Explained: Why Microsoft AI Copilot+ PC is making waves

According to Microsoft, the new Copilot+ PC is the fastest, most intelligent Windows PC ever. Users can create AI-powered images, use live language translation, and try out a host of other AI experiences locally on their device (even offline). Let's take a closer look.

What is AI PC?

Think about it this way: In the past, and even today, for some use cases, much of the computing work is done in the cloud. Take transcription software or apps, for example. You upload a recording to the app, and the app sends it to the cloud for transcription. AI PCs change all of this.

An AI PC has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and most importantly, a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is a specialized accelerator that can process AI and machine learning tasks on the user's PC instead of sending the data to a back-end cloud system to be processed, according to an Intel article.

As we've explained in previous Lounge articles, NPUs are dedicated AI processors that are specifically designed to offload the load from a computer's CPU and GPU when handling AI-related workloads.

Essentially, AI PCs will have more computing power and storage, and will be able to run large language models (LLMs) locally. According to Microsoft's blog, such devices will not only save time, but also help improve productivity, removing traditional limitations such as latency, privacy, and cost. This doesn't mean that reliance on cloud computing will be completely ignored. As Microsoft's blog states, the best AI experiences are only possible when the cloud and devices work together.

The Fastest Windows PC Ever

Whether it's a smartphone or a new computer, every discussion these days revolves around how fast a device can be.

Microsoft Copilot+ PCs feature a new system architecture that combines the power of the CPU, GPU, and NPU, plus LLM and small language models (SLM) running in the Azure cloud, and these new Copilot+ PCs are expected to deliver powerful performance never before seen on a PC.

“It delivers industry-leading AI acceleration with up to 20x more power and up to 100x more efficiency for running AI workloads, up to 58% better sustained multi-threaded performance than Apple's MacBook Air 15-inch, and all-day battery life,” Microsoft executive vice president and chief consumer marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi said in a blog post. The device also features all-day battery life, allowing for extended video playback, web browsing and more.

According to Microsoft, the first Copilot+ PCs will ship with both Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, as well as a custom Qualcomm Oryon CPU.

For security and privacy, all Copilot+ PCs will come with the Microsoft Pluton Security processor enabled by default, which is built into the CPU and helps protect sensitive data like personal information, credentials and encryption keys.

A PC with photographic memory?

A big selling point of AI is the level of personalization and customization it offers, no matter what device you use. We often struggle to find a particular file on our computer, or a website we wanted to bookmark but forgot about. Or we just can't find a particular email in our cluttered inbox.

The CoPilot+ PC comes equipped with an AI feature called “Recall” that aims to solve this conundrum. Recall gives users virtual access to what they've seen and done on their PC (you can view the timeline for any application), and it's like having a photographic memory, Mehdi wrote in his blog post.

According to Microsoft's website, the Recall feature uses something called Personal Semantic Indexing, which enhances Microsoft 365's ability to help users find relevant content based on keywords, personal preferences, and social connections.

The “recall” feature, like any new aspect or experience of AI, is raising eyebrows and also privacy concerns, including how much access users want to give the AI ​​to their personal data and how it will function on their device. But Microsoft says the index is created and stored entirely on the user's device. Mehdi explains in a blog post: “Snapshots belong to you and are stored locally on your PC. You can delete individual snapshots, adjust and delete time ranges in settings, or pause at any time from the icon in the system tray on your taskbar. You can also filter apps and websites to not save. You're always in control for privacy you can trust.”

How much does it cost?

Microsoft announced on its official blog that the new PC will cost $999 (approx. ₹Priced at 83,000 units, the car is scheduled to go on sale in June this year, with some models already available for pre-order.

Besides Microsoft Surface (Surface's two new Copilot+ PCs include the latest Surface Pro and Surface Laptop), Microsoft is also working with PC manufacturers such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung to manufacture these devices. For example, Lenovo has already announced the launch of its latest Yoga Slim 7x (starting price in the US at $1,199) and ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 (starting price in the US at $1,699), laptops, both of which are CoPilot+ PCs.

Besides Lenovo, other companies planning to release new Copilot+ PCs include Samsung (Galaxy Book4 Edge), Asus (Vivobook S 15), Dell (XPS 13, Inspiron 14 Plus, Inspiron 14, Latitude 7455, Latitude 5455), and HP.

Ready or not, the age of the AI ​​PC is officially upon us, and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.