Item — HN Reader

> A big question of concern for electronics manufacturers is: What's next? Once tablets start lasting for years and years, what is the next big thing that will let them keep growing sales?

It seems as though people are hoping wearables will become the next big thing. If the UI, battery life, and independence (i.e., making them usable without needing a phone) can be sorted out, I think it's a possibility. But the margins will be much smaller.

3 comments

Wearables seem to be more about sensors versus where people spend their time with media, doing work, or socializing.

There hasn't been any margin in PCs in many years.

For large enterprise purchases, Dell/HP/etc takes losses and makes its money via kickbacks from Intel.

My guess is that wearable stuff would be higher margin, and tied to super high margin services.

>>But the margins will be much smaller.

Thats hard to predict, for example what are the margins for $200 laptops at Walmart?