We are currently experiencing the honeymoon phase of an AI PC boom, marked by rapid and continuous advancements in AI chip technologies and software within laptops.
This was evident at HP’s Imagine AI event in New York City last week, where HP personnel enthusiastically discussed the current state of AI PC technologies and previewed upcoming innovations in the AI PC space expected later this year.
“This is one of the biggest, most dynamic inflection points I’ve ever seen in my career. There’s stuff on the front burner in the AI category coming soon, even later this year, including even more AI performance in consumer laptops and workstations,” said Alex Thatcher, senior director of cloud client and AI experience at HP.
“We’re also going to see big innovations around AI PC security, and there’s going to be a lot of investment in AI PC software. This includes AI software development HP is doing in-house, as well as collaborations with our independent software vendors (ISVs),” he continued.
A notable example of innovation in more powerful AI chips was the announcement of the HP OmniBook Ultra, HP’s highest-performing AI PC. It boasts a Ryzen AI 300 processor and a new maximum of 55 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) NPU processing power, a 15 TOPS increase over HP’s previous top AI PC.
When asked if future AI laptops would continue to see such large increases in TOPS, the response was unexpected. “For common users, I think we’ll see a plateau in TOPS before it continues to climb again,” said Thatcher.
Guayente Sanmartin, SVP and division president of commercial systems and display solutions at HP, elaborated on why a plateau in AI TOPS won’t hinder innovation in AI PCs.
“HP is innovating in three key areas beyond just TOPS performance,” she said.
“First, we’re focusing on anything that helps users work more efficiently, such as the AI applications we’re integrating into our laptops.”
“Second, the sensors and feedback systems in our AI PCs will continue to personalize the user experience based on individual work habits and connected devices.”
“Lastly, there will be advancements in security — offering robust security with a privacy component. Users need to keep their data private while also ensuring they can access it themselves,” she explained.