The Next Revolution In Computers Will Be Displays

Typically, when one talks about the evolution of computers we refer to processor speed or graphics capabilities. We also mention storage capability and network bandwidth but for a long time the display itself was fairly static. That was, until Apple came out with it’s Retina Display technologies. Then it became a marketing feature.

The display is hugely important to how we use computers. Phone makers haven’t been able to settle on a single size because we want different sizes for different tasks. The way I see it, the idea computer would have either a resizable display, or the ability to use different displays. Laptops can already do this because you can hook them up to an external display. Of course this uses wires right now but shortly it will be done wirelessly.

I do think though that we are going to start to see displays of hugely increased size and hugely decreased cost.

This video might give a glimpse into a future of display technology. (H/T NextBigFuture)

What you just saw is a very thin, low power, low cost, paper like display. I like to take this to the next level so imagine if you could make flexible display tech like you print wallpaper? You would buy display wallpaper and cut it to whatever size you need. Imagine a whole wall (or 4!) of a classroom where the whole thing is a massive display. Each student could take over a small section of it or the teacher could use all the walls for a very realistic immersive simulation of anything. The graphics performance to do this already exists.

I think in the future our phones will be our only computers and we will just swap inputs and outputs as we go through our day.

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