AI PCs will be on the shelves more often from now on, but what exactly are they?

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Pramith
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What is an AI PC and will you need one in the future?

To answer the question I’m also asking here above the picture: No, AI PCs won’t become a necessity any time soon.

But what is AI PCs all about?

Definition according to Microsoft and Intel

According to Intel, which probably adopted this definition directly from Microsoft, a PC is called an “AI PC” if the following three conditions are met:

  1. In addition to the CPU and GPU, an NPU should also be installed. Each of these parts&nbspshould have its own capacities for accelerating AI services. The NPU (Neural Processing Unit) is usually part of the CPU and is again specialized in the calculation of AI services.
  2. The PC (or laptop) should be equipped with Copilot from the factory.
  3. The PC should have its own button for Copilot on the keyboard.

They have also published a small graphic for this

(This is how Intel and Microsoft define AI PCs. There's not much to it anyway.)
(This is how Intel and Microsoft define AI PCs. There’s not much to it anyway.)

How relevant are AI PCs?

This is difficult to assess at the moment. According to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, we are facing nothing less than a kind of revolution:

“The AI PC will be a milestone in technological innovation. “

However, we dare to cautiously doubt whether this will really happen. After all, CPUs and GPUs are also capable of calculating AI services, albeit not quite as efficiently. But whether most users would even notice that their PC has an NPU, given the current state of technology and the possibilities offered by AI, remains doubtful.

By the way: Alana will tell you exactly what NPUs are:

NPU in the processor: What is it and what can the AI chip do?

It should also be noted that Copilot can also be activated on any other Windows 11 PC. So your PC could also quickly become an “AI PC” – at least a third of it, according to the official definition.

The third condition (the button) is probably the least relevant and not actually necessary to use all AI functions.

It therefore seems more likely to us that the term “AI PC” will disappear again over time and conventional PCs or CPUs will be equipped with an NPU. The rest is probably optional.

What do you think about AI PCs? Temporary hype, or is there a glimmer of a future in them? Let us know your opinion in the comments!