8.8 million AI PCs shipped in Q2 2024, analyst expects 44 million AI PCs shipped this year

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The world of AI PCs is just beginning with the first waves of Copilot+ ready PCs out in the wild, with 14% of PCs shipped globally in Q2 2024 featuring an NPU, making them an AI PC.

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In a new report from Canalys, we're learning that 8.8 million AI-capable PCs were shipped in Q2 2024, with each of those 8.8 million systems featuring the latest AI processor (with an NPU) from AMD, Apple, Intel, and Qualcomm. As we see new generations of AI processors from AMD and Intel, Canalys says that we can expect rapid growth in the second half of this year, and going into high gear in 2025.

If we look at just the Windows segment, AI-capable PC shipments surged 127% sequentially in Q2 2024, with Lenovo shipping out its Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based Copilot+ PCs with the Yoga Slim 7x and ThinkPad T14s, boosting its AI PC market share to around 6% of all Windows PC shipments, a mammoth 228% growth. HP followed behind Lenovo with a 7% share of AI PCs.

Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys, said: "A key benefit from AI-capable PCs that has materialized for PC OEMs is the growth boost within their premium offerings. Windows PC shipments in the above $800 range grew 9% sequentially in Q2 2024, with AI-capable PC shipments in those price bands up 126%".

• Read more: What is a Copilot+ PC? Do you need an AI PC? Should you buy one?

He continued: "As the range of features from first- and third-party applications that leverage the NPU increase and the benefits to performance and efficiency become clearer, the value proposition for AI-capable PCs shall remain strong. This is especially important over the next 12 months as a significant portion of the installed base will be refreshed as part of the ongoing Windows upgrade cycle".

In order to be a certified Copilot+ PC, the system must contain a processor that has an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) for AI workloads, with a minimum of 45 TOPS of performance. AMD has its brand-new and kick-ass Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APUs inside of laptops now, Intel with its current-gen (but slower) Core Ultra 100 series "Meteor Lake" CPUs, and Qualcomm with its Snapdragon X series SoCs.

• Read more: AI PCs expected to be close to 60% of total PC shipments by 2027 says analyst
• Read more: Acer, ASUS strong June 2024 sales led by 'strong shipments' of AI PCs
• Read more: Microsoft's first Copilot+ AI PCs: Qualcomm Snapdragon X laptops now available
• Read more: TSMC one of the 'big winners' of AI PC: make AI chips for AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm
• Read more: Microsoft intros Copilot+ PCs for 'AI PC' era: Copilot+ AI PCs need 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, NPU
• Read more: Intel plans on shipping 100 million CPUs for next-gen AI PCs by 2025

The big difference between the AI processors, is that AMD and Intel have regular x86 architectures, while Qualcomm uses the Arm architecture for its Snapdragon X series chips. This means you can't run regular software and games, and must use Windows on Arm (something I go into in the article linked above).