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I wonder if replacing laptops with smartphones based computers has a potential to ever become mainstream. Instead of carrying a laptop, use your phone + foldabl

I wonder if replacing laptops with smartphones based computers has a potential to ever become mainstream. Instead of carrying a laptop, use your phone + foldable display + keyboard and mouse. This could be more ergonomic than laptops, you could have larger display, placed higher and further away, and use a more comfortable keyboard. It could also be smaller and lighter in total than carrying the laptop.

jeswin 2y ago
This has been tried several times (most notably Samsung Dex; but long, long back by Motorola in Atrix circa 2011) - nobody wanted it because the display plus the keyboard and a mouse is as heavy as a laptop.
- homebrewer 2y ago
  Which gets you a high quality mouse, an ergonomic split mechanical keyboard, and larger screen in the same "mass budget"? Sign me up!
- chneu 2y ago
  You don't carry around the screen/peripherals. You arrive at a workstation and just plug in your phone. The monitor/mouse/keyboard are already there. You can work while on the go or out/about and then setup at a workstation instantly. Dex is actually useful and I see people using it in business settings somewhat often. Basically anywhere a chromebook is useful Dex also fills that niche surprisingly well. on android there's also windows connect or whatever it's called so you can pretty seamlessly use your windows laptop and samsung phone side by side. Everything syncs nearly instantly, including texts/phone calls. It's pretty rad when it works properly.
  - OtherShrezzing 2y ago
    >You don't carry around the screen/peripherals. You arrive at a workstation and just plug in your phone. The monitor/mouse/keyboard are already there. You can work while on the go or out/about and then setup at a workstation instantly. At that point, why are the peripherals not just accompanied by device with a CPU & internet connection?
    - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
      This is where Citrix / thin clients come in too, compact enough to be mounted on a screen, cheap, and mobile/flexible.
iammrpayments 2y ago
There’s a crazy guy who’s the author of my favorite neovim plugin called markview that has 2k+ stars on github, he does everything from his phone, but I have no idea how lol
- asabla 2y ago
  He was doing everything from his phone. But the community got together and donated enough money for him to buy a laptop. I think he posted an appreciation post on reddit about it. Neither the less, it's quite an achievement. Especially when it was a well received plugins
boomskats 2y ago
As an ergo nerd who has played around with a ton of different form factors, including exactly the one you describe, I'm genuinely starting to believe that wearable tech, i.e. 'XR' glasses, is the most promising in this space. Something like this[0] but with a phone instead of the computer. I plug the Viture XR pros into my Samsung phone and put them on, I get a beautiful 1080p screen projected 3m in front of me, the phone becomes a touchpad, and I have a low profile bluetooth split I type on. Very comfortable, very usable everywhere, including while you're walking around (not that I do this very often). It looks a little dorky but less with every iteration, and way less so than having an Oculus on your head. Not to mention that the quality of the displays is incredible. [0]: https://x.com/boomskats/status/1860300923773296693 https://x.com/boomskats/status/1860300923773296693
- amelius 2y ago
  Do you think the keyboard can be replaced by a virtual one (existing in the VR world only)? Or do you think the tactile feedback is necessary?
  - cassianoleal 2y ago
    One of the main issues with the infamous butterfly keyboard Apple put on MacBooks a few years ago was the near lack of tactile feedback. It had feedback, but not nearly enough for a half-decent typing experience. Zero tactical feedback is probably 100x worse than that.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

jeswin 2y ago

This has been tried several times (most notably Samsung Dex; but long, long back by Motorola in Atrix circa 2011) - nobody wanted it because the display plus the keyboard and a mouse is as heavy as a laptop.

homebrewer 2y ago
Which gets you a high quality mouse, an ergonomic split mechanical keyboard, and larger screen in the same "mass budget"? Sign me up!
chneu 2y ago
You don't carry around the screen/peripherals. You arrive at a workstation and just plug in your phone. The monitor/mouse/keyboard are already there. You can work while on the go or out/about and then setup at a workstation instantly. Dex is actually useful and I see people using it in business settings somewhat often. Basically anywhere a chromebook is useful Dex also fills that niche surprisingly well. on android there's also windows connect or whatever it's called so you can pretty seamlessly use your windows laptop and samsung phone side by side. Everything syncs nearly instantly, including texts/phone calls. It's pretty rad when it works properly.
- OtherShrezzing 2y ago
  >You don't carry around the screen/peripherals. You arrive at a workstation and just plug in your phone. The monitor/mouse/keyboard are already there. You can work while on the go or out/about and then setup at a workstation instantly. At that point, why are the peripherals not just accompanied by device with a CPU & internet connection?
  - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
    This is where Citrix / thin clients come in too, compact enough to be mounted on a screen, cheap, and mobile/flexible.

iammrpayments 2y ago

There’s a crazy guy who’s the author of my favorite neovim plugin called markview that has 2k+ stars on github, he does everything from his phone, but I have no idea how lol

asabla 2y ago
He was doing everything from his phone. But the community got together and donated enough money for him to buy a laptop. I think he posted an appreciation post on reddit about it. Neither the less, it's quite an achievement. Especially when it was a well received plugins

boomskats 2y ago

As an ergo nerd who has played around with a ton of different form factors, including exactly the one you describe, I'm genuinely starting to believe that wearable tech, i.e. 'XR' glasses, is the most promising in this space. Something like this[0] but with a phone instead of the computer. I plug the Viture XR pros into my Samsung phone and put them on, I get a beautiful 1080p screen projected 3m in front of me, the phone becomes a touchpad, and I have a low profile bluetooth split I type on. Very comfortable, very usable everywhere, including while you're walking around (not that I do this very often). It looks a little dorky but less with every iteration, and way less so than having an Oculus on your head. Not to mention that the quality of the displays is incredible. [0]: https://x.com/boomskats/status/1860300923773296693 https://x.com/boomskats/status/1860300923773296693

amelius 2y ago
Do you think the keyboard can be replaced by a virtual one (existing in the VR world only)? Or do you think the tactile feedback is necessary?
- cassianoleal 2y ago
  One of the main issues with the infamous butterfly keyboard Apple put on MacBooks a few years ago was the near lack of tactile feedback. It had feedback, but not nearly enough for a half-decent typing experience. Zero tactical feedback is probably 100x worse than that.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]