Computex 2024 goes hard on AI, but should it?
Taiwan's annual mid-year electronics tradeshow leaned in hard on AI.
With a tagline of “Connecting AI”, visitors at this week’s Computex 2024 tradeshow were inundated with all sorts of AI messaging. From laptops sporting Microsoft’s Copilot+ AI to server racks designed for AI, Taiwan’s electronics industry went all-in on AI.
Asus and Acer showed off new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite laptops, while MSI featured upcoming Intel Lunar Lake laptops that won’t go on sale until later this year. AMD and Nvidia announced new AI chips, leaving Intel slightly behind this cycle (but not for long, though).
It’s not just the big consumer brands. Tons of exhibitors on the show floor also hopped on the AI bandwagon — we spotted an “AI-powered” table tennis robot, AI software, PCs for AI — ok you get the drift.
I’m just not sure how much of this new AI is a fad. Remember machine learning, deep learning, 3D, big data, AR/VR/mixed reality, blockchain, metaverse, and NFTs? While many of these technologies are still relevant, they were definitely overhyped at some point in the past.
Will AI still be a big thing next year or ubiquitous to the point where we don’t care? Based on how tech buzzwords have fared in the past, it feels like it chart a similar trajectory. But AI probably has some legs to go yet (and on robots, no less). Will artificial general intelligence (AGI) finally happen thanks to all the new hardware available? Will the robot apocalypse finally happen due to our hubris, and we get stuck into pods to be human batteries for our AI superiors?
I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to find out. But one thing I do know: AI is going to be everywhere, and there’s no running away from it.
This week, we take a look at the first-ever headphones from Sonos, a ChatGPT integrated wireless earbuds, and a very affordable fitness tracker from Xiaomi.
The first-ever headphones from Sonos, the Sonos Ace makes a strong competitive debut against other premium headphones. It sounds good, has excellent noise cancellation, and offers one of the best transparency modes in the market. The party trick that makes it different — TV audio swap — also works seamlessly, albeit with only one compatible Sonos soundbar at the moment.
The Nothing ear (2024) is the better of the two earbuds released by Nothing recently. Compared with the Nothing ear (a), the Nothing ear offers a fuller soundstage, and plenty of detail and depth. It also has ChatGPT integration that lets you chat with the AI, though it doesn’t have internet access for the latest information.
If you’re shopping for a fitness tracker with a large screen, consider the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro. Not only is it attractively priced at S$89, it has all the health and fitness monitoring that you’d expect from such a device. Battery life is excellent at up to two weeks on a single charge.