On the eve of the Build developer conference, Microsoft held a special event to unveil its rethink of the PC. Trusted Reviews was in attendance at that event and here are the biggest announcements.
The Copilot Plus PC
The big news of the event was the reveal of the Copilot Plus PC, a new category of computers powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Plus and Elite Arm chips. All the new machines revealed were part of this product line, including the new duo of Surface devices.
All these Copilot Plus PCs have a powerful NPU (neural processing unit) for a huge focus on AI performance within Windows 11, long battery life and performance that Microsoft consistently said was a step up from the M3 MacBook Air.
Microsoft goes big with Qualcomm
Microsoft revealed two new Surface devices during the event, both of which fit into the Copilot Plus category and come with Qualcomm chips. The latest iteration of the Surface Laptop has thinner bezels for a modern look, fresh colours and a whopping 22 hours of offline video playback.
There’s a new Surface Pro too, and both options can be purchased with either the Snapdragon X Elite or X Plus chipsets. Microsoft was keen to point out that whichever model was chosen, the AI performance would be the same.
App compatibility has been an issue with Arm-based Windows machines before and Microsoft was keen to dismiss any worries that that would be a problem this time. There are Arm versions of Adobe’s suite of creative apps, the DaVinci Resolve video editing app and services like Disney Plus, Spotify and WhatsApp.
Recall could redefine PC search
Out of all the AI skills coming to Copilot Plus PCs, Recall was the one that intrigued us the most. Recall keeps an eye on everything you do on your computer and allows you to search through it all with natural language.
OLED comes to the Surface Pro (finally) along with a redesigned keyboard
The Surface Pro, now in its 11th generation, has been a mainstay in Microsoft’s PC range since the beginning and this new Copilot Plus version offers a range of big upgrades.
Starting at $999, the 2-in-1 PC can be specced out with a glorious new OLED display, either the Snapdragon X Plus or X Elite and can be paired with a new Flex keyboard that can be used independently of the tablet.
Partners go big on PC releases
It wasn’t just Microsoft showcasing Copilot Plus PC devices at the event as other OEMs were out in force showing new models and refined options too.
Samsung unveiled the Book 4 Edge, HP rebranded its entire PC offering with the Omnibook and Asus, Lenovo, Dell and Acer showed what they’ve got in store too.
