I was kinda bummed out they released the 8000 series after I just bought a laptop with 7000 series, but I think I actually dodged a bullet here since it doesn't look like much of an upgrade and the AI silicone screams of very early first gen product to me, as if they rushed it out the door because everyone else was doing "AI" and they needed to also cash in on the hype, kinda like the first gen RTX cards.
I think by the time I'll actually upgrade, the AI/NPU tech would have matured considerably and actually be useful.
This is entirely the fault of the OEMs though, not AMD. It is activated on mine for example. But pretty much unusable under Linux at the moment (unless you're willing to run a custom kernel for it[0].)
Not true. AMD can demand how OEMs integrate and use their chips in their products as part of the sales agreement, same how Nvidia does.
AMD could have said to every system integrator buying 7000 series chips and up, that the NPU must be active in the final product.
So if the end products suck, AMD bares most of the blame for not ensuring a minimum level of QA with its integrators who release half-assed stuff since it all reflects poorly on them in the end. It's one of the reason why Nvidia keeps such a tight grip over its integrators on how their chips are to used.