By Angela Palumbo
HP Inc. announced a new artificial intelligence update on Tuesday, making it even more crucial for Apple to showcase its own AI updates sooner rather than later.
Barron's attended HP's Imagine event on Tuesday in New York City. It was there that executives from the tech hardware company announced an array of new releases to their product line. But more notably than the unveiling of new computers, HP introduced its own on-device AI tool.
Executives demonstrated how this tool works at the Imagine event. HP IQ -- which is scheduled to start releasing in the spring -- will appear as a text bar at the top of the user's screen. Users can then ask it questions about personal files, like PDFs or Power Points. HP IQ will respond with in depth answers to those questions, and can also offer the user suggestions on what they should do next.
Executives also highlighted that this AI will be run on-device, meaning the data shared with the tool won't be sent to the cloud. That could be attractive for people or businesses worried about data security.
"I think the two potential killer use cases are document analysis and meeting summarization, and you never have to go to the cloud. So if you have proprietary information, or if you're having conversations that you don't want to share with anybody, then I think that's pretty important and useful," Patrick Moorhead, founder and CEO of Moor Insights & Strategy, told Barron's.
While the opportunity that this new AI tool brings to HP is intriguing, it's also very new. Tom Mainelli, group vice president of device and consumer research at IDC, told Barron's that while he likes that HP is implementing this on-device AI, it's too early to tell if the update will have any impact on the stock.
"Whether or not people will embrace these new technologies, I think remains to be seen," he said. "But I like that HP is sort of thinking beyond the box,"
The stock could use a boost. Shares have fallen 15% this year and 34% over the last 12 months. On top of a sudden CEO departure in February, HP has been dealing with the rising cost of memory pinching margins. Tuesday's announcements from HP don't address those problems, but could potentially turn investor sentiment around if the company can show that there's strong demand for these new AI products.
Tech investors are hoping to get more AI updates in the weeks ahead. All eyes are now turning to Apple, which announced on Monday night that its annual Worldwide Developers Conference is returning on June 8, and "will spotlight incredible updates for Apple platforms, including AI advancements."
HP's latest AI announcements turn up the heat for Apple to deliver exciting AI updates of their own at WWDC.
"I think once HP shows that they're getting people to use their AI features and they love it, that's when there would be the 'hard stare,'" Moorhead said. "There might be a thesis that says, well, HP IQ looked interesting at launch and here's what they're telling us about people using it, and what does that portend about the future. And then people would ask why can HP do this and why can't Apple do this?"
So far, Apple has been able to get away with its limited AI updates. iPhone demand is strong, services revenue is growing, and new product launches have excited customers.
That excitement might wane if Apple doesn't produce on the AI front soon, though. HP's latest announcements put even more pressure on Apple to get its own AI improvements into the hands of consumers.
Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2026 17:40 ET (21:40 GMT)
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