Microsoft has introduced Copilot+ PCs, a new category of Windows devices designed with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. These new PCs boast powerful new silicon capable of over 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS), promising enhanced performance and efficiency.
Copilot+ PCs are built to support a range of AI-driven features. These include Recall, which helps users quickly find and remember what they have seen on their PC, Cocreator for generating and refining images in near real-time, and Live Captions, which translate audio from over 40 languages into English.
New devices from Microsoft and partners
These capabilities are integrated into devices from Microsoft Surface and OEM partners like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. The starting price for these devices is $999 with official availability starting on June 18.
Microsoft has collaborated with top OEMs and its own Surface line to launch the first Copilot+ PCs. These include the all-new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, which feature updated designs, enhanced performance, and the new AI experiences.
The new Surface Laptop offers options between a 13.8” and 15” display, up to 22 hours of local video playback, and comes in four colors. It includes a haptic touchpad, AI-enhanced camera, and premium audio features.
The Surface Pro, known for its flexibility as a 2-in-1 laptop, has been updated with more speed and battery life. It introduces an optional OLED with HDR display and an ultrawide field of view camera, ideal for Windows Studio Effects. The new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard offers improved stability and integrates Surface Slim Pen storage and charging.
Innovations in AI and hardware
The development of Copilot+ PCs marks a significant evolution in PC design, integrating AI directly into the hardware and software. Microsoft claims these PCs are up to 20 times more powerful and 100 times more efficient for AI workloads compared to previous models. They are also reported to outperform Apple’s MacBook Air 15” by up to 58% in sustained multithreaded performance.
These PCs combine the CPU, GPU, and a new high-performance Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This combination, enhanced by large language models (LLMs) running in Azure Cloud, facilitates high-speed and efficient AI processing.
Battery life is another standout feature, with Copilot+ PCs delivering up to 22 hours of local video playback or 15 hours of web browsing on a single charge. This efficiency is attributed to the optimized architecture and AI acceleration capabilities.
Microsoft has emphasized the performance improvements in native Arm64 experiences, including Microsoft 365 apps like Teams, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Other popular applications, such as Chrome, Spotify, Zoom, and WhatsApp, also run natively on Arm, providing better performance and efficiency. The new Prism emulator ensures compatibility with a wide range of apps, whether they are native or emulated.
Security is another focus for Copilot+ PCs. Every device comes with the Microsoft Pluton Security processor enabled by default, along with new features and updates in Windows 11 designed to enhance user security and privacy.
AI-driven user experiences
The integration of AI into Copilot+ PCs introduces several new user experiences. Recall addresses the common problem of finding information stored on a PC. It allows users to search across applications, websites, and documents intuitively, using cues they remember.
Cocreator leverages the power of NPUs to facilitate image creation and editing directly on the device. This tool integrates with applications like Paint and Photos, allowing users to generate new images by combining ink strokes with text prompts. The AI algorithms optimize for high-quality output, making the creative process more intuitive and efficient.
Live Captions with live translations make audio content accessible in real-time by converting it into English captions. This feature works across all apps and video platforms, even offline, supporting over 40 languages.