We’re not just in the midst of an AI Race, but also a new era of computing with HP today announcing their first AI PC’s with what appear to be a whole new approach to computing in the modern AI Era.

The EliteBook is an Enterprise of Commercial Device, while the OmniBook is part of a new lineup of consumer devices from HP where the entire brand portfolio has been streamlined commencing with these new devices.

It’s hard to argue that Apple has been setting new benchmarks for performance and power with their Apple Silicon, so when HP quoted a staggering 26 hour battery life the computing world’s ears pricked up.

That battery life breaks down as 26 hours of video playback – turn on WiFi and stream Netflix for 22 hours, browse the web for 22 hours, or engage in a nine person zoom/teams meeting for 9 hours.

When HP set these new devices up against the MacBook Pro with M3 – they performed better with 17% higher results.

Better battery, lighter products – it’s on.

The rebranding of HP’s computing products will make it all that much easier to determine the “good”, “better” and “best” in their range with all the Enterprise devices using the Elite or Pro labels, and the Consumer devices all Omni.

Omni Book for laptop, Omni studio for all-in-one’s and Omni Desk for desktop PC’s. They will range from the entry level 3 series, up to the 5 and 7 series, then the X and U (Ultra) range at the top end.

Elite range will also be Book, Studio and Desk, with the first two tiers taking the Pro name (Pro Book, Pro Desk etc), and the Elite Book, Elite Desk and Elite Studio ranging from 6, 8 to X and U (Ultra).

The first devices, the HP OmniBook X AI PC and HP EliteBook Ultra AI PC, are HP’s first release as next-gen AI PCs. They have been designed from the ground up using the latest ARM architecture in a bid to take advantage of powerful AI technology.

This means, instead of Intel-Inside, we’re seeing Snapdragon’s X Elite Processor which features a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) which is capable of 45 trillion operations per second to run language models and generative AI locally on the device.

HP’s hardware will pair perfectly with Microsoft Window and the new Copilot+ PC and a range of features which will become more evident over the weeks ahead, but essentially it’s all about having the computer do more for you.

“In this transformative era of artificial intelligence, how we define an exceptional device is no longer about speeds and feeds – it is measured by our ability to create and enable meaningful breakthrough experiences,” said Alex Cho, President, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “We’re at the beginning of a new decade of personal computing that will redefine what a personal computer is. AI enables a fundamentally more personalized and creative experience we believe will empower people in both their personal and professional lives.” 

HP now have their own AI logo which will appear on these “kinds” of AI enabled PCs.

The AI Helix logo is a way of validating a device’s suitability for AI assistance to users.

HP’s consumer focussed OmniBook X AI PC will be the first of the two available, starting at $2,699 – available at HP.com or JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman – shipping from June 18.

The EliteBook Ultra AI PC will be available on the same date, with pricing to come closer to release.