The Desktop is Dead. Long Live the Desktop!
Smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets seem to be taking over the computing world. Tech pundits have been predicting the death of the personal computer for over a decade. There were even predictions back in 2012 that within a few years you wouldn't be able buy a desktop PC. So are PCs inevitably going the way of shag carpet, typewriters, and encyclopedias? Here's my take on why that's that's not going to happen any time soon... |
Here's Why Desktop PCs Just Won’t Die
Shag carpet and encyclopedias, Bob? Yes, there is a connection. As a kid, I could spend hours curled up on a shag carpet, leafing through the 26-volume set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, that occupied a prominent place on the living room bookshelf of my parents' home. But these things, and the typewriter that I used to create my science reports, alas, are obsolete.
It’s true that mobile computing devices are gaining market share at the expense of deskbound PCs. But the number of PCs sold per year has actually been rising for the past few years. This chart from Statista shows PC shipments worldwide from 2009 through the end of 2021. There is a definite decline from the peak years of 2011-2012, to the low point of 2019. But the total number of units sold in both 2020 and 2021 has risen sharply, almost to the peaks of a decade ago.
There is steady demand for PCs and it’s unlikely to go away. Over 88 million were sold in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone; sales for last year topped 340 million units worldwide. This happened despite supply chain issues, global chip shortages, and the return of many workers to the workplace. Here are five reasons why desktop PCs will not die:
Ergonomics: Tablets and smartphones literally cause pains in the neck when used for extended periods. They’re harder to use for typing than a desktop with an expansive keyboard. Their displays are smaller than those of typical desktop PCs. Fine cursor control is difficult or impossible on tablets and smartphones. Have you ever created a spreadsheet, presentation, or a 10-page document on a smartphone? When faced with a choice between mobility and comfort, mobility often wins. But when people don’t need mobility, they usually choose comfort over saving space.
Compute Power and Storage: Desktop PCs can accommodate faster, more powerful processors than mobile devices, and can control more peripherals simultaneously. They are almost infinitely expandable. If you need several terabytes of storage in a PC or Mac desktop, it's not a problem. Tablets and smartphones can’t even come close, in either raw power or storage capability.
Work habits: When you really need to buckle down and crank out work, a desktop PC helps you get into the groove. It stays in a specific space called a “workspace” at home or office; just going there and sitting down at your “workstation” helps put you in a productive frame of mind. Conversely, when it’s time for a break you can escape your immobile desktop PC easily. You needn’t take time to pack up it and its cables, and you don’t have to lug it around while you’re not using it. But the mobile gadgets, with their incessant pings, beeps, and notifications will constantly demand your attention and distract you from getting things done.
One of the must-haves in my computing environment is dual-screen capability. Mobile devices are designed to be small and portable. So you're never going to replicate a dual 24-inch monitor setup on a smartphone or tablet. Once you've had the experience (and productivity boost) of working on dual screens, you'll find a single monitor setup (even with one large screen) very restrictive. I typically work with a web browser on one screen, and a word processor or spreadsheet on the other. Programmers benefit from having source code one monitor and the actual running program on the other.
Expandability/Repairability: If your desktop PC needs more RAM, you can open the case and pop it in. If you've outgrown your hard drive, you can swap in a larger one or just add a second one. Desktop and laptop computers use mostly commodity (off the shelf) parts, so if one component fails, you can find replacement parts and fix it yourself -- usually with just a screwdriver. Hard drives, RAM memory, video cards, power supplies, monitors, the CPU and even the motherboard can be replaced without too much hassle. You can even use a different brand if you like.
But mobile devices such as your iPhone, iPad, or Android device are typically sealed up tight. You can't replace or upgrade the SSD hard drive in your mobile device. If the screen cracks on your smartphone or tablet, you can't just buy a new one. If any component breaks or fails, you'll have to send it away for repairs, which may be more expensive than buying a new one. You can't even replace the battery in most smartphones.
Finally, consider external peripherals. Try connecting a scanner, or an external hard drive to your mobile device. What about a second monitor? Where are the USB ports? Heck, it's a hassle just to print something from a mobile phone or tablet.
Cost: Miniaturization is always more expensive. You will never see a tablet that costs as little as a PC of comparable capabilities. And as I mentioned before, getting a PC serviced is cheaper than comparable repair of a tablet, or even a smartphone. Oh, and you've probably never dropped your desktop PC in the toilet, or jumped in the pool with your laptop.
I know I promised five reasons, but it's always good to exceed expectations right? So here's one more I thought of while putting together my thoughts on this topic.
Security: Have you noticed how many news reports of hacking and data losses involve mobile devices? Public wi-fi is a security risk that most users don't even understand. And it’s much easier to lose a smartphone than a desktop PC. Many employers restrict the loading of data onto mobile devices, and constantly struggle with network-connected mobile security risks.
Desktop PCs still have an important role in both home and business environments, and I just can't see that changing for many years to come. For many, a good laptop is the ideal compromise between mobility and the advantages of a desktop PC. Of course, nothing prevents you from owning a desktop PC, a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone -- except your budget.
Your thoughts on this topic are welcome. Post your comment or question below...
This article was posted by Bob Rankin on 8 Feb 2022
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Most recent comments on "The Desktop is Dead. Long Live the Desktop!"
(See all 32 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Foxfire Sue
08 Feb 2022
I totally agree with “old but not outdated”. Each device has its strong points and nothing has even come close to being an acceptable substitute for some of the things a desktop or laptop offers. Give me a desktop or give me death!
Posted by:
hifi5000
08 Feb 2022
Recently,I retired my main desktop machine for a newer one in its place.I needed a better video setup as I have dual monitors in my day room.
The older desktop is still useful,so I am looking to upgrade it for another project.So far I am able to find many components as add-ons with no trouble.One look at eBay brings many vendors with competitive prices,so I consider the desktop market to be alive and well.
Posted by:
JoanS
08 Feb 2022
Couldn’t agree more, Bob. I have smaller devices for mobility but unless you live on the road or in a coffin apartment in Tokyo, a dual-screen desktop is a must!
I mean sure, you can hook up all kinds of peripherals to a laptop to try to emulate a desktop. But let's face it, it’s still an Easy-Bake Oven in a 6-burner convection oven world.
Posted by:
Practicalman
08 Feb 2022
I run a desktop. Always buying a refurbished machine from a reputable company online. They recondition business machines with fresh install W10 OS. My current one cost $130 (free shipping) I've had it about 5 years and it has served well, long hours every day. Several older friends needing PCs have asked me and I've purchased one for them through the same vendor. Most recently, got one exactly like the one I'm using, except it now cost $73. Including new mouse and keyboard, free shipping, and a 1 year warrantee. Not bad for a C2D w/8 gigs ram, 1TB HD, HDMI and display ports, and a DVD burner. I think if they stop selling new desktops? This refurbished market will exist long into the future.
Posted by:
Nathan Garber
08 Feb 2022
I have been retired for a few years and no longer need a desktop for work. Although I own a laptop, tablet, and smartphone, I prefer my desktop screen and keyboard for Zoom, reading and sending messages, Web searching and reading, looking at photos and videos, and reading news sites.
I prefer the tablet for playing solitaire and listening to podcasts.
Posted by:
Jo Whitaker
08 Feb 2022
Google "Ergonomic Desk Setup" Once you get past the ads you'll see drawings of a figure seated in front of a computer. That figure's hands are on a keyboard that is level and at the same height as the figure's elbows. The top of the monitor is at the same height as the figure's eyes. You can't do that with a laptop.
I use a desktop setup like that picture shows and an ergonomic keyboard. My smart phone is for checking my mail and calendar when I'm away from home for more than a few hours.
Posted by:
Hugh Gautier
08 Feb 2022
So you say, but for those of us who don't have a smartphone because of the damage it can do to our health, we do have DESKTOPS and use them better than those on smartphones. They can't multitask using a smartphone by having two different pages up at the same time. Oh, they can do a lookup, but that is for the task at hand, they can't answer a call while still being up on the one page, look something up, and give the answer while typing another. Desktop users who have the know-how can and do it all of the time, as I do. The only thing I paused was a 1958 movie "Run Silent; Run Deep" which I am still going to watch. But I also have Twitter, Pogo, and my email server up at all times, where I screen messages before they get near my system. It is best to leave the spam messages on their server where they can take care of it. Just because I'd mark something as spam on my computer doesn't do a thing, but marking in on the email server certainly does.
So desktops are only dead to smartphone users who are more apt to be harmed from those antennas inside that smartphone which are doing damage to pregnant women, children with ADHD, and Cancer patients (which I am one of). Now you know why a desktop isn't dead in Windows 10 Pro and 11 Pro.
Posted by:
Robert Kinnie
08 Feb 2022
Thank God for desktop computers. I use mine for photo processing and touchup. I have a laptop and a tablet, but my best work is done on the desktop. I just upgraded the memory on the desktop so I can do more at one time. I like looking at my 24-inch monitor for the detail work.
Posted by:
gene
08 Feb 2022
I've had a desktop since the IBM PS2 running MSDOS, so roughly 30 years. I probably always will, I'm three years retired. I have an iPhone that goes wherever I do (it's a lifeline in a way should something happen), a 12.9 iPad Pro, a MacBook (which gets virtually no use and if replaced will be with a Mac Mini). My HP Pavilion is just over three years old, but it's got a Terabyte drive, 16GB of Ram, is connected directly to my router, keyboard and a 32 inch HD monitor, wirelessly to my printer. I spend a good bit of my day at that desktop, I've got tons of security on it that I can't get on my mobile devices though I do use iPhone and iPad quite a bit.
You're right, and so are others, it's impossible to do some things on a mobile device, like taxes or anything serious. My desktop is faster and can do so much more. I've always got three browsers open with up to 12 tabs in each, all different sites and I go between them with ease. Cursor control on a mobile device is a nightmare, almost every app I use on those works better, easier on my desktop. I normally upgrade every five years or so, but my last one is still functional and working as a backup and it's near 10 years old, will run Win10 but not 11 - which I don't want anyway until forced into it, if ever. All my devices have some functionality to me but the desktop is the one I use most, though I couldn't get around without the iPhone either - who remembers phone numbers anymore? Plus is my password manager works on ALL my devices so I can get into anything on any of them, but using banking or anything like it is only really possible on the desktop. I don't think they're ever going away either. I sure hope not. When working, we'd gone to laptops, but they were cabled into a 27 inch monitor, when I worked from, I did the same into another HD monitor, my current one is so large there's no room on my desk for another, though I wish there was. You're right on this idea!
Posted by:
Barry Delmonico
08 Feb 2022
The PC desk top reminds me of Older cars....you could work on them yourself...now they push mobile hardware where working on them is very hard... just like working on new cars is beyond the scope of most people. Driving the cattle to market.
Posted by:
Francesca
08 Feb 2022
I have been computing since before Windows or Mice(or should it be 'mouses') and wouldn't be without my trusty desktop and its dual monitors. And I keep an old superseded model as backup.
I have a laptop, but it is only for away-from-home use - and my iPad sits in my purse when visiting the doctor or dentist, or any place I may have to sit and wait.
But... Long live the desktop....!
Posted by:
Sara
08 Feb 2022
I'm a retiree who has desktop, laptop, and smartphone. I replaced 8-year-old desktop a few moths ago' It's much faster than its predecessor and I have a 28-inch monitor. My laptop is a speedy little devil which I take whenever I need portability and the tablet has gone on vacations with me when I need a screen larger than cellphone and don't' want to worry about keeping track of an expensive laptop. . I need the large screen and keyboard to do everything necessary when I 'm home. I no longer have fine touch in my fingers and have a hard time texting with the tiny "keyboard" and small cellphone screen. In fact, I'm sitting here in my home office using my desktop to send you this comment. Love live desk tops!
Posted by:
Ernest N. Wilcox Jr.
08 Feb 2022
I'm writing this response from my mid-tower desktop PC in Windows 10. There is a lot to like about desktop PCs. They are easy to upgrade/enhance. When a component fails, the entire box is not usually trashed because the component can be replaced. When the heart (motherboard, CPU & RAM) of a desktop PC nears obsolescence, its peripheral components usually remain useful so the case can be stripped clean, a new motherboard, CPU, & RAM can be installed along with the peripheral components from the original setup, and Wahla! You have a 'new' computer! Most laptop computers are not as functional as desktops because their design sacrifices performance for battery life. Even when plugged in many laptop CPUs are less performant than their desktop counterparts with the exception of the new gaming laptops (I have a Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop PC) that are gaining popularity.
Speaking of laptop PCs, I have two - my Lenovo (mentioned above) and an aging Dell Inspirion 15. The Lenovo can act as a backup for my desktop if needed because it is perhaps the most performant laptop I have ever owned, and it does rival the speed and functionality of my desktop PC provided I connect the desktops monitor, mouse, and keyboard to it - thus defeating its portability. The Dell laptop lives at the other end of the house from my desktop and laptop. When my Shih tzu needs to go out back - usually to go potty - I sit down at the Dell and play solitaire while I wait for her. The Dell has grown old, and it is slow compared to current devices. It is even slower than my two tablets or my smart phone, but it still allows me to play a game of solitaire, or surf the web when I need to, so it remains in service.
In the mobile device department, I have an Amazon Fire 7, an Android tablet, and a Sony A21 S smartphone. I use the Fire mostly to read eBooks. When I take my son to the grocery store (he does the shopping for me), I take the Android tablet along so I can play some games on it while I wait in the car. As for my smartphone, it goes everywhere I go. If something happens when I'm out and about, I can use it to get help. When I'm at home, I use it (and Microsoft Authenticator) for 2FA when accessing nearly all my online accounts, and when/if the power goes out it proves to be invaluable to me, because I can use it to call my friends and family to make sure they are all O.K.
I agree with the commenters who came before me and said that each class of device (smartphone, tablet, laptop, and desktop) has its place. With that said, I do not believe that any of the devices mentioned can effectively replace the desktop computer. With its large screen for viewing content, its full-sized keyboard for data entry (I'll bet you don't hear that term very often), and its mouse (wired or wireless) for navigation, no other device can accommodate the user's ability to get things done better, and except for the laptop, none can multi-task as well (or efficiently).
My2Cents,
Ernie
Posted by:
J
08 Feb 2022
I have one more reason...I have arthritis and it's difficult most days for me to type on a phone or tablet keyboard. I much prefer the keyboard of a PC. Long Live the PC!!
Posted by:
miger
09 Feb 2022
Isn't it interesting that Alzheimer has now been linked to the iPhone along with genetic factors. The idea that they can contribute cancer is debunked but maybe we now can understand how so many "smart" people are falling victims to dementia. Looks like a desktop is a lot safer.
Posted by:
Phil R
09 Feb 2022
I've always thought desktop PC's were irreplaceable.
Posted by:
Tom Hargrave
09 Feb 2022
I agree with you from a business perspective. There is nothing better than a desktop for cad design, or for running just about any business software. But as stats from my www.brew-control.com website show, handheld devices are taking over the consumer market. As of the last 30 days, the breakdown of devices reaching my site are.
Desktop - 38%
Tablet - 2%
Mobile - 60%
Posted by:
Bob K
09 Feb 2022
I use my Desktop every day. My laptop once a month.
The only reason I have a laptop is for backup.
Desktops are the only way to go for me.
Posted by:
Joseph
09 Feb 2022
Shag carpets? Nobody told me they were passe. Bought mine I suppose a decade ago and everyone loves it.
Could somebody tell me why the wonderful cigarette box sized mini PCs are apparently not replacing the clunky towers? They seem the perfect solution to me. I have two alongside my 9 year old clunker which I can't seem to part with.
Posted by:
Ernest N. Wilcox Jr.
18 Feb 2022
Joseph,
I prefer a mid or mini tower case here because they are easier to work with if anything goes wrong. I build and repair my own PCs, and I don't like getting my knuckles barked on the case frame when I add or replace a component. Also, the hardware that can fit into a cigarette box sized case is probably not as powerful or performant as what I have in my box here. Small is nice, but only if you do not sacrifice performance or capability for size.
My2Cents,
Ernie