If a smartphone is making AI accessible to all, then a laptop is making AI productive for lots of Indians – whether they’re students, teachers, office workers, creators, entrepreneurs or gamers. And the demand for cutting-edge AI features is only growing among Indian laptop buyers, as we discovered in the latest findings of Digit Research March 2026.
Our latest survey data, which was conducted in the month of March with over 2800+ respondents, reveals how AI is a non-negotiable feature among laptop buyers in India in 2026. Yes, AI is no longer just a buzzword, as most laptop buyers in India are willing to pay a premium for an on-device AI experience. This shows that the consumer interest is pivoting away from plain TOPS numbers to more nuanced AI usability, where buyers are willing to pay a premium for best AI features.
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In terms of AI usage, while the demand and usage have definitely skyrocketed among users, it is safe to say that the user base is also maturing alongside. More people are realising the importance of on-device AI, instead of devices that are only capable of cloud AI computing.
A staggering 73% of the respondents demanded that they would prefer if their laptops had on-device AI. This makes sense, as more people are starting to realise how machines with dedicated AI NPUs will be better at local AI processing. On-device AI is always going to provide a much better experience, along with enhanced privacy.
First and foremost, to understand if users are actually using AI, our question was pretty simple. We wanted to understand if laptop users are using the dedicated AI tools built into their laptops. These days, modern Windows machines come with a dedicated AI key, known as the Copiilot button. Well, that’s a starting point to understand whether or not AI is popular in the laptop market.
While around 17% of respondents suggest that they don’t have a Copilot button on their machine, the number that shocked us the most was the number of active users. Since close to 56% of the survey respondents suggest that they are actively using the Copilot button, this suggests that there is demand for AI within laptops.
At the same time, though, there are also around 26% of respondents who exclaimed how they don’t use the Copilot button on their laptop. It’s an interesting number, indicative of the fact that perhaps these users are using alternate AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude for their needs.
Ever since AI became popular, there have been endless features that have been introduced due to this advancement. While many remain gimmicky, there are a ton of AI features that have completely changed the way we interact with our laptops.
What’s the most important AI use case for Indian laptop users? Close to half the respondents polled in Digit Research March 2026, around 47% of people, indicated accurate and reliable live translation AI feature as one of the highest factors to influence their next laptop purchase. While around 18% of the respondents suggest that they would like the ability to run local LLMs within their machines.
A similar number was seen with an AI-based feature that enhances the audio and video conferencing capabilities. Suggesting that working professionals are the ones who are on the hunt for advanced AI features. Last but not least, around 16% respondents picked AI-enhanced battery optimisation as their pick for the feature that would influence them for their next laptop purchase.
For those in need of a portable powerhouse, gaming laptops have been the ideal way to go forward. But not everyone is a gamer. Those who do heavy creative work or code often have to carry around a gaming laptop with them, which hasn’t been the most ideal solution.
But with thin-and-light laptops becoming more and more powerful, thanks to the evolution of technology, the market for such laptops has been growing. And the same can be seen within our survey as well. That’s because over 67% of respondents are willing to buy a thin & light laptop over the beefier but heavier gaming machines.
There is still a demand for gaming laptops, of course; however, compared to the demand of the latter, it is safe to say that more users want a balance of both portability and power.
Surprisingly, there was a strong shift in the gaming laptop segment. While laptop makers keep on pushing refresh rates to 240 Hz and even 360 Hz, the average consumer demands something else. Instead of prioritising the refresh rate completely, more users are starting to prefer a higher-resolution panel instead.
Close to 48% of respondents from our survey suggested they need a screen with high resolution when buying a new laptop. Full HD 1080p panels have been around for a long time now; they became the standard back in the early 2010s. So it does make sense that now, in 2026, users would want to upgrade to screens with higher resolution.
While the data suggests that “visual immersion” has become the primary goal. There is also a group of users who want a balance between both. This aligns with the aforementioned point of laptops serving as dual-purpose machines for both high-fidelity gaming and professional creative work.
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