> Slightly cheaper, maybe, as the fab equipment depreciates.
Sure, but the same equipment would also be cheaper to replace than the capital required for the next generation fab, for the same reasons.
> Expansion, not replacement (of broken systems) is what drove the PC segment. It was the foundation of the growth that affected everything that used or could benefit from PCs. And we've seen that with the mobile segment.
Expansion into new sectors, not expansion into the same sectors. The same will still happen. Solutions will become more customized rather than remain general purpose. There remain considerable gains in parallel computation for instance (GPU), and ASICs will become the new hotness (again).
Furthermore, if clients cease to expand, then more computation will happen on server infrastructure. Your fat clients will become more thin clients again, repeating the same cycle that has happened multiple times so far.
You're also neglecting the investment in infrastructure (data centers, networks) that will continue to grow, if not accelerate. Current hardware is more than sufficient for most of this.
Sure, but the same equipment would also be cheaper to replace than the capital required for the next generation fab, for the same reasons.
> Expansion, not replacement (of broken systems) is what drove the PC segment. It was the foundation of the growth that affected everything that used or could benefit from PCs. And we've seen that with the mobile segment.
Expansion into new sectors, not expansion into the same sectors. The same will still happen. Solutions will become more customized rather than remain general purpose. There remain considerable gains in parallel computation for instance (GPU), and ASICs will become the new hotness (again).
Furthermore, if clients cease to expand, then more computation will happen on server infrastructure. Your fat clients will become more thin clients again, repeating the same cycle that has happened multiple times so far.
You're also neglecting the investment in infrastructure (data centers, networks) that will continue to grow, if not accelerate. Current hardware is more than sufficient for most of this.