AI was everywhere during the hour-long presentation, as Lenovo executives took the stage on Thursday to unveil a bevy of new computers, highlighting the new PCs' potential for artificial intelligence features as the world’s largest PC vendor races to catch up with rivals in the AI competition. On the sidelines of the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin, Europe’s biggest consumer technology trade show, Lenovo shared details on how the company is turning to artificial intelligence to revamp its PC portfolio, betting that its new PCs offer the best way to experience artificial intelligence features and capabilities. Lenovo said its latest AI PC portfolio boasts new processors from Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD, positioning the company at the top of the pyramid in showcasing a diverse lineup of AI PCs across different price points and capabilities. During the event, the company spent a considerable amount of time discussing its collaboration with Intel on the Lenovo Aura Edition PCs, a premium set of laptops featuring Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 2 chips (codenamed 'Lunar Lake'). Not only are the notebooks thinner and lighter, but they also include various software features (which Lenovo calls 'smart modes') that adjust performance and system settings, ranging from blocking distracting websites to optimizing video calls. The Lenovo Aura Edition laptops also feature Smart Share, a new way to share information from a smartphone to a laptop with just a tap. The Aura Edition notebooks will be available in both consumer and business variants. Lenovo also introduced new AI laptops featuring the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core, the latest chip expanding Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Series for PCs, which was launched last year. The new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core is designed for PCs starting at $700. Additionally, the company unveiled new laptops with AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 365 processors. The new AI PC lineup, featuring processors from Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD, includes Copilot Plus PCs, which come with a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU), a specialised chip for executing AI tasks. The bigger picture is how companies like Lenovo aim to tap into generative artificial intelligence and integrate it into their products. The speed at which AI is developing is faster than expected, with AI models being replaced by newer ones within six months. However, the question that still needs to be answered is how these new AI PCs will drive a renaissance in the PC market, given that AI-capable software and use cases are yet to be fully developed. The rollout of AI PCs to the market is perhaps the biggest single push seen by the industry. The new computers, which are packed with processors that power advanced AI tools, come at a time when PC sales have stalled for years. The industry hopes these new AI PCs will boost sales and revive excitement, similar to the optimism seen among smartphone vendors who hope artificial intelligence will become a part of daily life. Analysts said Lenovo’s strategy of working with all three major chip vendors could give consumers more options and help them determine which AI PC is best suited for specific tasks. In the second quarter of 2024, Lenovo had a market share of 22.7 per cent, putting it ahead of HP, Dell, and Apple in the PC market. At IFA, Lenovo also showed off Auto Twist AI PC, a complete proof-of-concept laptop that will never see the light of day as a real product, but demonstrates what a laptop can look like if the novel screen rotates and can be controlled with a voice. (The writer is in Berlin for the IFA 2024 at the invitation of Lenovo)
