The evolution of AI PCs, the changing device market and the impact on Softcat’s customers

First things first, what is an AI PC?

An AI PC is a device designed to run AI tasks more efficiently than a traditional PC, leveraging specialised hardware to do so. Specialised hardware includes an NPU (neural processing unit) which sits alongside a CPU (central processing unit) and potentially a GPU (graphics processing unit), in the device. This innovation has, and will continue to have a real impact on end users and IT teams.

When used, NPUs are given parallel processing and machine learning tasks to improve the speed and efficiency of AI-powered applications/functions, resulting in a greater user experience and improved user productivity. Additionally, these PCs handle AI tasks locally on the endpoint, as opposed to those tasks being conducted in the cloud/on web browsers - which means there is potential for better alignment with organisational compliance requirements.

Bringing AI power to commercial devices

The first mover in the AI-powered commercial personal systems space was Qualcomm Technologies' Snapdragon X Series processors - the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus. These were launched in June 2024 and April 2024 respectively, and were available within all the major manufacturer’s line-ups. Qualcomm Technologies’ processors utilise an architecture that includes an NPU, delivering up to 45 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI compute performance. This innovation was groundbreaking within the market and led to competitor chipset manufacturers developing and releasing their own AI PC CPUs.

One-year on, and the number of devices with Snapdragon X Series processors have rapidly increased (especially in the premium device persona space). Now the organisation is teasing its next generation of processors ahead of the annual Snapdragon Summit Event planned for September 2025.

Customers have responded positively to Snapdragon technology

So far one of the main concerns of AI PCs with Snapdragon has been the fact that the CPUs use a custom architecture, as opposed to the traditional x86 architecture. This can be a daunting challenge for IT teams who may have reservations around application compatibility and performance. Softcat’s extensive Professional Services and partner network have been supporting customers’CPU architecture migrations to achieve readiness for devices with Snapdragon, enabling customers to embrace this technology for their information workers.

If you are interested in learning more about how your organisation and your people could benefit from the roll-out of AI PCs, please contact your Softcat Account Manager or our Sales team.