Microsoft's AI-centric Copilot+ PCs

[The Morning After]( It's Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Microsoft couldn’t wait until its Build conference today. It just revealed a [bunch of new hardware and plans]( for Windows. Copilot+ PCs were the big announcement, designed to run generative AI processes locally instead of in the cloud. Of course, Microsoft had new Surface devices to showcase these features, but the usual PC suspects also have new laptops that meet the spec requirements — and include Copilot+ in their name for added chaos. The company also claims Copilot+ PCs are 58 percent faster than the M3-powered MacBook Air. [[TMA] Engadget]( We’ll drill into some other announcements down below. — Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed [Another patient will get Neuralink’s brain implant]( [Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs will be available this fall]( [Here are all of the just-announced Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Chips]( [Volvo and Aurora introduce their first self-driving truck]( ​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. [Subscribe right here!]( [Microsoft’s redesigned Surface Laptop has over 22 hours of battery life]( It’s a Copilot+ PC too. [[TMA] Engadget]( The new Surface Laptop is a redesigned PC with thinner bezels in 13.8- and 15-inch sizes and Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite chip. Microsoft says this is the brightest display it has ever shipped, at 600 nits, and the new Studio Camera is now in the bezel, so no visible notch. Will the Snapdragon X Elite give better performance? Expect potent battery life. Microsoft claims the 15-inch model will run for up to 22 hours on a single charge while playing videos locally and up to 15 hours while actively browsing the web. We’ve got some hands-on impressions[right here]( but we’ve got reservations. Devices like the[Surface Pro 9]( which ran Windows on Arm, still didn’t feel as fast or responsive compared to their more traditional x86-based counterparts. [Continue reading.]( [Microsoft rebuilt Windows 11 around AI and Arm chips]( There’s also a new emulator for running older Windows apps. Microsoft says it has rebuilt core components of Windows 11 to better support Arm-based hardware and AI. That includes a new kernel, compiler and, most importantly, an emulator named Prism, for running older x86 and x64 apps. Thanks to a powerful new Neural Processing Unit (NPU) in the Snapdragon X Elite chips, Copilot+ PCs can run more than 40 trillion operations per second, a measure of a chip’s AI performance, more than four times the performance of today’s AI PCs. [Continue reading.]( [With Recall, Microsoft may have fixed Windows’ eternally broken search]( The new AI-powered feature is like a photographic memory of everything you’ve done. This sounds very good. Microsoft also announced Recall, a new feature to make local Windows PC searches as quick and effective as web searches, tapping into AI to add more contextual search parameters. Microsoft product manager Caroline Hernandez gave the example of searching for a blue dress on Pinterest using a Windows PC with Recall. She can search the Recall timeline for ‘blue dress’ (using her voice), which pulls all of her recent searches, saving her from having to sift through browser history. She further refined the query with more specific details like ‘blue pantsuit with sequined lace for Abuelita,’ and Rewind delivered relevant results. Microsoft says it can start with exact information or vague contextual clues to find what you want — and it’s apparently all done locally. It is, however, a Copilot+ exclusive. [Continue reading.]( [Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI used her likeness without permission]( An AI company using something without permission? Whaa?! AI companies love to tap Scarlett Johansson’s[star power]( but this time it’s a bigger player in AI. Johansson accused OpenAI of copying her voice for one of the ChatGPT voice assistants, despite her denying the company permission to do so. Johansson’s statement on Monday came hours after OpenAI said[it would no longer use the voice](. “The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement sent to Engadget. The Her actor said OpenAI only stopped using the voice after she hired legal counsel. [Continue reading.]( The Morning After is a daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't [subscribe](. Craving even more? [Like us on Facebook]( or [follow us on Twitter](. Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? [Send us a note.]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you opted in at [engadget.com](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe from this newsletter.]( Copyright © 2024 Yahoo. All rights reserved.