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Meet Qira AI, Lenovo's big bet on an ever-present AI helper

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Qira sounds like it will be a staple app on Lenovo PCs, similar to its Vantage software. If you've been waiting -- like we have -- for truly useful artificial-intelligence applications to land on your laptop, Lenovo has an answer: Qira, a Lenovo-authored AI app that will live on new, select Lenovo PCs and Qira smartphones in the first quarter of 2026. Lenovo describes Qira as an "ambient" intelligence, which might be both good or bad; Windows' Clippy was famously an assistant which tried to understand what you were doing and offer assistance. Qira sounds like something similar, though with the intent that it "follows" you from Lenovo device to Lenovo device, or on to a Motorola smartphone as well, using a combination of agents and other tasks.


Framework Desktop review: A powerful AI PC, made with love

PCWorld

The Framework Desktop DIY Edition is a thoughtfully engineered small-form-factor desktop PC that is both an entry point into enthusiast computing as well as a powerful AI desktop in its own right. The Framework Desktop DIY Edition is unique: a do-it-yourself desktop without the complexity of building from scratch, forming a compact, personalized "AI workstation." If you're nervous about a less-familiar brand, don't be. Multiple photos show how to tighten a thumbscrew–that's how comfortable they want you to be. I can point to a few things that I thought needed improvement: soldered memory, a beta driver bundle that should be finalized by the time you buy it, and a top panel which didn't clip in as easily as I would have liked. Inserting the SSD stressed me out a bit, too. But Framework's eye for customization (colored tiles you can design and install yourself, plus your choice of I/O) lends itself to fun and productivity. The AMD Ryzen AI Max (Strix Halo) chip inside is slightly out of the ordinary, with its do-everything design. I have high praise for the Framework Desktop, and think you will too.


AMD's powerful AI chips can finally be unleashed on Windows PCs

PCWorld

AMD's hardware teams have tried to redefine AI inferencing with powerful chips like the Ryzen AI Max and Threadripper. But in software, the company has been largely absent where PCs are concerned. That's changing, AMD executives say. AMD's Advancing AI event Thursday focused on enterprise-class GPUs like its Instinct lineup. But it's a software platform you may not have heard of, called ROCm, that AMD depends upon just as much.


I tested Copilot Vision for Windows. Its AI eyes need better glasses

PCWorld

The whole point of Microsoft Copilot Vision for Windows is that it's like an AI assistant, looking over your shoulder as you struggle through a task and making suggestions. So, I was pretty convinced that if Microsoft were to release Copilot Vision for testing, it would be able to do something simple like help me play Windows Solitaire. Sometimes, Microsoft's new Copilot Vision for Windows feels like a real step forward for useful AI: this emerging Windows technology sees what you see on your screen, allowing you to talk to your PC and ask it for help. Unfortunately, that step ahead is often followed by that cliché: two steps back. Copilot Vision for Windows is, at times, genuinely helpful. Outside of some nostalgic tears by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the announcement of Copilot Vision for Windows was the highlight of Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration at the company's Redmond, Washington campus.


Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review: A gaming tablet outclassed by its rivals

PCWorld

The Asus ROG Flow Z13 may be the best gaming tablet ever made, with the best integrated GPU in history. I've never found a "gaming tablet" that left a strong impression on me, and the 2025 Asus ROG Flow Z13 hasn't changed that. What I was really looking forward to was the debut of the AMD Ryzen AI Max (Strix Halo)–a unique processor that combines a powerful CPU with an NPU, a killer integrated GPU, and a massive cache, all for what I hoped would be a bacchanal of gaming and AI applications. I discovered that it could, but the competition is still better. Asus has a history of applying innovative solutions to gaming on the go. AMD should certainly celebrate what's been accomplished here, I just don't think it works. Yes, the Flow is perhaps the lightest gaming solution outside of a handheld, with a chip inside that has the best integrated graphics ever made. But it all boils down to a good product that falls short of greatness and for a price that should deliver much more. We've seen the Z13 before. In 2025, AMD convinced Asus that its powerful Ryzen AI Max, relying on integrated graphics alone, could measure up. Asus sells the ROG Flow in three different configurations.


Boost AMD's Ryzen AI Max performance up to 60% with this memory trick

PCWorld

If you've purchased a laptop or tablet with an AMD Ryzen chip inside, there's a performance tweak you absolutely need to know about. Savvy gamers know instinctively that you can boost your game's frame rate by lowering the resolution or the visual quality, or by making an adjustment to the Windows power-performance slider. But the Ryzen AI Max is a new kind of device: a killer mobile processor that can run modern games at elevated frame rates, and serve as an AI powerhouse. A simple adjustment of the Ryzen AI Max's unified frame buffer, or available graphics memory. While it's a simple fix, in my tests, it made an enormous difference: up to a 60 percent performance boost in some cases.