Dell moves past “AI PC” headlines for 2026
First large PC company to admit AI is not the way.
Virtual reality, 8K gaming, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and AI. The PC market has been through a lot of unexpectedly popular trends that did not always reflect what users actually needed. Dell seems to be one of the first companies to admit that leading with AI is not the best approach for 2026.
Dell is dialing back on AI, even though the company is still shipping NPUs across the lineup. Dell’s head of product Kevin Terwilliger told PC Gamer that buyers are not choosing PCs based on AI features, and that AI messaging can confuse customers.
One thing you’ll notice is the message we delivered around our products was not AI-first. So, a bit of a shift from a year ago where we were all about the AI PC.” […]
“We’re very focused on delivering upon the AI capabilities of a devicein fact everything that we’re announcing has an NPU in itbut what we’ve learned over the course of this year, especially from a consumer perspective, is they’re not buying based on AI. In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome.”
— Kevin Terwilliger, Dell head of product
At Dell’s CES pre-briefing, COO Jeff Clarke touched on tariffs and the slow industry transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Clarke also described AI demand as an “un-met promise,” and warned that Dell expects a memory shortage as 2026 begins.
Dell’s product announcement session, held ahead of CES, was focused on hardware rather than AI. One of the key highlights was the return of the XPS brand , which we previously reported. Dell is not dropping AI hardware , though. Terwilliger said every announced device still includes an NPU. The shift is in how Dell talks about it, with specs and use cases taking priority over AI branding.
Will the anti-AI sentiment grow in 2026, or are we stuck in a losing battle against large corporations pushing AI into everything, even on our desk ?
Source: PC Gamer
