First batch of AI PCs debut to benefit Chinese firms
A demo AI PC generates pictures from Chinese poems.
Chinese firms, from computer vendors, component providers and software and algorithm vendors, can benefit from the upcoming AI PC wave, with the first batch of AI PCs making debut in the domestic market on Friday.
AI PCs, which can operate AI apps such as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion on personal computer devices locally, can personalize user experience on a deeper level while protecting data privacy.
The new type of PC is regarded as "one of the most important innovations in the 40-year-old PC history" to reshape and revitalize the personal computer industry, industry experts said.
New AI PC models, from Lenovo, HP and Acer, made their domestic debuts in an event held in Beijing on Friday. The two Lenovo models, including one Thinkpad device, were released on Friday. The prices are not immediately available.
Intel, which released an AI-powered chip in China on Friday, expected AI PC to take 80 percent market shares in future. Globally, it has announced with partners to launch 230 AI PCs.
A new Thinkpad AI PC is shown on Friday.
A total of 23 Chinese ISVs (independent software vendors) showcase applications for AI PCs, which can deal with prompts on devices, covering text-to-text, text-to-image, text-to-music and motion capture, eye-tracking, gesture recognition apps.
They include local providers for AI algorithms used widely in China, including Baidu ERINIE-3.5, Oppo AndesGPT and Minimax. Domestic apps will support AI PCs such as iQiyi, Tencent Meeting and WPS AI, which allows users to adopt AI in a secure way with protecting data and privacy.
Since October, more than a dozen listed Chinese firms said their business connect or benefit from AI PCs. They cover firms for PC, ODM (original design manufacturer), component, AI app and new materials, which brings cooling or lightweight design for more calculation requirement and components, Shanghai Daily learned through released public statements.
In China, 54.7 percent of new PCs will be AI PCs in 2024, compared with 8.1 percent in 2023. The figure will rise to 84.6 percent in 2027, according to an AI PC industry white paper, which was published by Lenovo Group Ltd and International Data Corp (IDC) recently.
