Enter the AI PC era! Microsoft Copilot+PC is listed, equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon X, starting at $999 USD

Apple's Mac has a strong competitor!

On June 18th, Microsoft officially announced the first batch of Windows 11 AI PCs - the brand new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop are on the market, marking the official start of the new era of AI PCs with Microsoft's introduction of Copilot+ PCs.

At last month's launch event, Microsoft grandly introduced this new Windows PC designed for AI experiences. Microsoft's OEM partners such as Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, and others will also gradually release Windows 11 AI PCs, starting from June 18th.

Microsoft ambitiously aims to surpass Apple's leading position in the PC market with this new product. According to Microsoft's tests, the new Surface outperforms the MacBook Air equipped with an M3 chip by 58%.

Microsoft CEO Nadella confidently declared at last month's launch event:

Apple has done a great job with the Mac product line, but we will surpass them. We finally have a truly competitive product.

Some netizens, upon receiving the Microsoft AI PC, excitedly announced on social media: Goodbye Mac, hello Windows!

Some media outlets have compared it to the "Tesla of the PC industry":

How powerful is Microsoft's Copilot+ PC? The first wave of reviews is already here!

Equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon X, starting at $999

Microsoft's first batch of Copilot+ PCs are equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, improving performance by 90% compared to the Surface Pro 9, and using a custom Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU.

Microsoft claims that these new products are the "fastest and smartest Windows computers," built on a new system architecture that can perform over 400 trillion operations per second (40+TOPS) with a new NPU chip, capable of running new Windows features including Cocreator (text-to-image generation), Windows Studio Effects (webcam blur), real-time caption translation, and Recall.

The new Microsoft products come in four colors - Platinum, Graphite, Cobalt, and Sandstone - starting at $999 ![] (https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/a494e7da-877f-4e74-826f-55601d813034.png)

Microsoft positions Copilot as a daily artificial intelligence companion. The new Surface comes with a Copilot key, simply click the Copilot key to launch the Copilot application.

In terms of other configurations:

• The new Surface Pro is equipped with an ultra-wide-angle high-definition front camera, combined with AI-driven Windows Studio Effects, even in noisy environments such as airports or train station waiting halls, users can use the voice focus function to block out environmental noise.
• Optional OLED display supporting HDR technology provides higher peak brightness and more accurate color performance.
• The Surface Slim Pen 3 paired with the new Surface Pro also provides users with a better calligraphy and painting experience.
• The Surface Pro Flex Keyboard 3 supports both linking and detachable use.
• 

Microsoft announced the first batch of Copilot+ features at Microsoft Build 2024 last month.

These features include generative AI tools, third-party app integration, and flagship "Recall" feature. However, due to security and privacy concerns, the "Recall" feature has sparked significant controversy, leading Microsoft to postpone its release, which will not be included in the Copilot+ features released on June 18.

Copilot+ PC can run generative AI models on devices, and also includes tools and functions with image generation capabilities, such as Restyle Image and Image Creator in the photo app, and Cocreator in the drawing app.

The AI capabilities of Copilot+ PC can also enhance the performance of third-party creative applications such as Adobe Creative Suite, DaVinci Resolve Studio, and CapCut

The first wave of evaluations is here!

Microsoft Copilot+ PC has just been launched, and the well-known hardware website Tom's Hardware has acquired a 15-inch Surface Laptop equipped with the Snapdragon Elite X CPU and shared preliminary evaluation results on their blog.

Cinebench Test: Surface Outperforms ThinkPad

Cinebench is a CPU and GPU performance testing tool developed by Maxon. It is mainly used to evaluate the performance of computer processors and graphics processors, especially in terms of multi-threaded and single-threaded processing capabilities. Through Cinebench testing, users can obtain a quantified score for comparing the performance of different processors or systems.

Tom's Hardware used Cinebench 2024 to conduct 20 consecutive tests on the Surface Laptop 15 with the Snapdragon X Elite, finding that its performance in the multi-core CPU test was 72% higher than the Core Ultra 7 155H-equipped ThinkPad X1 Carbon:

The average score for the ThinkPad was 537, with the lowest score on the first run being 466 and the highest score on the 16th run being 585.9. The score sharply increased between the 6th and 9th runs, and thereafter, the score never dropped below 548.

The Surface Laptop achieved its highest score in the second run, reaching 947, with the lowest score on the first run being 909. Most runs were in the range of 910 to 935, indicating that the Snapdragon-equipped laptop is not only faster but also more stable.

AI Function Evaluation: Offline Applications and Compatibility Are Disappointing

Due to the controversial Recall feature being delayed, Windows 11 now only has three exclusive features limited to Copilot+, including Codesigner, an image generator integrated into Windows Paint, real-time subtitle conversion and translation, and Windows Studio Effects.

After the evaluation by Tom's Hardware, doubts were raised about the practical utility of exclusive Copilot+ features such as Studio Effects and Cocreator, especially since they require an internet connection to function, which contradicts the expected offline capabilities of devices with powerful NPUs

Studio Effects: This is a new feature in Windows 11 that provides a range of webcam effects, using local processing rather than cloud processing. Effects include automatic framing, portrait lighting, eye contact, background effects, and creative filters. However, testers found that these effects were not particularly special, and in some cases, such as the eye contact mode, they had no effect at all. Testers also noted that while these effects should be available on any Windows 11 PC, in reality, they did not leave a lasting impression.

Cocreator: This is a new feature in Windows Paint that allows users to generate images by combining drawing and text prompts. However, testers expressed doubts about the actual utility of Cocreator. Firstly, Cocreator requires users to provide both drawing and text prompts, rather than using just one of them. Secondly, despite the device having a powerful NPU, Cocreator functionality requires an internet connection to work, which is contrary to the expected offline AI processing capability. Additionally, the quality and response speed of image generation did not meet the testers' expectations.

Internet Dependency: Testers pointed out that despite Copilot+ PC being equipped with a high-performance NPU, functions like Cocreator require internet dependency to complete tasks, which seems contradictory to the original intention of having strong local processing capabilities. This design choice may be due to considerations for content moderation, but testers believe that Microsoft should be able to achieve the same moderation function locally instead of sending data to the cloud.

Content Moderation Issues: Testers also mentioned potential content moderation issues with Cocreator. While Cocreator can prevent the generation of certain inappropriate images, it still allows many other potentially controversial prompts to pass through. This indicates that Microsoft still has room for improvement in preventing the generation of biased or embarrassing content.

Performance and Response Speed: When using Cocreator, testers observed that the NPU usage rate would spike to 100%, with a 2 to 3-second delay in image redraw. Although this is faster than similar functions on some other systems, this delay can still be inconvenient during the creative process.

The review also identified some compatibility issues, as despite being equipped with a powerful NPU, some AI workloads, such as Whisper AI and Stable Diffusion, struggled to run on Snapdragon laptops.

Finally, the testers also criticized the abundance of Windows 11 advertisements: "When setting up the out-of-the-box Surface Laptop 15, I realized how hard Microsoft is trying to sell you the product."