The era of AI PCs is burgeoning, yet there's no unified industry standard defining what exactly constitutes an AI PC, with each entity advocating its own concept.
Intel and AMD, as platform-level manufacturers, believe that an AI PC must possess CPU, GPU, and NPU simultaneously to earn the designation, while NVIDIA, as a leading graphics card manufacturer, emphasizes that RTX GPU is the soul of an AI PC.
Actually, Microsoft also has a say in AI PCs. After all, for AI experiences to truly come to life, they heavily rely on support and optimization at the operating system level.
At an AI PC summit held in Taipei, China, Intel put forward requirements for an AI PC jointly defined with Microsoft:
On one hand, it's about equipping processors with brand new chips including NPU, GPU, and CPU, such as Intel's Core Ultra (and of course, AMD's Ryzen 7040/8040 series).
On the other hand, it's about supporting Microsoft Copilot and including a physical Copilot key. The first point is straightforward, but the second point poses some challenges, especially in China where the situation is unique. Copilot can't be accessed through conventional means here.
Perhaps in the future, Microsoft will find a special way to introduce Copilot into China, such as developing a customized version or partnering with domestic manufacturers for customization. However, this won't happen in the short term and may lead to fragmentation.
Moreover, existing AI PCs don't come with Copilot keys. Does that mean they're not true AI PCs? Perhaps this is Microsoft's vision for the future definition of AI PCs.
Certainly, the immediate priority is to encourage more manufacturers and developers to embrace AI PCs, thereby bringing forth a greater variety of products and applications.
To this end, Intel initiated the AI PC Acceleration Program in October last year and has recently introduced two significant upgrades. Firstly, there's the addition of the AI PC Developer Program, and secondly, the inclusion of independent hardware developers.
Under the AI PC Developer Program, Intel offers developers comprehensive support resources, including frameworks and libraries such as OpenVINO, ONNX Runtime, DirectML, WebNN, AI tools, workflows, code samples, and use cases, optimized AI models for Intel XPUs, hardware development kits, documentation, training, technical blogs, and a centralized knowledge hub.
As part of this, the AI PC Development Kit currently provides developers with an AI Ready ASUS NUC Pro 14 mini PC. It features an Intel Core Ultra processor, four USB 3.2 ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, support for up to four displays, and 96GB of memory, ensuring there are no performance bottlenecks. It comes pre-installed with AI stacks, XPU drivers, and a complete development environment.
Intel provides support for Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) in mainland China, Taiwan, and the United States through open labs, offering 24/7 access to resources and early reference hardware for AI PC development.
During the pilot phase, over 100 IHV vendors have developed more than 200 components for AI PC compatibility, with significant future increases and enhancements anticipated.
For instance, for displays, OLED screens are preferred for their energy efficiency and ability to support lower refresh rates.
For cameras, high-quality image and video output is essential.
When it comes to memory and storage, optimization for AI PC platforms is necessary, as larger models require significantly higher performance in this regard.
Regarding visual sensors, factors such as facial recognition, gesture control, user posture, and eye tracking are essential components of the AI experience.
While these specifications are not mandatory at present, Intel may potentially establish hardware standards and experience certifications for AI PCs in the future, akin to the rigorous Intel Evo certification program.
Currently, there are over 100 ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) involved in optimizing AI for PCs, with over 300 AI-accelerated software functionalities expected to be realized within this year. It's projected that by 2025, there will be over 100 million AI-enabled PCs worldwide.
