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Microsoft's cramming of AI into every corner of Windows is alienating lifelong users and creating unnecessary frustration. Too bad it's happening as PC hardware is hitting its stride.
If one thing was clear at CES 2026 — other than "AI" still being the mot-du-jour for most leading PC brands — it's that PC hardware is in an excellent spot. Dare I say it's never felt better?
Laptops have never been thinner or better engineered, processors have never been faster or more efficient, screens have never been prettier, and batteries have never lasted as long. GPUs, well, if you can get your hands on the one you want, you might be surprised by how effective the latest upscaling techniques can be.
ASUS Zenbook A14 (2025)
(Image credit: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
Take the ASUS Zenbook A14 as an example. Often available for about $600 thanks to frequent discounts, it's one of the thinnest, lightest, and longest-lasting laptops on the market today. Indeed, the arrival of laptops with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips in 2024 gave us an entirely new market segment to shop, and the company is only getting started.
Yes, I think it's safe to say that we're in a golden age of laptop and PC hardware design. I wish I could say the same for the most prevalent PC OS, Windows 11.
Lenovo had the most exciting new hardware to show off at CES 2026
Lenovo's Legion Pro Rollable concept features a screen that can turn itself into an ultrawide with the press of a button.
(Image credit: Windows Central / Lenovo)
I spent a lot of time with Lenovo during my five days in Las Vegas, and as my colleague Zac Bowden pointed out, it's the company that has taken up the spirit of Surface innovation now that Microsoft's brand has been pulled back.
You can chalk up Lenovo's willingness to innovate and create concept devices to its success in the PC market.
Lenovo is the world's biggest PC brand, with expert analysts placing its global 2025 shipments at around 71 million. It has some capital to play with, and it's not afraid to do so.
From the rollable Legion gaming laptop concept with a screen that unfurls into an ultrawide setup, to the new Yoga AIO i Aura Edition that looks like it's floating on air, Lenovo is certainly pushing back the boundaries.
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo is a dual-screen laptop available with up to an RTX 5090 mobile GPU inside.
(Image credit: ASUS)
Elsewhere, HP showed off a new EliteBoard G1a mini PC that's built into a compact keyboard; just connect a mouse and a display to get going. ASUS, which makes the best dual-screen laptop on the market right now, introduced a ROG Zephyrus version with up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU.
There's plenty more to check out that I haven't mentioned here, and we've rounded up the top hardware in our CES 2026 Awards page. Bottom line? Ignoring for a moment the AI-driven memory and storage shortages that are driving up the costs of all tech, it's a great time to be a PC user.
I don't want to switch to a different OS. I want Windows to feel good again.
Windows 11 and its insistence on jamming AI into everything is alienating lifelong users.
(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
Let me preface this by saying that I love Windows. I wouldn't work for a site called Windows Central if I didn't. It's the OS I've been using since the mid-'90s when I first got my hands on a PC, and it's the OS that I use today.
Windows has certainly had its share of problems over the years, but I've stuck with it through the ups and downs. I don't currently plan to make a change (although I can sometimes hear Linux tapping on my bedroom window late at night).
Unfortunately, in stark contrast to the epic state of PC hardware, I don't remember the temperature surrounding Windows ever being colder. The vibes coming out of Redmond HQ have really been off lately, and for that, there are several directions to point.
Blame it on late-stage capitalism forcing companies to squeeze every last dollar out of consumers, blame it on being swept up in an AI race that it's not likely going to win, blame it on management and executives favoring shareholders over users. It doesn't matter where you place the blame: Windows just doesn't feel like it used to.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talking about Copilot onstage.
(Image credit: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Copilot, Microsoft's AI assistant that's built on ChatGPT's backbone, is popping up everywhere I look in Windows 11. Microsoft wants to turn Windows 11 into an "agentic OS," which apparently means cramming AI into every corner. Announced by Windows head Pavan Davuluri, the news sparked overwhelmingly negative responses.
I'm happy to use AI when it's beneficial, but so far, it seems like it's only getting in the way of how I'm accustomed to using my OS. In the same vein, security concerns have never been more pronounced, especially with Copilot+ tools like Recall. Giving AI the keys to my data isn't something I'm comfortable doing, and there's certainly proof that Copilot is actually making Windows less secure.
It's ultimately a shame that the most popular OS for PC hardware is in such a sorry state, all while PC hardware has never felt better.
I'd like to stress that Windows 11 is improving in some areas. We finally have a consistent dark mode in File Explorer! My colleague Mauro Huculak created an excellent summary of the best additions to Windows 11 in 2025 with a lot more info. But on the other side, Microsoft's insistence on using AI to write code is resulting in unnecessary bugs being passed down to users.
It's ultimately a shame that the most popular OS for PC hardware is in such a sorry state, all while PC hardware has never felt better. Microsoft has lost the plot amidst the ongoing AI frenzy, and I can only hope that 2026 brings some sort of realignment.
Do you agree that PC hardware design has never been better? And do you agree that Windows has never been in a worse spot? Let me know in the comments section below!
Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.
Posted Sunday 18 January 2026 at 5:14 am AEST (my time).
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