Qualcomm’s exclusivity period for Copilot+ PCs is coming to an end: Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that Intel’s new 200V processors and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series chips will get Copilot+ AI capabilities starting in November.
Copilot+ PC includes features such as Live Caption (real-time subtitle generation with translation), Cocreator in Paint (prompt-based image generation), Windows Studio Effects image editing (background blur, eye contact adjustment, auto-framing) and AI tools in Photos. Of particular interest to gamers is Auto Super Resolution, a competitor to Nvidia DLSS that upscales graphics resolution and refresh rate in real time without compromising performance.
AI PC will also eventually include Recall, Microsoft’s searchable timeline of PC activity, a feature that was delayed to tighten security after initial backlash. (Who would have thought that the history of everything you’ve done on your PC would need to be locked down as tightly as possible?) The company says the revamped Recall will start rolling out to beta testers in October.
Intel
Intel’s 200V Series processors announced today include a powerful Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that supports up to 48 TOPS (tera operations per second) for locally processed AI models and tools. With up to 32GB of on-board memory, the 200V is Intel’s “most efficient x86 processor ever,” with 50% lower on-package power consumption.
Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft’s lead for Windows and Devices, confirmed that Intel’s new chips will support Copilot+: “All designs powered by Intel Core Ultra 200V series processors and running the latest version of Windows will be eligible to receive Copilot+ PC capabilities as a free update starting in November,” Davuluri said onstage at Intel’s IFA announcement event in Germany.
Meanwhile, AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series chips, announced earlier this summer, are also expected to support the Copilot+ feature in November, according to a Windows Blog post. The AMD chips’ NPUs will be able to reach up to 50 TOPS of AI performance, with overall performance 16% faster than the previous generation chips.
The first Copilot+ PCs will arrive in June and will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip. The first batch of Arm-based PCs includes laptops and 2-in-1s from Microsoft, Acer, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Asus and Dell.
