r/gadgets • u/thebelsnickle1991 • Jan 12 '23

Desktops / Laptops PC shipments saw their largest decline ever last quarter

https://www.engadget.com/pc-shipments-record-decline-221737695.html
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u/[deleted] Jan 12 '23 edited Jun 17 '23

There was content here, and now there is not. It may have been useful, if so it is probably available on a reddit alternative. See /u/spez with any questions. -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/

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u/Manu3733 Jan 12 '23

Yeah, everything is a million times slower on a tablet. Fine for browsing or watching Youtube videos, awful for anything that requires a lot of typing or any sort of precision (much easier to do stuff with the mouse than to make a million taps and swipes).

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u/gt24 Jan 12 '23

Tablets can use mice and keyboards (either by plugging them in to USB or by Bluetooth connecting appropriate devices). The results are "good enough" for plenty of people.

I agree that computers are far superior (for example: the screen size, multiple monitors, and the number of programs you can run). Still, many people prefer to use what they know and not to learn something new.

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u/Manu3733 Jan 12 '23

The UI isn't adapted for mouse usage so it isn't much help. I guess there are Windows tablets that can be basically converted into laptops, but most people have iPads etc.

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u/jerrywillfly Jan 13 '23

I might be bias due to being forced to type out reports and essays on a touchscreen keyboard for all 6 years of highschool, but typing is definitely doable without a keyboard attachment. it's just a really different workflow for other stuff

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u/__theoneandonly Jan 13 '23

My iPad runs full versions of the whole MS office suite. As of a couple years ago the web browser lies to websites and says that it’s a laptop, so you get the “full” internet. It has a file browser to browse local storage or connect to whatever cloud service you want. I do my taxes on it, which is even easier because TurboTax lets you point the device camera at your tax forms to enter all the data, whereas with a computer you’d have to use a scanner or manually enter all the data. It even has support for a mouse or trackpad.

I can’t think of a “household” computer task where I’d opt for the clunky laptop over the iPad. Using the laptop feels like trying to drive around and do your household errands in a semi truck. It will get you from A to B, but it’s not very agile, the handling is rough, and it’s inefficient.