HP Announces AMD-Based AI PC with 55 TOPS NPU

We can’t call it a Copilot+ PC yet, though it exceeds the necessary specifications: The HP OmniBook Ultra 14-inch laptop is based on next-generation AMD chips, features an NPU that delivers 55 TOPS of hardware-accelerated AI performance, and allegedly delivers over 20 hours of battery life (with all the usual asterisks).

To get the obvious out of the way, yes, this and other non-Qualcomm-based AI PCs that otherwise deliver on the Copilot+ PC hardware requirements will receive “a free update to the Copilot+ PC experiences when available from Microsoft,” HP notes. The timing of that update is “dependent on Microsoft.” My expectation is that it will occur when Windows 11 version 24H2 is broadly made available to x64 PCs in October, as I previously wrote.

OK, let’s get back on track.

“AI is poised to be the most significant driver of change over the next decade, ushering in a new era of innovation driven not just by information, but actionable insights,” HP president of Personal Systems Alex Cho said. “HP is making AI real for companies with solutions like our HP AI creation center, for places and spaces with our latest hybrid work solutions, to people with our latest AI PCs – with our first HP OmniBook Ultra.”

As you may recall, HP recently announced a major rebranding of its various PCs lines, and this new PC puts it at the apex of HP’s consumer laptops: It is using Omni for that range, Book for laptops, and Ultra is its highest-end signifier. It is analogous to the HP EliteBook Ultra, a commercial laptop with AI capabilities that I’m currently reviewing, and it sits above the HP OmniBook X that HP announced alongside the EliteBook Ultra back in June.

Those latter two PCs are based on Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon X processors, and they run Windows 11 on Arm instead of the more mainstream x64 versions of Windows 11. The newly announced OmniBook Ultra is notable for a few reasons, but the most obvious is that it’s based on AMD’s recently announced Ryzen AI 300 chips, which are hybrid x64 designs that run x64 Windows 11. As with the Snapdragon X, and Intel’s current-gen Meteor Lake and next-gen “Lunar Lake” Core Ultra chips, the Ryzen AI 300 family of chips features integrated microprocessor, graphics, and NPU components.

But it appears that AMD has the most powerful NPU of the lot now: Where Snapdragon X delivers 45 TOPS and Intel promises 48 TOPS with Lunar Lake, HP says the AMD Ryzen AI 300 chips in the OmniBook can hit 55 TOPS (up from the 50 TOPS AMD promised in June). These seem like minor differences, yes. But it’s enough for HP—and AMD—to claim that the OmniBook Ultra is now “the world’s highest performance AI PC.” Mark the time: The first Snapdragon X-based PCs shipped barely four weeks ago.

HP isn’t yet saying which AMD Ryzen AI series processors it will use in the OmniBook Ultra—presumably a more detailed AMD announcement is inbound as I write this—but they will operate at up to 5.1 GHz in boost mode, offer 24 MB of L3 cache, and feature 12 core processors with 24 threads. They feature integrated AMD Radeon 800M graphics and an XDNA 2-based NPU. The system can be outfitted with 16 or 32 GB of LPDDR5x-7500 MT/s RAM, and up to 2 TB of PCIe Gen 4 NVMe M.2 SSD storage. And its 14-inch 16:10 IPS multitouch display panel provides a 2.2K resolution (2240 x 1400).

There are some other notable hardware components, including a 9 MP IR “AI camera,” quad speakers with DTS-X audio, 2 Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Type-C ports with 40 Gbps of data transfer speed, and Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. But the PC will be a bit heavy at 3.48 pounds. As to that battery claim, HP says that the OmniBook will deliver up to 21 hours, but that’s for video playback: It’s estimated to provide closer to 13 hours in more typical usage, which would put it right in Snapdragon X-based PC territory. We’ll see: These figures are rarely even close to accurate.

On the software end, the OmniBook Ultra will be the first HP consumer PC to include its commercial-focused Wolf Security suite, and on the AI front, HP is including its AI Companion, AI-based hand gestures functionality, and other features in addition to the coming free Copilot+ PC update.

The HP OmniBook Ultra will ship in August with prices starting at $1450, about $500 more than the starting price of a Snapdragon X-based Copilot+ PC. It will be available at HP.com and Best Buy in the United States.

HP also announced two new All-In-One (AIO) PCs, the OmniStudio X 27- and 31.5-inch. In keeping with its new branding, these are both premium consumer-focused AIOs, and they’ll be powered by Intel Core Ultra “Meteor Lake” 5 and 7 processors that do not meet the Copilot+ PC specifications, 16 or 32 GB of DDR5-5600 MHz MT/s RAM, and up to 2 TB of PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage. The smaller of the two features a 27-inch IPS display panel with Full HD and 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) choices, while the larger provides Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics and a 31.5-inch IPS 4K UHD display panel.

The HP OmniStudio X 27 and 31.5 will also ship in August with a starting price of $1150.