and its partners have repeatedly stated that this goal has been achieved, but we have found that these statements are a bit exaggerated.
Technically, we have tested many laptops with a battery life of more than 8 hours. We have also encountered some laptops that can be used for a full 24 hours after a single charge, but the device we mentioned is completely empty The brightness of the screen is very dimmed, but the size of the battery at the bottom is quite large. In the actual use process, it is rare to encounter a light notebook computer that can last for 5 or 6 hours.
However, Skogen believes that this situation will change. He said: "On the fourth-generation Core processor, we will greatly improve the battery's battery life. The improvement is the most significant improvement in the battery life of Intel's replacement products in history. It can be used for one day on a single charge without using it. Bring a charger. "
Is this true this time? In the face of our doubts, Skogen said: "This time, we have really reached such a standard. As for the battery life under working conditions, we will give detailed parameters."
touch screen
Although Intel requires that the next generation of ultrabooks must be equipped with a touch screen, it is unclear whether consumers really need it. Indeed, we found that the touch screen of Windows 8 laptops is very useful, even for tablets. We also found that Windows 8 does not make much sense without a touch screen. However, it is still difficult to say whether Windows 8 will achieve market success, so it is irrelevant to require a touch screen now. That being the case, why do you now require a touch screen?
Skogen said: "It is not only Intel's requirement to provide a touch screen for the fourth-generation ultrabook, but also a trend in the development of the entire computer industry." Computers and detachable laptops also need touch screens, because they can be completely assembled into a tablet computer, and manufacturers want products to be consistent. As far as original equipment manufacturers are concerned, if they are still uncertain about whether to use touch screens, Then this will only hinder the development of the industry, so Intel has put forward clear consistency requirements for high-end ultrabooks. "
For the touch screen, Skogen also cited a survey of 220,000 individuals using Windows 8 touch screen devices. The results are quite exciting. When asked the question "Why do you need a touch screen now?", The closest answer is: "For us, it is natural for Windows 8 devices designed around touch screens to be equipped with a touch screen."
WiDi
Intel ’s WiDi technology can be traced back to 2010, even before Apple ’s AirPlay, but this display sharing technology has not been widely promoted because the use of this technology, not only must have an integrated Intel Graphics cards, Intel Wi-Fi chips, and laptops supported by Intel, and must also buy a dedicated TV adapter worth $ 100, or a very small number of WiDi TVs on the market. So, what has changed now?
Skogen said that WiDi technology will soon be popularized in the market, and the wireless industry will also present a lot of interesting products supported by WiDi technology. WiDi now supports Miracast. In September last year, Intel announced that WiDi 3.5 will support the Wi-Fi Alliance ’s Miracast specification and an inexpensive WiDi receiver. The Miracast specification is a specification that seeks alternatives to AirPlay for PCs and mobile devices. In theory, in the near future, many products will be able to transmit video, audio and pictures to the TV through Miracast, Intel's WiDi is only responsible for a small part of the function.
This really sounds good: we like the idea of ​​ensuring interoperability standards shared by laptop display screens, because it will simplify many tasks. However, the premise is that Intel can and intends to achieve this goal. Intel may want to sell as many wireless chips as possible, or it may even try to use the patented WiDi standard for revenue before its opportunity is lost. When Intel was developing the Thunderbolt interface, it had supported the USB 3.0 interface that it was competing with. If Intel believes that WiDi still has a profit-making opportunity, why should it support Miracast without turning back?
Network standby
Intel helped bring Power Nap, another feature of Mac computers, to Windows products. Power Nap allows Apple Computer applications to view emails, download updates, and complete other network tasks. However, this feature is now implemented in Windows 8 Ultrabooks through Intel's "Networked Standby" mode.
Skogen's point of view seems to be that the Windows PC is more powerful: Power Nap only supports Apple's own programs. Unlike this, network standby will allow developers to use their own applications to put the computer into a "sleepwalking" state. Skogen said: "Even on the fastest tablet in the world, you have to wait for the e-mail to check and wait for Facebook to update after you turn it on. The online standby allows you instant access."
Display resolution
Finally, we asked Skaugen about the resolution of the display: "The resolution of the latest Windows 8 reversible laptop and detachable laptop makes people feel uncomfortable, why is this?" It is said that for various reasons, the higher the resolution, the more popular, but on a small-sized reversible laptop or tablet, high resolution makes it very difficult for your finger to control the small interface, even when you are away from the computer, This is also the case when you put your hand comfortably on a laptop keyboard for reading. If you lower the resolution, the image will become blurred when you look at it up close.
At this year's CES, Intel announced the North Cape reference design. This reversible laptop prototype uses a very clever design: the device is equipped with a 13.3-inch 1080p display and uses a device called Smart Frame. Technology, when switching to tablet mode, you can manually reduce the display size of the display and reduce the display resolution by adjusting the black around the display. Skogen said that this solution is obviously also available in existing equipment.
He said: "We are trying to work with the software industry to make the software more intelligent, so that the software knows what mode you are in. When you switch to tablet mode, you can get a larger icon, which is very suitable for touch screens. Button operation, and if you are editing and want to enter flip mode, you may want smaller buttons. The software can be more intelligent, and you can even know when to use flip mode and when Use a consumption model. "
summary
Intel's expansion of the Ultrabook project, on the one hand, is to protect its own interests, on the other hand, it also clearly highlights some of the laptop features we want. Now it is hard to say how they will advance the development of the computer industry. So far, PC manufacturers have adopted touch screens in their high-end Windows 8 devices, and display sharing will take some time to become popular. In theory, it is only a matter of time before the laptops with Wi-Fi chips on the market that support the Miracast standard are supported. The key standard of the first generation of Ultrabooks is to have excellent responsiveness and battery life at a given thickness, which forces manufacturers to use faster solid-state drives and rugged materials, but this also results in the use of solid-state drives. As a result of the increase in product costs, several manufacturers finally decided to abandon the specifications and names of the ultrabooks and only adopt the ultrabook standards in the most expensive products.
Interestingly, although these products are not ultrabooks, they still use the name ultrabooks. Some manufacturers are taking advantage of consumer confusion, selling products at lower prices but looking like ultrabooks. Even if it looks like an ultrabook, it feels like an ultrabook, but it may be a touchbook (Sleekbook).
Delicate balance
At present, Intel still needs to achieve a balance in two aspects. On the one hand, it must continuously and meaningfully improve the ultrabook standard (such as improving battery life) for manufacturers to adopt. On the other hand, PC manufacturers must be trusted from the ultrabook product. Get a satisfactory return. If the balance between these two aspects is achieved, then Intel can influence the computer industry, and then raise the standards of the entire computer industry, train consumers to accept these functions, and continue to promote them. If the balance cannot be reached, then if OEMs face increased costs of touch screens and Wi-Fi chips and decide to abandon the ultrabook and instead produce products that look like ultrabooks, then products like ultrabooks may be It gradually disappeared from the market. If Intel ca n’t take the lead in providing consumers with the performance and functionality they want, then ultrabooks may also gradually be left out by consumers like previous netbooks.
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