By Gadget Hacks
Publication Date: 2026-05-01 21:52:00
Perplexity has shifted its Personal Computer from dedicated spare hardware to software running directly on a user’s own Mac. The Mac-native version reads local files, works across active applications, and executes multi-step workflows in the background. No spare device required. The rollout began in mid-April, restricted to Perplexity Max subscribers at $200 per month, with wider access going first to waitlist members, Engadget reported last month.
That’s a meaningful departure from the March concept, which required a dedicated Mac mini running 24/7 on a local network, according to The Verge. The April update, as Engadget covered, brings that same persistent-agent model to the Mac a user already owns.
Personal Computer is not available on the $20/month Pro plan or any lower tier. Most of Perplexity’s existing users cannot access it yet. That access wall is worth knowing before reading further.
The bigger picture: Perplexity is repositioning from answer engine to always-on desktop agent, asking users to grant persistent, broad access to their Mac, including files, native apps, and communications, in exchange for more autonomous assistance. The capability case is reasonably clear. The trust case is where the real questions sit, and several of those questions remain unanswered.
From cloud agent to your Mac: what changed and why it matters
Perplexity Computer, which debuted at the end of February, was a cloud-based “general-purpose digital worker” capable of orchestrating…