Artificial intelligence capabilities are coming to personal computers in 2024 thanks to new processors from AMD and Intel. And the AI PC wave could kick off a major upgrade cycle, boosting Dell stock and HP stock, analysts say.
"It will give people new love and enthusiasm for their PC," Sam Burd, president of Dell's Client Solutions Group, told Investor's Business Daily.
Advanced Micro Devices and Intel got the ball rolling in early December by announcing AI-enabled processors for PCs.
AMD unveiled its Ryzen 8040 Series notebook processors for AI PCs at an event on Dec. 6. The chips feature a neural processing unit, or NPU, integrated with the central processing unit.
NPUs can crunch large amounts of data in parallel. They are also more power efficient than graphics chips that are used for AI in cloud data centers. NPUs are also designed for executing machine-learning algorithms and can perform specific tasks like image recognition and natural language processing.
AMD said PCs with NPU-enabled processors will be available in the first quarter of 2024 from leading hardware companies including Acer, Asus, Dell Technologies, HP, Lenovo and Razer.
Intel Holding AI PC Event At CES 2024
Intel launched its rival Intel Core Ultra mobile processors on Dec. 14. The processors also feature a built-in neural processing unit, enabling power-efficient AI acceleration. The first PCs with Intel Core Ultra shipped in December, with more on the way in 2024 from major computer makers.
Intel Core Ultra spreads AI acceleration capability across a central processing unit, graphics processing unit and neural processing unit.
The tech giant is holding a press conference on Jan. 8 at CES 2024 to promote AI PCs with partners Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft. The companies will show off their lineup of AI PCs at an open house.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm is joining the fray with its Snapdragon X Elite processor, which is set to launch on new PCs in mid-2024. Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X Elite platform is built for AI. The processor is capable of running generative AI models with over 13 billion parameters on-device. It is a CPU with on-device AI inferencing.
Microsoft is also expected to play a key role, with plans for a next-generation version of its Windows operating system optimized for local AI processing. That likely will come out in September or October, Windows Central reported.
PC Market Seen Returning To Growth
Analysts expect AI PCs to help spark PC sales to bounce back in 2024. The upturn will likely get a boost from the need to replace an aging installed base of commercial PCs.
Research firm IDC predicts PC shipments will rise 3.4% in 2024 after two straight years of declining sales. PC unit shipments fell 16.6% in 2022 and 13.8% in 2023, IDC said.
In addition, AI PCs are expected to lift average selling prices for PCs, providing a revenue boost to PC makers and processor suppliers, analysts say. With an installed base of 1.5 billion PCs worldwide, that creates an "exciting" sales opportunity, Dell's Burd said.
AI PCs To Offer New Experiences
"Hallelujah to this category" of AI PCs, Alex Cho, president of HP's Personal Systems unit, told IBD. "We've got so much innovation and work being done across all layers — silicon, OS (operating system), applications and on top that we're going to add in security."
AI PCs will provide new experiences for users, such as personalized assistance, Cho said. They also will run generative AI applications using smaller data sets.
For enterprises, PCs will be able to run AI models with proprietary data locally for greater security.
For consumers, AI PCs will provide more options to use voice for commands and queries. Gestures will be another input method, officials say.
Expect AI PCs to offer things like real-time language translation and transcription on conference calls. In video games, nonplayable characters will become more lifelike with conversational personalities.
Expect Rapid Tech Advances
"While you can run AI models in the cloud, there will be distinct value and opportunity in running AI models locally on the PC because of the unique benefits around cost, privacy and overall performance and personalization," HP's Cho said.
The AI PC category will begin to emerge in early 2024 and will accelerate in the second half of the year, Cho said.
PC makers expect to iterate quickly in the AI PC category, with improvements in processors and applications coming at a rapid clip.
"We are going to see something like the early days of the PC where the PCs improved by leaps and bounds every year," Dell's Burd said.
If AI PCs take off, the resulting refresh cycle would be a positive for the entirety of the PC supply chain, Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson said in a recent client note. That includes makers of components like memory chips, he said.
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