ZARIF FAIAZ

Asus is looking to strengthen its position in Bangladesh as the global PC industry shifts towards AI-enabled devices. Following the launch of its latest AI PC lineup, Peter Chang, General Manager, Asia Pacific, Consumer Business at Asus, said the company sees Bangladesh as a high-potential market, driven by low PC penetration, a young consumer base, and growing interest in new technologies. In an interview with The Daily Star, Chang discussed Asus’s plans to bring AI features into mainstream laptops, the challenges of rising memory and storage costs, and the company’s ambition to become the country’s leading computer vendor.

The Daily Star: Asus has launched a new lineup of devices in Bangladesh. What is new for consumers?

Peter Chang: We have launched a new generation of AI PCs, covering the Zenbook series, Zenbook Duo, Zenbook S, Zenbook, and Vivobook series. AI is a very popular trend right now. Many people are using AI to support their work. We believe the AI PC category is still at a growing stage. By introducing these latest technologies in Bangladesh, we want users here to experience what AI PCs can offer.

TDS: Do you have market data showing that AI PCs are growing in demand in Bangladesh?

PC: If we look at the Asia Pacific or the global market, under the broader definition of AI PCs, penetration is already around 30 to 40 percent. We expect it could reach more than 60 percent by the end of this year. Most laptops will come with AI-capable CPUs inside. That is the broad definition of an AI PC.

TDS: AI PCs are often seen as premium products. What is Asus’s pricing strategy for a market like Bangladesh?

PC: It is true that when AI PCs were first launched, they came at higher price points. But since last year, we have already started introducing AI into our mainstream devices. That is why we also launched products in the Vivobook series, which is our mainstream lineup. This shift is already happening. We are trying to bring AI solutions to more mainstream price points.

TDS: Do you think AI PCs are now an industry-wide trend?

PC: Yes. Whether it is silicon vendors or Microsoft, everyone is trying to push this category into the market. I think AI will become another important use case for computers.In the past, the internet changed the way people used computers. Now, with AI, we are entering a different scenario.

TDS: Some consumers argue that AI PCs are more of a marketing strategy than a genuine hardware upgrade. How do you respond to that?

PC: For sure, it is not just a marketing thing. Even in Bangladesh, many people are starting to use AI solutions such as ChatGPT or Gemini. As long as end-user behaviour changes, this cannot remain just a marketing topic. Something is actually happening. Of course, we also need to help users understand the benefits. If we only define an AI PC by the hardware inside the device, users may not immediately feel the difference. After all, with cloud services, they can already use some AI solutions. So what we are working on is understanding users’ needs in this new AI era. We are looking at how we can redesign devices, integrate AI into vendor solutions, and improve the user experience. AI PC demand is still at a very early stage. The devices we see now may not yet be fully optimised. So this will be a continuous evolution, and we will keep developing.

TDS: What is Asus’s vision for on-device AI, especially when many AI tools still depend on cloud connectivity?

PC: On-device AI will definitely happen. But at this moment, the industry is still trying to predict how it will evolve. The interesting thing about AI is that even when people make predictions, many of them are not accurate. For Windows devices and laptops, different vendors are still thinking about different solutions. It is not yet very concrete. But this is something everyone is looking at, and we hope there will be continuous development.

TDS: AI is increasing the demand for memory, while the industry is facing RAM and SSD shortages. How is Asus responding?

PC: It is true that the industry is facing shortages and price increases for RAM and SSDs. Asus also has to face this. But we have a strong supply chain management and procurement team, so we are still able to secure RAM supply. That said, we also need to deal with price increases.

We are looking at how to combine this with our product roadmap and minimise the impact. With new products, some price increases may still happen.

TDS: Do you expect price increases to affect market demand?

PC: We are aware of that possibility, but since it has not fully happened yet, what we are focusing on now is user education. We need to explain why users may need to pay more and justify the value they are getting. We hope this can minimise the impact. So far this year, although there have already been some price increases in the market, the situation is still under control.

TDS: You have worked across markets in Asia, Europe, and other regions. What makes South Asia, particularly Bangladesh, different?

PC: In most emerging markets, one common factor is that young people make up a large share of technology users. Because of this, we have to think about their budget and the kind of technology they like. That is why we focus a lot on gaming. Gaming is one of the product categories through which we can reach young audiences. Young consumers like technology, but many of them are students, so their budgets need to be considered. They may not be able to buy fully premium products. So we are trying to integrate some premium technologies into more mainstream choices.

TDS: What is your outlook for Bangladesh’s PC market and AI PC adoption?

PC: Bangladesh is a very potential market. The PC penetration rate is still very low, so we believe the market will grow substantially in the next few years. As the overall situation becomes more stable, we see strong potential here. Asus is already one of the leaders in the Bangladesh market. We hope to strengthen this leadership and become the absolute number one computer vendor in Bangladesh. If we combine the growth potential of the market with our current position, I believe we can see very high growth in the coming years.