The Rise of AI PCs: Promises, Challenges, and Industry Competition

'AI laptops' hype is not what you think -- companies will hate me for revealing this secret

I know a little secret about AI laptops. At first, I hesitated in divulging this truth. I wondered, "Do people even give a flying monkey's behind about AI laptops?" The answer is likely no. But that doesn't mean that you don't deserve to know why companies keep trying to shove them down your throats. You may be thinking, "Pfft, what's the secret? That AI laptops are a marketing ploy? We already know that!" It's actually far more underhanded than that. Hear me out. I've spent over five years as a tech journalist, giving me a rare vantage point. As Mashable's former tech editor, I've had behind-the-scenes conversations with industry insiders about the real motives driving AI laptops. At the same time, I've pored over datasets that reveal how everyday consumers are actually reacting to the AI laptop buzz. In one survey conducted by Intel, 44% of respondents believed that AI PCs are "gimmicky." Another poll by TechPowerUp discovered that 84% of participants would not shell out extra cash for AI features on PCs. Despite this, reports are bullish on AI PCs. They're expected to represent 40% of global PC shipments in 2025, according to Canalys. AI PCs now consist of 14% of the PC market. This isn't an outlandish prediction. After two years of testing AI PCs, I can confidently say they're impressive. My gripe isn't about their functionality; it's about the lack of transparency surrounding why the tech industry is pushing them so hard. But first, for the uninitiated, let's dive into what exactly is an AI PC. The concept of an AI PC, a computer capable of running AI workloads, is nothing new. What stands out is the recent marketing pivot to promote laptops specifically crafted for AI purposes -- a trend that's taken off in the last few years. Nowadays, an AI PC refers to a computer that is, at the very least, outfitted with an NPU (a processor that is designed to perform AI tasks). For example, laptops like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, HP OmniBook X 14, and the newly refreshed Dell XPS 13 have configurations with Qualcomm's best AI chip offering, Snapdragon X Elite, which features NPUs. As such, these three aforementioned laptops are considered AI PCs. Microsoft took it a step further and decided to set the standard for what qualifies as an AI-ready PC with "Copilot+" branding. Copilot+ laptops offer consumers access to flashy Windows-based AI features like the controversial Recall function, Cocreator in Paint, Live Captions, and more. As you might have guessed, Copilot+ PCs come equipped with NPUs, but they must be built into the following chipsets: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, AMD Ryzen AI 300 series, and Intel Core Ultra 200V series. There are arguably "better" AI-ready laptops on the market, particularly gaming laptops, which often sport Nvidia GPUs. As Tom's Guide's sister site Tom's Hardware said, although Nvidia graphics cards aren't purpose-built for AI, they're still pretty powerful. An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, for example, can offer somewhere between 47 and 194 TOPS, which outpaces the 40 TOPS output from Copilot+ PCs. (TOPs, which stands for trillions of operations per second, is a unit of measurement used to quantify AI computational power.) The downside is that gaming laptops are energy guzzlers. Copilot+ PCs, as you'll find out later, give the Energizer Bunny a run for its money. So where does Apple fit in with all of this? Perhaps making a slight dig at the Windows AI PC hype, the Cupertino-based tech giant said that it's been making AI-capable machines for years now with its M-series chips. The most powerful one yet is the M4 chip, which you can find across the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini and iMac. In other words, Apple said we've been adding neural engines (a dedicated part of the M-series chips that handles machine-learning and AI workloads) to our machines for quite some time now. Keep up! Now, let's get to the juicy part. Here's the truth behind the aggressive push for AI PCs. Most people assume that the reason why laptop manufacturers -- from Lenovo and Dell to HP and Asus -- are insistently and assertively rolling out AI PCs is because we're in an AI boom. With AI being the new buzzword, companies assume that it'll attract consumers in droves, right? Wrong! That's what they want you to believe. The truth is, I've heard some insider chatter suggesting that Big Tech -- Microsoft, for instance -- is feeling the strain of their AI splurging. Running cloud-based AI is ridiculously expensive, and it's reportedly causing anxiety in the industry. There's speculation that some companies may not recoup their massive investments quickly enough, leading to some serious nail-biting behind the scenes. For example, Microsoft has bundled AI features into subscriptions costing up to $30 per month, but rumors suggest that running cloud-based AI is becoming an unsustainable business model. To address this, industry leaders are pushing AI PCs as a solution to reduce reliance on the cloud. By integrating NPUs into AI PCs, companies aim to offload AI processing to consumers' laptops, reducing the painful costs of cloud-based AI operations. This strategy allows them to maintain revenue streams from AI subscriptions while cutting overhead by leveraging users' hardware resources instead. So no, the overarching reason for this AI PC hype isn't to ride the ChatGPT-sparked AI wave. And no, it's not to protect your privacy either. There's a trend of companies marketing on-device AI as a "better option for privacy," but some pundits aren't so convinced about that. One study found that on-device AI models still leaked private and sensitive information. The truth is simple: Big Tech is reportedly scared of possible negative returns. According to Financial Times, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet spent about $200 billion in 2024 to build AI infrastructure -- and folks are terrified that the bubble will burst as early as next year. Who will come and rescue them? You and your shiny new NPU. I've attended countless briefings with laptop vendors trying to "sell me" on AI PCs. And I haven't got a single satisfactory answer to the following question: "What benefit, exactly, does an AI PC bring to the consumer?" Every time I asked that question, I could see beads of sweat forming on the representatives' foreheads. When I first caught wind of the AI PC trend in 2023 -- before Copilot+ PCs existed -- I struggled to understand how an NPU actually improved the AI experience. At the time, PR teams touted Windows Studio Effects as the big draw, a feature that added webcam effects like background blur. "That's it?" I thought. "Is that really enough to justify asking people to shell out for an AI PC?" However, as time progressed, the benefits became clearer. For example, Adobe Premiere Pro now leverages the NPUs of Copilot+ PCs. DaVinci Resolve eventually joined the party, too. Microsoft will also try to sell you features like Recall, Cocreator and more, but they're more for "funsies" rather than adding any practical value to one's productivity. Still, for most users, it's not the "AI" from AI PCs that make them worth the purchase -- it's everything else. Research from IDC backs this claim, but I've tested a handful of AI PCs, so allow me to divulge my personal experience with them. Although the AI PC trend is reportedly part of Big Tech's scheme to stop the alleged financial bleeding, they're actually pretty good. In fact, I'll go as far as saying that AI PCs, particularly Copilot+ PCs, are the best thing that have happened to Windows laptops in quite some time. In an Intel-dominated space, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip is sensational. I own an M2 MacBook Air, but if hell were to freeze over and I decided to snag a Windows laptop, it'd be the Snapdragon X Elite-based Microsoft Surface Laptop 7. It lasted nearly 23 hours on a charge in a video rundown test I ran on it. Tom's Guide runs a more robust, intensive battery runtime test -- and it lasted almost 16 hours on a charge, which is still incredible. When it comes to performance, the Surface Laptop 7 was only narrowly defeated by the M3 MacBook Air. The Dell XPS 13 configuration with the Snapdragon X Elite chip also blew us away. It lasted a whopping 19 hours and 41 minutes on a charge. And it, too, is a performance powerhouse. Intel could never. I can't emphasize this enough: AI PCs are impressive -- but not necessarily for the AI features they're named after. My sources indicate that Big Tech isn't expected to see substantial returns from its AI investments any time soon -- and it's sparking concern across the industry. "The revenue returns from AI remain more of a promise than a present reality," Jeremy Goldman, senior director of briefings at EMARKETER, told Business Insider. The rumored solution? As mentioned, integrate NPUs into everyday laptops, shifting AI workloads to consumer devices. On the bright side, this is shaping up to be a somewhat symbiotic relationship between the industry leaders and consumers. Buyers gain power-efficient, high-performance laptops that meet their needs, and in return, Big Tech establishes NPUs as a standard feature in modern devices to cut their expenditures. Win, win!

Windows Copilot+ PCs aren't there yet: 8 must-change upgrades for 2025

If AI is the future of Windows, Copilot+ PCs will need some serious improvements. It seems like every new laptop lately is a "Windows Copilot+ PC." With Intel's Lunar Lake and AMD's Ryzen AI 300 CPUs, AI-infused Copilot+ PCs have finally expanded into traditional x86 laptop territory. They aren't limited to just Arm-powered laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite hardware anymore. That's good news for everyone. Along with speedy neural processing units (NPU) that are capable of at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS), Copilot+ PCs must have at least 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. If that's the new baseline for Windows PCs, that's awesome. It will benefit you even if you don't care about AI. So, your next laptop might just be a Copilot+ PC. But if you ask me, Copilot+ PCs still leave a lot to be desired. While those min specs are great, there's more to a great laptop experience than hardware. If Microsoft wants people to truly care about Copilot+ PCs, there are some serious improvements that need to happen sooner than later. Related: PC makers say tomorrow's AI PCs need to just keep it simple Copilot+ PCs should feel more revolutionary than they currently do. At launch, we got a collection of small little features in apps like Paint and Photos, some webcam effects, and a few other goodies. It's just not a transformative AI experience the way those Copilot+ PC ads promised. When I hear about transformative AI integration in Windows, I imagine Windows rewriting text in any application, or summarizing anything that's on the screen, or noticing that I'm performing a repetitive task and offering to automate it for me. What if Windows AI truly understood what you were doing on your PC and could help you get those things done? That would be interesting, but it isn't happening on Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft's Windows Recall feature was supposed to be the impressive new thing that sold everyone on the power of AI PCs, and it was the centerpiece of Microsoft's original Copilot+ PC announcement back in May 2024. Recall takes screenshots of your PC activity every five seconds, then lets you search through it all using plain-language AI queries. Of course, it was immediately controversial. While Microsoft insisted it was private and secure, there was severe backlash over privacy concerns -- so severe, in fact, that the company backed down, pulled the feature, and promised to make changes to address criticism. As we reach the end of 2024, Recall continues to see delay after delay. For people to trust Copilot+ PCs, privacy, control, and user choice needs to be at the forefront. Recall was actually designed in a more private way than the controversy implied -- for example, those snapshots are stored entirely on your computer and nothing is ever shared with Microsoft. But concerns are still concerns, and it's clear that Microsoft didn't take those concerns seriously when originally designing Recall. Future Copilot+ PC features need to be designed in a way that garners user trust from day one, without repeated delays while the company scrambles to rework features after the fact. It's just a bad look. The name "Copilot+ PC" implies that you'll be able to do more with Microsoft's Copilot AI chatbot assistant on such PCs. Unfortunately, that isn't true at all. While these PCs do have a Copilot key on the keyboard, that key also exists on many non-Copilot+ PCs, too. You don't actually get any bonus Copilot features. Want Copilot AI features in Microsoft Word and other Office apps? You won't get it with a Copilot+ PC. Instead, you need to shell out for a Copilot Pro subscription. Not the clearest naming scheme! To deliver on the promise of the name, Microsoft should make Copilot work offline in some form, perhaps on Copilot+ PCs to provide speedy AI answers even without an internet connection -- and without sending any data to Microsoft, which would be a big boon for businesses that want to maintain control over internal data. Ideally, Copilot should still be able to access Microsoft's cloud servers for more information when necessary. But all of this really just points to an even bigger problem: Copilot itself might need a big rethink. In my experience, the new Copilot is more focused on friendly chatter than real productivity. I don't want my laptop to be my friend -- I want it to be a productivity tool! The generative image features on Copilot+ PCs are a little sad. For example, Cocreator in Paint can "upgrade" something you draw, and you can also generate images in Photos. But that's... it? On a Copilot+ PC, these features use the system's NPU to perform AI image generation. But they require you sign in with a Microsoft account, and they send your generated image to Microsoft's servers for safety checks before showing them to you. In other words, you have to be connected to the internet -- they don't work offline. What's the point of using the system's NPU to do image generation locally if it doesn't work offline, requires a Microsoft account, and sends the image to Microsoft's servers? You might as well just use cloud-based AI image solutions that do all the work on a cloud server somewhere. The argument for using cloud-based AI image tools is especially strong because the image generation models on Copilot+ PCs just aren't great. Yes, they technically work... but they're far behind the latest AI image generation models you can find elsewhere. Cloud-powered models like OpenAI's DALL-E 3, which is used by Copilot and Microsoft Designer, generate much higher-quality images. Copilot+ PCs need to be more competitive with the latest cloud-powered AI image models that can be used on any device, even phones. Otherwise, what's the point? Gaming PCs are being left out of the Copilot+ PC push. That's a shame because a powerful GPU isn't just for gaming -- it's also the best way to run local AI models with the fastest possible performance. Indeed, while NPUs are getting all the hype, GPUs are still the fastest way to run many local AI applications that do the work on your own PC. NPUs are useful for AI tasks because they provide better performance than a CPU and less energy usage than a GPU. And with Copilot+ PCs being all about long battery life and power efficiency, it's clear why NPUs are in the spotlight. But what about when battery life and power efficiency aren't so important? GPUs are still the best for that, and that means gaming laptops shouldn't be overlooked for AI tasks. When designing Copilot+ PCs and Windows AI features, Microsoft has ignored GPUs -- if your computer doesn't have an NPU, it simply can't use those AI features. That's a mistake. Related: The best gaming laptops that perform well Copilot+ PCs are currently limited to thin-and-light laptops. Do you have a desktop? Too bad. It can't yet be a Copilot+ PC. Do you want a gaming laptop with a powerful CPU like Intel's Raptor Lake refresh? Also too bad. That can't be a Copilot+ PC either. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite hardware is only for laptops, and the company canceled its planned Snapdragon mini PC. Intel's Arrow Lake Core Ultra desktop chips include an NPU that's too slow for Copilot+ PC features, and AMD's Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs don't have an NPU at all. Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm need to release processors for other form factors, not just the thin-and-light laptops that are in vogue. Of course, this will likely happen in time: Qualcomm has said it plans to release its Snapdragon X processors for PC desktops, and Intel and AMD will surely bring faster NPUs to desktops in the future, too. Microsoft's Copilot+ PC specification isn't just about getting new AI features built into Windows. It's about establishing an entirely new type of app that requires AI-related hardware and a minimum hardware level for developers to target. When Microsoft first announced Copilot+ PCs, it also announced the Windows Copilot Runtime, which is a collection of AI models that are built directly into Windows. Windows applications can take advantage of these AI models... but only if you're on a qualified Copilot+ PC. Some companies have told me about how their Windows applications can take advantage of NPUs for AI tasks, but I've yet to hear about a single application that uses the Windows Copilot Runtime for AI. If the industry wants to sell Copilot+ PCs for their unique features, Windows app devs will need to ship apps that take advantage of that Copilot Runtime. That's a tall order, though. Most AI applications are being built in a cross-platform way using cloud-based AI processing so they can run on any platform, whether a Windows PC or a Chromebook or an Android phone. Microsoft will have to convince app developers to build AI features that work only on a certain subset of Windows 11 PCs -- and without proper incentives, it's unlikely for any to take them up on that. One final but obvious point: Copilot+ PCs need to come down in price to achieve widespread adoption -- and they do need to achieve widespread adoption if app developers are going to take them seriously enough to develop specialized software for them. If Copilot+ PCs stay as high-end niche products used only by PC enthusiasts, then they're going to be easy to ignore. They won't get the software they need to be interesting, and Microsoft won't be moved to release interesting Windows features that only a few can use. Right now, we're nearing the end of 2024 and it's still hard to get a Copilot+ PC for much less than $1,000. You may be able to save a couple hundred bucks if you catch a Qualcomm Snapdragon X laptop on sale, otherwise you're out of luck. That's no surprise, though, as those laptops just came out (and Intel Lunar Lake and AMD Ryzen AI 300-powered laptops just started to trickle out at the end of 2024). We're going to need to see the price come way down in the future so that people will happily buy Copilot+ PCs instead of getting last year's laptops at half the price. A premium pricing strategy is a good way for hardware manufacturers to make money on their hardware, but a bad way to build an application platform. Fortunately, we've seen some first moves on this, like Qualcomm talking about a cheaper Snapdragon X Plus chip that'll pave the way for $700 Copilot+ laptops. And, of course, if prices do drop, that'll be good for everyone. Whether the AI features are useful or not, I look forward to more affordable laptops with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage as the minimum!

What's new when shopping for a laptop in 2025? 8 things to keep in mind

We're in a new era for laptops. Here's what you need to know before buying one next year. While laptops haven't exactly been advancing by leaps and bounds over the last few years, the industry has finally gotten interesting again. As we close out 2024 and head into 2025, I've got news for you if you're in the market for a new laptop: a lot has changed, and lots more changes are yet to come. Here are the new things you need to know to make an informed laptop buying decision this year. Further reading: The best laptops we've tested I used to recommend buying last year's laptop models on clearance because hardware hasn't really improved much year over year. Sure, maybe that new laptop is a bit better... but only marginally. Wouldn't you rather get last year's almost-as-good model for 50 percent off? The calculus has now changed. You may still be able to find clearance laptops from 2024 or 2023 at a good price if you keep an eye on the best laptop sales, but you may want to think twice before buying them. The latest CPUs -- I'm talking Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake), AMD's Ryzen AI 300 series, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite -- all have some big upgrades, including improved battery life, lower power consumption, standard Wi-Fi 7 support, and NPUs for AI features that'll hopefully become more interesting in 2025. Combine all that with other trending laptop improvements, like the explosion in popularity of beautiful OLED displays, and it may finally be worth splurging on a current-gen laptop. The laptop processor battery life wars are finally being waged. Intel talked a good game with those first-generation "Core Ultra" Meteor Lake processors, but they didn't exactly deliver those big efficiency gains in our benchmarks and day-to-day testing. Things are different now, though. Intel Lunar Lake-powered PCs are finally delivering the serious battery life improvements that Intel has been promising. Meanwhile, you can find Arm-powered Windows laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips that have super-long battery life, too. (But thanks to Lunar Lake, you don't have to turn to those Arm-powered laptops for serious battery life.) Related: These laptops have the longest battery life we've tested While AMD's latest Ryzen AI 300-series processors don't hit the same battery life numbers, they have pretty good efficiency while delivering better multithreaded performance over Lunar Lake CPUs. PCWorld's Mark Hachman ran UL's Procyon Office benchmarks, which launches applications like Microsoft Word and Excel and tests how long those applications last in real-world usage scenarios. Here are the battery numbers he saw in this more representative test: If battery life is important to you in a laptop -- in other words, you aren't prioritizing maximum performance for gaming or creative work -- then you'll want to look at laptops with these newer processors. If you want these cutting-edge battery life metrics, you won't find them in gaming laptops -- even in the newer 2025 models. These long-lasting CPUs are mainly designed for power efficiency and AI performance with NPUs, which don't quite matter in a gaming laptop. Unsurprisingly, most gaming laptops are sticking with Intel Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs -- announced in 2023 -- for maximum performance. Plus, as we head into 2025, Nvidia's latest mobile options are still the GeForce RTX 40-series GPUs launched in 2023. So, when it comes to gaming laptops, not a lot has changed. I recommend either keeping an eye open for a good deal on a slightly older gaming laptop or waiting a bit longer for some new hardware. Nvidia's GPUs are due for an update, and there's a lot of speculation that Nvidia may announce new GPUs at CES 2025. In 2025, there's almost no excuse for a laptop not to support Wi-Fi 7. Intel's Lunar Lake, AMD's Ryzen AI 300, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processors all include Wi-Fi 7 hardware as standard. If this is your first time hearing about it, learn more about why Wi-Fi 7 is important. Even if you haven't upgraded to a Wi-Fi 7 router yet, it's time to start getting Wi-Fi 7 hardware so you can eventually step it up -- and what better way than to start with a compatible laptop? Then, when your router does kick the bucket, you can snag a replacement with Wi-Fi 7. This is a big improvement from 2024, by the way. Intel's Meteor Lake processors didn't include Wi-Fi 7 hardware as standard, and you sometimes had to pay extra for that as an upgrade. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi 7 still doesn't come standard on gaming laptops. As mentioned above, most gaming laptops are stuck with Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs for maximum performance, and those generally don't have Wi-Fi 7. You can still get Wi-Fi 7 support on a gaming laptop if it's important to you, but you have to go out of your way to look for it. When Copilot+ PCs launched in late summer 2024, they were all Arm-based laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus processors. That's now changed: You can get Copilot+ PCs with Intel Lunar Lake or AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processors, too. If you do get a Copilot+ PC, you're getting more than just a Copilot key on the keyboard. You're getting extra AI features in Windows that rely on newer hardware that only exists in Copilot+ PCs. At launch, those AI features weren't very interesting. But Microsoft is working on adding more AI features to Windows and still doing its best to bring back the controversial Windows Recall feature (the one that takes periodic screenshots of your PC's screen and allows you to search your activity history with simple typed prompts). These Copilot+ PCs also include a Copilot Runtime that Windows applications can tap into. All of this AI goodness is powered by the neural processing unit (NPU) in these PCs. To be branded a Copilot+ PC, a computer needs an NPU capable of at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS). (Not sure what an NPU is? Check out our explainer on NPUs and AI chips.) There's a happy story happening across the entire consumer electronics industry right now, from laptops to phones: more RAM and more storage are becoming standard. It's all thanks to the explosion of AI, but the rising tide lifts all boats. Laptops and other devices need lots of RAM to keep AI models in memory, so devices with low amounts of RAM aren't cutting it anymore. Related: How much RAM do you need in a laptop? Microsoft's Copilot+ PC requirements demand a minimum of 16GB of RAM along with 256GB of storage. While not every laptop is a Copilot+ PC yet, the big focus on AI means base-model laptops might have enough RAM and storage that you can buy them without paying for potentially pricey RAM and storage upgrades. Related: How much SSD space do you need in a laptop? You don't have to buy an Arm-powered Windows laptop for fantastic battery life, but you might still want one anyway. If you are interested in something like Microsoft's latest Surface Laptop or Surface Pro, you should know that software compatibility -- which was already pretty good at release -- has only improved since then. Most Windows desktop apps work just fine on Arm laptops thanks to the Prism compatibility layer, and some apps that weren't compatible at release -- like Google Drive and some VPN apps -- now work on Arm laptops. Many Adobe apps now work on these PCs, too, though not all of them. Some older printers may also not work. Long story short, an Arm laptop may be great for you and you may not run into any software compatibility issues, but know that the risk is still there. Intel is betting that these potential app headaches (along with the efficiency improvements of Lunar Lake) will make you skip over Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered systems for Lunar Lake PCs instead, which can run traditional x86 software without any emulation. That said, most typical laptop users should get by just fine with an Arm laptop. If you end up getting one, make sure you buy from a store with a good return policy just in case it doesn't meet your needs. While Nvidia hasn't announced anything official yet, rumors say that they'll announce GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs at CES 2025 in January. If this includes new mobile GPUs, that will give gamers a reason to upgrade -- or at least provide a reason to buy a newer laptop if you're in the market for a new portable gaming PC! Intel has some new processors, too: Panther Lake will be the successor to Lunar Lake, and Intel says it plans to release this new hardware in the second half of 2025. There's some talk about Panther Lake having more cores than Lunar Lake (that would be nice), but nothing official yet. AMD is rumored to be working on "Strix Halo" hardware aimed at high performance, but the company hasn't announced anything official yet. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for CES 2025 in January, where the company will likely make some relevant announcements. Qualcomm is also promising less expensive Snapdragon X Plus-powered Arm laptops. The company is aiming for a $700 to $900 price point with new Snapdragon X Plus-powered chips focused on power efficiency. But Qualcomm isn't just chasing lower prices. The company looks like it's working on "Snapdragon X Gen 2" hardware, too, according to a leak from Dell. These processors may launch in mid-2025, if rumors are true. Expect power efficiency and performance upgrades. In 2025, the laptop market is heating up and becoming exciting again. I just wish there was more new hardware coming for gaming laptops!

Qualcomm transformed the AI PC market in 2024 with Snapdragon X Elite. Can it do it again?

If you use an Android phone, there's a good chance it's running on a Snapdragon processor. That's not the only place you'll find one, though. This year, Qualcomm, the San Diego-based Snapdragon chipmaker, brought its CPUs to a whole new stage: AI-powered laptops. On May 20, 2024, Microsoft unveiled the first laptops in its new Copilot+ PC line, all powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series chips. This was Qualcomm's first significant entry into the laptop market, so the success of the Copilot+ PCs was crucial. Qualcomm had big plans for its laptop processors, particularly the flagship Snapdragon X Elite chip. As a Qualcomm spokesperson tells Laptop Mag, "The launch marked a pivotal moment for Qualcomm as we unveiled a new era of AI-enabled PCs. The Copilot+ PC devices powered by Snapdragon X Elite exceeded expectations in providing high performance-per-watt and long battery life -- the top requirements for consumers." At first glance, you might wonder why Microsoft would risk the launch of a whole new series of laptops by working with a chipmaker that's relatively new to the laptop market. Qualcomm was up to the challenge, though. In fact, Snapdragon-powered laptops had some clear advantages right from launch. For one thing, Microsoft's Copilot+ PC line-up was the largest collection of AI PCs ever launched when it debuted in June. The Snapdragon X chips at the heart of these laptops were designed specifically with AI in mind, resulting in stronger overall AI performance compared to older Windows 11 laptops. "One of the most transformative user experiences enabled by Snapdragon X Elite processors is their ability to handle generative AI workloads on-device," a Qualcomm rep tells Laptop Mag. "For example, when devices are unplugged, our competitors' performance falls between 30 to 45%, and there's no drop on Snapdragon." That balance of processing power and battery efficiency also resulted in some seriously impressive battery life scores for Snapdragon-powered laptops. While there are a few outliers, most of the Copilot+ PCs Laptop Mag tested this year lasted 13 hours or more in our battery life test. For instance, the Dell XPS 13 lasted a staggering 19 hours! Even more impressive, the Qualcomm-powered Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 broke our battery life record, outlasting any other laptop we've reviewed to date with a battery life of 21 hours and 3 minutes. Those battery life results handily prove that Qualcomm's claims about power efficiency on its Snapdragon chips are the real deal. Even if you're not so interested in the AI features on Snapdragon-powered laptops, this level of battery life alone could seal the deal for prospective laptop buyers. It's enough to potentially win over people who might not have otherwise decided to try an AI PC. And if you are an AI enthusiast or want to run AI apps on your laptop, Snapdragon may be the best platform for that, too. "Unlike other processors, Snapdragon X Elite features an integrated AI Engine capable of over 45 trillion operations a second (TOPS), allowing them to handle demanding AI tasks seamlessly," a Qualcomm spokesperson tells Laptop Mag, With top-notch performance for running virtually any consumer AI app you want and battery life bordering on 24 hours, this first generation of Snapdragon-powered laptops set a high bar. Can the next generation take things even further? Given the overall success of the Copilot+ PC line-up this year, many are intrigued to see what Qualcomm delivers next. On one hand, it will probably aim to continue the innovation achieved in 2024. However, Qualcomm will also need to connect with a larger pool of users, many of whom are still unclear about what exactly an "AI PC" is or why they need one. A Qualcomm spokesperson tried to clear this u, telling told Laptop Mag, "'AI PC' refers to the integration of generative AI tools that function as real-time assistants to enhance productivity, creativity, and efficiency. Devices with Copilot+ capabilities go beyond traditional computing, enabling smarter and more personalized experiences that can keep up with AI." They also added that "No matter how each user embraces and uses AI for their day-to-day, we believe AI PCs mark the future of computing, where AI becomes an intuitive and essential part of everyday workflows." The message is clear: AI PCs aren't just for AI enthusiasts and developers. Regardless of what you use your laptop for, there's potential for AI to help and soon every new Windows 11 laptop will be an AI PC. Qualcomm is aiming high as the AI PC market grows, a necessary outlook if it wants to stay ahead of Intel and AMD. That competition is good for users, too, because it will help move the needle on innovation. A Qualcomm spokesperson gave us some hints about what they have coming up in 2025 and beyond, telling Laptop Mag, "You can expect high performance, deeper integration with edge computing, and continued innovations in battery efficiency and connectivity. Upcoming AI tools will elevate productivity with advanced search functions, enhanced photo resolution, smarter conference call features, and cutting-edge graphic design capabilities." Those new features and tools sound great, but Intel and AMD are working on AI innovations of their own. We'll just have to wait and see if Qualcomm has what it takes to rule the AI PC market or if it was just the rookie of the year. If you're anything from an AI enthusiast to the average AI tinkerer (or simply seeking out some of the additional features offered through Windows Copilot+ PCs or Apple Intelligence on Macs), then you'll need a powerful and performative laptop to keep up to speed with your needs. At Laptop Mag, we review laptops year-round to ensure we're giving you expert-backed and up-to-date recommendations on which notebook is right for you. When it comes to the best AI PC category, our top picks are the excellent Asus Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) for Windows users and the impressive Apple Macbook Air M3 for those running macOS.

AMD ruled the AI PC market in 2024. Can it stay ahead of Qualcomm and Intel next year?

On June 2, 2024, Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, took the stage for her keynote presentation at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan. She would finally unveil the chip that would power some of this year's top AI-powered laptops -- and set AMD up to lead the AI PC market in the near term. Su, who has been at the helm of AMD since 2014, set the scene by looking ahead: "We actually need much, much better AI hardware, and that's why we're so excited to announce today our third-gen Ryzen AI processors," she told the gathered audience of industry members and tech journalists. Those processors were the AMD Ryzen AI 300 series chips, which would emerge as major contenders in the AI PC market this year. Su was greeted with applause as she held up the first Ryzen AI 300 series chip for the Computex crowd to see. She didn't shy away from praising AMD's work, either, commenting, "Our new Ryzen AI series actually is a significant increase in compute and AI performance and sets the bar for what a Copilot PC should do." See also: This year, Copilot+ PCs beat the hype -- and gaming is next, AMD exec tells Laptop Mag AMD did indeed set the bar. The Ryzen AI 300 series processors came out swinging with some seriously impressive benchmark scores and great overall performance, giving Qualcomm's Copilot+ PCs a run for their money. AMD's new chips didn't just dominate in AI performance, either. AMD's Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Jason Banta, tells Laptop Mag, "Beyond just delivering AI capabilities, the Ryzen AI 300 Series processors were designed to deliver a great all-around PC experience, with top-shelf features and no compromises. With flawless compatibility and stability, Ryzen AI 300 Series processors deliver the same trusted Ryzen performance with the addition of next-gen AI processing power." Did the AMD Ryzen AI 300 series chips live up to these high expectations? More importantly, were they truly able to set the bar for what a Copilot+ PC should do? After seeing these laptops in action, I think the answer is clear, but it leaves me wondering if AMD can keep its lead going into 2025. When Copilot+ PCs first launched in May 2024, Qualcomm was running the show. All of the laptops in that initial launch, like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, ran on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips. Some of these laptops really impressed us, especially when it came to battery life. Then AMD entered the scene. I knew Qualcomm was going to have some serious competition when I saw the benchmark results for the first few laptops running the AMD Ryzen 9 HX 370 chip. These new Copilot+ PCs knocked Qualcomm's scores out of the park by a large margin, especially in graphics tests. For example, the Asus Zenbook S16 (AMD Ryzen 9 HX 370) averaged three times more frames per second in Sid Meier's Civilization VI than the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7X (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100). Our review for the Zenbook S16 also praised its graphics performance, with Editor Rami Tabari commenting, "I've never seen integrated graphics like this." Sheer graphics performance wasn't the only advantage AMD's Ryzen AI 300 series chips have over their Qualcomm rivals. As AMD's Banta points out, the Ryzen AI 300 series chips feature "flawless compatibility." Banta may not have been intentionally making a jab at Qualcomm, but AMD's AI CPUs are compatible with far more apps and games than Qualcomm's. In fact, one of the few major issues that emerged during the launch of the first Copilot+ PCs were issues with app compatibility on Qualcomm's Arm architecture. For instance, I noticed the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7X couldn't run games that required anti-cheat software, like Apex Legends. While Qualcomm will likely resolve most app incompatibilities eventually, right now it is still a potential deal-breaker that gives AMD-powered laptops an edge. Beyond gaming, AMD's Ryzen AI 300 series chips boasted impressive overall performance far beyond their Qualcomm competitors. For instance, the Asus ProArt PX13 scored 15,203 on Geekbench 6 and 3,587 on Geekbench ML (CPU). Both scores are significantly higher than similar Qualcomm-powered laptops, indicating that AMD's AI chips offer stronger overall performance and superior AI performance. After the successful launch of the Ryzen AI 300 series chips this year, many are excited to see how AMD will continue to evolve its AI processors in 2025. Banta gave us a hint about what might be next. Banta tells Laptop Mag, "Many AI PCs in the market now cater to the premium market. In the near term, we are committed to bringing AI to more price points and enabling more AI experiences for customers everywhere." So, we could soon see more budget laptops with AMD AI chips. If AMD can achieve similar performance at a lower price point, its next generation of AI chips could dominate the budget laptop market. There is also room for more affordable AI PCs. The first wave of Copilot+ PCs launched earlier this year started at $999, which is relatively inexpensive but still out of reach for many. Of course, you can use sales and deals to save money on your next laptop, but that isn't always an option. Will the performance and features of AMD's Ryzen AI 300 series chips trickle down to laptops with lower price tags in 2025? If not this year, technological development shows us that affordable high-performance AI will be available in the years ahead. A lower-priced AI laptop could also help AMD stay ahead of the competition, especially as Intel ramps its AI CPU line-up with its Lunar Lake. Who will emerge as the leader in the AI PC rivalry: Qualcomm, AMD, or Intel? We'll have to wait and see. If you're anything from an AI enthusiast to the average AI tinkerer (or simply seeking out some of the additional features offered through Windows Copilot+ PCs or Apple Intelligence on Macs), then you'll need a powerful and performative laptop to keep up to speed with your needs. At Laptop Mag, we review laptops year-round to ensure we're giving you expert-backed and up-to-date recommendations on which notebook is right for you. When it comes to the best AI PC category, our top picks are the excellent Asus Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) for Windows users and the impressive Apple Macbook Air M3 for those running macOS.

Intel aimed for the Moon with its Lunar Lake chips this year, but was it enough to best Qualcomm and AMD?

On June 4, 2024, Pat Gelsinger, then CEO of Intel, came out swinging when he arrived at the highlight of his keynote presentation at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan: AI PCs. Gelsinger compared his announcement that day to the launch of Wi-Fi 25 years earlier and confidently predicted, "We expect that by 2028, 80% of all PCs will be AI PCs. And Intel is leading the way." Just moments later, Gelsinger had a literal curtain drop to unveil a dozen upcoming AI PCs. Several of them were running the latest chip from Intel, the star of the show that day: Lunar Lake. Intel's Lunar Lake chips were the latest additions to its Core Ultra line-up and its most advanced consumer AI chips yet. In his Computex presentation, Gelsinger promised these chips would deliver up to 50% better graphics performance and up to four times stronger NPU AI computing power. In a September 2024 presentation at IFA Berlin, Intel claimed Lunar Lake would have up to 50% lower power consumption. That set a high bar for Lunar Lake laptops, especially after the success of AMD's Ryzen AI 300 series chips and the launch of Copilot+ PCs with Qualcomm chips this year. However, Intel was up to the challenge and delivered in one crucial area. While there were some key flaws with the Lunar Lake laptops we tested this year, there was also one surprising win for Intel. When our first test results for laptops running on Intel Lunar Lake chips rolled in earlier this year, it was immediately clear that they were battery-life beasts. For instance, the Dell XPS 13 with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V lasted 18 hours and 34 minutes in our battery life test. That's enough for two full work days on a single charge! Of course, if you're doing more resource-intensive tasks like gaming or Photoshop, you'll burn through that battery life much faster. However, that score is still incredible, especially for commuters and students relying on strong battery life. It wasn't just the Dell XPS 13 that crushed our battery life test, either. The Asus Zenbook S14, Asus ExpertBook P5, and Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition boasted over 13 hours of battery life. So, Intel's claims about superior battery life on Lunar Lake are grounded in reality. However, that doesn't mean there are still no drawbacks to Lunar Lake. Excellent battery life usually comes at the cost of something else. For instance, a more powerful processor or a more premium display will generally eat through battery life faster than less powerful or premium alternatives. With great battery life comes great compromises. A perfect example is, ironically, the Dell XPS 13. The non-OLED version lasted 18 hours and 34 minutes in our battery life test. The version with a premium OLED display lasted just 8 hours and 40 minutes, less than half as long. Display quality isn't the only trade-off we noticed, either. In our review of the Acer Swift 14 AI, we note that Lunar Lake seems to fall behind on multicore performance, which can be a considerable drawback for multi-tasking. Review Joanna Nelius writes, "Maybe this is the result of Intel ditching hyperthreading on its new processors -- a process that improves a computer's ability to multitask and increases its multicore performance." These drawbacks are disappointing, but that doesn't mean Intel didn't have any wins with Lunar Lake. Its biggest win will probably surprise you. Lunar Lake laptops might not be perfect, but there was one surprising, last-minute win for Intel's latest series of chips this year: the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus. If you heard anything about the disastrous original MSI Claw earlier this year, you're probably scratching your head at that. I would be, too. At least, until I tried out the new-and-improved Claw at IFA Berlin in September. Even in my brief hands-on, I could tell MSI listened to user feedback. The new version of MSI's flagship handheld gaming PC got many updates and design changes in response to its predecessor's rough launch. One of those updates was an Intel Lunar Lake chip. The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus was one of the best tech glow-ups of the year. While the original Claw received a measly 2.5 stars from us, the Claw 8 AI Plus earned a shining Editor's Choice award, partly thanks to its Lunar Lake processor, which powered top-tier performance and stellar battery life. Gelsinger left Intel late this year, leaving the legendary company in a state of uncertainty -- at least in public, anyway. But with the success of the MSI Claw AI Plus, it may be making steps in the right direction. If you're anything from an AI enthusiast to the average AI tinkerer (or simply seeking out some of the additional features offered through Windows Copilot+ PCs or Apple Intelligence on Macs), then you'll need a powerful and performative laptop to keep up to speed with your needs. At Laptop Mag, we review laptops year-round to ensure we're giving you expert-backed and up-to-date recommendations on which notebook is right for you. When it comes to the best AI PC category, our top picks are the excellent Asus Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) for Windows users and the impressive Apple Macbook Air M3 for those running macOS.

It debuted this year, but Apple Intelligence has 2 giant advantages to triumph in 2025

Apple arrived midway through a heated AI arms race, but It had two huge advantages over its rivals. One is a "secret weapon," and the second is evident to iPhone users. On June 10, 2024, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced one of the most significant software updates in his company's history, which would vault Apple into the AI showdown with the likes of Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Rumors about the announcement reached a boiling point in the days leading up to Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), so by the time Cook reached the highlight of the keynote presentation, many knew what lie ahead. Cook stood on a trail at Apple's headquarters on a sunny California day as he finally unveiled the star of the show. "Recent developments in generative intelligence and large language models offer powerful capabilities that provide the opportunity to take the experience of using Apple products to new heights." Cook highlighted five core principles for Apple's version of AI: powerful, intuitive, integrated, personal, and private. That last one is significant as privacy and security have become staples of the Apple brand but pose challenges with AI, which relies on consuming vast amounts of data. Cook seemed confident in Apple's solution, though. "All of this goes beyond artificial intelligence. It's personal intelligence, and it's the next big step for Apple." That "next big step" was Apple Intelligence, Apple's rebranding of "AI." This new AI platform designed exclusively for Apple tech features text and image generation, notification summaries, AI image editing, and a long-awaited Siri upgrade. It arrived mid-way with a heated AI arms race, but Apple had two huge advantages over its rivals. One is a "secret weapon," and the second is evident if you're an iPhone user. In an interview with Marques Brownlee at WWDC 2024, Cook doubled down on Apple's AI strategy, insisting, "Generative AI was never off the table. It was always about pursuing it in a thoughtful kind of way. So, that's what we've done, and we've implemented it in ways that are less likely to create issues." Cook was responding to a question about Apple's previously unclear stance on generative AI, which has increasingly become a major feature on Android phones over the past few years through Google Gemini. Until May of this year, Apple appeared, outwardly, anyway, uninterested in entering the generative AI competition. Despite that, I wasn't surprised by the announcement of Apple Intelligence. This is far from the first time Apple played the "better late than never" game. Apple has consistently allowed its rivals to do the risky business of testing new product categories before diving in itself. (The Apple Vision Pro was definitely not the first consumer mixed reality headset, but Apple did design it to be the best.) Apple Intelligence includes most of the now-standard features of generative AI, such as generating text and images, summarizing content, and answering audio, text, and visual queries. Apple added some extra features, like AI-generated emojis, but nothing groundbreaking. That might seem like a losing strategy, considering Google already offers all of that and more on its Gemini platform. Apple has something Google doesn't, though: Private Cloud Compute, a secret weapon which could set up Apple Intelligence for success in 2025 and beyond. Private Cloud Compute ensures everything users do on Apple Intelligence is completely private. When the AI needs to process a request through the cloud, it goes through secure servers running Apple's own M3 Ultra chips. Even then, all of the data is anonymized, so user privacy is protected. That's a far cry from the privacy strategies of Apple's competitors, who were accused of scraping massive amounts of data earlier this year. Privacy isn't even the only significant advantage Apple has up its sleeve. The second one is perhaps even more important and might even make Apple the new leader in consumer AI. Prioritizing privacy and security was a major win for Apple Intelligence, but it may not be Apple's biggest advantage over Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. If you're holding an iPhone, it might already be evident to you: Apple's potentially game-winning advantage is its massive, loyal user base. As of 2024, 87% of teenagers in the U.S. have an iPhone, and 30% say they plan to upgrade their Apple tech within the next six months, specifically because of Apple Intelligence. That makes sense, considering young people are currently the most likely demographic to use generative AI. Young people also represent the future of the phone market, so this data indicates that young people overwhelmingly prefer Apple devices and are more likely to use AI tools and apps. That means Apple Intelligence could help solidify the iPhone's dominance in the phone market for the foreseeable future. As a result, Apple Intelligence could become the country's most widely used AI platform simply by becoming the default AI on the iPhone. If Apple can also nail the basics and ensure Apple Intelligence is consistent, fast, and reliable, it could quickly leapfrog Google's Gemini AI regarding users. The promise of privacy and data security gives Apple an especially strong advantage over Google, particularly when you factor in the ChatGPT integration on Apple Intelligence. This feature lets you privately use OpenAI's ChatGPT algorithm if Apple Intelligence can't complete a request for you. Apple might win the AI race by choosing not to run at all. While its rivals, like Microsoft and Google, have been rushing to roll out as many new AI features as possible over the past year, Apple has been watching, learning, and taking its time. Only time will tell, but Apple could become the king of AI by betting on the one thing you can't develop overnight: the trust it takes to build one of the biggest userbases in the world. If you're anything from an AI enthusiast to the average AI tinkerer (or simply seeking out some of the additional features offered through Windows Copilot+ PCs or Apple Intelligence on Macs), then you'll need a powerful and performative laptop to keep up to speed with your needs. At Laptop Mag, we review laptops year-round to ensure we're giving you expert-backed and up-to-date recommendations on which notebook is right for you. When it comes to the best AI PC category, our top picks are the excellent Asus Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) for Windows users and the impressive Apple Macbook Air M3 for those running macOS.

Qualcomm in 2024: year in review

Snapdragon X CPUs blasted off, powering some truly excellent Copilot+ PCs Qualcomm is a new entrant to the typical suspects we cover in our end-of-year report cards for the computing tech giants out there, but the firm has now gathered enough momentum in this sphere to grab our attention (and everyone else in the world of PCs). That was achieved mainly through the launch of new Snapdragon silicon to power the first Copilot+ PCs to arrive in 2024, and those devices certainly made a splash. So, let's dive into the other strong suits Qualcomm had this year - in terms of computers, that is, not the mobile space - and indeed discuss those weaker cards, too. Qualcomm is a name more associated with chips for phones, but it has, of course, produced Arm-based CPUs for laptops in the past (like the Snapdragon 8cx, for example, or custom Snapdragon processors for Microsoft's Surface devices). However, it didn't really turn any heads in the notebook space until 2024, with the release of the Snapdragon X range. You might recall the excitement and hype spun up around Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X chips throughout the early part of this year. The Snapdragon X Elite headed up the range - actually first revealed late in 2023 - sporting 12-cores, backed up by lower-tier Snapdragon X Plus CPUs with 10-cores. These SoCs did not disappoint when they arrived in Copilot+ PCs - the much-hyped AI laptops - proving to be powerful mobile CPUs, with beefy NPUs (Neural Processing Units) that were a requirement for these notebooks in order to accelerate AI-related workloads. In May 2024 we were treated to a raft of revelations of different inbound Snapdragon X laptops, including the new Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 from Microsoft. Copilot+ PCs went on sale from June onwards, and these initial models were all driven by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon SoCs. The new Surface Laptop totally blindsided us - considering we found some of the previous incarnations of this device rather underwhelming - scoring full marks in our review and storming to the top of our ranking of the best laptops out there. The Surface Pro for 2024 similarly blew us away. And yes, these were victories for Microsoft, but Qualcomm was a big winner here too, with the Snapdragon X being the engine of these compelling new laptops, and obviously key to their success. We witnessed the Snapdragon X Elite achieve some impressive feats in terms of facilitating better battery life, nippy performance, and indeed powering thin-and-light laptops to be surprisingly capable in the gaming stakes. But not everything was rosy in the Snapdragon garden. As you may be aware, there's one main compromise with using Arm silicon, and running Windows on Arm, which is the thorny issue of software compatibility. Admittedly, the compatibility gremlins have been tamed to an extent, thanks to Microsoft's new emulation layer (Prism) for running traditional x86 apps on an Arm system (which has a fundamentally different architecture). This is akin to Apple's Rosetta translation layer, which runs x86 apps on its M-series CPUs. There's no doubting Prism is a big step forward for Windows on Arm, but it's still far from perfect. Microsoft itself admitted that some software doesn't work on Arm-powered PCs, and even when it does, you may get some performance headwinds from running the emulation routines. There are many more compatibility stumbling blocks when trying to play games on these Arm laptops, too. Still, we shouldn't be too negative here, as Prism is still in its relatively early life - and will doubtless be honed by Microsoft. It's also worth noting that Arm-based Copilot+ PCs were the only devices to get the halo AI feature, Recall, when that finally launched late in 2024 (though it'll come to x86 devices later). Furthermore, there's a small - but growing - list of apps that are written natively for Arm chips, so don't need emulation, and will run readily, smoothly and speedily. So, there were a lot of good things going on with the new Snapdragon X SoCs, but worryingly for Qualcomm, the initial sales figures we glimpsed didn't exactly bowl us over. As we reported in November, apparently only something like 720,000 Snapdragon X laptops had been sold since the launch of these devices. In Q3, the units shifted represented 0.8% of the total PCs shipped, and while that's hardly nothing, it's not exactly a thundering start for Qualcomm. The other worry in terms of competition is that Copilot+ PCs with x86 chips are coming onto the scene to challenge the Snapdragon X-powered laptops. Notably, these devices - packing AMD Ryzen AI 300 or Intel Lunar Lake CPUs - don't have any of the compatibility wrinkles we discussed above. Those AMD and Intel processors are also seriously impressive in terms of being highly performant, too. Despite some of these undoubted worries for Qualcomm, the company was very bullish regarding the prospects of its new Snapdragon chips. Indeed, both Arm and Qualcomm predicted that Arm chips will become the dominant force in Windows PCs by 2029, overtaking x86 silicon. It wasn't just a matter of Qualcomm blowing its own hype horn here, though, as analysts also forecasted that Arm-based Copilot+ PCs are going to explode in popularity from next year. We're talking about a more than fivefold growth to over five million units shifted in 2025, and then by 2028, sales will supposedly reach 47 million. However, those x86 AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs are predicted to do better - a lot better. To the tune of 34.2 million units shipped in 2025, and over 100 million units in 2028. Still, that would in theory leave Arm chips with a third of the surging Copilot+ PC market - and while that doesn't quite line up with Qualcomm's own hopes of Windows PC domination by 2029, it'd still be a very impressive achievement. The hype being stoked is that Apple's MacBooks could be threatened, but the reality, as ever - we'll just have to see. Aside from the issues we've mentioned around the weaknesses of Arm in the compatibility stakes, another drag factor on the sales of these Qualcomm-powered Copilot+ PCs has been the generally high price tags attached to these portables. That pricing picture is changing, though, thanks to an 8-core take on the Snapdragon X revealed in September 2024 at IFA, as a cheaper processor to ensure more affordable laptops. That chip had the goal of bringing Snapdragon X laptops down to the $800 level, and then in November 2024, Qualcomm said it was introducing a new entry-level chip beneath the 8-core model to allow for even cheaper Copilot+ PCs around the $600 price point. The key point is that the NPU won't be watered down, to keep these fresh Snapdragon CPUs eligible for Copilot+ devices - and next year we should see much more reasonably priced Arm-based notebooks in the AI laptop category. Qualcomm revealed the Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows in August 2024, a mini PC designed for developers to help them test and port over apps to the Windows on Arm platform. The more software coded natively for Arm, the better, as we already touched on, and this compact PC was an affordable way to help that happen. Sadly, in October came the news that this dev kit had been canned by Qualcomm. Why did the PC get ditched? Apparently it simply wasn't up to scratch, and there were issues related to the hardware, specifically the ports. The end result, though, is that this project that could have accelerated the arrival of native Arm software on Snapdragon-powered PCs has fallen by the wayside. In terms of PCs, the future looks promisingly bright for Qualcomm. At least if the company can realize those cheaper Snapdragon-toting Copilot+ laptops (at the promised $600 price bracket), and Microsoft's Prism forges forward with facilitating the smoother running of x86 apps on these Arm devices. (Plus we'll doubtless get more native software for Windows on Arm, too, something Microsoft will definitely be pushing for - though it's a shame about the fate of Qualcomm's Dev Kit mini PC). Whether Copilot+ PCs running Snapdragon CPUs will be as big a hit as Qualcomm and Arm - and indeed some analyst firms out there - seem to think, well, that remains to be seen. Not all of that is in Qualcomm's hands, by any means, as while the company can - and surely will - push forward with more powerful, or indeed more affordable, Snapdragon CPUs, it could be the AI features that eventually determine whether Copilot+ PCs sell up a storm. And these devices are very much unproven yet in that regard, and the AI functionality ball is, of course, in Microsoft's court with Windows, not Qualcomm's.