Windows AI, Surface, and more

Microsoft is holding a digital event titled “Advancing into a New Era of Work with Copilot” on March 21. Among the potential announcements are new Surface devices, which will likely be the first to be branded as AI-powered computers. This will actually be the second Windows hardware event — and the first major Surface Pro launch — without former chief product officer and longtime lead presenter Panos Panai, who left for Amazon last year. Here’s everything we could see at the company’s first launch event of 2024.

Company Describe The event details “the latest in scaling AI in your environment with Copilot, Windows, and Surface.” There are conflicting reports about what exactly we will see in late March.

Windows Central Claims The event will be headlined by the OLED Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, whose updated processors enable “huge gains in performance and efficiency” compared to their predecessors. However, report from the edge She suggests This month’s event will only cover business and commercial versions of the devices – with much more subtle upgrades than the consumer versions. The outlet claims that consumer variants with a “larger redesign” will follow later this spring.

The new devices will allegedly be powered by an Intel Core Ultra or Snapdragon X Elite processor with next-generation Neural Processing Units (NPUs) for advanced AI tasks. The Intel variants are expected to launch in April, while the Arm-based Snapdragon variants will arrive several months later in June. If reports are accurate, this will be the first time the Surface Laptop line has included an Arm-based version.

At least on consumer models, the Surface Pro 10 is rumored to switch from an LCD display to an anti-reflective OLED display. The device will be brighter than the Surface Pro 9’s display and support HDR content. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop 6 is rumored to feature thinner screen bezels (with rounded corners) and a touchpad. The updated port selection is said to include two USB-C ports and one USB-A on the left side.

The business/commercial models (which may be all we see at this month’s event) are rumored to include a built-in Common Access Card (CAC) reader and options of up to 64GB of RAM.

Whether at this month’s event or later, the new consumer-oriented Surface Pro and Surface Laptop are expected to kick off Microsoft’s push for Windows 11 PCs. They’ll reportedly be among the first to include an on-device version of Copilot. Other rumored AI features include real-time captions and subtitles, volume upscaling and frame rate smoothing for games, upgraded Windows Studio Effects and a feature called AI Explorer. Both devices will reportedly include a dedicated Auxiliary key.

AI Explorer is rumored to include a built-in timeline that can be searched using natural language. Possibly similar to a third party Rewind the application of artificial intelligence For macOS, the feature is supposed to record everything you do and see on your device, allowing you to scrutinize it with Copilot. It will let you ask the Assistant things like, “Find me that thing about dinosaurs,” and see every moment in your computer’s history related to it. (It can be a privacy nightmare if not handled properly, but expect Microsoft to offer security safeguards like encryption and processing entirely on the device.)

The feature is also claimed to “understand context, help launch projects or workflows, and even suggest tasks based on what’s currently on screen.” Other rumored features include the ability to tell Copilot to remove on-screen photo backgrounds from third-party apps in the Photos app.

The AI ​​features, which are not expected to be exclusive to Surface devices, will reportedly arrive in this year’s annual feature update for Windows 11 (version 24H2), expected in the fall. Windows Central He noted that it is not clear whether Microsoft will discuss the features during the March event.

Engadget will have full coverage of Microsoft’s announcements on March 21 at noon ET.