At Computex 2024, everyone was talking about AI again. Intel's Lunar Lake hardware and AMD's Strix Point chips will deliver faster AI performance, with upgraded neural processing units (NPUs) that meet and exceed Microsoft's Copilot PC requirements. But the big promise of Qualcomm's soon-to-be-released line of Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptops is the huge battery life numbers we're being promised over Intel and AMD-powered laptops. "We know we haven't necessarily been the highest battery life design point," said Intel's Dan Rogers in an interview with PCWorld's Mark Hachman at Computex. Intel is talking like it's solved the problem -- but we haven't heard any concrete numbers yet. Now, the race is on.

Intel recently revealed that its upcoming Lunar Lake chips would be available this fall for Copilot AI PCs, but the company waited until Computex to give us more technical details. For one, they'll offer up to 48 TOPs (tera operations per second) of AI performance, thanks to an updated neural processing unit (NPU). In comparison, Intel's previous Meteor Lake chips sported a 10 TOPS NPU, while AMD announced its Ryzen AI 300 chips yesterday with 50 TOPS NPUs. The AI race is on, if you couldn't tell. Intel will once again have to play catch up in the AI PC space: AMD's Ryzen AI 300 chips will be available in July alongside Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus.

Personal computers have not elicited many thrills of late. They've gotten cheaper, sure, and a little faster. But despite some wild promises the gap between the actual and the possible has remained expansive. This week, it narrowed significantly. Devices that run all day, but for real this time. The first GPU shrunk down to a 7nm process.

PC enthusiasts who are fed up waiting for new GeForce cards from Nvidia may be more excited by AMD. David Wang, AMD's new graphics chief, said he's committed to delivering a new product every year, like clockwork. Interestingly, Wang, the senior vice president of engineering for AMD's Radeon Technologies Group, seemed to blame the AI-oriented Radeon Instinct as at least somewhat of a distraction. That's somewhat ironic, given that the 7nm Vega GPU that AMD showed off Wednesday local time at Computex will be used for the Instinct series. During his time on stage at Computex, Wang showed off AMD's (unchanged) graphics roadmap, stretching out a full three years from 2017's Vega chip through an undisclosed 7nm architecture debuting in 2020.

Welcome to the new week. Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference kicks off later today. While we will be reporting live from it, we've also got thoughts on what you might see, right here. We also try overclocking processors with liquid nitrogen (and some skill), and explain that the end of SIM cards as we know them is coming. Oh, and Google Photos is now smart enough to delete your useless photos all by itself.

We're pretty much half way through the year, which means it's Computex time. As usual, you'll find a handful of us running around the Taipei show floors next week, where we'll be getting our hands dirty with the latest PC products and components. Last year was relatively fruitful thanks to the VR explosion. Several PC brands rolled out high-end GPUs or affordable ones capable of running VR. Even Intel surprised its hardcore users with its first-ever 10-core desktop CPU.

One of the surprise products of last week's Computex IT show in Taiwan was the Zenbo robot from Asus. The cute, two-wheeled, home-help robot will read stories to kids, summon help for seniors in an emergency and blast out songs while twirling around the floor to the music. But Asus is better known as a manufacturer of smartphones and laptop PCs. Home-help robots have been tried and failed before, so why did the company decide the time is right? IDG News Service spoke with Jonney Shih, chairman of Asus and the power behind much of the company's product planning and design, to find out more about Zenbo. Shih said he saw the robot as an evolution in computing -- something that followed on from the PC era, mobile computing, and the recent so-called Internet of Things.

One of the surprise products of last week's Computex IT show in Taiwan was the Zenbo robot from Asus. The cute, two-wheeled, home-help robot will read stories to kids, summon help for seniors in an emergency, and blast out songs while twirling around the floor to the music. But Asus is better known as a manufacturer of smartphones and laptop PCs. Home-help robots have been tried and failed before, so why did the company decide the time is right? IDG News Service spoke with Jonney Shih, chairman of Asus and the power behind much of the company's product planning and design, to find out more about Zenbo. Shih said he saw the robot as an evolution in computing -- something that followed on from the PC era, mobile computing, and the recent so-called Internet of Things.

Asus recently announced their latest range of products, including a predictable new ultra-thin laptop, amongst a range of other pieces of tech. However, arguably their most intriguing reveal came in the form of a little robot for you home that does everything, which Asus have aptly named the Zenbo. According to the Verge, the Asus Zenbo is unlike anything you've seen before, essentially bringing a real-world fully functioning version of BB-8 from the Star Wars series into your home. He spoke about the Zenbo's many key functions, describing the robot as a smart home manager, security guard, hands-free kitchen assistant, and family photographer, amongst many other things. It's a product that Asus are clearly very excited about.

This year's Computex Taipei 2016 will mark a turning point for Asia's biggest tradeshow, as Taiwan begins asserting itself as being not only the center of the global ICT supply chain but also as a key partner for building the global technology ecosystem and driving innovation. This new positioning for the show will be highlighted in new exhibits including InnoVEX - a startup village - and iSTyle, which will feature a collection of Apple MFi certified products and accessories. A packed schedule of keynotes, panels, forums, and demos provide a rare opportunity for startups to connect with international VCs, angel investors, potential partners, and future customers in a single venue. InnoVEX events will focus on startup technology and entrepreneurial issues, from securing funding and partnerships to building and managing company growth. Participating companies will showcase the latest developments in peripherals, accessories and software for MFi certified products including cables, chargers, and connectors.