With the Windows 10 end-of-life date firmly on the horizon, many businesses and individuals may be looking to purchase new PCs and upgrade to Windows 11.
But perhaps surprisingly, some major computer manufacturers are not so sure about releasing these new devices.
Dell Technologies President and CEO Michael Dell was reported to have said that the update wave is “overdue for sure” (via The Registry) as a number of factors, from economic uncertainty, the recent upgrade to Windows 10 and hardware incompatibility, have all been blamed.
Windows 11 Update
Dell noted: “First of all, we have a set end-of-life date for Windows 10 and we’re almost a year away from that, and when that one-year deadline approaches, enterprise IT people start to bullshit and say, ‘Oh, we better do something about this. ’”
HP CEO Enrique Lores also weighed in on the impending wave of upgrades when speaking at the recent Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference, stating: “First, there is a large, older installed base of PCs. Many of these PCs were purchased during COVID and now we have four [or] Five years after they were purchased and they will need to be replaced.
“We also see an opportunity driven by the Windows 11 upgrade that is just starting… this is what is behind some of the strength we see on the commercial side. Microsoft… will start to discontinue its support for older versions, and this always links replacement and upgrade,” Lores added.
However, one of the biggest drivers of upgrades is expected to be AI-powered PCs, with both CEOs expecting a sales rebound in the future, though it may not happen this year at least. Speaking about AI tools for PCs, Michael Dell said: “Everyone is going to want that. Every piece of software you're going to use is going to have an AI assistant. You're already starting to see that. And most of those AI cycles are going to run locally on the PC.”
“And this is just another part of a long cycle that's been going on for a long time, where you want the equipment to do more than it did before. That's why you're replacing it… we're absolutely confident that the update is coming,” he continued.
“I haven't met a single customer who has said, 'We're planning a refresh, but we don't want an AI PC.' It's a question of how much it costs, what it includes, where the software is, but the hardware always comes before the software. And so we see the entire industry preparing for it…,” Dell concluded.
HP also expects AI-powered PCs to account for a five to ten percent increase in average selling prices and that half of all shipments will be AI-powered PCs within three years, and Lores cites several advantages of AI PCs, such as using AI on-premises rather than through the cloud, which will reduce costs in the long run.
