Dell has finally acknowledged what the tech industry has been suspecting: the AI PC upgrade cycle isn’t happening as planned. Despite a massive marketing push from chipmakers like Intel and AMD to sell “AI-powered” computers, Dell’s COO, Jeff Clarke, admitted that customers simply aren’t buying new hardware just because it has an NPU inside.
Speaking during a recent earnings call, Clarke highlighted that feature-rich AI applications are the missing link. Without software that genuinely transforms the user experience, businesses and consumers see no reason to upgrade their aging “standard” laptops. Currently, most “AI features” can still be handled in the cloud, rendering local hardware acceleration somewhat redundant for the average user.
Clarke noted that the true boom will arrive once Microsoft’s Copilot+ and other advanced AI agents require more powerful local compute to run effectively. Until then, the industry is in a transition period where hype has outpaced actual utility.
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