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Dell and other brands have been pushing the ‘AI PC’ story to buyers as Microsoft looks for people to upgrade from older PCs.
AI PCs have been a strong pitch to make people upgrade.
The PC market has seen demand pick up in the last 12 months and most brands claim it is all because of the AI PC hype. Millions of Windows PCs are not upgradable to Windows 11 which means people can either continue using their systems or look to upgrade and that probably is bringing the extra demand.
However, the AI PC marketing push has become tiresome with some of the popular brands looking to use their regular formula to sell products from here on. Dell is one such brand that feels people are not buying PCs because they have ‘AI’ but for other reasons.
End Of AI PC Push, Dell Says Yes
Microsoft has been pushing its partners to sell the ‘AI PC’ narrative for Windows but Dell claims that almost every PC launching now has a neural processing unit or NPU that powers these AI features.
We have seen companies try to push the AI aspect of these PCs over the last 12 months but Dell says it won’t be doing it anymore. Instead, the company plans to use the regular features like design, hardware performance and battery life as the key selling points for its products.
Just Tired
Dell even mentioned that people are not buying PCs because they have AI but happy to upgrade for the features which are yet to truly make a difference for many. It is an interesting turn of events for the industry which many believed will keep the AI candle burning, at least for a few years. But the Microsoft Copilot pitch has been too loud without making a real difference.
Most people are using Gemini from Google or ChatGPT by OpenAI. And these can run without having advanced machines that do cost a premium. Dell is unlikely to be the only brand to change its stance with others like HP and Asus expected to join the chorus in the near future.
In addition to its tough stance on AI PCs, Dell has also decided to restart the XPS lineup which was meant to have ended in 2025. Fast-forward to January 2026 and the company is publicly apologising for misreading the market trends and sought a “very broad” feedback from its partners to take this call. “I owe you an apology today. We didn’t listen to you. You were right on branding,” Jeff Clarke, COO, Dell was quoted saying in a Reuters report.
The company claims that nobody owns words like Pro and Pro Max which is fair but for the consumers it is hard to see them accept these changes when the actual branding of XPS and even Inspiron directly make people associate with Dell.
January 12, 2026, 13:43 IST
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