More advanced PCs that can do more than other PCs (and humans, too) might eventually translate to less hardware shipped, he noted. However, it will be a net positive. “There’s going to be a lot of revenue gains from that, from the software side, cloud side, everything else.”
Not so fast…
Still, Reith noted, the industry has gotten a little ahead of itself when it comes to AI PCs. While they someday will become the norm — all modern laptops and desktops, after all, contain some sort of AI — that’s more of a long-term trend.
This is notably because “budgets are constrained across the board,” said Reith. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a tech company, healthcare, whatever. When AI comes up, it’s, ‘Look, how much extra is that going to cost?’ It’s all about the dollar.”