According to an analysis by Canalys, AI-enabled devices accounted for 14% of PCs shipped worldwide in the second quarter of 2024.
According to the company’s figures, 8.8 million AI PC units – those with a neural processing unit (NPU) – were distributed over the three months, a significant increase compared to previous figures.
Lenovo reportedly saw a 228% increase in AI-enabled PC shipments, which accounted for 6% of its total Windows-based PC sales during the quarter. At rivals HP and Dell, AI PC sales reached 8% and 7% of total shipments, respectively, highlighting the growing importance of such new devices in the future.
What do AI PCs offer?
AI PCs have a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) within the System on Chip (SoC) designed to process specialized AI applications, experiences, and the technology that drives computing power, be it language models, focused tasks, security, or privacy.
Microsoft has described its new AI assistant feature, Advanced Copilot, which will allow users to search for documents, web pages, conversations and images. AI PCs are also designed to enable greater personalization and offer low latency by using local hardware for tasks, reducing the amount of sensitive data sent to cloud storage.
Because of this specialized hardware, AI PCs are slightly more expensive than traditional devices, which may still deter some organizations or individuals from upgrading.
However, Canalys found that shipments of AI-enabled Windows PCs in the $800 and above range increased 126% in the second quarter of 2024, contributing to an overall increase of 9% in that price range.
“A key benefit of AI-enabled PCs that has emerged for PC OEMs is the growth spurt within their premium offerings,” noted Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys.
“As the range of features of first- and third-party applications that leverage NPU increases and the performance and efficiency benefits become more apparent, the value proposition for AI-enabled PCs will continue to remain strong.”
As artificial intelligence advances and more advanced models come onto the market, analysts at Canalys expect the market for AI-enabled PCs to ship around 44 million units in 2024 and 103 million units in 2025.
