SHOULD YOU BUY AN AI PC THIS YEAR?

With chip and

PC makers desperately searching for something to rouse the industry from its post-pandemic slump, the AI PC is their big hope. Essentially a regular PC with a neural processing unit (NPU) inside to handle AI workloads locally, companies including HP, Lenovo and Dell are bullishly predicting a surge in sales. Should you jump in?

No, not yet. It’s early days for NPUs and nobody seems quite sure what to do with them yet. There are a lot of prototype demos, much talk about running AI services locally instead of the cloud, but little in the way of concrete benefits to leaping in at this stage. Not unless you’re particularly desperate to have a Windows Copilot key on your keyboard (narrator: nobody was desperate for a Windows Copilot key).

Much will hang on what Microsoft delivers with Windows 12. Heavy hints were dropped during CES that Microsoft is refactoring the next version of Windows to handle more of its AI tasks locally rather than sending everything to the cloud. With Windows 12 expected to arrive in the second half of this year, it would certainly seem wise to wait.

Microsoft over-promised on Windows 11 Copilot, but if it can finally deliver the AI features it trailed (such as full integration with third-party apps) then Windows 12 really could be a reason to invest in new hardware.

Certainly, if you’re forced into replacing a PC before Windows 12 arrives, you should look for one with an NPU included. It would be no surprise if Microsoft included NPUs in its system requirements for Windows 12, meaning you’ve (hopefully) future-proofed your investment. But until the benefits become clearer, the AI PC revolution can wait. BARRY COLLINS