Believe it or not, AI is already subtly reshaping the PC. No, we're not talking about the microprocessor or integrated NPUs. There, progress has been slow and stuttering, as chip vendors and Microsoft work toward establishing an ecosystem of Copilot PCs. Instead, PC vendors are looking for ways to reinvent the familiar with AI capabilities. But we wanted to know what PC vendors thought about the future of the AI PCs they're building.

Believe it or not, AI is already subtly reshaping the PC. No, we're not talking about the microprocessor or integrated NPUs. There, progress has been slow and stuttering, as chip vendors and Microsoft work toward establishing an ecosystem of Copilot PCs. Instead, PC vendors are looking for ways to reinvent the familiar with AI capabilities. But we wanted to know what PC vendors thought about the future of the AI PCs they're building.

For a product category that only a few years ago some people thought was dying, personal computers – and laptops in particular – are showing remarkable signs of life. In fact, based on the impressive range and number of PC and PC technology-related announcements from this year's CES, including systems, chips, accessories and more, it's probably one of the most vibrant periods in the device's 40 year history. It's easy to see why. During the pandemic, few items took on more importance than the PC. Whether for remote work, remote schooling or just remote living, PCs became essential for not just a household, but virtually every individual within the household.

I've been writing a tech predictions column for nearly 30 years now. I study our research and look for trends and information that give me hints of what I believe might be the hot topics, trends or issues that will impact the tech industry in the coming year. It's well known that Silicon Valley was generally not a big supporter of President-elect Donald Trump. However, technology executives are pragmatic, and they know they need to deal with his administration if they want to see their tech agenda advanced over the next four (or eight) years. Trump's recent meeting with leaders like Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and others allowed these leaders to share with Trump their concerns.

Grim news for PC makers: they face a stark choice, either to overhaul their business model or just quit making PCs in the next few years. Analyst Gartner expects the number of PCs in use to decline from around 1.48 billion last year to around 1.33 by 2019, which is going to make life a lot harder for the companies that sell them. "The PC business model as we have traditionally known it is broken," said Tracy Tsia, research vice president at Gartner. While the top five mobile PC vendors have picked up 11 percent market share over the past five years (from 65 percent in 2011 to 76 percent in the first half of 2016), that has come at the expense of profit, Tsai said. Gartner predicts that the installed base of PCs will continue to decline over the next five years, which means continuing erosion of revenue and profit for PC vendors.