All articles tagged with #ai pcs
Microsoft will reveal a two-tier Surface Laptop Ultra lineup on October 7, featuring NVIDIA RTX Spark chips with 18 and 20 cores. The 18-core model starts with 24GB unified memory, while the 20-core version supports up to 128GB. Both devices feature 15-inch 2,000-nit displays and aim to compete with Apple’s MacBook Pro for local AI workloads.
Global PC shipments fell 4% year-over-year to about 65 million in Q2 2026, ending a growth streak dating to early 2025, as elevated DRAM/NAND prices driven by AI data-center demand squeeze margins; Counterpoint Research and IDC foresee further declines for 2026 (about 11.3% full-year drop, with Q4 down as much as 20%). ASUS was the sole major brand to grow (+4%), while Lenovo, Dell, and HP dropped up to 9% and Apple’s MacBook shipments rose 13% on the strength of the budget MacBook Neo. Analysts say the RAM shortage is pushing the market toward premium AI PCs and relief isn’t expected before 2027, prompting some buyers with aging PCs to upgrade sooner.
Nvidia unveiled RTX Spark at Computex, signaling a deeper push into personal computers with AI, gaming and content-creation capabilities in system-level chips. The move represents a shift from Nvidia’s GPU-centric PC strategy and sent NVDA up about 4% as rival PC-chip makers AMD, Intel and Qualcomm fell on expectations of tougher competition in the PC segment.
Dell executives at CES 2026 expressed disappointment with the consumer demand for AI PCs, noting that AI features are confusing rather than compelling. Microsoft’s CEO is actively involved in improving Copilot, but the product still lags behind competitors and faces skepticism from consumers. Despite the hype, the market is not yet ready to embrace AI PCs, and traditional sales methods remain necessary until AI tools like Copilot are more mature.
At CES 2026, Intel announced the launch of the Core Ultra Series 3 processors, the first built on the advanced Intel 18A process, powering over 200 PC designs and certified for edge and industrial use cases, with significant performance and AI capabilities, available for pre-order in January 2026.
Microsoft promotes its Copilot+ PCs and Windows on Arm ecosystem as transformative for the PC industry, but customer adoption remains tepid due to high prices, lack of compelling apps, and limited real-world benefits. Despite claims of breakthrough performance and productivity enhancements, actual user experience and sales figures suggest the technology is more beneficial for hardware makers and Microsoft than for consumers, with many apps working well on non-AI hardware and sales not meeting expectations.
HP has forecasted its first-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations due to ongoing weak demand in the personal computer market. While AI-powered PCs are gaining traction in corporate and educational sectors, they have not significantly boosted overall PC demand. HP expects its adjusted profit per share to be between 70 and 76 cents, below the 85 cents anticipated by analysts. The company is implementing pricing and cost strategies to mitigate margin pressures, with a more substantial impact expected in the latter half of the year.
Microsoft and Nvidia are collaborating to enable the Copilot AI assistant to utilize Nvidia's RTX GPUs, enhancing the performance of generative AI applications on Windows PCs. This partnership aims to expand the range of AI workloads processed locally on PCs, leveraging the widespread presence of RTX GPUs. The move is part of a broader industry trend towards AI PCs, with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm also introducing new processors with integrated neural processing units (NPUs) for AI tasks.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su will deliver the opening keynote at Computex 2024, focusing on next-gen high-performance computing and AI PCs. The keynote will highlight advancements in AMD's Zen 5 core architecture, RDNA 3.5 GPU, and XDNA 2 NPU cores, with expectations for the new Ryzen 9000 Desktop CPUs. The event will be live-streamed from the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei.
HP Inc. shares surged after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings, driven by a recovery in PC demand, particularly in the commercial sector. CEO Enrique Lores highlighted the positive growth in their PC business, marking the first increase in eight quarters. The industry is seeing a refresh cycle as consumers and businesses upgrade their devices, further boosted by new AI PC initiatives and Qualcomm chip advancements.
HP Inc. is experiencing a boost in PC demand due to businesses upgrading their systems ahead of Microsoft's end of support for Windows 10 in 2025 and the introduction of AI PCs. Despite a decline in printer sales, HP's personal systems segment saw growth, and the company expects AI PCs to constitute a significant portion of sales in the coming years. HP's stock rose 3% in premarket trading following the announcement of better-than-expected earnings and guidance.
Microsoft has launched AI-ready PCs, which Morgan Stanley predicts could boost PC sales, especially in the commercial sector. These new PCs, equipped with advanced hardware for local AI processing, aim to enhance productivity and address data privacy and performance issues. While the potential for increased sales is high, the real-world performance and cost-effectiveness of these machines remain to be seen.
AMD has introduced new processors, the Ryzen Pro 8040 series for laptops and the Ryzen Pro 8000 series for desktops, to power AI-enabled PCs, aiming to compete with Nvidia and Intel in the AI PC market. These chips, built with 4-nanometer technology, are set to feature in PC models from HP and Lenovo starting in the second quarter of 2024. The move comes as AI PCs are projected to make up 22% of all PC shipments in 2024, with Gartner estimating 54.5 million units to be shipped by the end of the year.
Microsoft is aggressively pushing Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11, even if their PCs don't meet the requirements, leading to frustration among consumers. The transition to Windows 11 and AI PCs lacks clear guidelines and benefits, leaving users uncertain about the advantages of upgrading and what they'll need to do so.
Microsoft's upcoming Build 2024 conference, scheduled for May 21-23, is expected to heavily focus on AI PCs and Windows 11 on Arm. Session titles and descriptions hint at announcements including a new Windows AI feature, likely the AI Explorer, which enables advanced interactions with digital content through natural language search. The event will also cover Arm-powered computing, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processor, and the anticipated Windows 11 version 24H2 update, signaling a significant push for Windows on Arm in 2024.