AI (Artificial Intelligence) has entered the zeitgeist and new AI applications are launching at an unprecedented pace. Many of these AI tools can be accessed natively on a Windows PC/laptop. However, given their resource-intensive nature, running these AI processes requires a powerful PC or laptop. To meet this demand, Microsoft and its partner laptop companies are launching new AI-ready laptops called Copilot+ PCs. In this article, we will learn what these AI laptops are, the system requirements for a Copilot Plus PC, and the top AI features you can use on these machines.
Table of Contents
What are AI laptops?
AI laptops come with machine learning capabilities that enable smarter computing than traditional laptops. They may feature specialised co-processors called Neural Processing Units (NPUs), for efficiently handling mathematical processes to power AI applications.
Besides processing power, factors like memory bandwidth, software optimisation and how well the NPU is integrated into the system matter.
Microsoft, the developer of the Windows operating system announced a new breed of personal computers that are AI-ready. These are christened Copilot+ PCs. The Redmond-based company wants to “build computers that understand us versus us having to understand computers”.
So, let’s understand what is its definition of Copilot+ PCs.
What are Copilot+ PC system requirements?
Copilot+ PCs are powered by dedicated NPU with 40 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage.
At present Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus-powered laptops (with up to 45 TOPS) have been announced with these system requirements.
Also, Intel Lunar Lake for mobile PCs and AMD Strix processors meet this requirement and machines with these chips are expected this year or next year.
What do TOPS mean in AI? Does it matter?
TOPS is the metric for measuring the performance capability of a CPU, GPU, or, in this case, an NPU. It tells how many trillions of operations a processor can run in a second. The higher the TOPS of an NPU, the faster or more capable performer it is deemed to be for on-device AI operations.
However, this is a theoretical figure and doesn’t necessarily reflect real-world performance. Also, ChatGPT and other current AI generation tools will fare just as fine on a regular PC/laptop as a flagship laptop with a big TOPS value. As is always the case, cutting-edge hardware comes first and software applications catch up only then.
So, you should care about TOPS only if you are ready to bet on future AI applications and want to future-proof your devices for those apps when they arrive.
Top 7 AI use cases for AI laptops with Copilot+
Powerful activity tracker
Microsoft’s AI Recall automatically takes a snapshot of your screen every 5 seconds and stores these snapshots as a timeline locally in the PC. You can revisit this timeline later and ask Recall about any tasks you performed on the PC and it will locally analyse the stored data and try to show what you are looking for in a text or image format.
To trigger Recall, hit the Windows button + J button together. You can search for a keyword or phrase by typing or voice (using the mic option).
Recall will be an opt-in feature.
Image creation and editing
Cocreator is a new option in MS Paint that creates images based on given text prompts. It is powered by Open AI’s Dall-E model. You can choose from one of the many artwork styles given in the app.
Meanwhile, the Restyle tool in the Photos app lets you reanimate your photos using preset styles.
Live translated subtitles
Within the Live Captions feature of Windows 11, you can now find a live translation facility that transcribes live or pre-recorded audio in any app or video platform to English subtitles. It supports over 40 languages. It works offline too.
Game upscaling
Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) reduces a game’s rendering resolution and upscale frame rate. This is supported on games like The Witcher 3, Borderlands 3, Control (dx11), Dark Souls III, God of War, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, BeamNG.drive, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2.
AI assistance
You can press the C button on the keyboard or the Copilot button on the Windows 11 taskbar to bring up your AI companion. It can summarise long text, calculate numerical equations, guide you in coding, get answers to your queries, quick responses to messages and emails, etc. It can be accessed over other apps and provides context-based suggestions and assistance.
Copilot will be supported by Open AI models like GPT-4o.
Video call enhancements
Windows Studio Effects is for video calls. It can illuminate your face with the Portrait Light feature. You can apply filters like illustrated, animated and watercolour.
There is also a feature called Eye contact teleprompter that helps you keep straight eye contact. So in different ways, the Windows Studio Effects ensure you stay in focus.
Similarly, there are other AI applications that can blur or change the background to your preferred ambience. AI can be helpful in killing background noises in audio.
Performance optimisation
Besides these, AI is employed in analysing the performance demand and threshold to better manage resources. AI can also help in improved power efficiency, battery lifespan and heat management.
Laptop brands like Acer, HP, Lenovo, etc have their own AI solutions in the mix.
FAQs
Are Copilot AI features available on Windows 10 and older machines?
Yes, Copilot is available on Windows 10 but on select devices and markets. Also, its capabilities will be limited than Copilot on Windows 11.
What are the benefits of using an AI laptop with Copilot+ technology?
Copilot+ PCs bring the aforementioned AI features natively. So, they may work more reliably. You don’t have to install any third-party apps to use AI.
What types of AI applications can I run on a Copilot+ PC?
As mentioned above, Copilot+ PCs come with AI apps like Recall, Cocreator, Restyle, Windows Studio Effects, etc.
Is an AI laptop more expensive than a regular laptop?
Since AI laptops with Copilot+ branding need a specialised processor and other components, they could be pricier than a regular laptop.
