Microsoft has just unveiled Copilot+, a set of new AI-based features for Windows 11 that will only be available on PCs with that label starting this summer.
These PCs are part of the “new era of Windows" that kicks off with the upcoming Windows 11 update.
What defines a Copilot+ PC? For a computer to qualify, it must include a 45 TOPS or higher Neural Processing Unit (NPU). Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X series are the first chips to meet this benchmark for Windows PCs.
This means that the first wave of Copilot+ PCs will be powered exclusively by ARM chips.
What’s new? These are the new AI features coming to Windows 11 exclusively on these computers:
- Recall: This feature lets you remember anything that happened on your PC screen just by asking.
- Live subtitle translation: Subtitles will be available in more than 40 languages locally on your device, not from the cloud.
- Auto Super Resolution: A feature that improves the quality and size of an image.
- Cocreator: A tool that helps create advanced local images and text without relying on the cloud.
- Improved effects in Windows Studio: The refreshed effects include real-time lighting conditions and artistic styles.
Let’s talk about Recall. This feature is like Rewind for MacOS but it's natively integrated. It runs in the background and remembers everything you see and do with your computer.
As such, with Recall, users can ask their computer to remind them in natural language of anything they’ve done in any application. Microsoft has put a lot of emphasis on this, and it’s an example of how AI can work in the background to improve users' workflow. Old conversations, websites, articles, documents, and videos… everything will be much easier to find.
Release dates. According to Microsoft, the first Copilot+ PCs will arrive in June but not all new features will be available immediately. The company hasn’t yet announced dates for all the new features. We'll have to wait for a few more months to learn more.
Perspective. Microsoft described Copilot+ PCs as the beginning of a new era for Windows. The company is confident that the new AI-based features will be compelling enough to encourage the market to refresh PCs.
Windows 11 will have AI at its core. That, along with the move to Arm, could be a big hope for reviving PC sales amid a downward trend.
Image | Microsoft
Related | Recall, Windows’ New Star Feature, Is ‘Like Having a Photographic Memory’ in Your PC