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Wave of AI-capable PCs on the way
Channel will have a fresh option to pitch to customers as the arrival of hardware using artificial intelligence is less than a month away
Major PC manufacturers have announced a wave of artificial intelligence (AI)-capable products that will arm the channel with an opportunity to encourage users to upgrade their hardware.
PC market watchers at Canalys and Context expect the arrival of AI-capable devices to help improve the fortunes of the industry and act as a starting point for those looking to make the leap to Windows 11.
The likes of HP, Acer and Microsoft have unveiled products that take advantage of the software vendor’s Copilot AI tools to make life easier for PC users.
Against the backdrop of Microsoft’s AI Vision Event, HP unveiled its OmniBook X AI PC and EliteBook Ultra AI PC. The devices take advantage of the Snapdragon X Elite processor, with its Neural Processing Unit and Copilot+PC, with features including Recall. The products will be available from mid-June.
“In this transformative era of artificial intelligence, how we define an exceptional device is no longer about speeds and feeds – it is measured by our ability to create and enable meaningful breakthrough experiences,” said Alex Cho, president of personal systems at HP.
“We’re at the beginning of a new decade of personal computing that will redefine what a personal computer is. AI enables a fundamentally more personalised and creative experience we believe will empower people in both their personal and professional lives,” he added.
Acer was also getting involved with the annou8ncement of its Swift 14 AI laptop. The vendor is also taking advantage of Copilot+PC and the power of the Snapdragon X processors.
“Engineered for AI from the inside out, the Swift 14 AI is the first among many Acer Copilot+ PCs to come,” said Jerry Kao, COO of Acer. “These next-generation AI PCs see significant leaps in AI processing power, unlocking brand new experiences that we know users will love.”
Microsoft also unveiled a couple of Surface options that were AI-capable and Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice-president of consumer chief marketing officer at the vendor, used a blog to underline the importance of the arrival of the technology.
“Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. With powerful new silicon capable of an incredible 40+ TOPS [trillion operations per second], all–day battery life and access to the most advanced AI models, Copilot+ PCs will enable you to do things you can’t on any other PC,” said Mehdi.
“Easily find and remember what you have seen in your PC with Recall, generate and refine AI images in near real-time directly on the device using Cocreator, and bridge language barriers with Live Captions, translating audio from 40+ languages into English.
“These experiences come to life on a set of thin, light and beautiful devices from Microsoft Surface and our OEM partners Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, with pre-orders beginning today and availability starting on June 18,” he added.
At the start of the year, Canalys indicated that AI-capable PCs would have a positive impact on the market in 2024, with momentum building as more products emerged.
The analyst house forecast that 19% of PCs shipped this year will be AI-capable. Once the products start hitting the market, momentum will continue to build, with the portion of devices being sold using the technology hitting 60% by 2027.
