This week we saw the launch of Copilot+ PC devices, essentially Windows 11 laptops that come with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon artificial).
The idea of on-device AI is certainly very interesting (as is the technology behind it) and the benefits are compelling: you don't need an internet connection and the security is much higher since you don't share information with companies that provide AI . Tools: Everything should remain encrypted on your laptop.
In the lead-up to the launch of the Copilot+ PC devices, I was skeptical about how revolutionary these new laptops would actually be. It didn't help that Microsoft brought one of the key features, the Copilot AI assistant itself, to Windows 11 already in beta form. While having quick access to an AI chatbot from the operating system was novel at first, after trying it a few times, I never used it again. I just couldn't see how it could make my daily life easier.
The fact that Microsoft's other major selling point for Copilot+ PCs, the Recall feature, has been hit by controversy surrounding privacy concerns, and many people are understandably concerned that taking snapshots of your PC activity every minute or so, Microsoft is collecting a enormous amount of confidential information, and the company's past actions haven't helped people feel more comfortable with that.
In fact, the negative response to Recall was so intense that Microsoft pulled the feature from launch alongside the Copilot+ PC devices and instead made it available to Windows Insiders, who can try it out ahead of a broader release later. .
This led to the rather strange sight of Microsoft (and later, other manufacturers like Samsung, who also released Copilot+ PC products) having to talk about a feature that we all know has been delayed due to user concerns.
Still, when I went to visit Microsoft on Tuesday for the launch of the Copilot+ PC, the team was optimistic, telling me that the Copilot+ PCs are a “turning point” in the history of computing and technology, and as revolutionary as they are. the first IBM. PC and rise of smartphones.
Bold words, certainly, and I was keen to see how revolutionary these devices are. Since Tuesday, I've been using the new Surface Laptop every day as my main computer, and I've already found a major change that could really revolutionize the laptop industry and give Microsoft a device that can really challenge MacBooks again, but he has done it. nothing to do with AI.
AI why?
Of course, with all the hype surrounding Copilot+'s PC AI features, I was eager to see if they were as essential as Microsoft and others have told me they are. To be frank, though, they left me with the same mix of awe at the raw technology and bewilderment at its usefulness.
One of the most interesting implementations is Cocreator, a new AI-powered feature now found in Windows 11's iconic Paint app. You can make a simple drawing (which Paint is usually used for), then write a message (such as describing what the drawing is and what style you want the image to be) and, using a slider, you can adjust the intensity of the AI. alters its image, and the results are displayed in a second panel.
It's undeniably impressive, especially considering that all of this is done in a basic, free app, while also using the laptop's built-in NPU to do all of this.
But, after that impressive initial impression, I was once again left wondering what real use this would be for me. It's a fun diversion, sure, but I don't see it being that useful for my daily life. Maybe graphic designers and artists will like it, but I doubt they'll use a basic app like Paint to work. And while the results were impressive in turning a hasty scribble into something more recognizable, the images created by Cocreator were obviously created by AI, and most professionals probably won't want to rely on designs like that.
Copilot also remains a frustration. It can now be accessed by simply pressing a dedicated Copilot button that is part of the keyboards that come with Copilot+ PC devices, but even when I quickly open it, I struggle to think of ways to use it to its full potential. It doesn't help that it feels like a separate app, rather than integrating with other apps, so it feels like using it is an extra step, complicating tasks rather than simplifying them.
At work we use Slack, an instant messaging app that allows our global team to stay in touch. So, I thought I'd ask Copilot to “write me a generic greeting message to my coworkers on Slack.”
This is what Copilot responded: “Hello team! A friendly reminder about our external site tomorrow. Please come with comfortable clothing. We will provide breakfast and lunch. See you at 9 am!
While the tone of the message is broadly what I was looking for, although it's nothing like what I would actually text on Slack to my team, the fact that they made up an off-site event and then promised that food would be provided meant which I obviously couldn't use: I'd have to rewrite almost everything in the Copilot app, so Copy the text to the Slack app to publish. How is this supposed to save me time?
A few days later, I was sitting in on a presentation and had a great idea of how Copilot could help me, so I asked him to transcribe the presentation using the Surface Laptop's microphone, which could save me from frantically typing trying to write down everything. What was happening. said that.
Unfortunately, Copilot couldn't help me and told me it couldn't transcribe and couldn't record live audio either. He suggested that he could take my Taking notes and summarizing them for myself, which wasn't going to be much help.
Instead, I used a feature in Microsoft Word to record the audio and transcribe it. I then copied and pasted the transcript into Copilot to summarize it – a clever solution to get what I needed… or so I thought. Instead, Copilot told me that the text was too long, so he could only summarize part of the presentation. The result was good, but since I couldn't transcribe the entire presentation at once, it was useless, not to mention that I was once again copying and pasting text between Copilot and various applications, while writing directions for the AI to follow.
Everything seemed like more effort than it was worth, the complete opposite of what was promised. After that I've barely used it, apart from asking what the standard door size is in the UK (long story), which is something I might have Googled anyway.
So are Copilot+ PC devices like the Surface Laptop a noble failure? Certainly not, there are many things that I have In fact I liked the Surface Laptop, but Copilot is not one of them.
ARM changes the rules of the game
There has been a lot of talk about the Snapdragon but while using the Surface Laptop. , which is powered by the 12-core Snapdragon
Most impressive of all is the increased battery life these chips offer. I'm getting increasingly annoyed by the poor battery life of even the best Windows laptops. Not only do they seem to lose battery life quickly, but they are quite poor at losing battery life even when not in use. Too often, I've taken my work laptop to a meeting and opened it to find the battery was dead, even though there was enough left the last time I used it.
This has led me to almost exclusively use MacBooks these days. Thanks to their ARM-based chips (M1, M2, M3), the best MacBooks can last much longer than Windows 11 laptops while still holding a charge even when not in use for a while, but With Copilot+ PC, that could be it all. change.
I charged the Surface Laptop about two and a half days before writing this, and in that time I've been using it on and off throughout the day, including testing AI features, participating in (many) video calls, and recording and transcribing. a presentation and general Internet navigation. With many Windows laptops in the past, you probably would have had to charge them at least once a day. Even if it wasn't necessary, past experience makes me worry about traveling without first charging my work laptop. Yes, range anxiety doesn't just affect people with electric cars: Windows laptop users suffer from it too. With the Surface Laptop, not only have I not had to charge it for several days, but it's still above 30%.
This is an absolute game-changer for me, as while battery life has improved tremendously, it hasn't come at the cost of performance. So far, I've been able to run any Windows 11 app, thanks to Microsoft apparently figuring out how to make those apps, which are designed to run on Intel and AMD chips, work on ARM chips.
The power efficiency of the Snapdragon The laptop has been essentially silent while running, again a big change from the Windows laptops I've used in the past.
This, more than any AI feature, has made me seriously consider returning to a Windows laptop. You'll get build quality and performance comparable to MacBooks, with tremendous battery life. And, for all the pain I give Microsoft for some of its nastier choices when it comes to Windows 11, I still feel more comfortable using that operating system compared to macOS. Sure, Apple's OS is arguably better than Microsoft's, but I've been using Windows since the days of Windows 3.1, and that means I know how the OS works and how to fix errors and use workarounds when necessary. . I'm less used to macOS and its sometimes strange way of doing things. Oh, and the Surface Laptop comes with a touchscreen, something Apple seems to refuse to bring to its MacBooks, despite my time using the iPad Pro (M4) and Magic Keyboard proving that a MacBook with a touchscreen could work. Instead of waiting for Apple to agree, you could use the Surface Laptop.
So despite Copilot's importance in Microsoft's eyes, it's not the most impressive thing about the Copilot+ PCs: it's the hardware. These devices could transform the laptop market, but not in the way Microsoft thinks.
