When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. AMD's Ryzen AI 400 processors play it safe, but add desktops too AMD is launching the Ryzen AI 400 at CES 2026 as the next chip in the company's CPU roadmap, with what appears to be a similar goal as the current Ryzen AI 300: Aim high on CPU performance, but with sufficient AI TOPS and battery life to attract mainstream laptop buyers, too. AMD said that the Ryzen AI 400 chips will power both Copilot+ laptops as well as "socketed desktops," bringing their AI capabilities to desktop PCs as well. AMD also announced "Pro" configurations of most of the chips, designed to power enterprise PCs. AMD executives didn't refer to the AI 400 by its expected codename, Gorgon Point, but the chip's specs matched up with a leak inadvertently published last year: up to 12 cores and 24 threads using the Zen 5 architecture, with a boost clock that can hit 5.2GHz.

Microsoft has finally made all Copilot PCs--not just the Snapdragon ones--eligible for all of its AI-powered Copilot features. If you've been paying attention, you know that the Windows world is badly fragmented. Not only are users split between Windows 10 and Windows 11, but Windows 11 users aren't even all on the same version. Now, over the past year, AI has added another wrinkle with Microsoft mainly developing its Copilot PC features for Qualcomm's Snapdragon X platform while neglecting AMD's Ryzen AI 300 and Intel's Core Ultra 200 series processors. On Monday, Microsoft wrote in a blog post that PCs powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 series, Intel Core Ultra 200V, and Snapdragon X series processors are all eligible for "exclusive Copilot PC experiences like Live Captions, Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator."

It's a little weird to talk about Framework "launching" a new laptop given it just makes the same machine over and over again. That, of course, is the point, since it's building a fleet of modular, upgradeable and repairable machines that eliminate unnecessary e-waste. Let's agree that while launching isn't the right word, it is how we'll describe the advent of the updated AMD edition of the Framework 13, which now comes with the Ryzen AI 300 on board. Naturally, the big news is the fancier AMD unit welded to the mainboard, which boasts dramatically improved AI performance for Microsoft Copilot . But Framework has made its usual series of nips and tucks, adding Wi-Fi 7, a new thermal system, improved keyboard and new color options.

Intel's new Core Ultra 200 processors offer a huge leap forward in performance on top of all-day battery life. But these new "Arrow Lake" chips leave out an absolute necessity of today's PCs: an NPU, the engine which powers AI performance across the board. We knew this going into my review of Intel's Core Ultra 9 285H inside of an MSI laptop. But it might be time for Intel -- and maybe AMD, too -- to take a step back and consider what consumers really want: a "good," one-size-fits-all mainstream PC. And a clear way to identify them! Every time I review a chip or another product, I try to unearth the "story" behind it.

AMD has typically pushed the envelope in performance, but at CES 2025, the company is also expanding in another direction, with cheaper, lower-performance Ryzen AI 300 and even a Ryzen 200 family that the company is encouraging both consumers and commercial customers to buy. In June, AMD launched the Ryzen AI 300 family, which combined 50 TOPS of AI power with a ton of conventional performance in our Ryzen AI 300 review, including in gaming performance as well. In October, it extended the Ryzen AI 300 to business customers, too. However, AMD built out its high-end Ryzen AI 300 series first, with the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (12 cores/24 threads) and the Ryzen AI 9 365 (10 cores/20 threads). Today, it does the opposite, with the launch of four new Ryzen AI 300 series chips -- two each for consumers and business customers -- as well as seven new Ryzen 200 chips to provide slower, less expensive alternatives.

While laptops haven't exactly been advancing by leaps and bounds over the last few years, the industry has finally gotten interesting again. As we close out 2024 and head into 2025, I've got news for you if you're in the market for a new laptop: a lot has changed, and lots more changes are yet to come. Here are the new things you need to know to make an informed laptop buying decision this year. Further reading: The best laptops we've tested I used to recommend buying last year's laptop models on clearance because hardware hasn't really improved much year over year. Sure, maybe that new laptop is a bit better… but only marginally.

No doubt about it, AMD had a very good year. Our recap of AMD's highs, lows, and head-scratching moments of 2024 doesn't reveal too many mistakes. At times, Intel stumbled through 2024 like someone coming home from the pub on Christmas Eve. But AMD was steady, reliable, and mostly dependable. See if you agree with us as we walk through the best and worst of AMD's 2024, as we've done (or will do) for Microsoft, Google, and Intel.

Our collection of the highs and lows of Intel's 2024 will have you reaching for the brandy. I mean, aside from some of Intel's mobile chips, what exactly did it do right? Let's put it this way: when your ex-CEO prays for your company after he was kicked out, it was a bad year. As we've done for other companies in the past, we've collected the best, worst, and head-scratching moments from the past year. Get yourself a hot mug of cider or a cold glass of egg nog, and sit down with as we recap Intel's 2024. And hold on -- it's going to get bumpy.

Microsoft's best and worst of 2024, not surprisingly, centered around AI. When Microsoft was trying to force Copilot upon us, it didn't go so well. But when it used AI to enhance what was already working, the results were much more successful. For the last few years (2021, 2022, and 2023) we've recapped what I call Microsoft's wins, fails, and WTF moments: Microsoft's highs, lows, and the moments where you wondered what in the world that this company was up to. We're not going to try and piece together the company's enterprise strategy (Azure and Copilot, basically).

While laptops haven't exactly been advancing by leaps and bounds over the last few years, the industry has finally gotten interesting again. As we close out 2024 and head into 2025, I've got news for you if you're in the market for a new laptop: a lot has changed, and lots more changes are yet to come. Here are the new things you need to know to make an informed laptop buying decision this year. I used to recommend buying last year's laptop models on clearance because hardware hasn't really improved much year over year. Sure, maybe that new laptop is a bit better… but only marginally.