Nice setup! I've mostly been working with local AI for development and workflow automation rather than general chat. I've experimented with Qwen, Gemma, Llama, and Phi models, and it's impressive how capable smaller models have become on consumer hardware.
I think this was inevitable. Microsoft seems to be shifting its focus from selling Xbox consoles to growing Xbox as a gaming ecosystem. Releasing first-party games on PS5 and other platforms expands their audience and generates more revenue, while Game Pass, cloud gaming, and PC remain key parts...