Pew Research Center released a study that put desktop vs laptop ownership into perspective from a system level. Granted, the system usually dictate the hard drive, but there are obvious trends not reflected in the desktop vs laptop installed base. Here is what the study found: Since 2006 desktop ownership in the US has fallen from 68% to 59%, while laptop ownership has increased from 30% to 52%
- 72% of 18-29 year old own a laptop, 56% own a desktop
- 67% of 31-49 year old own a desktop, 61% own a laptop
- 63% of 50-64 year old own a desktop, 44% own a laptop
- 39% of 65+ year old own a laptop, 31% own a desktop
It’s no surprise that the younger the generation, the more likely they are to be mobile and utilize a laptop over a desktop. Consider college students and the fact that many universities require laptops, some even provide laptops to every student, so there ultimately will be an influx of sub 18 year old that will be entering the age range of the survey already owning a laptop. Given this, I would expect laptop ownership to continue to rise over the next 5 years approaching the 70+% ownership, and I expect desktop ownership to stay in the 50 to 55% range with richer systems like all-in-ones with touchscreen technology making up a majority of the mix.
The way I see it, mobile consumption of content is becoming much more affordable and simplistic with the growth of smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and even low cost laptops. In terms of the creation of content, laptops are becoming thinner, more powerful, and even more energy conscious, while desktops are getting even more feature rich and powerful enough to act as a home server. This is already happening today, but give it 5 more years and I see >50% of homes having all three:
- All-in-one desktop for creation and management of content in the home and out (e.g. “wojtasiak’s” private cloud)
- Ultra-thin laptops to take content creation anywhere
- Tablets to take content consumption everywhere
- And a bunch of storage on a home NAS!
At least that is what I have planned for myself…(the image above)
What do you see?
Check out the complete report for more demographic details based on education level, income, race, etc.
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