The top 10 PC technologies and trends for 2017

Although some critics claim that PCs are dinosaurs, laptops and desktops have become sexier, faster and smarter. For every blue screen of death, there are lots of technological improvements driving PCs to the era of virtual reality, 4K video and 5G connectivity. Here are the top 10 PC technologies and trends for next year. In this article I discuss the Latest Computer technologies budding into the IT industry.

The VR PCs on your head

The VR devices will come in many new shapes and sizes; some will act, essentially, as PCs that adapt to your head. Dell, Asus, Acer, Lenovo and HP will launch headsets with mixed realities, which will allow users to interact with 3D objects that appear as floating images superimposed on a real background. In addition, the devices will provide a new level of interaction between humans and computers, making creating 3D objects, playing, watching movements and having interactive Skype calls, more fun than ever. These "holographic computers", as they have been named, will have Intel chips, an integrated GPU and, possibly, a RealSense 3D camera to identify objects, measure distances and provide a new perspective of the surroundings.

Storage prices will go up

SSD prices are rising due to shortages, and that could cause an impact on the prices of laptops, 2-in-1 computers, and storage. For example, the Dell XPS 13 with Intel Kaby Lake chips and a 512GB SSD is not available at this time. Other laptops with 512GB SSDs have incredibly high prices. Most PC manufacturers are offering 128GB or 256GB SSDs in the default computers. Choose storage intelligently, since it is not easy to open an ultra-thin 2-in-1 to replace an SSD.

Talk to your PC

The dispute between voice-activated attendees - Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, Google's assistant and Amazon's Cortana - could become more interesting next year. Users will be able to say Cortana's commands loudly to Windows 10 PCs from a greater distance, thanks to a "far field voice recognition" technology in which Intel and Microsoft are working. So far, Cortana works better if the user is near the computer, but millions of PCs will become Amazon Echo competitors with this new feature. Cortana can do many more things than Amazon Echo, such as accessing information from the cloud, talking with chatbots , checking email and other tasks.

Talk to your PC

The dispute between voice-activated attendees - Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, Google's assistant and Amazon's Cortana - could become more interesting next year. Users will be able to say Cortana's commands loudly to Windows 10 PCs from a greater distance, thanks to a "far field voice recognition" technology in which Intel and Microsoft are working. So far, Cortana works better if the user is near the computer, but millions of PCs will become Amazon Echo competitors with this new feature. Cortana can do many more things than Amazon Echo, such as accessing information from the cloud, talking with chatbots , checking email and other tasks.

Windows laptops based on ARM

The first attempt of the ARM computers, which were executed in Windows RT, was an absolute disaster, and left many users skeptical of the idea. However, Microsoft has not given up, especially now that the 5G begins to come true and cellular connectivity in PCs becomes essential. Microsoft announced that next year computers will be available with Snapdragon 835 based on Qualcomm's ARM, which is mainly on smartphones.

Bluetooth 5 will take control

The laptops and 2 in 1 will be equipped with the latest specification of Bluetooth 5 wireless, which is a longer and faster update to the aging Bluetooth 4.2. Bluetooth 5 will allow computers to communicate wirelessly with devices that are 400 meters away in a clear line of sight; however, a more reasonable range, according to analysts, is 120 meters. Bluetooth 5 will transfer data at a maximum speed of 2Mbps, being twice as fast as its predecessor.

Nice screens, 4K and HDR

Laptops such as the XPS 13 and Yoga 910 from Lenovo have very nice screens; a feature that can be included in more laptops next year. In addition, the 4K screens and HDR (high-dynamic range) technology will make games and movies look impressive. HDR results in more vivid images; and the TVs, cameras and monitors that support this technology are already available. Netflix is ​​also betting on HDR. A battle of HDR standards between DolbyVision and HBR3 is about to begin, but GPU manufacturers support both standards. AMD expects DolbyVision, finally, to win.

New storage and memory technologies

Intel's Optane, a very fast replacement for SSD and DRAM that could eventually unify memory and storage, could cause a radical change in the PC architecture. However, it will not happen for a few years; and, in addition, the initial expectations for Optane are modest. The first Optane SSDs will be on the enthusiastic PCs, and it will cost a small fortune. Optane SSDs have been measured, and the results show that they are 10 times faster than conventional SSDs. Over time, Optane could replace DRAM DIMMs, with the added advantage of being able to store data.

More changes on keyboards

We saw some interesting changes on the keyboards this year: Apple added the Touch Bar, while Lenovo switched the hard keyboard to a virtual one on an input touchpad in their Yoga Book. Lenovo wants to include the virtual keyboard in more Chromebooks and 2 in 1, in part because of its versatility. The input touch panel can also be used to draw or take notes with a stylus. Lenovo believes that those who are accustomed to writing on mobile devices will quickly adapt to this touch panel as a keyboard, while the hard-core keyboards will discard the idea.

Some ports will not go easily

Probably, computer manufacturers have not yet gathered the courage to remove the headphone jack and SD card slots of PCs, but those for USB 2.0 may be in the final stretch. Some manufacturers will leave the display ports and others inherited due to the appearance of the versatile USB Type C, which can be used to charge computers and connect screens, storage devices and other peripherals.