Analysts claim that until Windows 9 comes out, no sales boost will hit laptops

Sep 2, 2014 08:02 GMT  ·  By

Windows 9 is clearly one of the most-awaited Microsoft products developed in the last few years, and it’s playing a really important role not only for the company and its customers, but also for partners who are hoping to see their sales going up after the launch of the new operating system.

At this point, however, Microsoft is aggressively investing in bringing cheaper devices to the market and doesn’t want to wait for Windows 9 to save the collapsing notebook and PC market.

The company has already launched Windows 8.1 with Bing and is offering free licenses to manufacturers bringing devices with a price of $250 (€180) or lower on the market, just to make sure that customers are provided with more affordable choices when it comes to buying a new laptop.

At this point, it’s working with several large OEMs, including HP, Toshiba, and Acer, to bring cheaper notebooks to the market, but all these efforts might be just a waste of time, according to analysts at Numora Holdings.

In a report published by WantChinaTimes, the analysts reveal that despite the very low price, these devices might not necessarily save the market, but instead create a new niche that would compete against Chromebooks and tablets.

Instead, a new generation of CPUs and Windows 9, the next Windows OS version coming from Microsoft, are both expected to make a much bigger difference next year, when they see daylight, Nomura analyst Patrick Chen is quoted as saying by the source.

"Judging from the entry-level product specs and below-average computing capabilities, we believe they are unlikely to become mainstream, but rather will cannibalize some of the current tablet and Chromebook market," the analyst explained.

"We maintain our view that for consumer notebook demand to revive, we need to see 2-in-1 convergent devices breaking into the mainstream segment, which is more likely with next-generation CPUs and a revamped Windows OS," he added.

But even though these affordable laptops might not necessarily save the market and instead compete against the Chromebooks, it’s still a good thing for Microsoft, which is seeing increased sales of laptops running Chrome OS. Microsoft clearly needs to respond quickly, especially because many customers are already seeking alternatives to the modern Windows 8 OS flavor.

Windows 9 is projected to see daylight in early 2015, with a preview build due this month. Little is known about Windows 9 as far as official sources are concerned, but the new OS will most likely come with lots of improvements, including a Start menu, multiple desktops, Cortana, and a revamped Metro UI.