Intelligent Finance learned that data released by Canalys shows the global AI PC shipment volume was 8.8 million units in Q2 2024. These devices include desktops and laptops with dedicated AI workloads, such as NPUs. AI PC shipments accounted for 14% of the total PC shipments in this quarter. As the AI PC plans of major processor suppliers are gradually rolled out, it is expected that the supply and user adoption rate of AI PCs will increase significantly in the second half of 2024 and beyond.

Ishan Dutt, chief analyst of Canalys, said:"Q2 2024 added great momentum to the expansion of AI PC. In June, Copilot+PC powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X series chips based on the Arm architecture was officially released. Due to the short time since the launch and the limited coverage, the shipment volume of this quarter is relatively small, but Windows OEM's commitment to widely adopt Snapdragon chips in its product portfolio of Copilot+PC indicates a promising future for this type of product. In the x86 field, Intel has accelerated the delivery speed of Core Ultra chipsets, which has strong performance in AI PC compared to the previous period, while AMD released Ryzen AI 300 series notebook processors in June and plans to start releasing notebook products in mid-July. "

Dutt added:"With the gradual consolidation of the foundation, AI PC shipments are expected to further increase in the second half of 2024. Processor suppliers and OEMs will target a wider range of customers by offering more product categories of various price ranges. At the same time, channel partners expressed their favor for AI PC-related functions. In the channel survey in May, nearly 60% of respondents said they expected consumers to prefer devices with Copilot. Canalys predicts that the market performance of AI PC is basically in line with expectations, and its shipment volume will reach 44 million units in 2024, and it is expected to reach 0.103 billion units in 2025. "

Manufacturers and their AI highlights

Apple's entire Mac product line adopts M-series chips with neural engines, which puts Apple in a leading position in the output volume and market share of AI PCs. Apple Intelligence is currently in the developer testing phase in the United States. Its release further clarifies the application scenarios of Mac in the AI field. When these functions go online, they will be compatible with the existing majority of Mac devices, allowing Apple to quickly expand the scope of users' access to its AI experience.

In the Windows field, AI PC shipments grew by 127% compared to the previous period. Lenovo, as the PC manufacturer with the highest global shipment volume, helped its AI PC account for about 6% of the total Windows PC shipments by launching Yoga Slim 7x and ThinkPad T14s equipped with Snapdragon X processors. This means that AI PC shipments grew 228% compared to the previous period. HP's AI PC accounts for about 8% of Windows PC shipments. In addition to launching more Core Ultra devices in various product lines, it has also launched Omnibook X 14 and EliteBook Ultra G1 equipped with Snapdragon processors and Copilt+ technology. With its strong business influence, Dell's AI PC accounts for slightly less than 7% of Windows PC shipments. Dell has launched Copilot+ PCs in the XPS, Latitude and Inspiron series, but the launch time of these products is somewhat staggered.

Dutt continued:"AI PC brings a key benefit to PC OEMs by promoting the growth of their high-end products. In Q2 2024, the shipment volume of Windows PCs with a price above $800 grew by 9% compared to the previous period, while the shipment volume of AI PCs in this price range increased by 126%. As the range of first- and third-party applications that use NPUs continues to expand and the benefits of performance and efficiency become increasingly clear, the value positioning of AI PCs will remain strong. This is particularly important in the next 12 months as the Windows upgrade cycle continues and a large proportion of devices will be updated."