Nobody asked for AI PCs, but they’ve been thrust upon us – at least Dell realizes it’s probably made a mistake

AI PCs are, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. A new range of devices jam-packed with shiny AI features that we’re supposed to have been thrilled at having thrust in our faces.

Device manufacturers and big tech providers like Microsoft – which has been shoehorning Copilot features into every possible nook and cranny over the last 18 months – thought they’d be an instant hit.

It wasn't alone. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger boldly claimed AI PCs would be the "star of the show" in 2024, predicting an AI-fueled transformation of personal computing. The reality has been quite different.

In September 2024, Gartner predicted these devices would account for 43% of all PC sales in 2025, with a total of 114 million units sold globally. Within the space of a year the goalposts had been shifted. August figures from the consultancy showed AI PCs would account for 31% of the market by the end of 2025, a notable decline based on its previous projections.

At the time, this readjustment was attributed to “pauses in PC buying caused by market uncertainty” and tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Gartner’s most recent figures on this industry segment projects the AI PC market share to reach 55% this year, and by 2029 they’ll “become the norm”.

I’m not convinced and it’s clear that consumers aren’t either. Moreover, Dell’s recent XPS revival also suggests otherwise. The company scrapped the laptop range at CES 2025, much to the ire of consumers worldwide.

One year on and the XPS is back by popular demand, with Dell COO Jeff Clarke claiming the decision to resurrect the product range came after “listening” to customer feedback.

“Branding matters,” he said in a press briefing ahead of CES 2026.

Power to the people

Dell reviving the XPS line seems to be about more than just “branding” though. Of course, the XPS was an iconic range that held a warm place in the hearts of millions over the years. I had a Dell XPS laptop in my late teens and absolutely loved it.

But offering customers products that they actually want is more important. In this sense, Dell’s move shows the company may have read the room over the last year and realized the relentless industry focus on AI PCs is, quite simply, incredibly boring.

Nobody asked for these devices, but like the broader generative AI craze over the last three or so years, consumers the world over have been bombarded with marketing jargon and fanciful claims about the potential of the technology.

It’s a tiresome narrative and, worse still, it’s created a sense of uniformity across the PC industry at large. Everything is bland and boring. The term “XPS” was a household name for decades that was replaced with the “Dell Premium” range – a moniker that no doubt took marketing execs months to conjure up.

Dell isn’t alone in contributing to this deterioration, either. Everyone else is selling AI PCs, overhauling product lines, and packing them with AI-powered bloatware and we’re no better off for it after more than 18 months.

Just like the LLM race among providers like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, the PC industry has been embroiled in a war of attrition between device manufacturers trying to one-up competitors.

Intense pushback

The scale of pushback among consumers has been very clear over the last two years, with Microsoft learning that the hard way with Windows Recall.

Scheduled to launch alongside Copilot + PCs in June 2024, the feature aimed to simplify life for users by capturing and storing encrypted screenshots on a device to let them search back through activities.

Seems great, right? That’s what AI is all about; making your life easier. Except critics panned it as a security and data privacy nightmare waiting to happen. The disastrous launch prompted a fierce backlash and even a probe by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Regardless, Microsoft pressed ahead with development of the controversial feature. That in itself is a perfect example of the AI goldrush and showed how slapdash the promotional campaign on this front has been.

We’re creating useless tools and features that you don’t want, but you’re getting them anyway. And you’ll pay for the privilege.

Shrewd business

There are other factors at play with the XPS revival, of course. This probably isn’t a case of Dell seeing the error of its ways and getting back to basics. After all, it will still be banging the drum for AI PCs and hoping to capitalize on what could eventually be a lucrative revenue stream.

If we’re going by Gartner’s projections here, waiting until 2029 might not be ideal given the company’s PC sales haven’t been ideal by its standards. Dell’s Q3 2025 earnings show it was hit hard last year, with its laptop and PC segment declining 7% on an annual basis, according to reports from CNBC.

Clarke noted at the time that the tech giant expects sales to be flat this year, pointing to a number of factors such as the sluggish replacement of Windows 10 by the newer operating system.

“We have not completed the Windows 11 transition,” he told investors. “If you were to look at it relative to the previous OS end of support, we’re 10-12 points behind at that point with Windows 11 than we were the previous generation”.

With this in mind, teasing consumers with a new XPS range might take the edge of what could be a challenging year for the tech giant on the device sales front.

2024 wasn’t the “year of the AI PC” and neither was 2025. I’m doubtful 2026 will be either, but at least consumers have a much-loved device range back on the market.