Tracking Market Conditions

The AI PC Market: Slow U.S. Adoption and Dell’s Focus on AI Servers Signal a Long Road Ahead

How many times did Dell mention “AI PC” in its latest earnings conference on 29 August 2024?  Not once. That was down from four mentions three months earlier.  Combined with Intel’s dismal quarter, this means the AI PC is not here yet. There may be great traction for Lenovo and Asus in the Asian markets, […] Continue reading below.
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How many times did Dell mention “AI PC” in its latest earnings conference on 29 August 2024?  Not once. That was down from four mentions three months earlier.  Combined with Intel’s dismal quarter, this means the AI PC is not here yet. There may be great traction for Lenovo and Asus in the Asian markets, but in the US, we’ll have to wait for another year or so. In fact, HP predicts half of PCs will be AI PCs by 2027. What is unclear in this statement is whether the rise of AI PC by 2027 will be driven by consumer excitement or by a normal technological evolution. Continue reading below the video...

In this evolving tech landscape, the AI PC market in Asia is clearly gaining momentum, with companies like Lenovo and ASUS leading the charge thanks to successful go-to-market strategies. In contrast, the U.S. market remains sluggish, with companies like Dell and HP experiencing mixed results in the second calendar quarter of 2024. While HP is bullish on AI PCs, projecting significant growth by 2027, Dell is more focused on AI servers for the moment, which have shown strong performance and are expected to be a major growth driver moving forward. This divergence highlights the different approaches and market conditions influencing AI adoption across regions.

For IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) companies, these trends underscore the importance of strategic positioning in both the AI PC and AI server markets. As AI servers become more prevalent in data centers, new opportunities will emerge for savvy ITAD providers to handle the decommissioning and resale of these advanced assets, leveraging their expertise in PCs while adapting to the unique challenges posed by servers. Partnerships with cloud providers and investment in specialized infrastructure will be key to capitalizing on these emerging opportunities, particularly as the AI PC market matures and begins to impact the secondary market in the coming years.

Author: David Daoud | Analyst

David Daoud has researched the mainstream IT hardware market since 1996 and expanded into hardware disposition research in 2003. He has spearheaded the creation of IDC’s GRADE certification. Since then, David has been providing consulting and expert advice to companies looking to establish best practice in their IT equipment decommissioning and helped leading ITAD service providers assess demand, understand competition, and forecast what’s to come. David is currently the Principal Analyst at Compliance Standards, which focuses entirely on the end-of-life of IT equipment. He can be reached at 508-981-6937 or at ddaoud@compliance-standards.com
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