At one point in the (near) future, most of us will have just one device that will work as a phone, tablet and computer. Yup, that will be our smartphone which is already more powerful than desktop/office machines from just a few years ago. Modern quad-core processors are super-fast and can handle a number of tasks at once. That’s why we’ve started seeing Android-powered computers.
However, we must ask ourselves – does Android have a future?
If we’ll have just one device to use for everything, I tend to think that device will either have to run Windows or Mac OS. Some of us still need full-blown Photoshop. Then there are others who need video editing capabilities that go beyond Android’s software. Plus, some vector graphic software and many other specialized apps that can’t really work in a browser. Many of these things are missing on Android, which is kinda expected since it’s a mobile platform.
On the other hand, you can find these and many other applications for desktop/laptop systems, whether they run Microsoft’s or Apple’s platform.
During the past few weeks I’ve been writing that we need a single Windows that runs across devices and one platform from Apple that would merge iOS and Mac OS. When that happens — and I’ve no doubts that engineers in both Cupertino and Redmond are working on it as we speak — Android could easily become irrelevant. After all, why would anyone want a mobile-only OS when it can have “one OS to rule them all.” With one-for-all platform users would be able to simply dock their smartphone and use it as a full-blown computer. And remember – the docked UI may not have anything to do with the one used on a smartphone and tablet. The important thing is that you get the software you need.
I do believe this is where we’re going and I have hard time imagining using Android for my work. On the other hand, I’m sure Google is also aware of this and its employees are working round the clock to improve Android and make it a true universal platform. That’s why I was suggesting they should consider acquiring Canonical, maker of Ubuntu.
What do you think about it? Do you think Android stands a chance in the long run?