Key Takeaways
- Microsoft plans to release new Surface PCs that support its Copilot+ standard for AI model execution.
- Longer battery life is provided by Arm-based Qualcomm chips in these and other PCs; AMD and Intel chips will also be made available soon.
Microsoft is promoting new PCs with cutting-edge CPUs that can run Windows software with artificial intelligence capabilities without rapidly depleting the battery.
A Surface Laptop and Surface Pro tablet with a Qualcomm chip that can perform some AI functions without an internet connection were unveiled by the company on Monday. Other PC manufacturers, such as Lenovo, Dell, HP, Asus, Acer, and Samsung, are also releasing AI-ready computers that run Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot and are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus processors, which offer longer battery life.
Device manufacturers will later on offer PCs with AMD and Intel chips that comply with the Copilot+ standard, Microsoft announced at a news conference held at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters. The PCs will be able to converse with people about what’s on screen, translate audio, suggest replies to incoming messages, and make adjustments in the Settings app.PCs with Copilot+ will retail for $999. As of Monday, Microsoft is taking pre-orders; the gadgets will ship in June.
Recall functionality will allow users to look over a history of their past PC activities. Recall operates offline thanks to AI models that are installed locally on the device, and an index of the data is never sent to distant servers. In addition to drawings, AI models will be able to produce visuals from written descriptions.
Microsoft’s strategy to protect its Windows brand is built on Qualcomm’s energy-efficient Arm-based CPUs, which are capable of handling AI models. Apple has shifted away from Intel, the leading supplier of computer processors, and gained market share in PC shipments with MacBooks sporting its Arm-based chips.
Microsoft is stepping up its efforts to provide ChatGPT-like features to both business and consumer users. With support from Microsoft, OpenAI launched the ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022, and it immediately became popular as a way to instantly access computer-generated poetry, email drafts, and historical event summaries.
Soon after, Microsoft and other big tech firms began incorporating generative AI into their products. Along with the Windows 10 and 11 operating systems, the Bing search engine now features a Copilot chatbot that leverages ChatGPT’s underlying AI models. Subscribers to Office productivity software may opt to pay an additional fee to have a Copilot review their documents and provide written responses.
The internal GPT-4 model Only the essential processing has been completed by ChatGPT on Microsoft’s Azure cloud. Certain AI models can be locally executed on the new PCs without an online connection.
During the company’s results call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella promised analysts that “in 2024, AI will become a first-class part of every PC.” This announcement was made over four months prior.
Microsoft has struggled to convince consumers to switch to Windows machines with Arm processors, which haven’t always operated as smoothly as systems with AMD or Intel CPUs. Some applications haven’t worked well together.
When generative AI is run locally, computers will require more power, making long battery life even more important. That could add to Windows on Arm’s appeal.
Morgan Stanley analysts project that Arm systems will account for 14% of total Windows PC shipments in 2026, up from 0% in 2023, per a note sent to clients earlier this month.
Monday afternoon saw Microsoft shares trade 1.2% higher at $425.34, slightly behind a record set in March. Qualcomm closed at a record high of $197.76, up 2%.
