At its annual Build developer conference this week, Microsoft introduced new Windows computers “Copilot+ PCs.”
Microsoft is making big updates to its Windows computers, adding smart features to help you find things you’ve used before. Their AI tool, Copilot, will play a bigger role in the new Windows 11. Plus, they are also releasing new Surface devices.
Microsoft is introducing a new app called Volumetric Apps, which are virtual reality (VR) apps that can interact with the space around you. These apps will be available on Meta Quest headsets. By partnering with Meta, Microsoft will bring Windows 365 and local PC connectivity to Quest headsets, allowing developers to create 3D versions of their apps.
At the conference on Tuesday, Microsoft demonstrated this technology by showing a 3D digital model of an Xbox controller through a Meta Quest 3 headset. The user could interact with the model using their hands.
Pavan Davuluri, a Microsoft executive, said they are working closely with Meta to make sure Windows works great on Quest devices.
Developers interested in this technology can sign up for early access to Microsoft’s new volumetric API.
Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs are designed that focus on AI. These computers have special chips called NPUs to run AI features like Recall and come with 16GB of RAM and SSD storage.
The first Copilot+ PCs will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips, which offer up to 15 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video playback on a single charge. Intel and AMD are also making processors for these PCs, working with various manufacturers such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung.
Microsoft has significantly improved the new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro. The Surface Laptop has a sleek design, longer battery life, and faster performance.
The newest Surface Laptop comes in 13.8-inch and 15-inch sizes with the latest design featuring slimmer screen borders. It can run for up to 22 hours on a single charge and is 86% faster than the previous Surface Laptop 5. It also includes Wi-Fi 7 and a touchpad.
The Surface Pro also boasts major speed improvements, a high-quality display, and a sturdier keyboard.
The updated Surface Pro is 90% faster than the Surface Pro 9 and now has an OLED HDR display, Wi-Fi 7 (with an option for 5G), and a better ultrawide front camera. Its detachable keyboard is now stronger, made with extra carbon fiber, and includes haptic feedback.
Windows 11 is getting a new feature called Recall, which helps users find apps and content they used weeks or even months ago.
Recall can make connections between colors, images, and more, allowing you to search for almost anything on your PC using natural language. Developers can enhance Recall by adding contextual information to their apps. Microsoft ensures that all data related to Recall stays private and stored on your device, not used for training AI models.
Microsoft also explains: “Your snapshots belong to you and stay on your PC. You can delete individual snapshots, adjust or delete time ranges in Settings, or pause Recall anytime from the System Tray icon on your Taskbar. You can also choose which apps and websites are never saved.”
Windows now has more AI features than ever, some of which are only available on the new Copilot+ PCs.
Another new feature called Super Resolution that can make old photos look better by enlarging them automatically. Copilot can also help users come up with creative ideas for photos by analyzing images. With Cocreator, users can generate and modify images with the help of AI.
Another feature is Live Captions with live translations, which can translate any audio on your PC into your preferred language. It will support nearly 40 languages that includes English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian.
In Microsoft Edge, there’s a new feature that translates videos in real-time on websites like LinkedIn, YouTube, and more. This feature will be available soon and supports translation between languages like Spanish, English, German, Hindi, Italian, and Russian through both dubbing and subtitles.
Microsoft has added new AI features to its Copilot suite. Team Copilot helps manage meeting agendas and notes in Teams, and it works with Loop and Planner for tasks and deadlines.
Copilot Extensions lets developers add new functions to GitHub Copilot with apps from partners like DataStax and Docker. The Windows Copilot Runtime enables AI features like Recall and Super Resolution to work even offline.
Azure AI Studio now offers flexible AI model APIs, and Copilot Studio introduces AI bots to handle business tasks. Lastly, the Phi-3-vision model can understand and analyze images and text.
