The News: Earlier this week, HP Inc. introduced the world’s highest performance AI PC, the first HP OmniBook Ultra, with an industry-first (up to) 55 TOPS of NPU performance. This expanded HP’s efforts to make AI real for companies and people with new and transformative AI experiences across its PCs, software, and partner ecosystem. Read the press release here.
HP’s New OmniBook Ultra 14-inch Next Gen AI PC Promises a Whopping 55 TOPS on the NPU
Analyst Take: I was at HP’s Imagine AI event in New York when the OmniBook Ultra 14-inch Next Gen AI PC was announced, and when the up-to 55-TOPS of NPU performance slide popped up on the screen, the reaction from the audience of analysts and tech journalists was audible. The Q&A also reflected our collective puzzlement at the number, given that the closest official announcement by semiconductor vendors entering the AI PC space was AMD, with up to 50 TOPS on the CPU. 55 TOPS is obviously higher than that. We quickly obtained confirmation that the OmniBook Ultra is indeed powered by AMD silicon: The AMD Ryzen AI 300, with integrated AMD Radeon 800M graphics, leverages an NPU to deliver up to 21 hours of battery life. A bit of digging into the configuration with some in-house testing will hopefully give us a bit more context on that up-to 55 TOPS/NPU number. However, any potential caveats aside, AMD and HP appear to have taken the lead in the TOPS-on-NPU race, at least for now.
Note that despite its impressive specs, the OmniBook Ultra is not currently being released as a Copilot+ PC, though HP confirms that the OmniBook Ultra will have a free update to Copilot+ PC experiences when Microsoft makes it available. (Currently, only AI PCs powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X platform are being released as Copilot+ PCs, but Microsoft is working with AMD and Intel to fold them into the ecosystem over the course of the next few months.)
The PC’s impressive TOPS on NPU specs reflect its positioning, and, in my view, the broader current positioning of AMD against Qualcomm/Snapdragon X in the PC segment: For the best performance per watt (which typically translates into the longest battery life) and Mac-like performance on a Windows AI PC, Snapdragon is probably a PC user’s best bet. However, for the most processing horsepower (for heavy creative, video, image, and sound editing workloads), perhaps AMD might be the better option. That certainly seems to be how HP is positioning the OmniBook Ultra, echoing PC announcements by other OEMs at and around Computex barely a month ago, and both its features and the way in which HP is formulating its messaging around the OmniBook Ultra 14-inch Next Gen AI PC release feel in line with that hypothesis:
- Performance: AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processor with integrated AMD Radeon 800M graphics and NPU delivering up to 21 hours of battery life.
- Supercharges productivity: The OmniBook Ultra is co-engineered with AMD to enable up to 55 TOPS of NPU performance. HP AI Companion optimizes the device for greater productivity and brings AI tools and solutions onto the device. It will soon offer expanded functionality for managing PC settings and troubleshooting HP products. Also explore endless possibilities with the latest AI-powered apps for productivity and content creation from Beautiful.ai, Loccus.ai, Luminar Neo, Omnibridge, Polymer, and Virtual Sapiens. (I had a chance to demo these products in NYC, and they are all extremely promising.)
- Enables immersive and seamless collaboration: Experience life uninterrupted with collaboration tools such as an AI-enabled, high-resolution 9 MP camera using the Poly Camera Pro app and Windows Studio Effects.
Protects from threats: Industry-leading protection and capabilities of Wolf Security found on HP’s commercial devices are now available on the HP OmniBook Ultra. The unique security chip allows the PC’s core to self-heal from AI-assisted cyber attacks while keeping data private and users productive. - Future-proofed technology: The OmniBook Ultra will have a free update to Copilot+ PC experiences when available from Microsoft.
- HP’s continued commitment to sustainable design: The device is designed using up to 90% recycled metals and 5% ocean-bound plastics to help reduce environmental impact.
“AI is poised to be the most significant driver of change over the next decade, ushering in a new era of innovation driven not just by information, but actionable insights,” said Alex Cho, President, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “HP is making AI real for companies with solutions like Z by HP AI Studio, for places and spaces with our latest hybrid work solutions, and for people with our first HP OmniBook Ultra.” (See our separate coverage of the Galileo and Z by HP AI Studio integration.)
For HP in particular, but also for PC OEMs in general, the new silicon diversity being injected into the PC ecosystem is great news for PC users: Based on each platform’s performance advantages (and price-points), PC users will be able to choose the right PC and the right platform for their needs. Where Intel will land when Lunar lake finally hits the market in a few months remains a bit of an open question for now. We can at least already see how both Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon X and AMD’s x86-based AI PC chips are carving out specific niches in the segment.
For HP specifically, this particular release is aimed at Windows PC users looking for a high performance, future-proofed for AI and Copilot+ PC with all-day battery life. As HP puts it: “As new possibilities are unlocked daily with AI, consumers on the bleeding edge of AI revolution have a new tool in the toolbox to run workloads faster, customize models, and maintain privacy – all locally on the device.” Either as a gateway into the broader HP ecosystem or as an upgrade for PC users already bought into the value of integrated HP workspaces, the up-to-55-TOPS OmniBook Ultra 14-inch Next Gen AI PC is the kind of swing-for-the-fences product that should help HP differentiate its PCs and its overall value proposition from other leading AI PC OEMs’ catalogs. While TOPS are only one metric (and a subjective one at that), bringing a premium laptop capable of delivering that kind of leading performance to the market is a smart strategy in such a competitive segment.
The HP OmniBook Ultra 14-inch Next Gen AI PC is expected to be available beginning in August on HP.com for a starting price of $1,449.99. The device will also be available at BestBuy.com.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other Insights from The Futurum Group:
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HP Q2 2024 Earnings: HP’s PC Refresh Supercycle Opportunity Comes Into Clearer Focus
New Snapdragon-Powered Copilot+ Windows PCs Redefine the PC Market
Image Credit: HP
Author Information
Olivier Blanchard is Research Director, Intelligent Devices. He covers edge semiconductors and intelligent AI-capable devices for Futurum. In addition to having co-authored several books about digital transformation and AI with Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman, Blanchard brings considerable experience demystifying new and emerging technologies, advising clients on how best to future-proof their organizations, and helping maximize the positive impacts of technology disruption while mitigating their potentially negative effects. Follow his extended analysis on X and LinkedIn.
