AMD is reportedly plotting an NPU-enabled ‘Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme’ chip for handhelds and we still can’t figure out what it’ll do for us aside from drain more the battery juice

AMD is reportedly planning to release a new version of its Strix Point APU for handhelds with a fully enabled, AI-accelerating NPU. According to X poster Hoang Anh Phu (via VideoCardz) The new model will be known, inevitably, as the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and the immediate question is: Why would you want an NPU in a gaming handheld? Hold that thought.

AMD’s ‘Z’ chips are versions of its APUs specifically optimised for handheld gaming devices, such as the Asus ROG Ally X. The ‘Z2’ is the second generation of APUs for handhelds, but from that simple initial proposition, things get complicated and fast.

AMD has already announced several Z2 APUs. The top Z2 Extreme is based on AMD’s latest Strix Point APU with the full 16 RDNA 3.5 graphics cores, plus eight Zen 5 CPU cores. Slightly confusingly, those CPU cores are three full fat Zen, plus five compact Zen 5c cores.

Anyway, the Z2 Extreme that’s been announced uses the same silicon as other APUs based on Strix Point, such as the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, but with the AI-accelerating NPU disabled. So, the new Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme looks set to be exactly the same as the existing Z2 Extreme, just with the NPU switched on. In other words, the same eight CPU cores and 16 graphics compute units.

Where things get really confusing, is that the other two already announced Z2 APUs are based on totally different silicon. The Z2 Go is based on the fairly ancient Rembrant APU with its Zen 3 cores and RDNA 2-spec graphics, while the plain Z2 uses the last gen Hawk Point APU with eight Zen 4 CPU cores and 12 RDNA 3-spec graphics compute units.

So, that’s three completely different APUs, each from a different architectural generation, all within the Z2 range. As if all that wasn’t baffling enough, the only handheld we’ve reviewed with AMD’s Strix Point APU was the OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro, and that uses the laptop version of the chip in Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 format, which means it already has an enabled NPU.

Anywho, the appeal of switching on the NPU in Strix Point for the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme is debatable. It will allow handheld devices to be marketed as ‘AI’ capable. Likewise, it will make possible handhelds with support for Microsoft’s Copliot+ AI assistant in Windows.

How much benefit it will bring in terms of real-world applications is another matter. Most popular AI-powered tools and services, such as ChatGPT, run via cloud-based infrastructure rather than locally on devices.

Likewise, the use of the actual NPU in PC games is currently slim to none. On the other hand, the NPU is there in the chip, so you may as well switch it on. That said, it isn’t clear what impact the NPU might have on battery life.

By itself, perhaps nothing too catastrophic. But high-spec handhelds are already a little thin on mains-free longevity. So, lighting up not only the CPU cores and the GPU, but also an NPU doesn’t exactly scream all-day battery life.