Microsoft Introduces Copilot+ PCs, A New Category Designed For AI

With the pace that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) are progressing, while also gaining popularity and prominence, it’s no surprise that technology companies are developing a wide range of AI hardware products.

This includes dedicated products such as Logitech’s new mouse that comes with a dedicated AI button, Microsoft’s dedicated key to open Microsoft Copilot on a keyboard, Nothing Technology’s AI earbuds, Humane Inc.’s AI Pin, AI-powered birding binoculars and more.

Now, Microsoft, a leader in AI technology, products, tools and services, has come out with an announcement of another product that’s set to redefine the technology industry.

So, what new product did the company reveal? Let’s explore!
 

What Did Microsoft Announce?

 

• Through a blog post published on its website, Microsoft introduced Copilot+ PCs, its new category of Windows PCs designed for AI.

• The announcement was originally made during a special event on its new campus.

• As per the company, the Copilot+ PCs “are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built” and comes with microchips capable of an incredible 40+ TOPS (trillion operations per second), an all-day battery life and access to the most advanced AI models.

• In addition to Microsoft’s Surface, Copilot+ PCs will be available from brands such as Acer (Acer Swift 14 AI 2.5K touchscreen), ASUS (ASUS Vivobook S 15), HP (HP OmniBook X AI PC and HP EliteBook Ultra G1q AI PC), Lenovo (Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x for consumers and ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 for commercial), Samsung (Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge).

• Dell will also bring Microsoft’s magic across five new Copilot+ PCs (Dell XPS 13, Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, Dell Inspiron 14, Dell Latitude 7455 and Dell Latitude 5455).

• “We introduced an all-new system architecture to bring the power of the CPU, GPU, and now a new high performance Neural Processing Unit (NPU) together.”

• The PC’s performance includes up to 20x more powerful and up to 100x as efficient capabilities for running AI workloads and AI acceleration.

• It comes with powerful processors and multiple state-of-the-art AI models including several of Microsoft’s world-class SLMs, enabling users to run AI capabilities directly on the device.

• Its Recall feature simplifies the process of finding items viewed or executed, allows users to access things they had seen or done on the PC in a way that’s reminiscence of a “photographic memory”.

• It also features Image Creator, to create and edit images, built into the device, along with innovative experiences added to Photos and Paint.

• This extends to Adobe products, which will be made available through a partnership, bringing Photoshop, Lightroom, Express, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and more.

• Ahead of this, the PCs offer DaVinci Resolve Studio (visual effects), CapCut (video background removal), Cephable (head movement interaction), LiquidText (documents), djay Pro (music), live captions for caption generation of any playing audio in real time, the new and enhanced Windows Studio Effects to adjust lighting and sound along with other AI-powered tools.

• Microsoft is also bringing testing for commercial deployment now, saying, “We recommend IT admins begin testing and readying for deployment to start empowering your workforce with access to powerful AI features on these high-performance devices.”

• Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs are available for preorder now and will begin to launch on June 18, 2024. 

 

What Did Microsoft Say?

 

• Through the blog post, Yusuf Mehdi, Executive Vice President, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft said, “Like we’ve always done with Windows, we have built a platform for our ecosystem partners to build on.”

• [Contd.] “Copilot+ PCs offer businesses the most performant Windows 11 devices with unique AI capabilities to unlock productivity, improve collaboration and drive efficiency. As a Windows PC, businesses can deploy and manage a Copilot+ PC with the same tools and processes used today including IT controls for new features and AppAssure support.”

• [Contd.] “We recommend IT admins begin testing and readying for deployment to start empowering your workforce with access to powerful AI features on these high-performance devices.”

• [Contd.] “We are at an inflection point where the PC will accelerate AI innovation. We believe the richest AI experiences will only be possible when the cloud and device work together in concert. Together with our partners, we’re setting the frame for the next decade of Windows innovation.”

Do you think this move by Microsoft gives it an advantage over its competitors? Do you think the company’s rivals should make similar moves?

Let us know in the comments below!