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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Perplexity’s new agentic Portable Computer runs AI locally.
- Local AI is faster and cheaper than cloud-based models.
- But you’ll need some beefy hardware for Linux or Windows.
Perplexity has unveiled a new version of its Personal Computer agent, released in February, that aims to eliminate some of the drawbacks of using AI in the cloud. Known as Portable Computer, this new option relies on local AI models to handle your agentic requests and assignments without the usual online overhead.
Also: I gave Perplexity’s agentic AI 5 complex tasks to run on my Mac – and I’ll do it again
Debuting on Tuesday, Portable Computer offers access to all the standard AI commands, features, and tools through which Perplexity’s agent can carry out tasks with little or no intervention on your part. The key part here is that the models, your files, and your work all stay on your machine. You control if and when the AI needs to hop online to achieve its mission. As always, you can still connect to external services like Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, and GitHub to incorporate your cloud-based files and information.
Cloud vs. local AI
Why use AI locally rather than in the cloud? There are a few benefits.
First is performance. Local AI models can run faster and respond to your requests more quickly than their online counterparts. Second is security. Your tasks are handled locally in an isolated sandbox on your machine, reducing the risk of data breaches. Third is cost. Running AI in the cloud chews up credits, tokens, and money. Running it locally doesn’t use any billing credits. If any part of a task needs to hop online, only the cloud work eats into your credits and tokens.
Also: 5 reasons I use local AI on my desktop – instead of ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude
“Perplexity Portable Computer is a local-first agent,” Perplexity said in a technical blog post. “Sensitive data therefore never leaves the device without permission, and local models carry no inference fee: the system is private and cost-effective by construction.”
How to try it – and limitations
Can anyone try Perplexity’s new local AI? Unfortunately, no — that’s where the strict requirements come in. Portable Computer is available only for paid accounts, meaning Pro, Max, Enterprise Pro, and Enterprise Max subscribers. Sorry, free users.
For now, Portable Computer is accessible only on Linux systems, but Perplexity promises that it will reach Windows users in September. Sounds good, but there’s more.
Also: Google’s AI-first Googlebook laptop is almost here – can it avoid the Copilot+ PC problem?
One downside of local AI is that it typically needs some serious hardware to work. And that’s certainly the case with Portable Computer.
On the Linux side, Perplexity’s local AI requires an Nvidia DGX Spark or other Linux machine with an Nvidia RTX GPU (graphics processing unit). For the operating system, you’ll need Nvidia DGX OS or Ubuntu on either an ARM or x64 system. On the Windows side, your PC must be outfitted with an NVIDIA RTX GPU with at least 24GB of VRAM. That’s where many desktops may not be up to snuff, including my own.
My PC does have an Nvidia RTX GPU, but it comes with only 4GB of RAM. I’m not a PC gamer and don’t typically run GPU-intensive tasks, so I didn’t equip it with a high-end graphics card. Plus, Nvidia RTX GPUs with 24GB of VRAM run at least $1,500, so you’d need to shell out a few bucks for one of these.
Model options
As far as the local models themselves, Portable Computer offers a couple of options. You can set up Qwen 3.8 27B, a well-known open-source model. This particular AI model has gotten kudos not just for speed and performance but for its prowess with coding, research, professional work, and more complex agentic tasks.
Alternatively, you can tap into a post-trained version of the model that Perplexity has dubbed PPLX 27B. A post-trained AI model is one that has received more refined and specific training beyond its initial instructions. Here, Perplexity post-trains all models on Portable Computer to boost their accuracy and make them more efficient.
Also: I tested a Debian Linux loaded with local AI – see if it’s right for you
Coming soon is Nvidia’s Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, which Nvidia said is designed for high-volume and long-running tasks. Naturally, you’ll be able to switch among the different models depending on the assignments you give the agentic AI.
Whether or not your system and GPU can handle the heavy demands of Portable Computer, this latest development does represent a new option for local AI. Hopefully, the requirements will lessen over time, paving the way for more people to turn to local AI for better performance, tighter security, and lower costs.
