The website brings you to the Surface product page. (Image Source: Microsoft)
Microsoft’s annual developer conference is set to take place this week from 21 to 23 May. The keynote, which will be headed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, is on 22 May, 12am SGT. The main focus for the show will be AI (unsurprisingly) and will see new developments to Copilot, the AI-powered tool to support Microsoft 365 users with automation features.
Taking centre stage alongside Microsoft’s Copilot will be the launch of brand-new Microsoft Surface Laptops powered by the latest Snapdragon X Elite chipset. These laptops will look to be a contender to Apple's M3-powered MacBooks.
New Surface devices
The Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 were initially launched for businesses only. (Image Source: Microsoft)
The company will kick things off with a dedicated Surface event where it’s expected to unveil consumer versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6. As previously mentioned, the new Microsoft Surface Laptops will be powered by the latest Snapdragon X Elite chipset.
According to earlier reports, Microsoft is confident that the latest chipset from Qualcomm will outperform Apple’s latest M3-powered MacBook Air in both CPU and AI-related tasks thanks to the Snapdragon X Elite’s neural processing capabilities,
Additionally, Microsoft also believes that the new processors will allow for the Surface laptops to have a “faster app emulation than Rosetta 2”. Hopefully, the brand new Snapdragon X Elite can help to boost productivity usage on the Microsoft Surface Laptops.
In terms of technical specifications, the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 that were sold to business customers came with up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, integrated Intel Arc Graphics, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. Other than the processor and GPU, it is likely that the internals remain the same. On top of hardware upgrades, there is also a dedicated Copilot key and advanced 1440p cameras. Though chances are slim, these consumer Surface devices could also have slimmer bezels and larger trackpads.
AI Explorer
According to a report by Windows Central, Microsoft's "AI Explorer" will serve as an umbrella term for a suite of new AI and machine learning-powered features in Windows 11. This is said to include a revamped search experience that understands natural language queries to surface websites, files and more. AI Explorer may also see the introduction of a visual timeline for easy scrolling through recent activities, alongside contextual suggestions based on the user's activity.
Beyond enhanced search and intelligent suggestions, AI Explorer will reportedly expand on existing Copilot functionality. Rumoured additions include live captions generated by AI models, enhanced Studio effects like real-time video filters, and on-device generative AI capabilities for tasks such as creating photos on the fly.
Copilot sessions
(Image Source: Microsoft)
More AI is coming. With over 137 sessions dedicated to Microsoft’s Copilot initiative for integrating AI assistants into coding workflows, Office apps, Edge, and Teams, there is plenty to learn about Copilot and its features at the conference. Beyond the introduction of new Copilot features, expect there to be sessions to help kickstart your journey in utilising Copilot extensions with this session titled “ Developer’s guide to customising Microsoft Copilot”. For more information, you can check out the session page here.
For more updates about Build 2024, you can visit the Microsoft website here. Registration for the online version of the Build 2024 developer conference can be done here.
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