That's the part that confuses me. Computers are traditionally more powerful and flexible than SmartPhones / tablets but a computer running ChromeOS is actually more limited than an iOS or Android device at this point.

Most computer users are not powerusers and they don't need a powerful PC or OS. Current operating systems are over complicated for casual users and limitations work as an advantage for people like my parents. They shouldn't need to understand what a file system is, everything should just work in the background.

Then think about it in terms of form factor and input devices: computers have physical keyboards and indirect relative pointing devices. Tablets and smartphones are touch-based, with (so far) no haptic feedback and lower precision of pointing, but the advantages of direct pointing.

How nineties.

In the consumer space, they're on the way out, pads are taking over.