AI-Enhanced Laptops: The New Frontier in Creative and Productive Computing

3 AI-enhanced PCs that stand out from the rest

AI PCs have jumped to the top of holiday wishlists, and it's no shock to learn why. For efficient productivity and access to new frontiers of creativity, these computers -- powered by an Intel Core Ultra chip -- offer a major leap forward in nearly all categories. They're even more secure, with smart defense against data cyberthieves among the many functions enabled by an NPU (neural processing unit). But which one to choose? Here's a closer look at what you can expect from a top machine at varying price points, all equipped with Intel's powerful chip: Even at the modest end of the scale, an AI PC should pack a processor that's ready for serious usage. With the ability to hit 40 TOPS (that's trillions of operations per second, an important AI metric), ASUS Vivobook S 14's Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 2 processor provides strong performance in a sleek, lightweight package. Microsoft's Copilot AI can be summoned with the press of a button, so web searches and creative tasks get an AI boost. In the midrange, higher expectations deserve expanded possibilities. Here, the ASUS Zenbook S 14, which boasts an Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 processor capable of up to 47 TOPS, stands out even before users see additional features like Harmon/Kardon speakers and an OLED touchscreen. Power users will appreciate this Zenbook's all-day 72Wh battery, plus the onboard Copilot AI helps with complex tasks, image and text generation, and a multitude of other creative endeavors. At the most premium tier, you'll find maximal features that deliver on every need -- even some you didn't know you had. In the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, an Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 processor powers a multitude of AI experiences such as Microsoft Copilot and Samsung Galaxy AI. Creatives will appreciate a folding screen that lets the laptop function like a tablet, so AI-infused work can get done using the included S Pen on the AMOLED touchscreen. Plus, Galaxy phone and tablet users will find added value in connective features like Quick Share and Multi Control that allow multiple devices to easily function as one.

A new generation of laptops is putting AI into practice

Credit: Mashable composite; Karen D'Souza; Getty Images/Catherine Costa You've chatted with ChatGPT and imagined with MidJourney, but you might still be wondering how AI can fit into your daily life. AI-powered devices like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition laptop have some fantastic features that can really transform the way you work and have fun. Keep reading to discover how an AI-powered portable PC can boost your productivity and expand your creative horizons. AI isn't just a secret weapon for drafting emails or generating images -- it's also helping personal computers operate more efficiently. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is built around a Lenovo AI core, which incorporates the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra processor to balance energy use among key components like the central processing unit (CPU), neural processing unit (NPU), integrated graphics processing unit (iGPU), and random access memory (RAM) so that work (and play) gets done faster. Tip: Does your work generate temporary files that pile up annoyingly and slow down your PC? Set up a cleanup schedule to automatically delete them and save yourself time spent trawling the trash bin. If you're using Windows 10 or 11, Storage Sense can be configured to do this at an interval you set yourself: just go to Settings - System - Storage to activate it. Crafting your next big idea takes time, and you'll want to keep it top secret until it's ready to change the world. As data thieves are getting smarter, so are the lengths some makers are going to thwart them. Yoga Slim 7i's AI Core includes Lenovo's Trusted AI Controller (TAC), a device-level security solution designed to lock down personal files and keep them clear from unauthorized online attention. Tip: USB flash drives are a common way for hackers to swipe data from your laptop when you're not around. A small USB port lock, inserted into the drive when you're not using it, is a simple way to prevent any unwanted entry. It'll come with a key you can keep while you're away from your PC. Creatives know that inspiration comes from interaction with people, places, and thoughts. That means great ideas often arise when your computer isn't in reach. For those times, the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition's Smart Share feature can help you keep those big ideas pinned down until you're ready to develop them fully. Using an AI virtual sensor, you can share photos captured on your Android or iOS smartphone instantly and securely to your laptop with just a tap. It also works in the other direction -- sending and receiving texts using Intel® Unison™ when your phone isn't at hand. Tip: Are good ideas getting away from you? Organizing them consistently can be a big help. When you take down your thoughts, try sorting your notes by where you were when inspiration struck. Experts say that relying on spatial memory, your ability to store and recognize details about your environment will help you recall faster. Some laptops never leave their desks, but getting the most out of your device means taking it for a ride every now and then. AI has helped improve that, too. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition's AI core balances battery usage to ensure you get the most out of your portable PC for longer. With a long-lasting power source, creating out in the real world, unattached to a wire, shouldn't be too worrisome. Tip: You probably knew you could extend your laptop's battery life by turning down the brightness and closing unused programs, but were you aware that temperature matters, too? A battery's internal chemistry works harder when it's hot, so a cooling pad or other method to ensure good airflow can lengthen your PC's time off the digital leash. As AI grows in usefulness, it's proving to be much more than a word or image generator: it's a tool transforming computing and machine learning entirely. While there's no replacing your creative mind, there are many ways an AI-enhanced laptop like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition can support you, making it a partner worth considering.

These AI laptop features will supercharge your work and play

Credit: Image: Mashable composite; Karen D'Souza; Getty Images/Catherine Falls Commercial AI has taken the world by storm, but perhaps its best use case right now is in productivity. Where do you get most of your productivity done? Well, it depends on what your job is, but for most of us, our work happens best on our computers -- especially if our computers are NPU-equipped, and AI ready. Over the past year or so, companies from Microsoft to Apple have been building AI-powered tools to supercharge productivity, baking these features into their latest and greatest laptops in an effort to help users get more out of their devices. Not only is AI super useful for productivity, but it can play a role in how you use your laptop to relax too. Here's a look at the best AI laptop features, for both work and play, out there right now. Many laptops now feature AI assistants that can be prompted from the keyboard. Microsoft, for instance, was relatively quick to the AI revolution with Copilot, which is available in full force on Copilot+ PCs, like the Microsoft Surface Laptop. Copilot works kind of like ChatGPT and allows you to chat about basically anything you can imagine, including researching or coming up with outlines for that presentation you haven't put together yet. Copilot+ PCs even have a dedicated Copilot button that you can press to easily bring up the AI assistant whenever you need it. Laptops are the best tools around for writers, and having AI writing assistants built in seems like a no-brainer. Apple, which may not have been quite as quick as Microsoft to bring AI features to its laptops, is making up for lost time now that macOS 15.1 Sequoia is available. All of Apple's top-of-the-line laptops, like the new M4 MacBook Pro, have access to some Apple intelligence features. Many of these features are slightly more subtle than Microsoft's, being easily accessible when you need them but not quite as in your face. A perfect example of this is Apple Intelligence's new Writing Tools feature. All you have to do is highlight some text, right-click on it, and head to the Writing Tools menu item. From there, you'll be able to have Apple Intelligence proofread text, rewrite it, or completely change the tone of it to be more friendly or more concise. It's pretty handy for day-to-day use, and it's great that it's easily accessible wherever you might type text. AI-generated images are becoming a familiar part of the online world, but tools built into the latest laptops are making it easier than ever to create them. Looking for that perfect image to accompany the PowerPoint presentation you're putting together? Or simply want to create something for fun to send to a friend? The Microsoft Photos app can generate AI images for that exact purpose. Using Microsoft Photos, all you have to do is come up with a prompt that describes the image you're looking for, after which Photos will generate it and you can then refine it with additional instructions. It works quite well, and while you may have to spend a bit of time asking Photos to refine its creation, you'll spend a whole lot less time than you would if you were designing the image yourself. Microsoft Photos is available on all Windows computers, however the image creation feature works on Copilot+ PCs like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i. If AI software is going to act as your "assistant" it's going to need access to the documents you use to do business. This is part of the full service AI-powered laptop of the future. Perhaps the most powerful thing about Google's Gemini, for instance, is its ability to integrate with the rest of your Google services. So, you can ask it for information about documents you've written and to summarize those documents directly in the Gemini interface. Gemini even integrates with Gmail, so you can have the assistant summarize emails in a pinch without having to go through them all individually. Gemini features work best on so-called "Chromebook Plus" laptops, like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714. These laptops come with a free year of Google's Gemini Advanced subscription. Who wants to dig through the settings menu on their computer to find every little setting? Both Copilot and Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, can change settings for you - all you have to do is ask. Some advanced settings may not quite work just yet, but you can easily ask these assistants to do things like toggle Wi-Fi on and off, manage Bluetooth connections, and more. It works pretty well, and is available on both Apple Intelligence-powered computers, like the MacBook Pro, and even cheaper Copilot+ PCs, like the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.

This laptop is a powerful partner for creatives

The following content is brought to you by Mashable partners. If you buy a product featured here, we may earn an affiliate commission or other compensation. The tools of the creative trade are always changing. Just ask a 50-year-old graphic designer how they worked before Photoshop. We've come a long way since then; with AI in hand, artists of all stripes are now producing innovative work with fewer hurdles between their vision and the final product. But the physical devices they use can still make a major difference. Whether you've been at it for years or are just getting your feet wet, an AI-ready laptop like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is intended to open up a world of possibilities, both fantastical and practical. See how creators can use AI to take their passions to new -- and sometimes unexpected -- places. When design is your business, no two jobs are the same. One day, you're defining the visual language for a nascent startup; the next, you're recharging a hallowed legacy brand. As you're balancing ideas in your head, some mundane but crucial tasks might not get the TLC they need. We've all seen how messy an artist's studio can get, and a digital workspace can generate datasets that are just as difficult to manage. It can be tough to control the flow of inspiration; you've got great ideas, but how many fall through the cracks or don't get enough time to truly cook before you can make them a reality? AI-infused project management tools running on a Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition can help creative leaders better balance their ideation time with the equally necessary job of keeping it all in order. That could mean writing detailed proposals, making sense of customer reviews, or turning a big idea into real-world deliverables. Such tools also automate tedious tasks like transcription, help allocate resources, and can even draw on advanced analytics to help determine what's useful and what isn't. The Yoga Slim 7i's Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor works the same way, balancing power allocation to maximize efficiency and put the laptop's substantial digital brainpower to best use while preserving battery life. AI works best when it's got real strength behind it, and a smart processor was built to deliver just that. And when it's time to spark fresh ideas, Smart Share can be your go-to tool. Lenovo's AI-grounded device sync makes sharing files between your Android or iOS phone and your computer easy. An intriguing smartphone snap can be shared directly into your computer's files, and it'll be ready to inspire you when you need it. In the professional photography landscape, skill and creativity go hand in hand, but efficiency is equally crucial. Today's photographers are leveraging AI tools to reduce blur, streamline editing, and enhance their workflow, allowing them to focus more on their vision. An AI-enhanced PC can take this a step further, providing the power needed to tackle demanding tasks quickly and effortlessly. This means more time spent on creating stunning images and less on the technical side of things. Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition's 15.3-inch PureSight Pro display is built for the clarity and color that photo pros are after. Whether an image was snapped on a DSLR or fine-tuned with generative AI, this machine aims to reproduce it in lifelike quality on a screen big enough to see detail but not so big that it sacrifices portability. It's got the specs photographers dream about, like Delta E 1 color accuracy, 100 percent sRGB, and 100 percent P3 coverage, with Lenovo's bespoke Auto Color Management to ensure this wide color gamut is reproducing your work to an exact degree. Videographers can play here, too, with a 120Hz refresh rate that shines on the 2.8K display. The Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor comes in handy when tackling video edits on the move, and for those who work best with their hands, the touchscreen adds full-scale interactivity. On a Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, Dolby Atmos Audio is custom-tuned to an array of four built-in speakers for clear, consistent playback. So, audio engineers and producers can get studio sound wherever they may be. That's crucial for a sector where AI looms large; engineers are increasingly using AI to automate once-tedious tasks, like taming out-of-control frequencies, reducing noise, and syncing up dialogue. That's the kind of efficiency that Lenovo aims for with the Yoga Slim 7i, with a processor working in tandem with bleeding-edge tech specs tuned specifically for creative jobs. Intel's latest chipset was designed to save hours on editing, with speed and responsiveness that lets audio mavens focus on the sound, not the chatter. Even if you're not an audio pro, you'll likely make good use of the noise-cancelling quad-microphone array during audiophile-worthy video and voice calls. And it's got a battery that's designed to last long, so all-night jam sessions can happen wherever the music takes you. While AI is still growing in its capabilities, here and now, it's empowering creatives to do what they do best -- just better. Wherever your skills lie, there's a good chance AI can make your work simpler and the results stronger. Consider a laptop like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, built to incorporate the best of AI with the processing power to keep it running smoothly. You'll be ready to go further, no matter where inspiration takes you.