The age when Apple drove innovation in both design and function is over, at least according to prominent laptop maker Hewlett-Packard. In a statement prior to the release of its latest ultra-thin notebook, HP PC chief Ron Coughlin declared some strong statements about the future of the notebook industry.
"For years, Apple has been seen as the innovator and the driver of innovation, but now HP is really taking over that mantle," he said.
Of course, such statements are very bold to make, especially after Apple recently revamped its notebook lineup. Last year alone, Apple resurrected its MacBook line, featuring a design that far surpassed competitors, measuring just 13.1 mm at its thickest and 3.5 mm at its thinnest.
Not to be outdone, HP has slowly picked up the pace and is nearing Apple in terms of design. Last January, the computer maker unveiled the equally impressive Elitebook Folio at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Elitebook Folio, a business-class device, measures just 12.7 mm thick.
The laptop market has seen a notable decline since the advent of the smartphone. With the introduction of consumer tablets into the mix, the laptop market got has gotten even smaller. Though tablet and smartphone sales have slowed down considerably in recent years, the onslaught of hybrid devices such as the Microsoft Surface Pro has once more taken a huge chunk off the revenue of notebooks.
Recently, even tablet forerunner Apple introduced a hybrid device, the aptly named iPad Pro, which the tech giant advertises as a device which is designed to fully replace a laptop computer. Apple's recent release of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is yet another sign that the market is moving toward more portable and equally powerful productivity devices.
Thus, despite HP being the biggest PC maker in the United States, boasting a 28.1 percent market share, the company is nonetheless seeing its shipments fall by more than 10 percent amid the continued PC decline.
The market for dedicated productivity devices remains quite significant, however, as proven by Dell premium line of XPS 13 devices, which have been well-received critically and commercially. Thus, despite the PC market slump, devices remain profitable, provided that they are well designed and extremely powerful.
With HP's upcoming release of its ultra-thin notebook this coming Tuesday, the world will see if the company could back up its very bold words.
