I asked HP about the future of AI laptops – here’s what the computing giant had to say

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If there is one topic that has stood out in the world of technology this year, it is undoubtedly artificial intelligence – artificial intelligence for short. I have attended numerous keynotes, product launches, and company presentations where the “AI acronym” continued to echo in my head – but not always with the greatest intentions and application.

At HP Imagine 2024 – the computer technology giant’s second annual conference held at the company’s Palo Alto headquarters – the artificial intelligence trend was in full swing. The reveal of the brand’s first-ever 2-in-1 AI laptop, the OmniBook Ultra Flip, immediately impressed me in terms of build quality and user experience – but while these are years of on-the-go experience, the whole AI game is new.

Given that many top-end laptops now use Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite or Intel Core Ultra Series 2 chips – key suppliers of these new AI-powered processors – it’s clear that we’re at the beginning of a new movement. So I met with HP executives to ask the most important question: “how will artificial intelligence really improve our lives in the future?”

1. Better battery

Many companies use heavy acronyms when it comes to artificial intelligence in computing. Believe me, you will often hear “NPU”, which means “neural processing unit”. “TOPS”? That’s “trillions of operations per second” – a numerical expression of the power of the artificial intelligence built into the device.

While I suspect most consumers won’t be actively interested in this explosion of acronyms, there is real value in what these relatively new values ​​can offer. Samuel Chang, senior vice president and president of HP’s consumer computing solutions business, says the first takeaway is that today’s AI-enabled PCs can deliver better results in basic areas like battery life.

“A lot of people are on video conferences, right? I spend probably four hours a day. So the ability to use AI and the NPU to offload this task will provide better battery performance for a chip like Intel’s Lunar Lake.” This is because the CPU doesn’t have to do all the heavy lifting all the time, making the workload less intense.

“Secondly, by leveraging some of the artificial intelligence tools that we (HP) offer, (it is possible) to collect telemetry data not only about the hardware features you have or the applications you are running, but (artificial intelligence) tunes and optimizes drivers and settings so that your the software will always be up to date and adapted to this device. This will make your device optimal and perform better.

That’s why it’s the details happening behind the scenes that will make your device last longer and stay healthier – even if you can’t see it. I think this is an important point – you don’t need to know or worry about these acronyms or processes, just be smart and remember that this new architecture is ultimately capable of delivering a better everyday experience.

2. Personalized context

Sometimes we get used to things working as they are – even though they could work much better and cause less friction. This was a key issue that HP wanted to address with its new NV6000 series of printers, which can work with AI software to provide a more optimized experience.

Sue Richards, president of HP Home Print Business, discussed HP’s future events in 2025, when the new HP AI app will launch to replace the current HP Smart app. For example, this will enable you to print summaries rather than lengthy documents, or choose from a range of AI-generated layouts that are optimized based on context What you print.

This AI goes a step further than just following a linear series of code: it identifies blocks of data and how to arrange them to produce an optimal result, and then continues to learn over time based on user responses. This is where personalization comes into play, as AI can learn the consensus of the user base or prioritize the needs of a specific user. It will only improve if user feedback confirms that what it is doing is a positive solution.

Chang agrees: “I expect that in the future, many more apps will be able to deliver personalized content. I think there are two aspects to artificial intelligence. One is that she will know a lot more about I – because I have contact with him for many hours a day – and now he can’t (for example) write like meit will become more personalized over time.

“Secondly, the concept of input modality. Even though laptops are updated every year, the way we interact with each other has not changed fundamentally for almost 30 years. It’s a keyboard and mouse (or trackpad). Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, we can do more of this with input, whether it’s gesture or voice.

“You might say, ‘But Sam, I’ve been hearing voices on my (Amazon) Alexa speaker for 10 years – that’s not new!’ And you’re right. But it’s possible understand speech to text or natural language…possibility to have context is what will really make it more effective. And because AI (can have) a better understanding of the personal and applying context, it will make it more impactful.

3. More “killer apps”

We can expect even more in the future – even if we don’t know exactly what that means yet. This is where AI laptops can provide future-proofing for those who purchase AI computing products like the OmniBook Ultra Flip now. Yes, you’ll get the promise of longer battery life and greater performance and automation in a variety of applications. However, according to Chang, the big step forward – to ensure greater consistency – will be third-party applications, which still need to be dreamed of.

“We are still at the stage of discovering the application’s potential. But “what is the next killer app?” When the iPhone came out, there was no Uber. Even if I had this idea (back then), it would have been really hard to describe: “You’re going to get into a stranger’s car and drive somewhere.” “I don’t understand”. Today they call it location-based service, right? So is the evolution of “AI-based services.”

“But what excites me even more is that if AI knows the context of all these (not yet existing) applications, it can be useful. When I’m planning a vacation, for example, the AI ​​should know enough information from the tickets to put it on the calendar, but with enough knowledge like “oh, Sam picks up trash, so maybe I should send him a reminder to go take out the trash before (we leave) )”.

“The combination of personalization and killer new (upcoming) services with artificial intelligence is the future.”

However, I conclude from this that the future success of artificial intelligence will not come from any one company. HP’s launch of the OmniBook Ultra Flip is an important step – a step that competitors from Microsoft CoPilot+ computers to Lenovo, Asus, Acer and many others are also pursuing – but the hardware is only one part of a much more complex puzzle.

In the near future, we may not even call it “artificial intelligence” – it will simply be a technology that can incredibly combine thinking and leverage third-party applications to provide a better user experience. I think laying the groundwork now will give everyone more time and productivity in the future.