AMD 'leaving billions of dollars on the table' thanks to laptop AI chip supply issues

AMD Strix Point APU chip, held in a hand, with the reflected light showing the various processing blocks in the chip die
(Image credit: AMD)

Multiple reports are claiming AMD has comprehensively dropped the ball with its new Ryzen AI chips for laptops (via TechSpot). Abazovic Consultancy Analysis (ACA) reports that AMD has "lost the trust" of laptop makers due to chip shortages, while ComputerBase claims to have been told AMD has left "billions of US dollars on the table" thanks to its missteps in supplying manufacturers.

ACA says that the problem stems from AMD's decision to shift its focus and manufacturing volumes away from client chips, including laptop APUs like the new Ryzen AI 300 family, and towards more lucrative enterprise CPUs and GPUs. It's certainly true that AMD's CEO Lisa Su recently declared that AMD is now a "data center-first" company.

The ACA report contrasts apparently very limited availability of laptops based on the new Ryzen AI APU, codenamed Strix Point, with the success of Qualcomm and its new Snapdragon X chip, noting that Qualcomm bagged seven big OEM laptop makers for the launch of Snapdragon X while AMD could only muster three.

Meanwhile, a report on ComputerBase traces AMD's problems back a little further and says that AMD's existing Ryzen AI chips can only be had in "premium" devices. It claims to have been told that notebook makers have "no prospect of quickly obtaining many chips from AMD," a situation that perpetuates "a persistent problem that has been known for a decade now."

The net result? One laptop maker reportedly told ComputerBase that AMD has "left billions of US dollars on the table" with its many partners over the years. ComputerBase quotes sales figures showing that AMD has gained laptop market share in the last 18 months or so. But the gains from around 16% to 20 % over that period arguably are not dramatic.

That could change when AMD releases its new lower-cost Ryzen AI chip, codenamed Kraken Point, next year. It's essentially the same architecture as Strix Point, but reduces the CPU core count from 12 to eight and the graphics CUs from 16 to eight.

If AMD has indeed missed an opportunity, it's arguably only going to get harder from here. Intel's new Lunar Lake laptop CPU looks pretty fantastic on paper and could provide very stiff competition in the premium thin-and-light segment, while Qualcomm has announced a cheaper 8-core variant of Snapdragon X which should enable AI-capable laptops in the $600 to $700 range.

Anecdotally, it's certainly been true over the years that the number of AMD-powered laptop options has been modest compared to the hordes on Intel options. Likewise, the support that Qualcomm managed to achieve from multiple big brands for its new Snapdragon X chip at launch earlier this year was notable, especially as it doesn't even have native x86 support.

As ever, there are exceptions. AMD has been cleaning up when it comes tom handheld gaming PCs. There are countless AMD-powered devices and just a few with Intel CPUs.  Moreover, it's also true that AMD's Hawk Point and Phoenix APUs have made for extremely compelling laptop CPUs over the last few years, good enough that you might have expected AMD's market share to have improved more significantly.

Your next upgrade

Nvidia RTX 4070 and RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics cards

(Image credit: Future)

Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.
Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.
Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.

As for AMD's laptop GPUs, don't even get us started. The latest Radeon RX 7000M series barely exist in laptops. It's very, very odd. From the outside, it's hard to be sure how much of this is by accident and how much is part of a grander plan.

Very likely, AMD has access to limited volumes from its main manufacturing partner, TSMC. At the same time, there's no doubting that margins and profits are fatter when it comes to enterprise and data center chips.

So, from a business perspective, it's not hard to see why AMD is going "data center-first". But if AMD is going to create all these excellent laptop chips, it does seem pretty odd not to meet demand for them. We'd certainly like to see many more gaming laptops and handhelds with AMD technology. But on the basis of these new reports, it doesn't seem like that's going to happen soon.

Jeremy Laird
Hardware writer

Jeremy has been writing about technology and PCs since the 90nm Netburst era (Google it!) and enjoys nothing more than a serious dissertation on the finer points of monitor input lag and overshoot followed by a forensic examination of advanced lithography. Or maybe he just likes machines that go “ping!” He also has a thing for tennis and cars.

Read more
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor
AMD's CEO Dr Lisa Su claims 'highest sell-out in many years' for desktop processors and the company is 'catching up with some demand' for gaming CPUs
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor
AMD accuses Intel's Arrow Lake of being a 'horrible' product and implies a lack of options for consumers has caused the Ryzen 7 9800X3D shortage
AMD Epyc 4th gen server processor on motherboard
AMD sees record revenue of $25.8 billion in 2024 thanks to data center growth—gaming last seen tumbling into a ditch
AMD Strix Point APU chip, held in a hand, with the reflected light showing the various processing blocks in the chip die
AMD Ryzen AI Max is finally here: 'the most advanced mobile x86 processor ever created' with 40 RDNA 3.5 CUs and 16 Zen 5 cores
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 gaming laptop
AMD's throwing the considerably hefty Ryzen 9 9950X3D at gaming laptops and calling it a Ryzen 9 9955HX3D
Bill Gates speaks onstage for a special conversation during "What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates"at The Paris Theater on September 26, 2024 in New York City.
Bill Gates laments Pat Gelsinger's failure to save Intel: 'I was hoping for his sake, for the country's sake that he would be successful'
Latest in Hardware
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR
The NES themed 8BitDo Retro mechanical gaming keyboard on a blue background
I love the 8BitDo Retro C64 keyboard but I'd pick its cheaper NES-themed model near its lowest price ever during Amazon's Big Spring Sale
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node
Amazon box
Don't panic! The 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' option Amazon just removed was only used by 0.03% of customers and they can still have it
Digital generated image of people surrounded by interactive transparent and glowing panels with data. Visualising smart technology, blockchain and artificial intelligence
Now I shall demand the cookies! Proposed new browsing agreement turns the tables and lets users dictate terms to websites
Latest in News
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event