Microsoft's annual developer conference, Build, has just started, but we've already learned a lot of interesting things, including the company showing off a new AI-powered 'Recall' feature that will be built into Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11.
Copilot+ is a new software platform that was introduced yesterday and aims to infuse Windows 11 with new AI features, ushering in a series of new devices with more advanced AI features.
You've probably already heard about AI PCs, but the new generation of laptops, powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips with an integrated neural processing unit (NPU), officially debuted yesterday. The Windows 11 retirement will be exclusive to PCs that have Snapdragon X processors, as the current generation of Intel and AMD mobile CPUs do not have a powerful enough NPU to handle the feature. (You need an NPU capable of 40 TOPS, or billions of operations per second.)
This is not the only hardware requirement that the recovery feature will require, as the full specification requirements are as follows:
- Snapdragon X Elite or X Plus processor
- NPU capable of 40 TOP
- 225GB storage
- 16GB RAM
While these new Qualcomm chips are the only mobile silicon that can power Recall (and other AI capabilities on Copilot+ PCs) right now, future generations of Intel and AMD processors will be on board (Intel's Lunar Lake , for example, or AMD's Strix Point). French fries).
Windows Latest notes that the above hardware requirements are not only necessary to ensure a quality experience (with enough performance to generate agile responses with these AI functions like Recall), but also for data security reasons.
So how does Recall work?
In the past, we've seen reports about a rumored feature, often called 'AI Explorer', that would allow you to search your past activity on your PC. It looks like this has manifested itself as the Recover feature, and it will be aware of all the activity on your PC, including what apps you use, how you use them, and what you do in them (for example, conversations on WhatsApp). . Recall will record all this activity in the future and save snapshots to your PC's local storage.
Additionally, the Settings app will have a dedicated update history section for Recover and a toggle for new Privacy and Security settings. You'll be able to update Recall for Windows 11 and other AI features in addition to using the Windows Update app.
If you're hesitant about allowing Recall to access everything and are concerned about having control over what it records and stores, Windows Latest reports that you'll be able to manually delete snapshots from Recall storage and configure Recall to exclude certain apps and websites from your recording activity. . In your device's Settings, you'll also be able to adjust the time ranges for which Recall stores snapshots, or even pause Recall entirely by clicking its icon on your taskbar.
In practice, Recall is designed to help you go back in time and find elements of your past activity. So, for example, if you previously had a conversation with a colleague about a certain topic, but can't remember the details, you can ask Recall to fetch it in Windows 11. Recall will then review your past conversations with the colleague. , search across all your apps, open tabs within apps, and more.
Recall will also be able to help you find files you have lost, search your browser history, etc. You'll be able to ask Recall for help using natural language, the way we talk to each other in real life, instead of having to use precise commands.
All of this will run natively on your PC and you won't have to turn to the cloud for computing power, meaning your data will be safer as everything can be saved locally and nothing is sent to a data center external. It all happens right there on your Copilot+ PC with the help of that powerful NPU.
When can you try Recall for yourself?
The buzz and excitement of Recall is just one of the many things that have already been revealed at Microsoft Build 2024, but you'll have to wait until the Windows 11 24H2 update to try the feature (and don't forget, you'll need a PC that meets hardware requirements). The 24H2 update is expected to arrive in September or October or so.
If Recall and other AI features deliver on everything promised (or even most of it), we think a lot of people will be impressed and it might convince them to try adapting to the new way of computing that Microsoft is trying to introduce.
Right now, Copilot isn't considered particularly impressive, but in some ways, that's because the hardware needed to facilitate Microsoft's plans for its AI assistant isn't available—until now. We're excited to get our hands on all of these new AI features, since we're one of those people who flood our PC with media, and we imagine Recall could be very useful for us.
