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Hindustan Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Asus Zenbook S16's flagship credentials give AMD footing in an AI PC juggernaut
There is a clear direction the PC market is taking, and if you're spending top money now on something that isn't truly artificial intelligence (AI) capable, you'll be making a mistake. We have the AI PC decoded, illustrating fine differences that dictate the specifics of a Copilot+ PC, Copilot PC, Next-Gen AI PC, and AI Enabled PC. The focus, and it is safe to say this is still stage one of the process, seems to be on setting the top-line. The theoretical performance benchmark, a flex of what PC makers can do with chips from AMD, Intel as well as Qualcomm, as well as AI solutions built into Microsoft Windows 11 and indeed the one's they develop on their own. The Asus Zenbook S16 (2025), with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor, is one more premium AI laptop that has a very distinct undercurrent — AMD's comeback, as it turns out, with quite some style. The 2025 edition of the Zenbook S16 is priced at ₹149,990 and the headline specs make for impressive reading. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 has a 50 TOPS (or trillion operations per second; that makes this a Copilot+ PC) neural processing unit (or NPU) for AI compute, 24GB of memory, and a 16-inch 3K resolution OLED display that belies the compact form factor. The specs are exactly as you'd expect at this price, but then again, there is an urgent need to widen portfolios of the four AI PC classifications, at lower price points too. The Zenbook S16, may well be another impressive example of what's possible. Also Read: HP EliteBook X G1a review: AI in PCs finally gets definitive meaning and purpose Asus has the design elements spot on, and that's another way of saying there is continuity with a few things. That's to be expected, as the portfolio and options widen to include similarly spec-ed (and priced) machines with Intel, Qualcomm and now AMD chips. The Ceraluminum material on the lid has been around since last year, as has the broader aesthetic of the pattern. This is a slim machine, and yet isn't falling short on connectivity, including an HDMI port. Whatever choice you make between Scandinavian White and Zumaia Gray, this laptop is certainly a looker. Tipping the scales at 1.5kg for a 16-inch display, credit is due for the teams that pieced this combination. The 16-inch 2,880 x 1,800 OLED touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate, is one of the finest displays in laptops, at this point in time. It can be very bright and equally subdued, and delivers very balanced as well as accurate colours at default settings — there is of course a 'vivid' option, if you prefer over-saturated colours, but even then, separation is still handled fairly well. Deep blacks do make everything look better, be it documents, webpages or media. Asus' display management smarts, such as the automatic refresh to keep an OLED display in good health, have successfully withstood the test of time. Also Read: PC market finds its edge driven by AI push With the sort of specs that form the core of this Asus Zenbook S16, performance is never a doubt. Our experience, as a primary work laptop, testifies to an ability to not just hold performance well even under the sort of multitasking load we could send its way, bit also fairly robust battery life of close to 12 hours for most usage, and around 14.5 hours if you're careful with elements such as display brightness and memory usage. One could argue that Qualcomm chips get close to 20 hours and upwards with similar workloads, and that does hold weight. There is some fan noise that becomes apparent as the machine heats up on the underside when stressed with multi-tasking (it is very cool, rest of the time), and that is something which can perhaps be improved with a firmware update — the question then will be, will it compromise raw performance? Anyone buying the Zenbook S16 that is priced at ₹149,990 is undoubtedly paying top money for a laptop that should have longevity and promise — and the Zenbook S16 is well equipped on both fronts. It delivers what one would expect, and a bit more, with performance, battery stamina as well as that gorgeous display. It is therefore perplexing why Asus have left a few things to chance, such as a fairly middling webcam experience (though that's layered with AI too). On a Zoom call, it is unlikely the other side of the table would get a whiff of the premium laptop you may have just parted with a lot of money for. That is perhaps the only real niggle, in an otherwise well thought through package.
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Our AI vision balances innovation and security: HP's Vineet Gehani
A consistent theme defining India's PC market has largely been clustered, hard-fought competition. Very little give, and even a percentage point shift can change rankings significantly. Within that, there has been a dominant outlier. HP's lead at the top of the market share charts, dates as far back as 2019. There has been an annual growth trajectory too since — 26.5% of India's PC market share then, 301.% for the entirety of 2024, whilst remaining the undisputed leader. Lenovo marks a distant second, with 17.2%, and the rest follow. One of the reasons for HP's dominant position in India's PC stakes, has been quick reaction to market demands. The current transition with AI PCs is the latest example, with the tech company painstakingly putting together a portfolio that appeals to enterprises and consumers. The HP EliteBook X G1, the Omen Max 16 and the OmniBook, all recently refreshed additions, cover the business user, gamer and content creator demographics. In a conversation with HT, Vineet Gehani, who is Senior Director - Personal Systems at HP India, estimates that AI PCs will make for one of every two PCs that are sold in India in the next couple of years. They are unlikely to leave it at just the hardware. 'We make it customised, and we make it intuitive for our customers,' he tells us. Examples of that are already being seen, with OpenAI's models underlining the HP AI Companion app that the new PCs come preloaded with. It can do a lot — search the web or documents, analyse files, summarise PDFs create a to-do list, curate strategies based on prompts and plan a day ahead around your meetings. It also connects seamlessly to certain PC settings, for quicker control. There is greater purpose for AI compared with previous AI-focused PCs, and users would hope this is just the start. Also Read: HP EliteBook X G1a review: AI in PCs finally gets definitive meaning and purpose Gehani details HP's approach to AI PCs and how important it is to work closely with partners including AMD, Intel, Qualcomm and Microsoft, the need for customised AI solution beyond what's already integrated in apps and operating systems, and the company's decision to add quick-commerce platforms to their already elaborate retail presence in the country. Edited excerpts. Q. HP machines are now available on quick-commerce platforms. Is that yet another revolution waiting to happen, and what are HP's plans to build on an early mover advantage? Vineet Gehani: It's more than experimentation, for sure. We take pride in having the widest channel network to carry products to the marketing. Obviously then, having an omni-channel strategy that makes it consistent and relevant for the best customer experiences, works best. We have a HP World network which is more than 750 outlets, and we work very closely with all large retailers, regular retailers, telecom chains, also now and of course, the e-commerce players. Quick-commerce is complimentary because it is serving a specific need for customers who want products absolutely with 10 or 15 minutes, and cannot actually wait for even a day. We see this as very relevant to our portfolio, and particularly peripherals, and accessories products. If you need you need a mouse or a keyboard as a replacement, chances are you need it right away. Same is true for a headset which may have working for some reason. It is also fairly important for printer supplies. If you're running run out of ink and you need to print, you need a solution at that point in time. I believe this is where the early adoption or pilots are, and now this is becoming a very intimate channel for these products. We have now made some of our consumer laptops available on these platforms, and I think there is rapidly growing interest that we can see. And I'm sure with all of these new devices and with customers wanting to adopt even faster, it's a great channel for us. Q. What is your assessment of the AI PC era that we've seen till now, and how do you see this playing out? VG: We must talk about AI before we talk about the AI PC. Artificial intelligence has been a phenomenon and an opportunity. People have been getting used to what these artificial intelligence tools around them can do. When we talk of consumers, creators, and the overall portfolio that we serve to market, it is a real challenge. The AI PC journey actually started with what we call AI enhanced PCs, which simply were devices with an additional neural processing unit, or NPU, in them. That's what we've been serving the market to this point so far. When we actually define that, it its in the range of 10 TOPS (that's trillion operations per second; a metric to define an NPUs capabilities), if I am to get technical on that front. But now we are really excited about how the AI PCs will become the next big thing for the consumers and how they'll use them to enhance their work and their personal lives, and how will it become easier, intuitive, more collaborative, more productive, and the outcomes from that. And why do we say that? It is simply because AI PCs now become richer in terms of their technical specifications. They are adding on lot more customised features. Look at the next generation AI PCs that HP is carrying to market — all compute at 40 TOPS or more, and that range goes up to 55 TOPS. This is a new enhanced portfolio on the commercial side of products in the form of new EliteBook products, and on the gaming side with the new OmniBook range. And of course, there are variants in that. It is not just the new silicon, but they are also getting more intuitive and customised in terms of what they offer to customers in HP patented features. The HP AI Companion on these devices is an example. It is basically the on-device capability — till now most of the AI computing has happened on the cloud. Now it sits on the device. So that's the edge computing network we' excited to carry to market. Whether it is summarising text, inferencing data from files that sit on the device and don't have to go up and down the cloud, and doing speech to text translations and live captions, these are some examples of functionality we are bringing on devices. That is, to not forget existing features which get more advanced, including HP Sure View and HP Wolf Pro security. Q. Core to the next phase would be enough genuine use cases for AI at home and at workplaces. Is it important for HP also to think of solutions, beyond What is already there in Windows 11? VG: We work on very closely is to first take sure every technology which is available in the ecosystem to bring together the bouquet that is on offer. That means working closely with silicon partners including Intel, AMD and now Qualcomm, and also with Microsoft for all their Copilot and Copilot+ features. But we cannot stop there. We make it customised, and we make it intuitive for our customers. We are always evolving to offer those richer and more intuitive experiences to our enterprise customers, to our consumers, gamers, and creators. AI PCs right now have a signal digit contribution of the overall industry and to our portfolio. We expect this to grow rapidly, and we are looking at almost one out of two PCs sold in the next two to three years, to be AI PCs. We must make sure that customers are getting the best experiences and obviously also make it as easily adoptable as possible. The price points that we actually offered on AI PCs so far, have been upwards of ₹1,00,000. Now these AI PCs with enhanced features will become more affordable, say around ₹70,000 and of course, going up the ladder to about ₹1,50,000. Q. I believe HP AI companion users open AI models right now. With many deep reasoning and thinking models now available from various AI companies, do you see that as an opportunity to add more and develop? VG: Our engineering as well as research and development teams are always looking at how things are evolving in the overall AI ecosystem, so that we can actually start adding them to devices to make them even more capable. I mean DeepSeek was a revolution and there have been many other developments. It is obvious that a lot is happening. We are very conscious and concerned about what's secure and what is really value enhancing for our customers. A lot of that filtering also obviously frozen before we decided as what's the best technology to carry. Q. What have you heard back from demographics content creators, startups, or enterprise customers, in terms of how are beginning to deploy AI? VG: The interest is rapidly growing, and that's why we believe in the next two or three years, we see about 50% of the market will shift. There's a specific reason. Users want their devices to normally do the mundane tasks or do all of what they have been doing in the past, but they want to be able to do that faster. They want to spend more time on enhancing their quality of work, their business and function areas. I'll take this example — instead of writing long emails or spending time sifting through and analysing large amounts of data, users want the devices to actually start doing that. Our concern is to understand the specifics of what would a data scientist want, a product manager's needs, a salesperson in an organisation require. Emerging from that are a lot of the features that are going into newer computing devices, and this will dynamically as well as iteratively improve. We've had the speech to text for a long period of time, but this is now not only speech to text of a person. If you're in a conversation or on a call, we could be talking to a Japanese more comfortable in their language and get live captions of the conversation, without the person having to change their originality and generality of the conversation. That is what users are asking for, to make the interaction rich and more meaningful. These are some ways in which AI PCs will improve the experience for everyone.
