Microsoft introduces Copilot+ PCs and new AI features for Windows 11

Microsoft is launching a new brand name for systems with built-in hardware for performing AI computing tasks: Copilot+. Microsoft is also introducing new features for Windows 11 to take advantage of this hardware.

Almost all major laptop OEMs will supply Copilot+ PCs. This includes Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, the tech giant announced on Monday evening. Microsoft itself will also release Surface devices under this program. The manufacturers initially seem to focus on Qualcomm's new Snapdragon The first systems will be available on June 18 from $999.

The systems in question always have a neural processing unit for performing AI calculation tasks. This must offer at least 40Tops of computing power. The npu can therefore be used for special AI features in Windows 11, which work exclusively on systems under the Copilot+ PC program. The devices must also have at least 16GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage to qualify for the Copilot+ branding.

Such systems will have access to several new AI features for Windows 11. This includes Recall, a new feature that Microsoft announced on Monday evening. The tech giant describes this feature as a searchable photographic memory for Windows, allowing users to search “everything they've done.” The feature 'logs' user activity in apps, websites and documents.

Users are shown a timeline in which they can find, for example, closed web pages or transcripts of video meetings. They can also perform AI searches to find such activities. Microsoft promises that the Recall data is stored locally and privately, and therefore not shared with third parties. Users can also disable the feature and exclude specific apps or websites from the index.

The company also shows Cocreator. Users can make sketches or describe images with words in Paint. An AI model then creates a high-quality image from this. According to Microsoft, this works 'almost in real time'. Windows 11 will also get live subtitles and translations for 'all audio' coming through the PC. The feature works for podcasts and video meetings, for example. According to Microsoft, the feature can convert audio in more than forty languages ​​to English subtitles in real time.

Recall, Cocreator and Live Captions only work on Copilot+ PCs with an NPU that has sufficient AI computing power. The functions will therefore not be available for current PCs with a processor without an NPU.

Recall in Windows 11