The race to power the AI PC is heating up
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Qualcomm's days as the lone provider of chips for Microsoft Copilot+ AI PCs are coming to an end, with machines powered by AMD and Intel set to be on shelves by the holidays.
Why it matters: The entire PC industry is counting on AI to boost the upgrade cycle and maybe even sway some Mac users over to the Windows camp.
Driving the news: Intel on Tuesday announced the Core Ultra 200V chip (formerly Lunar Lake), its first processor designed to meet Microsoft's requirements to power a Copilot+ PC.
- Microsoft, meanwhile, said that PCs with Intel's Core Ultra 200V and AMD's Ryzen AI 300 will be able to run Copilot+ PC apps starting in November via a software update.
- Not standing still, Qualcomm announced a new Snapdragon X Plus chip aimed at powering lower-cost PCs ranging between $700 and $900.
Yes, but: Regardless of the chip inside, the industry still has work ahead to convince buyers that the new AI features are reason enough to upgrade.
- That task got tougher after Microsoft was forced to delay Recall — the signature feature on the Copilot+ PC — amid security and privacy concerns.
- Recall aims to make it easier to find information by taking frequent screenshots of a PC in action and allowing people to search for whatever they previously looked at on their screens.
- Under its revised plans, Microsoft is aiming to have Recall available to early adopters by October.
- As I wrote in my Copilot+ PC review in June, the rest of the AI features — things like live translation and an on-device image generator — are of the "nice to have" variety rather than compelling reasons to buy a new machine.
The big picture: AI could be a game-changer for the PC, but right now the most popular AI applications are cloud-based services like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini that work on almost any PC, tablet or smartphone.
- And Apple has its own AI push, Apple Intelligence, which is designed to run across phones, laptops and computers. Apple has the advantage of designing the entire system, from chips to OS to software.
- The system that Apple outlined in June aims to offer highly personalized assistance by using personal information, processed either directly on the device or using a private server method that the company says won't give Apple or anyone else access to users' personal data.
- However, Apple Intelligence is also still taking shape, with many of the promised features slated to arrive over the next year.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that Intel's announcement of the Core Ultra 200V happened on Tuesday, not Monday.
