The Story of 2025: A Turbulent Year for the PC Industry
A Year of Highs and Lows for the PC World
This year was very interesting for the PC industry because this year you got a new processor from Snapdragon. Windows got a new Co-Pilot Plus. Windows got a Recall feature, which Microsoft recalled.
PC vs Smartphone Industry in India
And if I compare the PC and Smartphone industry, the story is quite different. Let me explain a comparison. In India, 50–60 lakh laptops are sold and out of that, 5–6 lakh gaming laptops are sold in a year in India. And in the smartphone industry, 140–150 million smartphones are sold in a year. It's a huge number, so we can't compare them.
An Attempted Revolution in the PC Space
But one interesting thing is that a revolution like smartphone was also tried to bring in the PC industry. It was done in the name of AI. It was done in the name of ARM. Snapdragon was leading a lot in this work. But now when 2025 is going to end in a few months, let me tell you a clarity: revolution has tried to do everything. Every company has tried to do something different. But tell me the truth — all the companies are failing this year.
Snapdragon's Struggle to Lead
First of all, let's talk about Qualcomm Snapdragon. Snapdragon took out the X Elite, took out the X Plus processors, and thought that we will create a revolution in the market in Windows PC — which Apple introduced M1 chip with MacBook in 2020. Their thinking was right. They could have created this revolution. Everything could have happened. But their products flopped in the market. Because the simple thing is that their products have never been sold. Their products were very expensive.
They brought it to India and did a good job. Talk from an Indian perspective — most of the laptops that came with Snapdragon, everyone's price was above Rs. 1 lakh. Products could not be converted into sales even with heavy marketing. But still, Qualcomm is playing a long game. Let's see what happens in the future.
MediaTek's Cautious Retreat
But it had an impact on MediaTek. MediaTek was also planning to jump into the PC industry. They thought that they can also make PC-level processors. Qualcomm is making it. So they also started talking to their partners. But there are reports that they also took a small back step. They said let Qualcomm do it once, because they saw their condition. If Qualcomm had been successful, MediaTek would have been here.
The Core Issue: ARM vs x86
Now let me tell you what was the fundamental problem here. The first problem was that Snapdragon's processors were based on ARM design. And ARM design was popular with Apple's MacBook M1 chip. It revolutionized Apple's ecosystem. But the benefit was that Apple makes its own Mac OS. It makes its own hardware. So it was controlling things very well.
What happened here is that Snapdragon said that we will make a chip. And Microsoft told them to make a software. Microsoft made software based on ARM design. But the main problem here was that the compatibility with the old apps was not so good, which was in the old x86 architecture. And this is a fundamental problem which is facing Microsoft here. All the PC makers like Snapdragon — that's why no one is leaving x86 architecture here.
ARM's Battery Life vs Gaming & Compatibility
On top of that, these chips were not for gaming. The advantage with these chips was that it could take out very good battery life, which is consistent performance and AI performance. Even Windows Co-Pilot Plus — you could see exclusively in them till now. But in the end, what happened is that there is no compatibility with the old apps. Price point is too high. They are not able to justify the price. That's why they are not doing so well in the market.
Apple’s Continued Success
With this, Apple started the story with M1 chip. It is going to come on M4 chip. And about M4 chip, I can tell you that it is the single core fastest chip in any laptop.
Intel’s Tumultuous Year
But if I go back with this, the biggest competitor of Snapdragon — which it was trying to defeat — was Intel. Now the story of Intel was also very interesting in 2025. Although Snapdragon didn't work, Intel was working. But it wasn't like that. Intel had to face controversy first when the old processors of 13th and 14th generation started faulting and died.
Many people started to worry about buying a laptop. That how small the Intel AMD laptop is. But let me tell you one thing — these Intel processors of 13th and 14th generation, these were the processors that were taken out for desktop. The laptop's processors didn't face any problems. And those processors that were taken out — it was a limited set of 13th and 14th generation. Only those core processors faced problems, because of which Intel had to face such a backlash.
Financial Troubles at Intel
Along with this, Intel's financial status also started to fall very fast. And this year their situation was not so good. That is, for so many years such an old company was doing very well. But this year was very bad for them. It was so bad that news started coming that if Intel started running at this rate, then it should not get bankrupt anywhere. And even reports started coming here that Intel's foundry division — where chips are fabricated — can also sell. And in the middle there was news that Qualcomm is very interested in acquiring Intel. That is, Intel's chip business, PC business — something or the other can do here. Qualcomm can give itself an advantage.
Even if you remember what happened a few years ago — that Intel had a 5G modem business, which even Apple had acquired. So yes, the story with Intel is not going well.
Intel’s Ultra Comeback
Although they also took out processors called Ultra Series 2 — which is the Intel Ultra Core Series. And the specialty in it was that they promised battery life on x86 architecture. And that too better than ARM. I saw a laptop of this in which it is claimed — it will run 27 hours of battery and will give good performance and will give 47 Tops AI performance. What I mean to say is that Artificial Intelligence will give good, Battery will give good — that is, whatever work your Snapdragon is doing, we can do that work.
But the main thing is that Qualcomm's deal with Microsoft is such that Co-Pilot Plus will go there for a year. And in the future, updates will come to its future Intel. But Intel agreed to this. The AI race was a little late here. This was a big mistake of Intel. And it is worth seeing with Intel how to make a comeback in 2025.
AMD’s Quiet Struggle
Talking about it, the company that did a very good job — it was AMD, which has also taken out its chips. AI capabilities also removed. Gave good performance too. But the problem is that its chips were also new — Ryzen 9000 series with Zen 5 architecture. Dude, he couldn't do much. His sales in the market didn't do much.
If we talk in today's time, Ryzen does a good job. But in the case of sales figures — its sales are the lowest in the last 10 years. And since the time Ryzen was removed, which was the worst performing Ryzen in terms of sales — as people accepted — that was the latest lineup, even despite removing AI.
Ryzen’s Limited Presence in Budget Laptops
Along with this, it is non-existent in laptops, budget laptops. You get to see in some laptops — there Ryzen 5000 series, which is very popular, which you get to see here. Along with this, the majority of the market — Intel has captured it here. And in this too, with Artificial Intelligence, it is important to remove Co-Pilot Plus — which has not come here yet. But it will be brought in the coming time with updates.
Looking Ahead to 2025
What I mean to say here is that interesting things are going on in the PC industry too. And 2025 can be a very big defining year. First of all, what is going to happen in 2025 — first of all, the support for Windows 10 will be over. And after that, Windows 12 — 2025 or it can come by 2026.
Along with this, the Co-Pilot Plus that they had removed from Windows, which will use your own device AI — that is, whatever AI tasks you do, all those laptops will be in your desktop. Along with this, the Recall feature of Microsoft — in which it was said, it will take your screenshot every now and then and it will save it in your device so that it can help you in the future — how does Microsoft bring this feature and how does it handle privacy — things to see.
The Assembled PC Market Decline
Along with this, Apple is also going to bring its M4 chip. New MacBooks are going to come. That will be an interesting thing to see. But the thing to see is how the PC industry is revived.
See what is happening in today's time — people are focusing more on laptops in the PC industry. Even most of the companies are promoting pre-built PCs and laptops more because it is easier to sell. Laptops can be taken by your office people, students, many people. Pre-built PCs mostly stay in offices or the computer labs of your colleges — they stay there.
But the assembled PC market is shrinking very fast. And today's assembled PCs are not as popular as they used to be a few years ago — even before the pandemic. The PC industry was thriving. The culture of PC building has evolved a lot during the pandemic. But after that, there has been a big slowdown.
Final Thoughts
Definitely, there are multiple reasons for this. There is no refresh. Graphic cards are coming late. There are no new improvements. And most of the people prefer to go on pre-built PCs or laptops. And the niche market of assembled PCs is left. People are going much less on it in today's time. And their availability is also decreasing. And one of the core reasons for this is that technicalities are also more. And components are also not readily available. And if they were available, their prices would have been very high on Amazon and Flipkart.
It is to be seen what the PC industry would have been like in 2025 and go to a completely new era.
So friends, this was the story I wanted to talk about: PC bugs, talk about chips, talk about Windows, talk about Apple. You can share your opinions in the comment section below. And thank you for watching. If you like the video, then like it. Subscribe to the channel. I will see you in my next video. Goodbye.
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