While I personally would have zero interest in a keyboard-less concept like the one shown, all of the tech players are making efforts towards
maintaining mobility but delivering bigger screens. Existing form factors don't have much room to accomplish that by simply scaling larger... because that means they also scale
heavier... burdening the "mobility" part.
To me, this is a fundamental answer to "Why Vpro?" because they virtualized a high-resolution screen so that the very same weight (in the bag) can serve up
ANY size screen or screens. For anyone coveting much bigger than 16"
MOBILE screens on the road, that's ONE good option. The kind of thinking in this story is another.
What I see here is a much bigger screen to unfold, perhaps rotate it sideways and then have a (physical) keyboard + trackpad
also in the bag and now I've got something akin to an ultra-wide (or ultra tall if desired)
mobile Mac. Maybe this is a shot at a conceptual 20" MB-like product... with a relatively easy hop to 24" MB-like product and even bigger... ALL still able to fit in a normal laptop bag... only now as a foldable screen + lower half of a traditional MB in a typical size- perhaps as small & light as the 13" versions of MBpro and MBair (which is enough space for full keyboard + trackpad without compromises).
All along, I've posted the idea of building basically a modern version of Commodore 64/Amiga 500 by essentially disconnecting the bottom half of existing MB to use
with the Vpro product.
Some have already done exactly this with screen-damaged MBs, by removing the screen and then using the lid-less, computer half with Vpro and/or desktop monitors (exactly like Amiga 500).
THIS already "just works" with Vpro and/or wired connections from it to desktop monitors... basically an ultra mobile, powerful Mac (Base, PRO or MAX silicon options) that only needs a
separate screen: desktop or virtual (both able to be towards ANY size without adding any or much weight to a bag) or even hotel TV with HDMI jack in a pinch.
With a product like Vpro, such a dedicated creation along this line could hold a
bigger battery in the additional space to maybe resolve the "2-3 hour battery life" as is and in the
same connection perhaps overcome the 1 Mac screen at-a-time burden by basically showing multiple mission control screens in the view at the
same time. That may yield a Vpro-type product to be used as a virtualized screen laptop with maybe 5-8 hours of battery life when connected to this lidless MB keyboard + trackpad product. To me anyway, that seems like a road warrior delight: modest weight of a Vpro-like device + this lidless-MB-type device in the laptop bag so user can summon ANY size screen or screens when they want to do laptop-type work... with enough battery to work upwards of a full, fairly-lengthy laptop work session before needing a charge (and perhaps NO Vpro power packs at all if the intended use is only to be connected to
this "battery").
But for all who can't stand the idea of "something strapped to my face," this story offers
ANOTHER crack at how to provide bigger screens
on the go... just like everyone is trying to do with phones, which have probably about peaked out at "bigger" screen sizes in a pocketable brick
without folding/rolling etc. Does anyone foresee the 12" iPhone that still fits in pockets??? The billy-stick iPhone???
With a seemingly reasonable assumption that just making existing form factors bigger & heavier is towards maxed out, there seems to be 4 ways to deliver much BIGGER screens in
MOBILE tech:
- Virtualized screens (aka Vpro and similar)
- Foldable screens
- Rollable screens
- Projected screens
I expect to see more and more mobile tech from Apple and competitors experimenting with
ALL of these (and I believe some other players ALREADY have variants of ALL of these available now).
Each has pros & cons and none are a "ONE best solution."
AFAIC: bring 'em on! As someone who makes their living on computers, when I have to go from desktop Mac on a 40-inch ultra-wide to even a 16" MBpro while on the road, productivity plunges at the loss of all that added screen RE. And THAT is the infamous mainstream "problem in search of a solution" not really solvable well by simply making existing form factors bigger... and thus heavier. I do NOT foresee an existing MBpro at 24" without some kind of #1-#4 approach (which- per this approach) could mean it's basically about 12-13" in bag because a 24" screen folds to 12" and we already know Apple can make the bottom half of a MB at 12" too.
Per that last line, let's extrapolate that out: since we've seen 16" and 17" MBs, screens that could fold in half could be as large as 32" or 34" and still fit in the 16" or 17" Macmiga 500 bag too. So it's not just shrink to 12" but also grow towards perhaps 34" that
STILL fits in a
normal laptop bag... a mobile 32"-34" MB-like product with
nothing strapped to a face.
For me personally, I think the ideal answer is some variation of "one weight fits ALL screen sizes" Vpro plus that Mac (Amiga 500) concept. For the "I can't stand to strap something to my face" people, these
other options will likely offer ways to enjoy more screen RE when on the road... if you want it. Else, stick with the "as is" since it's probably not going anywhere... just new & different tech is coming to offer
other choices for those in need/want of it... like me.
www.asus.com
