TCL is endorsing its NXTPAPER display technology as a key differentiator for its smartphones and tablets to address eye strain caused by increasing screen time.
5G connectivity is included but adds little to the device’s overall usability – at least for users in mature markets where the device is likely to be a secondary device.
Carrier data device pricing remains prohibitive and can add significant cost to a potential purchase, especially in the mid-range segment. More flexibility in pricing, data allowance and accessibility of standalone plans would go a long way to drive adoption.
To stand out in the tablet market’s crowded lower-mid-range segment is no small feat. TCL, known for its willingness to chart a different course than the competition, has made a compelling move with the launch of the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G connected tablet for Verizon in the US. The TAB 10 is not just another addition to the 5G-connected tablet market. Rather, the device features TCL’s unique NXTPAPER display technology, setting it apart from the competition.
TCL has been focusing on NXTPAPER over the last year or so. The key selling point of the technology is the ability to mimic paper-like texture and change color settings dynamically to create the feel of an e-reader and minimize eye strain.
The benefits of the technology are clearly noticeable when using the device. Simultaneously, the challenges the form factor continues to face are also not hard to miss, particularly in the way carriers continue to try to monetize integrated 5G connectivity.
NXTPAPER – Standout Branding Opportunity
The TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G’s standout feature is its NXTPAPER display technology. Unlike traditional LCD or OLED displays, NXTPAPER combines a multi-layered screen with a reflective layer that reduces glare and mimics the experience of interacting with an e-ink reader, like Amazon’s Kindle. The technology enhances readability by filtering out harmful blue light and minimizing eye strain. Blue light strain is a challenge many OEMs have been trying to address across smartphones and tablets. TCL’s unique solution is based on its in-house capabilities as a display maker.
The innovative technology allows users to toggle between a traditional color display and two e-ink display modes – one with color and one for black and white viewing. This makes the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G especially attractive to students and families who need a device that can handle a variety of tasks and app use cases. A benefit of the viewing modes is that Android apps continue to function as intended, just adjusted for the color theme – including watching videos and changing the display mode with a video rolling in the background.
TCL’s Strategic Positioning in the Mid-range Market
TCL’s integration of NXTPAPER technology in the TAB 10 5G is a strategic move to differentiate itself in the saturated lower mid-range market. At Verizon, the tablet costs $239.99, or can be purchased via a payment plan, like for smartphones. Users will not find high-powered cameras or build quality of a premium tablet. The integrated haptic feedback is harsh and distracting. The bezels are large and do not look as modern as the integrated 5G connection would suggest the device to be.
However, the changing display modes provide enough of a new user experience to keep consumers engaged with the device for some time. The ability to turn longer online articles into e-ink books proved to be an enjoyable experience and changes how users interact with text. For children’s texts, the color e-ink mode creates a physical book-like experience.
The anti-glare characteristics of the display worked to an extent but did not completely solve the issue. In bright light, there still were instances where visibility was limited, just like with regular displays.
The Challenge of 5G Connectivity
One of the standout features of the tablet, 5G connectivity, is also one that creates hurdles for buyers. The tablet is compatible with Verizon’s network and buyers can add it to an existing Verizon phone plan for as low as $20/month, before other discounts, for unlimited data access. However, non-Verizon subscribers have to effectively subscribe to one of Verizon’s Unlimited plans, usually meant for phones, for $90/month.
For buyers of a mid-range tablet, even an add-on discounted $10/month access fee to other phone plans attaches $120 per year to their bill – on a device that costs under $240 outright. Combined with generous hotspot allowances on phone plans, this pricing dynamic illustrates why carriers and OEMs continue to struggle to make 5G a key feature for tablets, and by extension laptops as well. Adding 5G connectivity to a tablet, especially in mature smartphone markets, remains expensive and does not solve problems for users.
Conclusion
The TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G represents TCL’s commitment to innovation, especially in display technology. By leveraging its proprietary NXTPAPER display technology and combining it with 5G capabilities, TCL’s TAB 10 tries to address a number of user pain points – some more so than others.
The NXTPAPER technology works to turn the tablet into an e-ink reader, with advanced capabilities. The display reduces eyestrain and also makes content more visible in bright sunlight.
However, 5G connectivity does not add enough value to warrant the costly data add-on for existing Verizon users. For new users, purchasing a mid-range tablet and opening a new line of service with Verizon would cost over $90/month – negating the affordability of the tablet and posing as key hurdles to 5G adoption in mature smartphone markets in other device form factors.
TCL’s approach to the tablet space positions the company well as an affordable alternative to Samsung and Apple. However, carrier pricing strategies remain a key hurdle and TCL should embrace other retail channels to expose more potential buyers to one of its key differentiators in smartphones and tablets – its NXTPAPER display technology.
Lenovo is doubling down on its AI PC strategy and extending its leadership in the personal computing space. Lenovo’s AI for All strategy stretches from pocket to cloud, encompassing not just hardware but software and services as well. Simultaneously, Lenovo’s focus on security and sustainability also rounds up its compute strategy, giving it an added competitive advantage.
Amid the rapid proliferation of AI and GenAI in PCs, Lenovo is prioritizing user experience and data security to build its mindshare across enterprises and consumers. At the recently concluded Lenovo APAC Analyst Summit in Shanghai, Neil Shah, VP of Research at Counterpoint Research, took a seat with Tom Butler, Executive Director at Lenovo and head of the worldwide commercial notebooks business, to discuss the company’s AI PC vision, strategy, partnerships and execution.
The Interview
Key Takeaways from the Discussion
Growing Demand for AI in Enterprise: There is a growing pressure on enterprises to integrate AI, but with sharp emphasis on data security. Lenovo’s AI implementation focuses on security, personalization and efficiency.
Shift to NPU: The new breed of Copilot+ AI PCs come with a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU), which enhances AI capabilities and ensures long battery life.
Software Optimizations: Software for traditional PCs only needed CPU and GPU optimization, but on the latest AI PCs, software also needs to be optimized for NPU to fully leverage AI capabilities. Butler also mentioned that Lenovo is working with enterprise developers to optimize software for specific workloads not only at a global level but also for local regional champions.
ESG Initiatives: Lenovo is fully committed towards ESG and uses recycled and sustainable materials along with plastic-free packaging. Lenovo laptops are designed to be more accessible, repairable and easily removable components. To ensure better touch and typing experience, Lenovo has also partnered with school of blind to help design better keyboards for their PCs.
Differentiation: In terms of differentiation, Lenovo’s biggest strength lies in its comprehensive product range, in-house manufacturing, AI operations capabilities, partnerships and software consultancy services.
Analyst Takeaways:
Lenovo has been the leader in the global PC market since Q3 2018, and currently holds a 23.6% share. As the AI PC era dawns, Lenovo looks to maintain its leadership position with a holistic strategy to offer intelligent solutions rather than just hardware.
Lenovo defines AI PC as a device capable of heterogeneous computing leveraging CPU, GPU and NPU supporting an open system of AI applications in a private and secure manner. The device should also feature an Intelligent Agent powered by a personalized LLM, leveraging a personal knowledge base and interacting naturally with the user.
Lenovo’s AI PC strategy starts at the silicon level with key partnerships with AMD, Intel and now Qualcomm. These companies combine their in-house AI R&D expertise with Microsoft to provide enhanced AI (& GenAI) capabilities on the PC along with ISVs and application developers for AI optimized software to build newer intelligent experiences.
At the Summit, Lenovo showcased the extensive work done by its R&D team led by Jianping Fan who also heads the AI Lab at Lenovo Research. The R&D spans from traditional AI (deep learning) to Gen AI (foundational models) to Lenovo Brain (AI platform for pre-training, fine-tuning, acceleration and deployment) across devices from pocket to PC to cloud.
For AI PCs specifically, it starts from building AI experiences to sense, be aware and acknowledge the user’s presence, data and habits to securely train Lenovo’s on device foundational model and power the Lenovo on-device AI Personal Assistant in a very privacy-centric manner. This is one of the best examples of ‘Personal AI.’
Additionally, Lenovo’s Solution & Services Group (SSG) adds another layer of capabilities to build, fine tune and deploy ‘Enterprise AI’ foundation models enabling AI solutions across devices, verticals and enterprise applications.
Further, supporting and working with open models and AI solutions usually driving ‘Public AI’ experiences rounds up Lenovo’s trifecta of hybrid AI strategy from Personal, Enterprise to Public AI.
Watch this space to know how competition such as Apple, HP and Dell respond to and stack up against Lenovo’s very unique strategy, approach and positioning to drive AI vertically and horizontally.
Lenovo is making significant strides to position itself as a key player in the AI revolution from cloud to edge by bringing ‘AI for All’ from ‘pocket to cloud.’ Lenovo’s Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) is uniquely positioned to serve cloud and enterprise customers, and the business is approaching $10 billion annually. ISG not only sports a comprehensive portfolio of cutting-edge hardware to power AI-centric cloud to edge infrastructure but also expands vertically with innovative software as well as services from Lenovo’s Solutions & Services Group (SSG).
At the recent Lenovo APAC Analyst Summit in Shanghai, China, Neil Shah, VP of Research at Counterpoint Research, had the opportunity to meet Kamran Amini, VP and GM – Server, Storage & Software Defined Infrastructure at Lenovo ISG, and discuss Lenovo’s strategy, traction, partnerships and offerings to empower cloud and enterprises with innovative AI solutions to succeed in the AI era.
The Interview
Lenovo’s AI Strategy:
AI adoption is currently driven by cloud service providers with multi-billion parameter GPT-like generative AI models for both training and inferencing.
Beyond traditional data centers, edge AI use cases such as retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and smart cities are gaining traction.
Lenovo has over 80 AI-optimized platforms to cater to a wide range of AI workloads and use cases, from edge devices to large-scale language models.
The internal management and orchestration platform called LiCO eases AI deployment.
Lenovo also attributes success to its partnerships across the value chain from compute vendors such as NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and Qualcomm to software players such as Microsoft, VMWare, IBM, SAP, Veeam, Red Hat, NetApp and Nutanix, respectively.
Lenovo has committed to AI investments of more than $2 billion with more than four Global AI innovation centers and 165 AI solutions through Lenovo’s AI Innovators Program.
Key Differentiators:
AI data centers have a critical challenge with power consumption.
Lenovo’s NeptuneTM system cooling technology which is in its sixth generation consistently offer significant energy savings as not much air conditioning is needed inside the data center to cool the server.
Efficient cooling also helps in reducing energy costs by up to 40% in operational expenses.
Lenovo’s AI solutions offer broad compatibility with Intel and AMD CPUs, and NVIDIA GPUs, including the Grace Hopper and Blackwell making it one of the most comprehensive AI portfolios.
Targeted partnerships with different players have helped Lenovo build a strong foundation for growth in the infrastructure space and drive differentiation. For example:
Partnership with Nutanix and VMware accelerates enterprises’ needs for modernizing IT with Hybrid Cloud via Lenovo ThinAgile HCI solution.
Lenovo’s AI Pod, in partnership with NVIDIA and NetApp, aims to offer converged, scalable but simplified infrastructure solutions to help enterprises for GenAI training and inferencing use-cases.
Lenovo is also offering customers consulting and data science services to support them in their AI journey to effectively build and deploy AI models.
Lenovo’s AI Innovators program has also been a big differentiator with more than 30,000 partners, 55+ ISVs across 180 countries with more than 165 proven AI solutions building a strong pipeline of customers and solutions. It starts with influencing customers earlier in the buying cycle to help them reduce the complexity and time in developing and deploying AI solutions locally but in a scalable manner.
Analyst Takeaways:
It is fascinating to see Lenovo’s progress in the infrastructure domain, offering not only highly integrated end-to-end AI solutions but also a very ‘open’ portfolio with multiple choices for every customer and every scenario.
A very solution-centric approach built on strong and diverse partnerships and co-innovations has established a strong platform and is a key differentiator for Lenovo to succeed in the AI era.
Neptune, AI Pod, GPT-in-a-Box are some examples where Lenovo’s AI for All strategy comes into play, developing AI solutions for every customer in the ecosystem.
Lenovo has performed exceedingly well in the HPC space with AI SuperComputer, leading for more than six years vs HPE.
One area where we would like to see Lenovo growing would be across Telco Service Providers (TSPs).
Lenovo’s SSG synergies with ISG will be a key driver for the ISG business in the future, building a strong pipeline of enterprise customers.
AI hardware gets obsolete faster as AI data models grow. Hence, it would be interesting to see how Lenovo modularizes its solution from an upgradeability perspective or how it repurposes ‘obsolete’ infrastructure as potentially useful infrastructure for smaller or emerging players. The reverse logistics of these systems and solutions will be important from a scalability and sustainability perspective.
Dell recently unveiled two new Copilot+ PCs powered by the Snapdragon X platform. These include the Dell XPS 13 with Snapdragon X Elite SoC and Dell Inspiron 14 Plus powered by the Snapdragon X Plus SoC. Focused on power, efficiency and bringing on-device AI and GenAI experiences to masses, the new PCs are Microsoft’s fresh attempt at finally making Windows on Arm dream a reality.
At the recent launch event in New Delhi, India, Ritesh Bendre, Global Content Manager at Counterpoint Research sat down with Atul Mehta, Senior Director and General Manager for India Consumer Channel at Dell Technologies to talk about new Copilot+ PCs. They discussed key features and AI experiences, target audience of the new PCs and much more.
The Interview
Key Takeaways from the Discussion
Dell’s definition of AI PCs:
AI PCs, compared to traditional PCs, feature an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) alongside CPU and GPU to offload AI related tasks.
These PCs also come with a dedicated Copilot button for quick access.
The Copilot+ PCs also offer up to 27 hours of battery life for the XPS 13, and up to 21 hours for the Inspiron 14 Plus.
Differentiating AI features of Dell Copilot+ PCs:
These PCs come with AI features like:
Live captions with translation in up to 44 different languages, all happening on-device.
Windows Studio Effects to add background blur to videos, auto-framing and more.
Cocreation tools for AI generated images and more.
Dell’s target audience:
The Copilot+ PCs are designed to cater to a wide range of users, including:
Professionals.
Gamers.
Content creators.
Students and programmers.
Atul also highlighted that some of key factors users consider when choosing a laptop include multitasking, workload and processing requirements.
Positioning and future of AI PCs as per Dell:
In terms of positioning, Dell acknowledges the premiumization trend in the PC industry, and these laptops are designed for premium users.
Talking about the future of AI PCs, Mr. Mehta highlighted that growth in AI use cases over time will also fuel the explosion of these AI devices.
Dell is excited to be one of the leading vendors in the AI PC market, and also across other categories such as all-in-one PCs, cloud solutions and data centers.
Analyst Takeaways:
Battery life is one of the key-selling points for these Windows on ARM, Copilot+ PCs, and with Dell claiming up to 27 hours of backup on XPS 13, we will be looking forward to test and see how it actually performs in everyday usage.
Compatibility with x86 apps has been a challenge for traditional Windows on ARM PCs, however, more compatible hygeine apps have been announced this time around where app developers have worked with Qualcomm and Microsoft to drive native development as well as run well on the Prism emulator. The stability and growth of apps will be something which will drive long-term success, for Arm based AI PCs.
While Apple has been successful in completely transitioning away from the Intel x86-based compute platforms to ARM based Apple Silicon, it remains to be seen how long does it take for the ARM based Copilot+ PCs to gain considerable share in the x86 dominated PC market.
Copilot+ PCs promises a step change in Windows PCs segment by bringing exceptional battery life and cutting-edge AI capabilities. It will be key to see how Microsoft, Qualcomm and OEMs together communicate these benefits to the average consumers and enterprises through channels strongly influenced by Intel.
AMD and Intel with their upcoming CoPilot+ PC centric platforms will make a strong play to defend their market share slip away from Qualcomm Snapdragon X based Windows on ARM AI PCs.
We forecast AI laptops will grow to over 70% of total PC shipments by 2027.
Global PC shipments grew 3.1% YoY in Q2 2024; AI PCs remain the most popular topic in PC industry.
Apple is waiting for the M4 MacBook launch to regain shipment momentum.
Arm-based AI laptops will be another driver for Arm PCs and will capture more than 25% market share in 2027.
We reiterate a ~3% YoY shipment growth forecast for 2024, driven by AI PC and replacement demand.
Seoul, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, San Diego, Taipei, Tokyo – July 16, 2024
Global PC shipments grew 3.1% YoY in Q2 2024 to reach 62.5 million PC device units, the market’s second consecutive quarterly YoY growth in shipments, according to Counterpoint’s preliminary data. The growth, which was driven by a moderate replacement cycle and a low base YoY, highlights the global PC market’s continued recovery momentum in 2024. AI PCs remain the most popular topic in the PC industry. Laptops with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X platform have begun to trigger the first wave of the AI laptop boom. The upcoming AMD Ryzen AI 300 and Intel Lunar Lake in the second half of Q3 2024 will further drive the popularity of AI PCs.
Despite a lull in demand in China, Lenovo remained the leader among PC vendors, leaving the June quarter with a 23.6% market share and ~4% YoY shipment growth. HP and Dell were relatively flat in the quarter, supported by order recovery in North America. HP had a 21% market share in Q2 2024, while Dell had 16%. Apple remained quiet in the latest quarter with an 8.5% market share. The company is waiting for the launch of the next-generation M4-based MacBook to regain shipment momentum in late 2024. Overall, we see Q2 2024 brand rankings and shares largely unchanged.
AI laptops will expand the AI PC market in H2 2024, driven especially by surging Windows on Arm AI devices at the end of Q2 2024. These Qualcomm Snapdragon-based solutions feature better battery efficiency than the dominating x86 camp. In our view, MediaTek and NVIDIA’s partnership on next-generation Arm-based AI laptop solutions will also be another driver to Arm PC market share expansion in 2025-2026 at the expense of x86 vendors. We project Arm PCs to capture more than 25% market share in 2027.
Commenting on AI PC development, Senior Analyst William Li said, “H2 2024 will be the battlefield for AI PCs. Vendors are paving the way for the proliferation of AI PCs and the rise of a brand-new technology generation. However, due to the higher selling price of AI PCs, we believe enterprise (commercial) demand will run ahead of the mainstream consumer sector, although we may not see the most rapid adoption path in the first year of AI PCs. As more AI use cases and solutions are developed and applied to PCs, we will see the deployment accelerate in the future. Benefitting from AI PC demand and the replacement cycle after COVID-19, we reiterate our view of ~3% PC shipment growth in 2024.”
Background
Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media, and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects, and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.
GenAI has become a top priority for companies and Qualcomm is pushing the envelope by developing solutions for on-device AI PCs. At Collision Toronto 2024, Emily Herbert, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, had a quick chat with Qualcomm’s Durga Malladi, SVP and GM of technology planning and edge solutions. He spoke about the new Snapdragon X Elite SoC line that allows on-device GenAI features to run directly on PCs with companies like Lenovo and HP that have already launched AI PCs. Some applications include live transcription, new studio effects using the web camera and Windows Studio Effects, and ‘paint’ to bring drawn images to life.
The interview:
Key takeaways from the discussion:
How Qualcomm defines AI PCs:
• According to Qualcomm, AI applications are critical to define AI PCs as they provide a personalized experience for the user with the privacy and security of keeping data stored in the device itself.
Benefits of on-device AI:
• Privacy and security are major benefits for running on-device AI as data stays on the device as opposed to cloud processing.
• With on-device AI, users can access these features without an internet connection, including scenarios like on transatlantic flights or in rural areas where the device may be used in the enterprise space with unreliable connectivity.
Qualcomm’s efforts in helping developers push on-device GenAI:
• Qualcomm AI Hub is a great tool to help developers access pre-trained models, write their applications, and test them remotely on real devices.
• Developers can now take the use cases to their desecration.
• People who did not have access to this technology across various fields like medicine, logistics, agriculture, and various other sectors can now use AI in ways that tech developers may not have been able to think of as the technology becomes democratized into the wider enterprise and consumer space.
Analyst takeaways:
• On-device GenAI has seen an excellent push within the enterprise space and now we are seeing real-life applications for the average consumer. The initial integration is expected to be slow as people learn about this technology and begin integrating it into day-to-day life. Increased knowledge and advertising in the market can help with wider consumer penetration.
• Now is a good time for on-device GenAI as hardware is reaching a point where it can support these higher processing applications and still reach the consumer price band, granted it is still within that ‘ultra-premium’ price point.
• The ultimate immersion of these AI technologies across all consumer segments will become easier and more cost-effective when the devices can be manufactured for and sold to more average users.
The HP Envy x360 14 is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U processor with a dedicated NPU for AI tasks.
The laptop also has a dedicated Copilot button for quick access to Microsoft’s AI assistant.
The 2-in-1 laptop features a 2.8K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and IMAX certification.
AI is turning into a ubiquitous phenomenon in the world of technology, especially smartphones and PCs. Intel kick-started the AI PC era with its new Meteor Lake processors in early 2024. HP, along with other PC makers, is one of the first to launch AI PC laptops powered by Intel’s Core Ultra processors. But what exactly is an AI PC and why should one care? What sets them apart from previous PC generations?
Along with the CPU and GPU, AI PCs also have a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This NPU helps in offloading some AI tasks from the CPU and GPU, helping save battery life. Since we are still in the early stages of this technology, the definition of AI PC will keep changing as things progress. Microsoft, at Build 2024, announced its Copilot+-powered AI PCs. According to Microsoft, a PC needs at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of AI performance to qualify as an AI PC.
Based on this, we may have entry-level GenAI basic PCs to the most advanced ones with top-notch configurations.
The HP Envy X360 14 is a 2-in-1 laptop powered by an Intel Core 7 Ultra 155U processor. However, it has a Meteor Lake architecture, which is not as advanced as Intel’s upcoming Lunar Lake architecture, that can deliver up to 120 TOPS AI performance. The HP Envy with Meteor Lake processor qualifies as a basic GenAI PC and, includes AI features that enhance the overall user experience from camera to audio, battery life to display, and much more.
Commenting on the growth momentum of AI PCs, Senior Analyst William Li said, “Microsoft’s announcement at the Build 2024 developer conference reaffirmed AI PC momentum in 2024, especially in the second half. Qualcomm’s first wave of AI laptops will enter the market in the upcoming month, while Intel and AMD are preparing for their next-generation AI solutions for PCs. Intel entered the AI PC market at the beginning of the year and is already working with PC partners to deliver a variety of laptops with the Meteor Lake platform, including the HP Envy x360 14. We believe Intel will continue to dominate the PC market in terms of shipments while Windows on Arm will also be in the spotlight in H2 2024. Overall, we believe three out of four laptops sold in 2027 will be AI laptops with advanced GenAI capabilities.”
We have been testing the HP Envy x360 14 for about three weeks to explore its AI features and see how the 2-in-1 laptop, priced at around $1,550, fits in the hybrid work scenario. Below is our detailed analysis.
WATCH: HP Envy x360 14 Review
2-in-1 form factor with a look and feel that evokes envy
At the launch event, HP mentioned that the Envy x360 14 is designed for creative professionals and freelancers. The laptop features a sleek and slim form factor, weighing just 1.39kgs, making it easier to carry around. The 2-in-1 design with a 360-degree hinge also makes it easier for different use cases. It can be used in the tent mode for watching content or can be folded all the way to be used as a tablet.
On the connectivity front, you get a USB Type-A 3.1 port on the left, an HDMI out, and two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports. On the right, you get a USB Type-A 3.1 port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, the laptop misses out on an SD or microSD card slot.
The chiclet keyboard keys have enough travel to offer a good typing experience. The keyboard is backlit, making it easier to work and type in the dark. The keyboard also has a dedicated emoji button among the function keys at the top. The keyboard has a dedicated Microsoft Copilot button, located beside the arrow keys, indicating that the PC also has a dedicated NPU.
Using the dedicated Copilot button, you can quickly invoke the assistant to ask questions, to generate an image or email for you. You can also ask for recipes, travel ideas and itineraries, ask to change wallpaper, turn volume/brightness levels high and low, and much more. You can even use your voice to ask these questions, but unlike Siri on Macs which gets invoked by voice, here you will have to press the mic icon before you ask a question.
Great display with touchscreen functionality and stylus support
The Envy x360 14 features a 14-inch 2.8K resolution (2880 x 1800 pixels) OLED touchscreen display. With 500 nits of peak HDR brightness, the screen supports an adaptive refresh rate of 48Hz to 120Hz, which can automatically be adjusted based on the on-screen content.
The OLED screen is IMAX-certified. It offers great viewing angles, good contrast, vibrant color reproduction and stands out particularly when watching immersive HDR content on Netflix. The touchscreen responsiveness is smooth. We did not experience any issues when scrolling through web pages, performing pinch-to-zoom gestures or playing games like Asphalt 9: Legends.
The screen also supports the HP stylus MPP2.0 Tilt Pen. The stylus is easier to hold and is just like a regular pencil in appearance. There is a small cover at the end of the stylus, sliding which reveals the Type-C charging port.
In terms of usage, the stylus has good input precision, something that creative designers will find handy. We tried sketching using MS Paint, and it worked well. The screen supports palm rejection, but the optimization could have been better.
HP Envy x360 (14-fc0100TU) specifications
Under the hood, the HP Envy x360 14 is powered by Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155U processor. Built on the Intel 4 Node (7nm fabrication), this is our first time testing a Meteor Lake SoC. The processor has 12 cores and 14 threads:
• Two performance cores (P-cores) with a base frequency of 1.7GHz and a max turbo frequency of 4.8GHz.
• Eight efficiency cores (E-cores) with a base frequency of 1.2GHz and a max turbo frequency of 3.8GHz.
• Two low-power efficiency cores (LPE-cores) with a base frequency of 700MHz and a max turbo frequency of 2.1GHz.
The processor has a base power of 15W, which can go up to 57W on turbo mode. On the graphics side, the laptop comes with Intel Graphics with four X-cores and dynamic frequency of up to 1.95GHz. The integrated graphics card supports ray tracing, and a maximum integrated resolution of 3840×2400 pixels with a 120Hz refresh rate.
One factor that differentiates Intel’s Meteor Lake disaggregated SoC architecture from its predecessors is the NPU. Intel has included the Intel AI Boost NPU with a max frequency of up to 1.4GHz. It supports AI software frameworks like OpenVINO, which we will talk about in detail in a bit.
Other specifications include 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM (onboard) and 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD. Wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. The laptop comes with a 3-cell, 59Wh battery and a 65W Type-C charging adapter, which can charge the laptop from empty to 50% in about 30 minutes, and a full charge in roughly one hour 30 minutes.
The processor is also Intel Evo-certified, meaning it can offer a battery life of over nine hours, charges over a Type-C port, wakes up from sleep in less than a second, and includes Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity options.
Dedicated NPU, unlocking new AI PC experiences
We have been hearing and talking a lot about AI PCs, but what are some of their use cases, and how are they different from traditional PCs? Well, the HP Envy x360 14 is loaded with AI features, which we experienced while using the laptop.
Microsoft’s Windows 11 OS, which the laptop runs on, has Windows Studio Effects. This feature allows the user to access various effects on the laptop’s 5MP IR camera such as auto-framing, eye contact, and background effects. The workload of these AI effects is entirely on the NPU (rather than on CPU/GPU), which also helps in conserving battery life. The auto-framing uses AI to detect your face in the frame and keep you in focus.
The eye contact feature ensures that your eyes are looking into the camera, even if you are looking elsewhere, say into your phone. Lastly, the background effects separate the subject from the background while adding blur effects.
The AI also filters unwanted background noise when on voice or video calls. This will be highly beneficial for people who work in hybrid environments, be it offices, café, airports and more. The speakers, tuned by Poly Studio, are good enough for casual media consumption and video calls. The AI does all this work in the background to optimize the laptop’s battery life.
HP has also included a Presence Detection feature which uses the IR sensor and AI to detect when you are around (max distance four feet) and looking into the laptop. Once you look away from the screen for a few seconds, the screen brightness is reduced. It increases again after you start looking at the screen. When you walk away from the screen (for over two minutes), the laptop automatically gets locked. The AI automatically unlocks the laptop when you get back and Windows Hello authenticates your face. However, one thing to note is that to awaken the laptop a few minutes after it goes into sleep mode, you will have to press the power button.
Testing Intel’s OpenVINO AI models
To spread AI everywhere, Intel recently announced over 500 AI models optimized for Core Ultra processors, unlocking new experiences. We tried a couple of these OpenVINO AI effects on the popular open-source audio editing app, Audacity, and the open-source photo editing app, GIMP.
Audacity OpenVINO AI Effects
On the Audacity app, there are four key AI features – music separation, music suppression, music generation, and transcription. All these AI features work on-device and do not need an internet connection. Music separation is great for musicians as it allows editors to separate the vocals, drums and other instruments, and then remix the song. We tried it with a couple of songs, like Hotel California by Eagles, and it worked pretty well.
Music suppression is good for podcasters as it greatly helps to reduce the background noise, like fan noise, AC hum, and wind noise. Using music suppression, we recorded an audio clip with background noise, and the results were impressive.
With the music generation GenAI feature, you can generate original music based on a prompt. While it worked well, the prompt needs to be detailed to get the desired results. You get an option to use NPU as well, and you can see most of the load taken by the NPU, while keeping the CPU and GPU free. In our test, it took two minutes and 11 seconds to generate a track using the NPU.
Lastly, we also tested the audio transcription feature which uses the Whisper model to transcribe audio to text. For a 28-minute podcast audio file, it took around three minutes and 40 seconds to transcribe with decent output.
GIMP OpenVINO AI Effects
We used GIMP for two tasks – text-to-image generation using Stable Diffusion 1.4. The output was decent, and it took around 35 seconds to generate an image using the text.
It also supports semantic segmentation fully using the NPU, which took about seven seconds to separate the background from the subject. The edge detection was not that good, but since these key tasks are handled by the NPU, it unburdens the processor.
(Do note, that installation is not a straightforward process. There is no direct installer, and you will need to download resources from GitHub, install Python, and install the requisites using Command Prompt.)
Filmora AI Effects
Intel and Wondershare have partnered to optimize the processor for the popular video editing app, Filmora. The AI effects allow you to separate the subject (foreground) from the video and add background blur. You can also replace the background while keeping the person in the foreground.
There are other AI effects too, like noise cancellation, video effects like flares, neon lights, and more. All these AI effects make use of the NPU with Intel AI Boost, while also sharing resources with the CPU and GPU. In our test, adding some of these effects to a one-minute video and rendering took about six minutes, which is not bad.
LM Studio
Lastly, we downloaded LM Studio, an app that lets you download small language models (SLMs) and large language models (LLMs), such as Meta’s Llama3, Microsoft’s Phi-3 and Google’s Gemini, to run these AI chatbot models locally. We asked a bunch of questions like the best places for burgers, or top tourist places in different cities, and it offered good results. However, the token generation time taken for the final output was slow as the workload was taken by the GPU. There were no options to shift the workload to CPU or NPU.
Good performance, even better battery life
The Envy x360 is powered by the very competent Intel Core Ultra 7 155U processor and offers reliable performance for a wide range of day-to-day tasks. This includes web browsing, audio/video calls on platforms like Teams and Zoom, checking and responding to emails on Outlook app, and using apps like Word and PowerPoint.
Sure, the 155U is not as powerful as the Core Ultra 7 155H, but it does offer a good balance between performance and efficiency. We were pleasantly surprised by the steady frame rates when playing casual games like Left4Dead2 (hitting even 130fps at times), Rocket League (hitting around 40fps), and Counter-Strike 2 (hitting about 30fps). This is despite not having a discrete graphics card, or the latest Intel Arc graphics solution (as on 155H).
HP has also included the OMEN Gaming Hub, a customization tool for all your games to ensure better all-round gaming performance.
In terms of battery life, we got a little over seven hours of backup with usage that included writing blogs, web browsing and a few audio calls on Teams. With slightly heavy usage, including editing a couple of video reels and watching videos, we still managed to get around five hours of backup. With casual gaming, the laptop still managed close to two hours of backup. (Do note, throughout our heavy usage like gaming, video editing and testing AI tasks, the battery performance settings were set to high mode.)
Final thoughts
The HP Envy x360 14 is a compelling option for users who are looking for a powerful and versatile 2-in-1 laptop. With Intel’s latest Core Ultra 7 processor at the helm, along with a dedicated NPU, it offers innovative AI features thoughtfully designed for everyday use cases. From enhanced video conferencing experiences to handy features like presence detection and a dedicated Copilot button, NPU unlocks a new level of user experience.
All this paired with a great OLED display, good keyboard and long battery life positions the Envy x360 14 as a well-rounded AI PC for professionals, creators and casual users alike.
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X Elite SoC at the Snapdragon Summit in 2023, followed by the Snapdragon X Plus a couple of months ago. At Microsoft Build 2024, Qualcomm took the stage along with Microsoft to announce the first set of CoPilot+ PCs. At Computex 2024 in Taiwan earlier this week, Qualcomm shed more details on design wins, performances and partnerships. William Li, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, sat down with Qualcomm’s Alex Katouzian, Group General Manager for Mobile, Compute and XR, to discuss Windows on Arm, the future of computing and more.
The interview
Key takeaways from the discussion
Snapdragon X platform co-designed with Microsoft:
• Qualcomm worked closely with Microsoft to optimize the Snapdragon X platform for Windows 11 CoPilot+ features.
• Snapdragon X can deliver high performance with low power consumption and is superior to traditional x86 solutions. Thus, it also helps extend the battery life on laptops.
Focus on AI to enable new experiences:
• AI is becoming pervasive across all Qualcomm products, smartphones, IoT devices, wearables, cars and XR.
• Qualcomm aims to offer intelligent edge solutions powered by AI across Snapdragon platforms.
• Qualcomm is leveraging its experience in mobile AI to bring similar capabilities to AI PCs.
• The Snapdragon X platform comes with a powerful NPU that enables advanced AI features, running both small language models (SLMs) and large language models (LLMs) on-device.
Beyond laptops:
• The Snapdragon X platform is designed for various form factors.
• It can power laptops, desktops, mini-PCs, tablets and even enterprise devices.
Snapdragon Seamless for multi-device connectivity:
• The Snapdragon platform comes with a low-power Bluetooth protocol called Snapdragon Seamless.
• It allows all devices – smartphones, laptop, tablets and TWS, to seamlessly interact with each other, and even enables wireless data sharing.
• The best part is that Snapdragon Seamless works across platforms and operating systems. This means one can easily connect an Android smartphone with a Windows PC and unlock seamless multi-device experiences.
Analyst takeaways:
• Snapdragon X is changing the way we interact with our PCs. Qualcomm claims to offer unparalleled computing performance, lower power consumption, and longer battery life which will further push the limits of PCs. The whole PC market has its eyes on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X.
• Snapdragon leads not just in terms of computing performance but also performance per watt. It claims to offer 2.6x better performance per watt compared to the Apple M3 and a further 5.4x superior performance per watt compared to the Intel Core Ultra 7. Regarding thermal performance, it claims to offer a tremendous 5x better performance than the Intel Core Ultra 7 when running at lower thermals.
• Consumers use different types of mobile devices on a daily basis – Snapdragon can help improve the experience. Snapdragon Seamless allows users to easily move files between devices. Snapdragon Connect offers lightning-fast 5G and Wi-Fi 7, while Snapdragon Sound provides immersive and lossless audio. There is also Snapdragon Secure which enables chip-to-cloud security.
Computex Taipei 2024, Asia’s biggest tech event, has officially kicked off and Counterpoint’s analysts are on the ground to bring you the latest updates.
Day 1 was set in motion with keynote addresses from industry leaders such as NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, . Here are the standout announcements:
NVIDIA unveiled its latest AI advancements, promising faster, smarter tech.
AMD showcased new processors that redefine performance and efficiency.
Qualcomm revolutionizes the AI PC with Snapdragon X Elite.
Arm powers the AI future with 100 billion devices.
NVIDIA’s Ecosystem and AI Innovations
Comprehensive AI Ecosystem: NVIDIA’s keynote on the first day of Computex Taipei 2024 extended beyond GTC’s focus on AI innovations by highlighting the broader ecosystem that supports AI technology advancements. Taiwan’s AI Server Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) play a crucial role as they serve as production partners and potential clients for NVIDIA’s advanced AI servers. The keynote showcased the company’s comprehensive ecosystem, which includes a thriving developer community, a vast array of optimized applications and a diverse portfolio of chips, systems, networking solutions and proprietary technologies.
Annual AI Accelerator Updates: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the company’s commitment to continuous improvement in AI accelerators. The annual upgrades focus on reducing costs and energy requirements while adding new tools and software models. This approach ensures that NVIDIA remains at the forefront of high-performance AI computing. The keynote featured a virtual avatar and voice clone of CEO Jensen Huang, demonstrating the power of NVIDIA’s standalone GPUs in delivering high Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS) performance, crucial for real-time rendering of highly realistic virtual avatars and voice cloning.
NVIDIA Inference Microservice (NIM): At the event, NVIDIA introduced the NVIDIA Inference Microservice (NIM), a pre-trained AI model integrating cloud-native technologies like CUDA, QDNN, TensorRT and Triton. NIM is designed to support corporate data centers and Cloud Service Providers, adding significant value to NVIDIA’s offerings. This new tool exemplifies NVIDIA’s focus on providing comprehensive solutions that cater to the evolving demands of AI technology.
AMD’s Breakthroughs in AI and High-performance Computing
Meeting NVIDIA’s Annual Release Cycle: AMD is keeping pace with NVIDIA’s annual release cycle with the introduction of the MI325X, which is set to launch in Q4 2024. This new release underscores AMD’s commitment to providing high-performance AI computing solutions that can compete head-to-head with NVIDIA’s offerings.
Highlighting its Presence in PCs and Laptops with Strix Point: AMD highlighted its presence in PCs and laptops with the new Strix Point processors, part of the third-generation Ryzen series. These processors, designed for ultra-thin and premium notebooks, combine Zen 5 CPU, RDNA 3.5 graphics and XDNA 2 NPU, delivering 50 TOPS of compute for AI experiences at low power.
Third-generation Ryzen AI Processors and Copilot+ PC: The third-generation Ryzen AI series processors significantly boost AI and computing performance. AMD’s latest NPU achieves 50 TOPS, with 5x the compute capacity and 2x the energy efficiency of its predecessor. The Copilot PC, powered by AMD’s new processors, integrates on-device AI for seamless functionality, enabling advanced features with robust performance and efficiency.
Qualcomm and the AI Revolution in PCs
The PC is Reborn: Qualcomm’s focus at Computex Taipei 2024 centered around AI PCs, partnerships and power efficiency. The messaging highlighted its commitment to advancing both processing power and energy efficiency, which is crucial for next-generation AI applications. The Snapdragon X Elite platform aims to transform how we use the PC by offering advanced AI capabilities. Qualcomm is committed to supporting the ecosystem’s shift to AI PCs, ensuring seamless user experiences.
Strategic Partnerships: Qualcomm‘s partnerships with major players like Microsoft, Dell, Lenovo and HP signify its strong entry into the PC industry. These collaborations are pivotal for Qualcomm’s strategy to establish a foothold in the competitive PC market, leveraging the strengths of its partners to drive innovation and adoption of AI-enabled PCs.
100 Billion AI Devices by the End of 2025 at Arm’s Reach
Accelerated Innovation Timeline: Arm CEO Rene Haas announced that by the end of 2025, over 100 billion Arm devices will be ready for AI applications. This milestone highlights Arm’s significant impact on the AI landscape and its commitment to facilitating developer creativity. The aggressive innovation timeline includes leveraging the latest advancements in technology to ensure rapid development and scalability of AI applications.
New CSS for Clients and Cortex X925: Arm introduced the new CSS for clients and the Cortex X925, promising major advancements in AI and security for next-gen PCs. These innovations, previously exclusive to data centers, are now poised to enhance the performance and efficiency of consumer devices.
In order to access
Counterpoint Technology Market Research Limited (Company or We hereafter) Web sites, you may be asked to complete a registration form. You are required to provide contact information which is used to enhance the user experience and determine whether you are a paid subscriber or not.
Personal Information
When you register on we ask you for personal information. We use this information to provide you with the best advice and highest-quality service as well as with offers that we think are relevant to you. We may also contact you regarding a Web site problem or other customer service-related issues. We do not sell, share or rent personal information about you collected on Company Web sites.
How to unsubscribe and Termination
You may request to terminate your account or unsubscribe to any email subscriptions or mailing lists at any time.
In accessing and using this Website, User agrees to comply with all applicable laws and agrees not to take any action that would compromise the security or viability of this Website. The Company may terminate User’s access to this Website at any time for any reason. The terms hereunder regarding Accuracy of Information and Third Party Rights shall survive termination.
Website Content and Copyright
This Website is the property of Counterpoint and is protected by international copyright law and conventions. We grant users the right to access and use the Website, so long as such use is for internal information purposes, and User does not alter, copy, disseminate, redistribute or republish any content or feature of this Website. User acknowledges that access to and use of this Website is subject to these TERMS OF USE and any expanded access or use must be approved in writing by the Company.
– Passwords are for user’s individual use
– Passwords may not be shared with others
– Users may not store documents in shared folders.
– Users may not redistribute documents to non-users unless otherwise stated in their contract terms.
Changes or Updates to the Website
The Company reserves the right to change, update or discontinue any aspect of this Website at any time without notice. Your continued use of the Website after any such change constitutes your agreement to these TERMS OF USE, as modified.
Accuracy of Information:
While the information contained on this Website has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, We disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. User assumes sole responsibility for the use it makes of this Website to achieve his/her intended results.
Third Party Links:
This Website may contain links to other third party websites, which are provided as additional resources for the convenience of Users. We do not endorse, sponsor or accept any responsibility for these third party websites, User agrees to direct any concerns relating to these third party websites to the relevant website administrator.
Cookies and Tracking
We may monitor how you use our Web sites. It is used solely for purposes of enabling us to provide you with a personalized Web site experience.
This data may also be used in the aggregate, to identify appropriate product offerings and subscription plans. Cookies may be set in order to identify you and determine your access privileges. Cookies are simply identifiers. You have the ability to delete cookie files from your hard disk drive.
