|
Microsoft just couldn't wait until its Build developer conference properly starts tomorrow to drop some knowledge bombs. The company held a pre-Build event on Monday that wasn't livestreamed for the public, but it made some major announcements on the AI and Surface fronts.
Its vision for so-called AI PCs is taking shape with Copilot PCs, which are designed to run many generative AI processes locally instead of in the cloud. Along with its own Surface systems that will adopt this format, several other manufacturers are making Copilot PCs too. Microsoft also detailed some of the upcoming AI features for Windows 11.
Copilot PCs
The big news coming out of this event is Microsoft's vision for AI-centric PCs. Microsoft's take on this is the Copilot PC.
To qualify as a Copilot PC, a system will need to have neural processing unit (NPU) performance of at least 40 TOPs (trillions of operations per second) and have 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage at minimum. This is so the PC can run generative AI processes locally rather than via the cloud. That's a strategy we've seen in some recent flagship smartphones, such as Google Pixel devices.
Microsoft says it has completely reimagined the Win
|
|
"The pursuit has always been about how to build computers that understand us, instead of having us having to understand computers, and I feel like we really are close to that breakthrough," said Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, in a briefing with reporters on Microsoft's campus.
A Copilot PC combines local, on-device AI with cloud AI, according to Microsoft, to provide a range of services. Some of the new laptops shipping with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus processors will be classified as Copilot PCs, taking advantage of the NPU found within both chips. That NPU will power local AI functions, with over 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) driving the AI engine. Copilot PCs require 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an integrated NPU.
Windows 11 pro
Windows 11 Pro
|
|
