In the past two years, the PC market has been sluggish.According to IDC data, the total sales of PCs in 2023 amounted to 259.5 million units, a decline of 13.9%.Among the top five PC brands, without exception, all showed a downward trend, especially Apple, which saw the largest decline of 22.4%.
In addition to the overall environment leading to low consumer spending willingness, another reason for the sluggishness of the PC market over the past two years is the lack of innovation in laptop products for many years, with functions remaining unchanged, only hardware updates without substantial innovation points to attract consumers to upgrade.
The rise of AI technology in recent years has also swept into the PC industry, making AI PCs one of the hot topics. AI empowering PCs has raised people’s expectations, and this popular technology may help revitalize the continuously declining PC industry in recent years.
So what exactly is an AI PC? What technologies does it use? What challenges does it face? Here is some popular science content about AI PCs.
What Does ‘AI PC’ Mean?
AI PC, short for Artificial Intelligence Personal Computer, is a new generation of products that apply artificial intelligence technology to personal computing devices. Traditional personal computers focus on computing power and hardware performance, while AI PCs place greater emphasis on intelligent applications based on these foundations. By incorporating artificial intelligence technologies such as deep learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, AI PCs can better understand user needs and provide smarter, personalized services.
Laptop manufacturers claim that AI PCs process data faster than traditional personal computers and can handle larger AI tasks directly on the device, including chatbots. This means they do not need to rely on current cloud computing data centers that support most AI applications (including OpenAI’s ChatGPT).
Some laptops can even support the training of AI models, a task that requires substantial computing power and is typically performed on servers.
PC manufacturers hope these features will attract consumers, as more and more people rely on generative AI to handle everything from sending emails to planning vacations.
Research firm Canalys estimates that by 2025, shipments of AI personal computers will exceed 100 million units, accounting for 40% of all personal computer shipments.
What Technologies Are Used in AI PCs?
AI PCs are equipped with specialized processors known as Neural Processing Units (NPUs), which are responsible for handling most of the AI workloads on the device.
NPUs are dedicated hardware accelerators designed for AI and machine learning tasks. They are optimized to handle the complex computations required by deep learning algorithms. This optimization makes NPUs very efficient at processing AI tasks such as natural language processing and image analysis.
These NPUs work in conjunction with the central processing unit and graphics processing unit to manage complex tasks, providing faster processing speeds and powering applications like AI assistants.
Additionally, the powerful processing capabilities of NPUs enable AI PCs to run AI models and applications locally without a network connection, enhancing privacy and convenience.
What AI PC Products Are Available on the Market?
Brands including Dell, HP, Samsung Electronics, Lenovo, ASUS, and Acer have launched new computers equipped with Microsoft’s recently announced Copilot+.
Among them, Microsoft’s newly launched Surface Laptop and Surface Pro tablets are the most affordable Copilot+ devices, starting at $999.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 has a pre-sale price of $1699, making it currently the most expensive product according to pricing disclosed by some manufacturers.
Huawei’s recent MateStation X is also an AI PC product, featuring Huawei’s self-developed Kirin chip, supporting intelligent functions such as facial recognition and voice assistants, providing users with a smarter and more convenient experience.
Are There Other Considerations?
Microsoft’s new flagship feature called “recall” has raised some privacy concerns. The “recall” feature of the AI assistant in Copilot+ PCs allows it to search and retrieve information about any past activities on the computer.
The “recall” feature tracks every action performed on the laptop, from voice chats to web browsing, and creates a detailed history stored on the device. Users can then search this repository to view past actions.
Some social media users are concerned that this feature could become an accomplice to espionage, and billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk compared it to the Netflix series “Black Mirror,” which explores the negative impacts of advanced technology.
Ryan Olery, an analyst at International Data Corporation (IDC), stated that the main concern people have about this feature is whether the data is stored on the device or centralized. He added that if Microsoft stores this data, there would be “huge privacy risks.”
On the other hand, some experts suggest that managing more AI-related tasks directly on the device can better protect privacy.
Forrester’s research indicates that AI PCs can help avoid using personal data to train AI systems and prevent copyright and patent infringements, making them more suitable for enterprise use.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that AI PCs are given high expectations; they will change the positioning of personal computers from traditional computing terminals to personal AI application centers. This may change PC users’ usage habits and scenarios, promoting the development of the PC industry. Morgan Stanley’s report predicts that the penetration rate of AI PCs in laptops will increase from about 2% in 2024 to around 85% by 2028, and their sales growth is expected to drive up the average selling price of laptops, benefiting the entire supply chain. The year 2024 may very well be the dawn of AI PCs.
Source: TechSugar
Reviewed by: Zhao Lixin
