Microsoft Reveals First AI-Optimized Surface PCs

“It's clear the age of Copilot has arrived. And we're just getting started,” Microsoft executive Jared Spataro said Thursday.

Microsoft has revealed two new Surface devices shipping April 9 – the Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business, complete with keys dedicated to Copilot, integrated neural processing units for artificial intelligence experiences and the latest Intel Core Ultra processors.

The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant shared details about the devices during a virtual event Thursday that also provided some updates on Windows 365 and Windows 11.

A version of Surface Pro 10 with 5G is slated for release later in the year and will mark the first time Microsoft brings 5G on the Intel platform, according to the vendor.

“The best Copilot users save more than 10 hours per month – just think about what you’d do with an extra 10 hours,” Jared Spataro, Microsoft corporate vice president of modern work and business applications, said during the event. “It's clear the age of Copilot has arrived. And we're just getting started.”

Microsoft Surface Devices With AI

Microsoft has billed the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 as the first Surface PCs optimized for AI, with features including live captions and Windows Studio Effects – which apply voice focus, auto framing, background blur and other effects to device cameras and built-in microphones.

Both laptops have up to 19 hours of battery life and support fast charging, according to Microsoft.

The Laptop 6 has a Copilot key built in and the Pro 10 gains the key when paired with a Surface Pro Keyboard. When Copilot for Windows is not enabled, pressing the Copilot key launches Windows Search.

The NPUs in the devices aim to relieve the central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for running other critical applications. The NPU can take on Windows Studio Effects or live captions while the other chips run Microsoft Teams, for example, according to Microsoft.

Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are available for pre-order in select markets.

Microsoft also provided some updates for Windows 365 and Windows 11, which should gain more users over the next year with Windows 10 end of support slated for October 2025.

Here’s a deeper look at each device and the Windows updates.

Surface Pro 10 for Business

The Surface Pro 10 is up to 53 percent faster than its predecessor with a 33 percent brighter display and custom designed durable anti-reflective coating, according to Microsoft.

A version of Pro 10 with 5G is slated for later in the year and will mark the first time Microsoft brings 5G on the Intel platform, according to the vendor.

Pro 10 features touch gestures, voice commands and the ability to write prompts with the Surface Slim Pen, all of which users can leverage to interact with Copilot. The pen is sold separately with a software license required for some features.

Users will also have the ability to use Copilot in OneNote and other Microsoft 365 applications to analyze handwritten notes, according to the vendor.

Pro 10 also has new Ultrawide Studio cameras and are the first Windows PCs with 114-degree field of view – the widest ever for a Windows PC, according to Microsoft. The camera captures video in 1440p.

The Pro 10 has Intel Core Ultra processors with Intel AI Boost and up to 64 gigabytes (GB) of random access memory (RAM).

On security, the Pro 10 has Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) on by default and a new near field communication reader designed to simplify passwordless authentication with NFC security keys.

And for repairs, Pro 10 has internal markings that identify the number of screws and driver types needed for key components, according to Microsoft.

Surface Laptop 6 for Business

The Surface Laptop 6 is twice as fast as its predecessor and powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra H-Series processor, according to Microsoft. It has up to 19 hours of battery life, Omnisonic Speakers with Dolby Atmos and dual Studio Mics with voice focus.

The device has the options of 13.5-inch and 15-inch PixelSense touchscreen displays with adaptive color and anti-reflective technology reducing reflections by up to 50 percent.

The 15-inch models will have integrated smart card readers for users in government, financial services and other highly secure industries, according to Microsoft.

Laptop 6’s new Surface Studio cameras capture 1080p video and have AI-driven Windows Studio Effects such as auto framing and background blur.

The Laptop 6 boasts improved thermal capacity to decrease downtime, and it has a Copilot key to quickly bring up the AI tool, which will have commercial data protection built in.

Copilot with commercial data protection is available at no additional cost for users with an Entra ID with an enabled, eligible Microsoft 365 license, according to the vendor.

Some Copilot use cases for Laptop 6 users including analyzing websites, asking in plain English where a document is and asking Copilot to turn on live captions or a magnifier instead of manually searching settings, according to Microsoft.

Live captions are available in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Japanese and other languages, according to the vendor.

Surface Management Portal, Surface IT Toolkit

Aimed at IT professionals, Microsoft has updated its Surface Management Portal for managing relevant device fleets within Microsoft Intune.

The portal has insights-based monitoring and the ability to track device health, warranty information, carbon emissions and other measurements.

As for the Surface IT Toolkit Microsoft announced, the vendor describes the toolkit as aimed at helping IT professionals with deployments, security, data compliance and other daily tasks.

Windows 11, Windows 365 Updates

Microsoft also provided some Windows related updates as part of the Surface event.

With Windows 11 preview’s next release at the end of March comes new Copilot skills for accessibility, including narrator, launch screen magnifier, change text size and start live captions, according to the vendor.

Microsoft has made single sign-on (SSO) and passwordless authentication support generally available (GA) for Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), with third-party identity provider (IDP) support.

Also GA are watermarking, screen capture protection and tamper protection support for W365 and AVD.

A preview is available for W365 GPU support, which aims to support graphic design, 3D modeling, data processing, video rendering and similar intensive workloads.

In public preview are some W365 AI capabilities including the ability to assess deployment and use to provide recommendations for better forecasting and right-sizing of cloud PC investments, according to Microsoft.