Copilot+ PCs Hit The Market, Bringing Local Processing Power To AI
'Today marks the beginning of a new era for Windows,' Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote on LinkedIn.
Billed by Microsoft as “the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built” and representing an opportunity for partners to sell customers on new devices, the Copilot+ PC launch came amid controversy over the devices’ “Recall” search feature, which Microsoft rolled back from making broadly available.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for Windows,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote on Microsoft-owned social media network LinkedIn. “We can't wait to see how these new AI-powered devices empower people to be more productive and creative.”
[RELATED: Microsoft Build 2024: 5 Things To Know About Copilot+ PCs]
Microsoft Copilot+ PC
CRN has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
Michael Goldstein, CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Microsoft partner LAN Infotech – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – told CRN in an interview that he is “still currently evaluating units as they come out” for his use and for customers.
“I do appreciate all the value … they are adding,” he said. “And power to handle the AI.”
Copilot+ PCs are available from Microsoft Surface, Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, according to the vendor.
The PCs are equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series Processors, which have neural processing units (NPUs) capable of 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS).
Prices range from $999 estimated retail price (ERP) to upwards of $2,499.99 ERP.
Microsoft has been making big bets on generative AI, rolling out its own Copilot and other AI offerings and investing in upstarts such as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
Recall Controversy
Microsoft made the Recall recall announcement on Friday and updated a blog post from June 7.
“We are adjusting the release model for Recall to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider community to ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security,” read the update in a post attributed to Pavan Davuluri, corporate vice president of Windows and Devices.
In an online post published Tuesday announcing the availability of Copilot+ PCs for purchase, Microsoft described the preview of Recall as a feature meant “for the solo-preneur who has too many working files and emails to maintain organization.”
“Recall helps you quickly find things you have seen on your PC, keeping all documents, images, websites, instant messages, emails and apps right at your fingertips,” according to the post. “This experience comes with built-in privacy and security controls.”
The Recall feature even came up during Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith’s congressional testimony the day before Microsoft published its Recall update. “We're trying to apply it as a lesson learned,” Smith said during his testimony. “So if somebody's creating the Recall feature, they need to think about the security aspects of the Recall feature.”
Smith added during his testimony that “the feature hasn't yet been finished and we've had a process to share information and take lots of feedback. We've designed it so it's off by default so that people have to choose to turn it on. And we can share information with them before they make that decision.” Screenshots taken by Recall stay on one's own PC, he said.
“We're trying to take a very comprehensive approach to addressing all of the security and privacy issues,” Smith said. “And we're trying to do it in a dialogue because when you do create technology, I think one of the mistakes you can make is to think that you have all the answers. You only get to the best answers when you have these kinds of collective and public conversations.”