PC And Microchip Manufacturers Introduce New Laptops With Artificial Intelligence Technology At CES 2024

Various PC and microchip makers, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel, are trying to convince consumers to replace pandemic-era laptops by offering new features, namely artificial intelligence (AI).

They include a neural processing unit, or "neural processing units" (NPUS), into the latest chip design in the hope of encouraging consumers to pay more for high-end laptops. This step was taken with the aim of seizing the market share from Apple.

"The discussions I'm doing with customers today revolves around 'how I can prepare my PC for what I think will come in an artificial intelligence world and can provide results'," said Sam Burd, PC Business President of Dell Technologies.

Chip makers include NPU blocks because they can achieve high performance for AI functions with relatively low power needs. While currently not many apps can fully take advantage of this new capability, AMD's David McAfee states that more apps will be coming soon.

One application that can take advantage of this chip is the creative software package from Adobe. Intel even held an "open house" on CES, where several PC vendors showed off their latest laptops with demos designed to demonstrate these new capabilities.

One of Dell's laptops displayed has an artificial intelligence button, the first button Microsoft has added to the Windows keyboard in decades. The "Copilot" button activates Microsoft's generative AI software that can help in the app and answers complicated questions.

However, right now, this new button is calling on cloud-based Copilot, which takes a long time to complete the task. "If I put those machines on PC, I could be faster, lower latency, and I could do more with those machines," said Burd.

Nonetheless, moving Copilot to PC would require a much stronger engine than the current one, even with advanced AI chips. Currently, these new chips are included with the more expensive laptops offered by PC makers in collaboration with Intel and AMD.

"In the short term, we will focus more on premium PCs," McAfee said, adding that PCs with advanced AI chips are likely to have prices between 800 and 1,200 US dollars.