New PCs at CES prove the industry remains exciting: 2-in-1s like Dell's updated XPS 13, desktops like ASUS' VivoPC X, and new laptops like LG's Gram 14
All the potential and possibilities of the modern Windows machine — It's a fascinating time to purchase a PC. Tweets: @nickstatt Tweets: Nick Statt / @nickstatt : CES is full of weird, fascinating, capable, and ultra-specific PCs, and they're stealing the show back. http://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
The 2017 CES PC wave is the payoff to a thin-and-light arms race that started earlier in the cycle: HP pushed workstation power into portable chassis with its thin-and-light ZBook laptops, and Dell had already staked the premium ground with its XPS 13 and XPS 15 refresh plus the XPS 12 tablet hybrid. What changed at this show is breadth — Dell's updated XPS 13 2-in-1, ASUS' VivoPC X desktop, and LG's Gram 14 mean every major category now has a design-led entrant, not just the flagship ultrabook.
First-order effects
- Premium Windows buyers get a real fork in the road at the same price tier: Dell's convertible XPS 13, LG's ultra-light Gram 14, and ASUS' compact VivoPC X desktop compete on weight and chassis design rather than spec sheets.
- LG's Gram entry puts it directly against Dell and HP in the ultraportable segment, where the XPS line had set the reference point since the 2015 refresh.
Second-order effects
- Rivals without a 2-in-1 or featherweight answer are pushed to accelerate their own redesigns — the pattern HP started with the ZBook and Dell extended with the XPS hybrid becomes table stakes for anyone selling premium Windows machines.
- Component and display suppliers gain from a refresh cycle driven by chassis experimentation, since each new form factor re-opens sourcing decisions that a standard clamshell had settled.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, form factor becomes the durable axis of Windows PC competition: five years on, Dell rebuilt the XPS 13 2-in-1 as a detachable Surface rival and ASUS shipped a foldable OLED Zenbook, suggesting the 2017 experiments were early moves in a sustained break from the clamshell.
The trend: Windows PC makers are shifting differentiation from internal specs to radical form factors, with CES serving as the annual proving ground for convertibles, ultralights, and eventually foldables.