©Microsoft
In 2020, Apple launched its first Apple Silicon chip, based on Arm architectures. By abandoning Intel processors in favor of its own technology, the Cupertino company was able to offer ultra-high-performance Macs that consume little energy and therefore have very good battery life. But this year, its competitors are finally able to challenge Apple, thanks to new processors and a new version of Windows that Microsoft has just made official.
Last year, Qualcomm presented its Snapdragon X Elite chip, capable of competing with Apple Silicon chips. Subsequently, it launched another version called Snapdragon . And on Monday, Microsoft finally presented its first PCs using these Qualcomm processors: the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. These two products belong to a whole new category of computers that Microsoft calls “Copilot+” PCs. And, according to the Redmond firm, “launched with Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon ~ and are faster than the latest Macbook Air.”
At the bottom of the page, Microsoft specifies that it used the Multi-threaded Cinebench 2024 test to compare a Surface Laptop using the Snapdragon X Elite chip with a 13-inch MacBook Air using the M3 chip. And in terms of autonomy, Microsoft also claims that its new PCs can last a whole day. The new Surface Laptop, for example, is said to have enough battery life for 20 hours of video playback.
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Other models and other processors are coming
The good news is that Copilot+ computers are coming from other brands. For example, ASUS and HP have also just announced the arrival of their first Copilot+ PCs, which use new Qualcomm processors. And as for processors, Microsoft says Copilot+ computers with Intel and AMD processors will arrive later this year.
In addition to using a whole new category of processors, the new PCs announced this week also use a version of Windows 11 which has been specially adapted by Microsoft. According to explanations from Android Authority, Microsoft has equipped Windows 11 with a new kernel and a new compiler to optimize its operating system for Arm architectures (the technology on which Snapdragon chips are based). And to allow x86 and x64 apps to work correctly on Copilot+ machines, Windows 11 is also equipped with a new emulator called Prism.
Computers for racing AI
In addition to the fact that these new Copilot+ PCs can rival the performance of Macs, they have also been optimized for artificial intelligence. Indeed, thanks to the NPU (neural processing unit) of the Snapdragon chip, this new category of PC is capable of managing 40+ TOPS (trillions of operations per second).
Thanks to this enormous computing power for AI, Windows offers new features, like Recall. “You can use natural language to search, or scroll back in time and navigate back to what you need to find with text and visual matches. All stored locally, with built-in privacy and controls”,Microsoft explains about this feature. The operating system also has subtitling and instant translation functionality.
In addition, these new capabilities AI can be exploited by developers. Thanks to the power of Copilot+ PCs, the CapCut application is, for example, capable of removing the background from a video clip in the blink of an eye.
- Microsoft is launching its new PCs, using the new Qualcomm chips, which would be more powerful than the latest MacBook Air
- Thanks to the Snapdragon with exceptional autonomy
- ASUS and HP products have also just been announced
- In addition to to be ultra-efficient, this new category of PC is also equipped with significant computing power for artificial intelligence
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