LAS VEGAS — Dell Technologies, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft joined Intel at CES 2024 in touting business prospects for a hot new product: AI PCs.
Speaking at a media briefing sponsored by chipmaker Intel late Monday, executives from the PC giants showed off new notebook PCs running the Intel Core Ultra mobile processor, announced last month.
The arrival of AI PCs will kick off a "supercycle" of PC upgrades, Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights and Strategy, said. That supercycle will start in the second half of the year as more AI PCs hit the market, he said.
Intel and its partners highlighted some of the early capabilities of AI PCs, including on-device generative AI for producing images, videos and presentations. AI PCs can also offer real-time translation of sign language and speech to remove barriers to communication.
AI PCs As Inflection Point
"The arrival of the AI PC represents an inflection point for the PC industry," Michelle Johnston Holthaus, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's Client Computing Group, said.
One design change with AI PCs is the addition of a Copilot button to the Windows PC keyboard. Pressing the key launches Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant. It's the first significant change to the keyboard in 30 years. The last big change was the addition of the Windows button for accessing software programs and controls.
"Copilot is the marquee experience" for AI PCs, said Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft corporate vice president for Windows and devices.
Copilot is designed to be "your everyday AI companion for work and life," said Jim Johnson, senior vice president and general manager, Intel's Client Business Group.
CES 2024: Spotlight On AMD, Intel Rivalry
Intel isn't the only chipmaker working with the major PC vendors on AI PCs. Earlier Monday at CES 2024, rival Advanced Micro Devices announced the companies making PCs with its AI-enabled chips.
Alex Cho, president of HP's Personal Systems unit, is enthusiastic about the emerging category of AI PCs.
"This will be a computing revolution," Cho said. AI PCs will kick off a decade of growth and innovation in the personal computer market, he said.
Sam Burd, president of Dell's Client Solutions Group, concurred.
The PC as you know it now "is going to be radically different in the future," Burd said. In addition to the hardware changes, software developers will be making new applications to take advantage of the capabilities of the neural processing units in AI PCs, he said.
AI Hype Backlash Beginning?
Artificial intelligence is a major theme at CES 2024 with companies adding AI to everything from beds to washing machines. But the overuse of the term at the show has grown tiresome for some in the media.
Bloomberg writer Austin Carr noted that AI will be "either the biggest star or most annoying buzzword" at CES 2024.
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