Dell has introduced a new line of laptops and PCs with neural processing units (NPUs) to enhance AI workloads for better video call quality and longer battery life. Dell is among the hardware vendors capitalizing on the rising demand for ”AI PCs,” which feature NPUs that are more efficient than CPUs or GPUs for processing genAI and other AI-based workloads.
Analysts predict that NPUs will become standard in the next few years, with major players like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm offering NPUs. Gartner forecasts that AI PCs will account for 43% of PC sales in 2025, while IDC estimates 60% of the market by 2027.
As hardware manufacturers update their product lines, dedicated NPUs are increasingly being integrated into laptops and PCs.
“The NPU-equipped AI PCs available today mark the beginning of a technological shift that could revolutionize the way we interact with our PCs,” said Tom Mainelli, group vice president for device and consumer research at IDC.
Dell
Dell’s latest Latitude AI PCs are all powered by Intel Core Ultra processors.
On Monday, Dell announced a significant update to its Latitude laptops and Precision workstations, featuring Intel’s Core Ultra, the chipmaker’s first processor with an integrated NPU. Dell’s Latitude and Precision updates
There are several new Latitude 5000 and 7000 Series laptops, including the 7350 detachable device. There’s also a foldable 2-in-1 laptop/tablet hybrid, the Latitude 9450. (A full list is available on Dell’s site here.)
The focus for Latitude devices is on enabling general collaboration and productivity tasks, according to Dell. The inclusion of NPUs will provide practical improvements to users, said Kevin Terwilliger, vice president and general manager of Dell’s Latitude Commercial Notebook business. For example, newer video meeting software features such as eye-tracking and background blur can be used without taxing the device’s CPU.
“Collaboration is a great area where we’ll take advantage of the NPU to deliver energy efficiency and much longer battery life,” said Terwilliger.
Background blur is a feature that most take for granted today, said Mainelli, but NPUs make it “dramatically more efficient.
“When you’re on the move and running on battery power, it can make a substantial difference in your experience,” he said. “That’s the beauty of the NPU, and I think you’ll see many ISVs [independent software vendors] embrace the efficient TOPS [trillion operations per second] of the NPU for certain local workloads while continuing to leverage the CPU or GPU for more intense, ‘burst’ types of AI workloads.”
While background blur by itself may not spur IT decision-makers to refresh devices, “when combined with other useful AI features and AI enhancements to new and…
2024-02-27 09:00:04
Post from www.computerworld.com