HP, Qualcomm Drive the Shift to AI-on-Device PCs

HP and Qualcomm strengthened their collaboration toward a purely "AI-on-Device" ecosystem, capable of processing AI locally. During the panel discussion, both companies highlighted the maturation of these ecosystems and the advances in sustainability they bring, with projections indicating that the market share of these devices will reach 55% by the end of 2026.

The evolution of these technologies is not an isolated event, but rather a structural response to the global productivity crisis. According to HP's Work Relationship Index (WRI) 2025, only 27% of employees have a healthy relationship with their work environment, a figure that has prompted companies to accelerate the transition to autonomous computing tools.

"AI has gone from being a disruptive trend to becoming an engine of generational change. Our update today focuses on how local AI reduces administrative and technical dependency, allowing hardware to be an invisible facilitator of well-being and results," says Raúl Aguilar, Commercial Category Manager, HP Mexico.

Against this backdrop, the transition to AI-on-Device has reached a technical tipping point in 2026. Following the accelerated digitization process that began in 2020, organizations have identified that cloud-only models have critical limitations in terms of latency, operating costs, and exposure of sensitive data. HP and Qualcomm emphasize that the current strategy is based on the democratization of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) in enterprise hardware.

Data from both companies confirm this paradigm shift: the market share of "AI PCs" is estimated to reach 55% by the end of this year, with a projected penetration of 98% by 2028. In this scenario, Mexico shows significant progress with 14% daily adoption of AI tools in professional and academic environments. The return on investment (ROI) for companies that have integrated these updates is between 20% and 30%, driven mainly by reduced data analysis times and improved remote collaboration flows.

Technical Advances and Roadmap

The update to the partnership between HP and Qualcomm is broken down into four fundamental technical pillars that define the current state of commercial computing.

1. Processing Architecture and 45 TOPS

The most significant hardware advancement in 2026 is the standardization of NPUs capable of delivering at least 45 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second). This capability allows devices to run Large Language Models (LLMs) with up to 2 trillion parameters locally, without the need to connect to external servers.

Carlos Sánchez, Director Business Development & Carrier Relations, from Qualcomm, emphasized that this power improves speed and guarantees operational resilience, since a worker can perform AI inference tasks on an airplane or in areas without connectivity, maintaining the fluidity of a native virtual assistant. The new Snapdragon X2 processor family is at the heart of this update, optimizing performance per watt to achieve battery life exceeding 20 hours.

2. Invisibility and Layered Encryption for Cybersecurity

In the B2B arena, security is the determining factor for technology adoption. HP has reported progress in integrating its Wolf Security suite with Qualcomm's ARM architecture. Notable technical innovations include:

• Full RAM encryption: A native protocol of Snapdragon platforms that protects data even while in transit within the hardware.

• Virtual Booting: The ability to boot the system in an isolated virtual environment to verify firmware integrity before granting access to the main operating system.

• Privacy by Design: By processing AI locally, critical company data does not feed into public clouds, mitigating the risk of intellectual property leaks.

3. Sustainability and Circular Economy

The update also covered progress on environmental impact. HP has scaled up its recycled materials program, integrating aluminum, magnesium, and ocean plastics into the ProBook and EliteBook lines. A relevant technical detail is the reduction of the carbon footprint through local AI: by shifting workloads from data centers (which consume massive amounts of energy and water for cooling) to efficient local devices, companies can meet their emissions goals more effectively.

To date, according to Aguilar, HP has recycled more than 1 billion toner cartridges and reintegrated 5 billion pounds of reused material into its supply chain. By 2030, the goal is to establish itself as the most sustainable technology company on the market, supported by environmental certifications such as EPEAT and EcoVadis.

4. Smart Collaboration with Poly

The integration of Poly into the HP ecosystem has allowed AI to optimize the communication experience. Using Qualcomm's NPU, devices perform the following tasks:

• Multi-layer noise cancellation: Real-time elimination of unwanted frequencies.

• Hardware framing and lighting correction: Reducing the load on the CPU, which keeps the equipment cool and efficient during long video conferences.

• High-fidelity Wi-Fi 7 connectivity: Ensuring that the transition between network environments is transparent to the end user.

The commercial offering currently focuses on the ProBook 4 and EliteBook 6 series, which represent the core of corporate volume in Mexico. HP and Qualcomm confirmed that their roadmap is not limited to high-end equipment, but seeks to "democratize performance," ensuring that AI capabilities are present at all price levels in the B2B portfolio.

Gartner emphasizes that to unlock new growth, PC vendors must move beyond hardware and deliver software-defined, user-centric AI PCs designed for specific roles and use cases.

“The future of AI PCs is in customization. It lets users configure their devices with the apps, features and functions they want. The more users interact with a vendor’s AI PC, the better the vendor understands them, allowing for ongoing improvements and stronger brand loyalty,” says Ranjit Atwal, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner