
In a major shift towards the adoption of artificial intelligence in personal computing devices, Lenovo Group has indicated that it plans to equip all its new PCs with AI features by 2027.
“Every PC will have some level of AI,” Luca Rossi, the head of the company’s Intelligence Devices Group which oversees PCs and smartphones, told Nikkei.
In Australia, Lenovo has already begun sales of its latest Copilot+ PCs – a new class of Windows computers designed to run Microsoft-developed AI. The Lenovo Yoga S7 14.5-inch, for example, features a Snapdragon X Elite processor and retails for A$2,799 from JB Hi-Fi.
Rossi has indicated that for now, its new AI PCs are getting the most traction in the US and China.
AI PCs come with graphics processing units as well as neural processing units for handling high-end AI applications. In the case of the Yoga S7, it has a NPU that’s capable of 45 trillion operations per second.
In the first quarter of this year, Lenovo continued to lead the global PC market, accounting for nearly 23 per cent of units shipped in the second quarter of 2024, according to research firm IDC.
It is now designing AI features in-house and will collaborate with specific partners in different regions to debut localised offerings. In China, for example, it is working with Alibaba Group Holding to roll out PCs equipped with AI based on Alibaba’s large language model.
“We are expecting basically a flat market for this year and then restart of the growth of the market in 2025 and 2026,” said Rossi. Lenovo is eyeing growth ranging “between 5 and 10 per cent” in 2025, Rossi said, adding that the outlook for 2026 is “around 5 per cent.”
He indicates that the growth for Lenovo will be among users replacing their old devices who will now opt for AI-equipped PCs. “Probably more than 300 million units are three to five years old,” he said. Also, with Microsoft ending its support for Windows 10 in 2025, it will drive more consumers towards the new generation of laptops.
PCs generated 58 per cent of Lenovo’s revenue in the year ended March, down from 68 per cent two years earlier.
Lenovo also aims to grow its smartphone business by a “double-digit percentage in the coming two or three years,” said Rossi. The company bought Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014 and has seen a range of new products unveiled in Australia recently including the Razr 50 Ultra flip phone and the Edge 50 Pro.