Microsoft officially ushered in a new era of PC last night… That of “Copilot+ PCs,” PCs designed for and powered by AI, powered by NPUs, ARM processors, and new Windows features. A new generation of personal computers just waiting to appear… if developers get their act together!
Microsoft therefore announced yesterday ” Copilot+ PC “, a new generation of computers. What is the difference with the “AI PC” that has been sold here since the beginning of the year? Marketing! The concept and term “AI PC” was actually invented and pushed by Intel to push its new Ultra processors.
Microsoft wanted to re-appropriate the concept by imposing not only one of its brands (Copilot), but also the ARM universe and above all the minimum NPU (AI accelerator) specifications needed to run Windows reimagined for AI.
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40 TOPS otherwise nothing
AND ” Copilot+ PC “, in French “PC Copilot+”, is a personal computer with Windows 11 24H2 (and later), equipped with an NPU accelerator with a power greater than 40 TOPS (40 teraoperations per second)!
This minimum limit of 40 TOPS was set by Microsoft engineers and it fits the minimum required to launch a whole host of new AI-powered features, functionalities powered by compact and locally embedded models. Yes, the Copilot+ computers include a host of small locally derived models (SLMs) that promise multiple developments in the coming months.
As Apple has launched its new iPads “designed with artificial intelligence”. without demonstrating its potential, while the use remained a surprise for WWDC, Microsoft remained relatively vague about its use of artificial intelligence, likely reserving most of the content for its main Build 2024 conference that starts tonight.
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Windows powers AI
However, Microsoft had a little more to show than Apple. First of all, the features that have been kept secret for the Surface Pro until now Windows effects » (sound enhancement, webcam image enhancement, view centering, etc.) become basic functionalities of every “Copilot+ PC”.
In addition, Microsoft has lifted the veil on a new feature called ” Remind “. The publisher set himself a challenge and a mission. ” One of the most frustrating problems we all face on a daily basis is finding something we know we’ve seen before on our computer. » says Microsoft. Today, we have to remember in which folder that “something” was stored (image, article, information, etc.), which web page it was on, or scroll through hundreds of emails trying to find that thing.
” Now, with Recall, you can virtually access what you’ve seen or done on your computer in a way that feels like you have a photographic memory. Copilot+ computers organize information the way we do – based on relationships and associations unique to each of our individual experiences. This helps you remember things you may have forgotten, so you can quickly and intuitively find what you’re looking for just by using the clues you remember “.
In total, The AI in Windows remembers everything you do and see. Then simply call Recall and enter what you are looking for : “the page with the orange shoes”, “the document that talks about the NPU”, “the photo of Marie at sea”… Recall then displays a kind of timeline that allows us to go back in time and into elements that respond to the request . We’ll have to see in use if it works as well as in the demos. But the functionality is – on paper – different enough to transform our everyday experience of PC controls.
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Another novelty, Live subtitle no longer content with subtitling videos, videos and other real-time streaming. Windows functionality now also automatically translates to more than 20 languages.
For Microsoft, this is just the beginning, just a way to scratch the surface of the “Copilot+ PC” potential. The publisher wants to usher in a new ecosystem and is set to focus most of its “BUILD 2024” conference on the integration of artificial intelligence and its use at the heart of Copilot+ computing. Building this ecosystem is a central theme of the Build 2024 conference and a top priority for Windows teams.
It is fundamental to understand this These features are not features of Windows computers. These are the features of “PC Copilot+” in Windows. A new world is waking up.
The era of ARM on Windows can finally begin
40 TOPS minimum… This is the minimum specification key for “Copilot+ PC”.
Don’t look… The only “PC” processors in the world that offer this performance are the new Qualcomm “Snapdragon X” processors with ARM architecture.
So “Copilot+ PC” marks a new era. The era of artificial intelligence, but also the long-term partnership between Qualcomm and Microsoft to impose Windows on ARM, in other words Windows on ARM architecture.
This partnership marks the end of the WinTel era! Of course, “Copilot+ PC” will not be limited to ARM processors, and Intel and AMD will have their place. Intel also gestured in all directions yesterday in the media to confirm “me too, me too”, recalling that its next generation “Lunar Lake” processors will feature NPUs at more than 40 TOPS!
But the reality is that this launch of “Copilot+ PC” is a “Windows on ARM” moment. Microsoft wants to impose ARM architecture on Windows! Why ? For the same reasons Apple switched its Mac universe to ARM:
* Much higher performance per Watt than the x86 architecture: the new Copilot+ computers have real “all-day” autonomy with more than 20 hours of activity without reducing the machine’s performance to zero!
* Greater scalability : Apple with its M1/M2/M3 and Qualcomm with its “Snapdragon
* Ultra-powerful NPU to support Windows AI : Driven by the needs of smartphones, ARM processors have been incorporating NPUs for a long time. This is one of their areas of improvement. And such “40 TOPS” NPU power exists only on Snapdragon X today.
A sign of the times, new “consumer desktop” products are not just being labeled by Microsoft Marketing as “Ultimate Copilot+ PCs”. They are also ONLY offered in ARM or Snapdragon Plus trends.
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Lenovo, Dell, HP, Asus, Acer are also launching new Snapdragon based computers
With the added bonus of the last key piece that was missing: the Windows Prism Emulation Engine. Microsoft has integrated a new x86/x64 emulation layer into Windows on ARM for Copilot+ PCs that allows “Intel” software to run on ARM machines with twice the performance of previous Windows on ARM emulations. If the promise is kept, it will allow the native software ecosystem to expand. But we have to admit that with the arrival of Adobe’s tools, as well as Chrome in the original ARM mode, many of the obstacles of yesterday no longer exist today.
Windows on ARM moment… AI in Windows moment… Copilot+ PC moment… You got it yesterday during the “AI Event & Surface” event, while today during Build Microsoft redesigned the future Windows computer, a computer full of artificial intelligence powered by ARM. Kind of a big make it or break it rush. If it passes, tomorrow all computers will be AI and ARM… But not necessarily in Qualcomm… Because if it passes, there will be people competing with Qualcomm…
Copilot+ PC conference
Yesterday, Microsoft opted for a closed press event rather than a live broadcast of its presentations.
But the publisher finally, a few hours later, published the entire conference about the presentation of the Copilot+ PC concept. You can find it below:
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