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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteShort answer: Dell did not prove that nobody buys an AI-capable PC. At a January 6, 2026 CES pre-briefing, Dell head of product Kevin Terwilliger said consumers were not buying computers based on AI and that the terminology could confuse them. Dell still put an NPU in every system announced at that briefing. The practical lesson for shoppers is simple: buy for battery life, performance, display, memory, storage, support and price first; treat AI hardware as a bonus unless you can name a local workload that will use it.
What Dell actually said
The comment came during Dell’s CES 2026 pre-briefing on January 6, 2026. Kevin Terwilliger, Dell’s head of product, described a change from the company’s previous “AI-first” messaging. He said: “They’re not buying based on AI. In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome.” The remarks were reported by PC Gamer.
Dell vice chairman and chief operating officer Jeff Clarke added that the company had expected AI to drive end-user demand more strongly. He characterized that expectation as an “un-met promise of AI.” These are executive assessments of consumer behavior, not a published sales report: Dell did not provide unit sales, market share, conversion rates, survey results or an AI-PC attach rate.
The same briefing included an important qualification. Terwilliger said every product Dell announced contained a neural processing unit (NPU). Dell was changing the way it sold the capability, not removing the hardware.
#1 Best Overall
- Vibrant Visuals: Enjoy vivid, accurate colors with up to 300 nits brightness on a spacious 15" display featuring a sleek 3‑sided narrow bezel.
- AI Productivity: Boost efficiency with Intel Core Ultra processors and NPU‑powered AI features designed to keep multitasking smooth and responsive.
- Smarter Shortcuts: Use the dedicated Copilot key for instant access to your AI assistant, helping you organize, search, and work faster every day.
- Eye Comfort: Dell ComfortView reduces blue‑light emissions to help keep your eyes comfortable during extended viewing.
- Ergonomic Angle: Lifted hinges enhance typing comfort and support better airflow, helping your system run smoothly.
Why “nobody’s buying AI PCs” is too strong
Three different claims are being compressed into the headline:
| Claim | What the evidence supports |
|---|---|
| Consumers are not buying based on AI | This is what Terwilliger said about Dell’s consumer buyers. |
| Consumers are not buying PCs with AI hardware | Not established. Dell said its announced systems still included NPUs. |
| Nobody is buying AI PCs | An absolute market claim requiring sales data that was not presented. |
The fairest reading is that “AI PC” has not become a compelling reason to choose one laptop over another. A computer can contain an NPU and still be purchased for its keyboard, battery, screen, price or processor rather than for AI.
What an AI PC, NPU and Copilot+ PC mean
NPU-equipped PC
An NPU is a dedicated processor designed for certain neural-network calculations. It can handle supported tasks with less CPU or GPU involvement and, in some cases, lower power use. It does not turn a laptop into an autonomous computer, run every large language model locally or guarantee a visible benefit in everyday applications.
AI PC
“AI PC” is a broad industry marketing label. It does not specify which applications are accelerated, whether processing happens locally or in the cloud, how fast a task will run, or what privacy controls apply.
Rank #2
- Effortlessly chic. Always efficient. Finish your to-do list in no time with the Dell 15, built for everyday computing with 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1355U processor
- Designed for easy learning: Energy-efficient batteries and Express Charge support extend your focus and productivity.
- Stay connected to what you love: Spend more screen time on the things you enjoy with Dell ComfortView software that helps reduce harmful blue light emissions to keep your eyes comfortable over extended viewing times.
- Type with ease: Write and calculate quickly with roomy keypads, separate numeric keypad and calculator hotkey.
- Ergonomic support: Keep your wrists comfortable with lifted hinges that provide an ergonomic typing angle.
Copilot+ PC
Copilot+ is Microsoft’s platform designation with hardware and software requirements. Microsoft says Copilot+ experiences vary by device and market, some features are hardware-dependent, and availability can depend on language, region and continuing Windows updates. Check the exact model rather than assuming every Copilot+ feature works identically on every machine: Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC information.
What an NPU can do for an ordinary user
An NPU matters only when the operating system or an application actually sends a supported workload to it. Examples can include:
- Background blur, eye-contact effects and other video-call processing.
- Local speech recognition, captions, transcription and noise reduction.
- Certain photo-selection, retouching and image-editing features.
- Selected Windows search or productivity functions that Microsoft makes hardware-dependent.
- Some on-device or hybrid AI features that reduce the amount of audio, text or imagery sent to a cloud service.
Support is not automatic. A feature may require a particular Windows release, application version, processor, language, market or update. Many popular chatbots work in a browser on an ordinary PC because their computation happens on remote servers. An NPU is also not a replacement for a discrete GPU in gaming, 3D rendering or many creator workloads.
Why the label confuses shoppers
The terminology describes components, not outcomes
Retail listings mix “AI PC,” “Copilot+,” “NPU,” “TOPS,” “on-device AI,” “local AI,” “generative AI” and “neural engine.” A number such as NPU TOPS is a theoretical throughput figure. Without the workload, numerical precision, software implementation and power context, it does not predict chatbot quality, image-generation speed, battery life or overall laptop performance.
Rank #3
- 256 GB SSD of storage.
- Multitasking is easy with 16GB of RAM
- Equipped with a blazing fast Core i5 2.00 GHz processor.
The benefits are indirect
Shoppers can immediately compare a 12-hour battery claim, a bright display, 32GB of RAM or a lighter chassis. “AI acceleration” is harder to connect to something that happens on day one. A newer processor may improve battery life or responsiveness for many reasons; those improvements should not automatically be credited to the NPU.
Availability changes after purchase
Microsoft’s own product information warns that Copilot+ experiences vary by device and market and may require updates. A feature shown in a launch presentation can arrive later, be limited to certain languages or remain unavailable on a specific configuration.
Cloud AI and local AI are different
If your plan is to use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot in a browser, the service generally runs in the cloud. The laptop’s NPU is most relevant when a supported task runs locally or uses a hybrid design. Local processing can reduce latency or cloud dependence, but you must verify that the particular application offers that mode.
Privacy behavior is feature-specific
Tools that inspect documents, images, audio or on-screen activity can raise legitimate privacy and security questions. That does not make every local AI feature invasive; it means you should check what data a feature accesses, where it is processed, how long it is retained and which controls let you disable it.
Rank #4
- Edge-to-edge clarity: Enjoy crisp, expansive visuals on a 16" screen with up to FHD+ and a 16:10 aspect ratio—delivering a wide, immersive viewing experience.
- All-day comfort: Dell ComfortView Plus helps reduce harmful blue light emissions while preserving true-to-life color, keeping your eyes comfortable even during prolonged screen time.
- Ready for business: Flip between effortless productivity and captivating entertainment on a large, immersive screen powered by Intel Core 7-150U processor and graphics.
- Built for virtual connection: Bring your connections to life with an up-to FHD camera, designed with wide dynamic range and temporal noise reduction to deliver crisp, sharp images, no matter the lighting conditions.
- Adaptive thermals: Built-in technology allows your PC to sense when it's on a stable surface and adjusts its power and thermals to run more efficiently.
Does Dell’s pivot mean AI PCs failed?
No industry-wide conclusion follows from these remarks alone. They support a narrower diagnosis: AI branding has not become a strong consumer purchase trigger for Dell. That is different from saying the hardware is useless or the category is dead.
- Marketing problem: “AI PC” has not communicated a concrete reason to spend more.
- Hardware opportunity: New processor generations can improve thermals, battery life and responsiveness even when the NPU is not the reason a customer buys.
- Software maturity problem: AI features may still be limited, inconsistent, difficult to discover or insufficiently differentiated.
- Enterprise opportunity: Companies may value managed transcription, meeting tools, local processing and data controls more than a typical home buyer does.
- Future option value: An NPU could become more useful as applications add support, but that is a future-facing possibility rather than a guaranteed present benefit.
Terwilliger’s comment was framed around consumers. It should not automatically be applied to corporate fleets, accessibility deployments, developer workstations or regulated environments with specific local-processing requirements.
What to prioritize when buying a laptop
Use this order unless you have a clearly defined AI workload:
- Application performance: Choose a CPU that suits the programs you actually run.
- Real-world battery life: Look for testing under comparable workloads, not only a manufacturer’s maximum.
- RAM: More memory often helps multitasking and creative work more than a higher NPU rating.
- SSD capacity and upgradeability: Confirm usable capacity and whether storage can be replaced.
- Display: Check brightness, resolution, refresh rate, color coverage and scaling.
- Input devices and ports: A good keyboard, trackpad, webcam and the connectors you need affect every workday.
- Weight and charger: Include the power adapter when comparing portability.
- Repairability, warranty and support: Review service terms and parts availability, especially for a work machine.
- Operating-system and application compatibility: Verify drivers, plug-ins, peripherals, virtual machines and specialist software.
- Price: Compare complete configurations, not an entry-level price against a better-equipped rival.
How to decide whether the NPU is worth paying for
Before paying a premium, answer each question for the exact model:
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Best Value
- Effortlessly chic. Always efficient. Finish your to-do list in no time with the Dell 15, built for everyday computing with Intel processors.
- Designed for easy learning: Energy-efficient batteries and Express Charge support extend your focus and productivity.
- Stay connected to what you love: Spend more screen time on the things you enjoy with Dell ComfortView software that helps reduce harmful blue light emissions to keep your eyes comfortable over extended viewing times.
- Type with ease: Write and calculate quickly with roomy keypads, separate numeric keypad and calculator hotkey.
- Ergonomic support: Keep your wrists comfortable with lifted hinges that provide an ergonomic typing angle.
- Which application will use the NPU?
- Does that application perform the task locally, or does it mainly use cloud servers?
- Is the feature available in your country and preferred language?
- Is it included, optional, subscription-based or still rolling out?
- Does the feature improve battery life, latency or privacy in a way you can measure?
- Would additional RAM, storage, a faster CPU or a better GPU improve your work more?
Who should consider an AI PC?
It can make sense when
- You regularly use supported local transcription, video-call effects, accessibility tools or photo features.
- The laptop is excellent on battery life and performance even with the AI branding removed.
- The NPU is included at no meaningful price premium in a configuration you already want.
- Your organization has tested and can manage a specific local AI workload.
It is probably a poor fit when
- Your only goal is browser-based ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot.
- You expect an NPU to replace a discrete graphics card.
- You are paying substantially more for the AI label without a supported application.
- You need guaranteed compatibility with older software, specialist drivers, games, peripherals or plug-ins.
- You are choosing between more RAM or storage and a higher NPU rating.
- You are uncomfortable with local content analysis and have not reviewed the relevant privacy controls.
Price and lower-commitment alternatives
Microsoft’s U.S. catalog displayed the Dell Plus 2-in-1 14-inch from $949.99 and the Dell 16 Plus from $1,279.99 when checked August 18, 2026; prices and availability can change. See Dell’s current range at Dell laptops and 2-in-1 PCs. Microsoft’s Copilot+ catalog and Dell 16 Plus comparison page are useful for checking the exact configuration and feature qualifications.
If you only want AI assistance, a browser service may be the cheaper decision because it does not require replacing a working laptop. Options include ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. Cloud services are a poor substitute for buyers who require offline operation, strict data residency or local-only processing, so that trade-off should be explicit.
The buying verdict
Dell’s CES statement is best understood as a retreat from AI-centered marketing, not an admission that AI-capable computers have no buyers. The AI PC is not necessarily a bad computer; it is a weak reason to buy one unless you can identify the local AI workload you expect to use. Choose the laptop that delivers the best total value for your work, and let the NPU remain a secondary capability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Dell say that nobody buys AI PCs?
No. Dell head of product Kevin Terwilliger said consumers were not buying PCs based on AI. He did not present a sales statistic proving that no one buys AI-capable PCs, and he said the announced Dell systems still included NPUs.
Do I need an NPU to use ChatGPT or other chatbots?
Usually not. Browser-based ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot generally perform their core computation in the cloud. An NPU matters mainly for supported local or hybrid features.
Should I pay extra for a Copilot+ PC?
Only if you want a specific supported Windows feature and the exact model, language and region support it. If you cannot name the workload, spend the budget on performance, battery life, RAM, storage or display quality instead.
Quick Recap
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