We are deep in developer conference season, with Google I/O done and dusted, we are now shifting our focus to Microsoft Build 2024. We have seen a tonne of AI announcements and new PC products. From new Copilot + PCs to Microsoft Recall, here are all the announcements from Microsoft Build 2024.
Table of contents
Copilot+ PCs
Microsoft has unveiled a slew of new AI PCs dubbing them Copilot+ PCs, which Microsoft says are the “fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built”. This new PC will be available on the Microsoft Surface and its computing partners Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung.
These new laptops have new silicon capable of 40+ TOPS (trillion operations per second), all–day battery life and access to advanced AI models. This new PC has an all-new system architecture to bring the power of the CPU, GPU, and now a new high performance Neural Processing Unit (NPU).
Microsoft has named and shamed Apple in its Copilot PC launch saying their new PCs “outperform Apple’s MacBook Air 15” by up to 58 per cent in sustained multithreaded performance”.
The PC giant says these new computers are 20x more powerful and up to 100x as efficient for running AI workloads and deliver “industry-leading AI acceleration”. Copilot+ PCs can deliver up to 22 hours of local video playback or 15 hours of web browsing on a single charge. Microsft said it is up to 20 per cent more battery in local video playback than the MacBook Air 15.
The first Copilot+ PCs will launch with both the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors.
With Copilot+ PC, Microsoft has enhanced several apps including djay Pro, LiquidText, Cephable, CapCut, DaVinci Resolve Studio and the Adobe suite.
What is Copilot+ PCs, without the AI assistant Copilot? The AI assistant can be accessed with the new Copilot key. Microsoft said Copilot will now have the full application experience customers have been asking for in a streamlined, simple yet powerful and personal design. In the coming weeks, users can get access to the latest models including GPT-4o from our partners at OpenAI, so you can have voice conversations that feel more natural.
What is an NPU?
A Neural Processing Unit, or NPU, is a computer chip designed to run AI models. According to Qualcomm, “heterogeneous computing maximises application performance, thermal efficiency and battery life to enable new and enhanced generative AI experiences.” To translate that computer speak, it means an NPU will make using a PC fast, your battery will be optimised and you can run AI applications without the computer freaking out.
Recall
This new feature from Microsoft is a “photographic memory” for your PC. According to Microsoft, Recall organises information like people 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 find what you’re looking for quickly and intuitively by simply using the cues you remember,” Microsoft said.
“You can scroll across time to find the content you need in your timeline across any application, website, document, or more. Interact intuitively using snapshots with screenray to help you take the next step using suggested actions based on object recognition. And get back to where you were, whether to a specific email in Outlook or the right chat in Teams.”
Microsoft said Recall leverages your personal semantic index, built and stored entirely on your device.
“Your snapshots are yours; they stay locally on your PC. You can delete individual snapshots, adjust and delete ranges of time in Settings, or pause at any point right from the icon in the System Tray on your Taskbar. You can also filter apps and websites from ever being saved.”
Image Creation
Microsoft apps Paint and Photos have been enhanced with the new Copilot+ PC NPUs and small language models. Users are able to combine their ink strokes with text prompts to generate new images in nearly real-time with Cocreator.
As users iterate, so does the artwork, helping users refine, edit and evolve their ideas. Diffusion-based algorithms optimise for the highest quality output over minimum steps to make it feel like you are creating alongside AI. Use the creativity slider to choose from a range of artwork from more literal to more expressive.
Surface Pro
Microsoft has called the new Surface Pro the most flexible 2-in-1 laptop. It introduces a new, optional OLED with HDR display, and ultrawide field of view camera. The new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard is the first 2-in-1 keyboard designed to be used both attached or detached. It delivers enhanced stability, with Surface Slim Pen storage and charging integrated seamlessly, as well as a quiet, haptic touchpad.
Surface Laptop
Microsoft calls the new Surface Laptop its most intelligent laptop ever. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR technology, Dolby Vision IQ and Adaptive colour technology.
There are two screen sizes available, 13.8 inch and 15-inch. The Surface Laptop is available in platinum, black, dune and sapphire.
According to Microsoft, the Surface Laptop is 86 per cent faster than Laptop 5. It can power up to three external 4K monitors. The 45 TOPS NPU unlocks new AI experiences and has the longest battery life on any Surface – up to 22 hours on the Surface Laptop 15-inch and up to 20 on the Surface Laptop 13.8-inch.
New Slate of AI PCs
During Microsoft Build 2024, its PC partners, Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung released their new AI-based PCs to coincide with the new Copilot PCs. Australian availability and pricing will be updated.
Lenovo
Lenovo is launching two AI PCs: one built for consumers, Yoga Slim 7x, and one for commercial, ThinkPad T14s Gen 6. The Yoga Slim 7x has a 14.5” touchscreen with 3K Dolby Vision and optimised power for 3D rendering and video editing. The T14s Gen 6 brings enterprise-level experiences and AI performance to your work tasks, with features including a webcam privacy shutter, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and up to 64GB RAM.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x will be available starting from $2,499. Pre-orders open on May 21.
Acer
Acer’s Swift 14 AI 2.5K touchscreen has colour-accurate imagery. With the AI features users can enable Acer PurifiedVoice 2.0 and Purified View, with a touch of the dedicated AcerSense button.
ASUS
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 comes with Snapdragon X Elite Platform and built-in Qualcomm AI. It has 40+ NPU TOPS, a dual-fan cooling system, and up to 1 TB of storage. Next-gen AI enhancements include Windows Studio Effects v2 and ASUS AiSense camera, with presence-detection capabilities for Adaptive Dimming and Lock. Built for portability, it has an ultra-slim and light all-metal design, a high-capacity battery, and a single-zone RGB backlit keyboard.
Dell
Dell is launching five new Copilot+ PCs, including the XPS 13, Inspiron 14 Plus, Inspiron 14, Latitude 7455, and Latitude 5455, offering a range of consumer and commercial options that deliver groundbreaking battery life and unique AI experiences.
The XPS 13 is powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors and features a premium, futuristic design. While the Latitude 7455 has a QHD+ display and quad speakers with AI noise reduction. The Inspiron14 and Inspiron 14 Plus feature a Snapdragon X Plus and are crafted with lightweight, low-carbon aluminium.
HP
HP’s OmniBook X AI PC and HP EliteBook Ultra G1q AI PC with Snapdragon X Elite have long-lasting battery life and AI-powered productivity tools, such as real-time transcription and meeting summaries. A 5MP camera with automatic framing and eye focus is supported by Poly Studio’s audio for enhanced virtual interactions.
Samsung
Samsung’s new Galaxy Book4 Edge is ultra-thin and light, with a 3K resolution 2x AMOLED display and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. It has 22 hours of video playback.
Qualcomm Snapdragon
With the release of all these new AI-powered PCs and Copilot+ PC there has been the mention of Qulacomm’s Snapdragon chips. During Microsoft Build, Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus are powering the Surface products and the OEM PCs.
According to Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite delivers the highest NPU performance per watt for laptops, up to 2.6X vs. M3 and up to 5.4X vs. Core Ultra 71. With the integrated Qualcomm Hexagon NPU architecture, it can deliver up to 24 TOPS/watt peak performance in use cases like Super Resolution.
See below the chart for what processors are powering which Copilot+ PCs.
This article will be updated as the story develops.
Image: Microsoft