Global smartphone shipments experienced a modest recovery last quarter, propelled by hardware refreshes featuring dedicated neural processing units (NPUs). Mobile original equipment manufacturers are pitching localized generative capabilities as a core product differentiator.
Privacy and Latency Advantages
By executing AI inference directly on silicon, handset manufacturers eliminate cloud API latency and mitigate user data collection risks. Early data suggests consumers are prioritizing hardware with at least 30 TOPS NPU performance.