AI Archives | Windows Experience Blog

NPU paves the way toward a more intelligent Windows

Athima Chansanchai, Writer — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 16:30:58 +0000

Inside Copilot+ PCs is a tiny but powerful AI engine, an innovation originally used in smartphones and now applied to Windows PCs: a neural processing unit Microsoft developed with silicon partners for its latest line of personal computers. These NPU chips speed up AI tasks locally – which means they happen on the device – and can enhance the Copilot+ PC’s digital experiences. What sets Copilot+ PCs apart is the requirement for the NPU to be capable of 40+ Trillion Operations per Second. (TOPS measures trillions of operations a system can perform per second.) NPUs specialize in processing machine learning and small language models efficiently to power features such as image creation and smart camera effects while drawing less power from other areas of the PC, helping extend battery life when unplugged. “AI features available on Windows create novel experiences, and we developed the hardware needed to support those experiences,” says Steven Bathiche, a corporate vice president and technical fellow who established the Applied Sciences team that develops much of the AI technology in Windows. Read the rest of this story over on Microsoft Source.

Windows 365 brings resilient, AI-driven cloud productivity to more users

Stefan Kinnestrand — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 16:00:04 +0000

Since Windows 365 came to market four years ago, it has helped many of our customers transform their approach to cloud computing. I’m excited to share how we’re continuing to invest to meet customer needs — making it easier to manage, scale and secure the modern workplace. Last month, Microsoft was recognized as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service for a third consecutive year. We believe this recognition reflects our continued commitment to helping businesses transform how they operate, innovate and compete; at the same time, the landscape keeps shifting and there is always more we can do to support our customers. Let’s start by looking at how our customers’ priorities have changed since we introduced Windows 365 four years ago: IT leaders saw early success with Windows 365 and are expanding deployments across more roles and locations. Flexibility is now critical — whether it’s a frontline employee in Germany who shares a Windows 365 Link device or needs just a few apps, or an executive in Singapore who requires the full Cloud PC experience, Windows 365 has you covered. Security and resilience are also top priorities, because organizations face considerable financial and operational risk when devices malfunction, or are damaged, lost or stolen. Windows 365 is designed from the ground up to minimize disruptions and protect business continuity, and now, with Windows 365 Reserve, customers can resolve outages from any device within just a matter of minutes.* Windows 365 Reserve is in public preview. AI-enabled endpoint management is now essential in a cloud-powered world. Microsoft Intune streamlines and automates provisioning, patching and policy compliance — and Microsoft Security Copilot in Intune uses AI to assist IT admins with endpoint management tasks, offering insights and recommendations that can help increase agility to scale. Natural language queries simplify admin tasks, while built-in intelligence surfaces actionable insights on device health, performance and security. Windows 365 plays a central role in this shift, integrating with Intune to bring Cloud PCs into a more intelligent, secured and flexible endpoint strategy. Organizations of all sizes are looking for more simplified, scalable solutions. Whether they’re managing a handful of devices or supporting a global workforce, IT teams need tools that reduce complexity, adapt to different environments and deliver enterprise-grade recovery without added overhead. So how are we meeting these evolving needs? Let’s take a look at what’s new in Windows 365 and Microsoft Intune.

Expanding Cloud PC access

Seeing how customers have embraced Windows 365 has inspired many of the latest updates that make Cloud PCs even easier to use across different roles, regions and workstyles. In April 2025 we introduced Windows 365 Link in seven markets, streamlining access to Cloud PCs via simple, secure, purpose-built devices. Starting this month, we’re expanding availability to six more markets, including Denmark, France, India, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Availability will further expand to Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Singapore and Spain in the coming months. We regularly make enhancements to Windows 365 Link based on early adopter feedback. Key updates in the coming months will include support for voice access to enhance accessibility, network authentication via captive portals at sign-in, authentication to apps and websites on Cloud PCs with smart card redirection and support for broader conditional access policy configurations. The potential impact of Windows 365 Link is hard to overstate: In our July blog post, we shared a Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study commissioned by Microsoft that projected a substantial return on investment up to 195% over six years for a composite organization with 2,000 employees, 500 contractors and $4 billion in annual revenue.** The study highlights the potential benefits of deploying Windows 365 Link to your frontline and desk-based workers in shared spaces. Organizations interested in purchasing Windows 365 Link should contact their Microsoft account team or an authorized reseller. Authorized resellers in the new markets currently include Danoffice IT ApS, ed A/S, and Egiss A/S in Denmark; Bechtle and Exakis Nelite in France; Bechtle in the Netherlands; Advania Sverige in Sweden; as well as Bechtle and Netrics AG in Switzerland. With Windows 365 Cloud Apps, customers can provide their users with access to applications without provisioning a full Cloud PC. Enabling Cloud PCs for app delivery provides additional flexibility for organizations looking to empower their employees to be productive in a secured, resilient environment. Windows 365 Cloud Apps is in public preview. Government organizations are expanding their use of Cloud PCs to support more employees and scenarios, and we're excited to bring even greater flexibility and cost-efficiency to these deployments with Windows 365 Frontline, now available in GCC and GCCH environments in dedicated mode. This enables secure access for workers who don’t need 24/7 access to a Cloud PC, such as shift-based, part-time and temporary workers. Windows 365 Frontline is fully compliant with FedRAMP Moderate, CJIS and IRS 1075 standards. To continue providing developers with a consistent, flexible solution that supports their use cases with advanced features, and seamless integration with enterprise identity and security, we are bringing developer capabilities to Windows 365. Beginning Nov. 1, Microsoft Dev Box will stop accepting new customers and current customers will be able to continue to use and expand their existing Dev Box deployment. For more details, visit the MS Learn page or contact your Microsoft account team.

Strengthening organizational resilience

With 89% of business leaders naming resilience as a top strategic priority, IT leaders know how vital it is to their organization’s bottom line. That’s why Microsoft continues to strengthen resiliency in Windows 365, introducing new capabilities to help organizations recover from disruptions more quickly and minimize time-to-productivity. Announced in June 2025, Windows 365 Reserve is a new standalone offering designed to keep employees productive when a device is lost, damaged or stolen, by swiftly providing access to a secured, pre-configured Cloud PC from a secondary device while the primary device is repaired or replaced. This means a near-instant recovery with minimal IT effort, built-in policy compliance, predictable costs without idle infrastructure and a familiar Windows experience for end users. Windows 365 Reserve is available in limited public preview. Windows 365 Cross-region Disaster Recovery helps shield users from regional outages by creating snapshots of Cloud PCs in geographically distant locations, bringing disaster recovery to shift-based or part-time workers in critical industries. Following its general availability as an add-on for Windows 365 Enterprise, it is now generally available as an add-on for Windows 365 Frontline.

Enhancing AI-enabled endpoint management

We recently announced the general availability of Security Copilot in Intune with support for Windows 365 Cloud PCs, and now we’re adding features that can make it even easier to manage all of your endpoints. With Windows 365 integrated into Copilot in Intune, IT admins can unlock powerful cross-device management scenarios. New capabilities include gaining insights into connectivity trends, optimizing license usage, identifying and resolving performance issues and detecting deployment gaps in Cloud PCs. Copilot in Intune brings all this into a unified view — offering summaries, surfacing key issues and recommending next steps across devices. In the coming weeks we're rolling out features designed to empower IT admins to manage their endpoints in a more scalable way and enhance security by enabling faster incident investigation and response — directly within Intune — using Copilot chat. Updates include Copilot chat integration across Intune; a Copilot chat prompt box that offers dynamic suggestions as users type; and prompt history and context retention within a chat session, so previous interactions remain visible, supporting deeper workflows and reducing the need to repeat queries. https://youtu.be/fHDcTYorIoI

Working with partners to support our customers

To support organizations of all sizes and structures, Microsoft is expanding access to modern endpoint management and security. One key advancement is the introduction of multi-tenant support for managed service providers (MSPs). Through a new partnership between Microsoft Intune and multi-tenant providers, MSPs can now deliver advanced management and security capabilities across their customer base. This enables organizations using Microsoft 365 Business Premium and above to centralize IT operations with Microsoft, simplify management tasks, reduce costs and strengthen overall security. Another advancement comes courtesy of two more Microsoft partners who recently announced an offer that gives customers no-cost application packaging for two months.*** One of the biggest hurdles in the shift to fully cloud-native management is moving homegrown and legacy application management to Intune. This offer makes it easier for organizations to modernize their IT infrastructure and move toward a more secure, cloud-based environment. Finally, the Windows 365 migration API enables partners and customers to build custom tools that simplify and streamline migration to Windows 365. It supports automation via the Microsoft Graph API and integrates with Microsoft Intune, making it easier for customers to get up and running on Windows 365. Microsoft has partnered with Nerdio, ControlUp, IGEL and EfficientEther to build migration tools that will be available in public preview on Oct. 13.

Get started today

It’s been inspiring to see how customers are evolving their workplace technology — leveraging AI and the cloud to unify endpoint management and empower their workforce. We're proud that the Windows 365 ecosystem plays a key role in this transformation, delivering an integrated, secured solution that simplifies IT, scales with business needs and enables IT leaders to make faster, more informed decisions. For customers who haven’t tried Windows 365 yet, we want to make it easier than ever to make the switch: for a limited time, Windows 365 is available for new customers at a 20% promotional discount.**** To take advantage of this offer, please contact your account manager, reach out to a Microsoft partner, or visit https://aka.ms/SaveOnW365 to learn more.

More news and resources

Windows 365 is built to be secured by design and helps to address the needs of organizations pursuing a Zero-Trust security approach. To help customers understand how security is built into every layer of Windows 365, we’ve included guidance in the Microsoft Zero Trust Workshop on how it supports a comprehensive Zero Trust approach.
Download the complimentary “Securing your BYOD Security with Windows 365” eBook, which outlines how Windows 365 helps to address the risks and needs around Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs. The service helps protect identity and data while enabling secured, unified access for employees, contractors and partners.
Windows 365 Boot allows users to sign in directly without having to sign into their physical device first. Now we’re rolling out major enhancements designed to make connecting to your Cloud PC faster and more flexible.
To learn more about Microsoft’s third consecutive year positioned as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service, enjoy complimentary access to the full report.

Editor’s note — September 22, 2025 — The blog was updated to include a link to the complimentary “Securing your BYOD Security with Windows 365” eBook and an update to the Windows 365 migration API public preview date. AI capabilities described herein are based on current product functionality and may evolve. Performance may vary depending on configuration and usage. *Depending on IT configuration and network conditions **ROI estimate is based on a commissioned study modeling a composite organization informed by interviews with six IT decision-makers who had experience using Windows 365 Link and survey responses from 212 IT decision-makers and end-user managers who had experience or interest in using Windows 365 Link. ROI projections reflect perceived benefits reported by participants and are not guaranteed. ***The services described herein are provided solely by our partners, and engagement with these services will be conducted directly between you and the partner organization. Microsoft disclaims all liability and responsibility in connection with the provision, performance, or outcome of any partner services. Microsoft neither endorses nor warrants any partner offerings, and is not a party to any agreements or communications between you and the partner. All inquiries, support requests, and communications regarding partner services should be directed exclusively to the respective partner. **** Offer runs through October 31, 2025, for new Windows 365 customers. Available only once per customer; other terms and conditions apply.

Windows 11 is the home for AI on the PC, with even more experiences available today

The Windows Team — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 17:00:02 +0000

AI is changing the way we use our PCs. According to a new consumer AI report commissioned by Microsoft, nearly 60% of people report using generative AI for work and business purposes in the past year. Even more (64%) report using AI for hobbies and personal interests like art, music and DIY projects. As the world adapts to this new era of AI infused with daily life, Windows is here to meet you where you are, with intuitive experiences built in to make what you already do on your PC even easier. Windows 11 is the home for AI, offering the most expansive and capable AI experiences for consumers today on Copilot+ PCs—with exclusive AI superpowers like Recall (preview), Click to Do (preview) and improved Windows search, as well as groundbreaking new ways to interact with your PC, like Copilot Vision on Windows, all available now. Today, we continue to make new experiences generally available for Windows 11 and Copilot+ PC users that make Windows more intuitive, more accessible and ultimately more useful. Read on to discover what’s available and how to get started using these experiences today.

Changing Windows Settings has never been easier, with Windows’ first agent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPbaiXDAQrU It's never been easier to adjust your settings in Windows. Now on Copilot+ PCs, you can use your own words in the settings search box to describe something you’d like to change, and instantly get recommendations, including actions to adjust the relevant setting with one click. This is made possible through the new agent in Settings, Windows’ first agent optimized for Copilot+ PCs. Hundreds of settings across displays, connectivity, accessibility and much more are now customizable through the agent in Settings, with the ability to enable or undo any setting you change. To use the agent in Settings:

Open Settings from the Taskbar or Start Menu
Type in the Settings search box what you want to change using your own words, such as “I want to enable quiet hours” or “connect Bluetooth device.” For some settings, you can even make specific requests, such “change my resolution to 1920x1080.”
If the agent can make the change, it will offer an option to complete the action to change the setting, as well as an option to undo any setting you change.
When settings are unable to be adjusted by the agent, improved Windows search will surface relevant settings to help you get closer to what you’re looking for, faster.

Learn more about how you can use Settings agent and other Windows features like Copilot Vision on Windows to troubleshoot your PC. The agent in Settings begins to become available starting today for Windows customers using English on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with availability on Intel and AMD devices as of Aug. 29.

Do even more with Click to Do (preview)

Click to Do keeps you in the flow to get things done faster, providing contextual actions to text and images on your screen. After invoking Click to Do, relevant text or visual actions will appear that include the ability to prompt Copilot, search the web, create bulleted lists, start a draft of a document or email, or even schedule a Teams meeting—all without leaving your current window. New actions available starting today includeⁱⁱ:

Practice in Reading Coachⁱⁱⁱ is a new Click to Do text action that helps you improve reading fluency and pronunciation. Select text on your screen, choose Practice in Reading Coach, and read the text aloud. Reading Coach gives you feedback and shows where to improve.
Read with Immersive Reader is a new text action in Click to Do that displays text in a focused, distraction-free environment. It helps improve reading and writing for all skill levels and abilities. You can adjust text size, spacing, font and background theme, have text read aloud, break words into syllables and highlight parts of speech. The picture dictionary shows images for unfamiliar words.
Draft with Copilot in Word^iv is a new text action enabling you to quickly turn any recognized text into a full draft. Whether it’s a sentence in an email or a snippet on your screen, press Win + Click on the recognized text, then select Draft with Copilot in Word. No more blank pages. No more writer's block. Just momentum.
Click to Do now supports actions through Microsoft Teams. When you select an email address recognized by Click to Do on your screen, you can choose to send a Teams message or schedule a Teams meeting. These options make it easy to ask a question or set up time to talk without interrupting your workflow.

To get started with Click to Do:

Press the Windows key + mouse click, Windows key + Q, or access through the Start menu and Snipping Tool.
Click to Do also supports hardware-specific options like double clicking your pen on your pen-capable device or swiping from the right with your pen or finger on your touch screen.
Learn more about all the ways you can use Click to Do to get more done on your Copilot+ PC.

Photos relight brings professional lighting controls to your pictures

https://youtu.be/Zd1yFxnw-II Relight in the Photos app brings professional lighting controls to your snapshots. Open any image in Photos, select Edit > Relight, and then click to place up to three virtual light sources around your subject. Adjust each light’s intensity, color and position with simple sliders, or choose from built-in presets like “Studio Portrait” and “Cinematic Glow.” To use relight in Photos:

Open the Photos app and select the image you want to relight.
Select Edit, then select Relight from the available options.
Choose one of the lighting presets, and optionally customize each light's location, brightness, softness or color, and the overall intensity of the effect.

Learn more about tips to get the most out of your photos. This feature is available now on Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Series processors, with support for Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel and AMD coming soon.

Paint adds even more creative capabilities with sticker generator and object select

In May, we introduced multiple enhancements to elevate your creative experience, now available on Copilot+ PCs. Sticker generator^v is a new AI-powered feature in Paint that lets you create custom stickers by simply typing a prompt. To get started, click on the Sticker generator button in the Copilot menu. From there, you can type in a description of the sticker you want to create, like “a cat wearing sunglasses,” and hit the Generate button. Paint will then generate a set of unique stickers based on your prompt. Once the stickers are generated, you can click on any one of them to instantly apply it to your canvas, copy the sticker for use in other applications, or save it for later. To access your recently generated stickers, click on the new Stickers option in the Paint toolbar. We’re also releasing object select, a smart selection tool that uses AI to help you isolate and edit individual elements in your image. To get started, click on the Object select tool in the toolbar and simply pinpoint specific elements on the canvas to select and make edits instantly. To use the new updates in Paint:

Open the Paint app.
Explore the new welcome experience to learn more about features like Cocreator, generative erase, sticker generator, object select and Layers.
Try out the new sticker generator and object select features.

Be more productive with Snipping Tool perfect screenshot and color picker

https://youtu.be/OPDbG5LNGiU

Snipping Tool’s screen capture and perfect screenshot capturing a specific area of the screen.

We’ve also added two new features to Snipping Tool—perfect screenshot and color picker. Perfect screenshot is a new AI-powered feature exclusive to Copilot+ PCs that allows you to precisely capture content on your screen with the Snipping Tool app without the need to crop or resize it post-capture. To try Snipping Tool perfect screenshot:

Invoke the Snipping Tool capture toolbar from within the app or by using the Print Screen keyboard shortcut.
Select the Perfect screenshot button from the toolbar when in rectangle mode and start selecting a region of your screen.
Once activated, perfect screenshot will intelligently resize based on the content in your selection. You can also quickly enable perfect screenshot by holding the Ctrl keyboard shortcut after invoking Snipping Tool while selecting a region of your screen.
Move or edit the area before confirming your capture, ensuring you get the perfect screenshot every time!

For all Windows 11 PCs, we have also added the ability to easily identify and capture colors seen on your screen through the introduction of color picker. Color picker is great for anyone who might need to quickly match a color you see on your screen as part of a project—whether that be designers, developers or everyday color aficionados.

Snipping Tool’s color picker tool selecting a color on the screen to inspect.

To try color picker in Snipping Tool:

Invoke the Snipping Tool capture toolbar from within the app or by using the Print Screen keyboard shortcut.
Select Color picker from the toolbar and then inspect or select a color code on your screen, choosing from HEX, RGB or HSL values. Need to be more precise? You can zoom by scrolling in on your pointer or using by using the Ctrl +/- keyboard shortcuts.

Do more with Microsoft Copilot and Edge on Windows 11

https://youtu.be/zcu8hzrTSdw Copilot Vision on Windows, now available in the U.S., is a new way to engage with your Windows 11 PC. When you enable it, it can see what you see on your device and talk to you about it in real time. It acts as your second set of eyes, able to analyze content, help when you’re lost, provide insights and answer your questions as you go. Whether you’re browsing, working or deep in a project, Copilot Vision offers instant insights and answers. And with Highlights, you can go a step further and ask Copilot “show me how” for a specific task and it will show you within the app you’re in where to click and what to do. On Windows, Copilot can help you navigate multiple apps at once, including your full desktop, serving as a true companion to help you accomplish any task. To get started with Copilot Vision on Windows:

Open the Copilot app and click the glasses icon in your composer.
Select which browser window or app you want to share.
Ask Copilot to help with whatever you’re working on. To stop sharing, press ‘Stop’ or ‘X’ in the composer. It’s a fully opt-in experience that always puts you at the controls.

Microsoft Edge is also the only browser built for Windows, offering the most seamless PC browsing experience with AI-powered tools, productivity features, and built-in performance and security features that help you browse quickly and safely. With features like Edge Game Assist, now available on Windows 11^vi, you can get tips and guides for many of the top PC games, easy access to essential sites like Discord, Spotify, and Twitch, and more — all right in your game. To use Edge Game Assist, simply press Win+G to open Game Bar and start using Microsoft Edge for a seamless and immersive gaming experience. Learn more about how you can get the most out of Edge on Windows.

Making the unexpected easier with faster recovery

Unexpected restarts are frustrating, that’s why starting today, people will begin to experience several improvements that make this experience quicker and more user friendly so you can pick up right where you left off. With quick machine recovery, a new recovery mechanism for Windows 11 PCs, your PC will automatically detect and fix widespread issues during an unexpected restart using the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). We’ve also streamlined the unexpected restart experience, reducing the time users spend on the screen from 40 seconds to just 2 seconds for most consumer devices on Windows 11, version 24H2.^vii As part of these changes, we also made an update to how our interface appears during an unexpected restart, introducing a simplified user interface (UI) that pairs with the shortened experience to display a more readable layout while keeping the technical details visible. Learn more about the changes to the unexpected restart experience here.

Move forward with Windows 11

From modern security to faster performance and the latest features and experiences, Windows 11 is built to help you work, play and create with ease. With support for Windows 10 ending on Oct. 14, 2025, we’re here to ensure your transition is smooth, secure and up to date. We understand that moving to a new PC can take time, and we’re here to support you throughout the process. The Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is designed to keep your current Windows 10 PC protected after support ends—helping you stay secure during the transition. Starting today, individuals will begin to see an enrollment wizard through notifications and in Settings, making it simple to select the best option for you and enroll in ESU directly from your personal Windows 10 PC. Learn more about Windows 10 end of support and explore the tools and resources available to help you transition with confidence.

How to get these updates

Over the next month, we will be gradually rolling out several of these features via controlled feature rollout (CFR) to consumers. Some of these experiences are available today via this month’s Windows non-security preview update, as well as updates available in the Microsoft Store. Consumers who would like to be among the first to experience new enhancements can simply go to Settings > Windows Update and turn on “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available.” Then select “Check for updates” to download and install the most recent non-security preview release. Ensure that Microsoft Paint, Photos and Copilot applications are updated to the latest versions available. For a full list of features available via today’s Windows Update, learn more here. Editor's note -- July 23, 2025 -- The blog was updated to include links to two support articles. Editor's note -- September 5, 2025 -- The blog was updated to reflect availability for agent in Settings on AMD and Intel silicon. End notes: ii These Click to Do actions are not available in the European Economic Area. iii To use this feature, install the free Microsoft Reading Coach app from the Microsoft Store. iv For “Draft with Copilot in Word” – a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription is required. v Optimized for English text prompts and requires a Microsoft account and internet connection to access cloud services that help ensure the responsible use of AI. vi Game Assist is available where Edge is available. Enhanced game content is available English-only at this time. Game Assist experience may also vary depending on game and geography. vii Source: Internal testing of Windows 11 memory dump write speed, October 2022.

Copilot Vision on Windows with Highlights now available in US

Athima Chansanchai, Writer — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:16:26 +0000

Copilot Vision on Windows, now available in the U.S., is a new way to engage with your Windows 10 or 11 PC. When you enable it, it can see what you see on your device and talk to you about it in real time. It acts as your second set of eyes, able to analyze content, help when you’re lost, provide insights and answer your questions as you go. Whether you’re browsing, working or deep in a project, Copilot Vision offers instant insights and answers. And with Highlights, you can go a step further and ask Copilot “show me how” for a specific task and it will show you within the app you're in where to click and what to do. For example, it can look at a travel itinerary and ensure your packing list is sufficient based on the location. Find out more on the Copilot blog.

Computex 2024: NVIDIA announces new technology and tools to deliver advanced AI experiences

Athima Chansanchai, Writer — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 17:34:09 +0000

At Computex, NVIDIA celebrated new RTX AI PC laptops from ASUS and MSI that feature its GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPUs and power-efficient systems-on-a-chip with Windows 11 AI PC capabilities. These Windows 11 AI PCs* will receive a free update to Copilot+ PC experiences when available. For gamers, creators and developers, these new AI-powered laptops unlock new experiences. Copilot+ PC are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. Powered by silicon running at over 40 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), they arrive ready to accelerate your productivity and creativity with the latest AI tools. There’s Recall, which you can use to find anything you’ve seen on your PC instantly. There’s Cocreator, which enables you to create artwork from text prompts. And there’s Live Captions, which can provide subtitles for any spoken audio in real-time, translated into English from more than 40 languages. It’s a whole new way to use a PC, and it comes equipped with all-day battery life and the highest standard of Windows security available to help you work and play longer and safer. Also announced at Computex: the availability of NVIDIA RTX Video, the popular AI-powered super-resolution feature supported in Microsoft Edge, as an SDK to all developers. It helps them natively integrate AI for upscaling, sharpening, compression artifact reduction and high-dynamic range (HDR) conversion. Find out more about these and other announcements from NVIDIA. *Windows 11 AI PCs in this context refer to Windows 11 AI PCs that can receive the update with the Copilot+ experiences.

Computex 2024: ASUS announces PCs with AMD Ryzen AI processors

Athima Chansanchai, Writer — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 16:17:49 +0000

At Computex, ASUS showed off new AI-powered PCs, including the Zephyrus G16 and ProArt portable studios powered by AMD Ryzen processors. The new model lineup includes the 16-inch ProArt P16 clamshell and the 13-inch ProArt PX13 convertible powered by the latest AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series Processors, and the 13-inch PZ13 detachable based on the AI-enabled Snapdragon X Plus Platform. [caption id="attachment_178906" align="alignnone" width="1000"] ProArt P16[/caption] If you want to shoot and edit in 4K, turn to the P16, powered by a 50 TOPS NPU integrated into the next-gen AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series Processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics. With the PX13 convertible laptop and its 360-degree hinge, flip between laptop, tent, stand or tablet modes. The PZ13 has dual functionality as a tablet or a laptop, thanks to its magnetically attached full-size detachable keyboard. The new ASUS ProArt AI laptop lineup is designed to empower everyday users, outdoor content creators and professionals to work from anywhere, faster. All three new models are Copilot+ PCs and feature the ASUS-exclusive StoryCube and MuseTree apps to enable smarter and more streamlined creative workflows, made possible by the power of fully-local AI. These powerful and intuitive apps allow users to quickly transform ideas and inspiration into creations, and efficiently manage their digital assets. The devices also include a dedicated Copilot key for quick access to your everyday AI companion. [caption id="attachment_178907" align="alignnone" width="800"] ProArt PX13[/caption] Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. Powered by silicon running at over 40 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), they arrive ready to accelerate your productivity and creativity with the latest AI tools. There’s Recall, which you can use to find anything you’ve seen on your PC instantly. There’s Cocreator, which enables you to create artwork from text prompts. And there’s Live Captions, which can provide subtitles for any spoken audio in real-time, translated into English from more than 40 languages. It’s a whole new way to use a PC, and it comes equipped with all-day battery life and the highest standard of Windows security available to help you work and play longer and safer. At its recent dedicated launch event, the new ASUS Vivobook S 15 (pictured above) became the company's first Copilot+ PC, with the AI-enabled Snapdragon X Elite Platform. [caption id="attachment_178908" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Zephyrus G16[/caption] The ASUS Republic of Gamers also announced the latest version of its Zephyrus G16 laptop, now with a next-gen AMD Ryzen processor. With a built-in NPU for AI-accelerated tasks, a dedicated NVIDIA GPU and Windows Copilot, it’s ready for productivity as well as gaming, in an ultra-sleek thin-and-light package. Head over to the ASUS pressroom for more information on these and other announcements from the company at Computex.

Computex 2024: Acer reveals latest Swift, TravelMate and Aspire C series

Athima Chansanchai, Writer — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 15:48:37 +0000

At Computex, Acer announced select series models in its upcoming lineup of laptops – such as the Swift 14 AI – and will include new generation AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors and a free update to Copilot+ PC experiences when available. Stacked with more CPU and GPU cores made available in this class of AMD-powered PCs, and equipped with an ultra-efficient NPU, the AMD processors deliver speed and performance on Acer’s new wave of AI PC offerings. Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. Powered by silicon running at over 40 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), they arrive ready to accelerate your productivity and creativity with the latest AI tools. There’s Recall, which you can use to find anything you’ve seen on your PC instantly. There’s Cocreator, which enables you to create artwork from text prompts. And there’s Live Captions, which can provide subtitles for any spoken audio in real-time, translated into English from more than 40 languages. It’s a whole new way to use a PC, and it comes equipped with all-day battery life and the highest standard of Windows security available to help you work and play longer and safer. [caption id="attachment_178886" align="alignnone" width="1000"] TravelMate P6 14[/caption] AI-enhanced TravelMate business laptops also shared the spotlight at the event, with the P6 14 leading the charge with the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 processors with Intel vPro Enterprise. Built-in Intel Graphics and Intel AI Boost unlock new AI experiences, performance and power efficiency. These new business laptops come with Copilot in Windows accessible through a dedicated hotkey. The Acer TravelMate P4 series laptops include the 2-in-1 Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14, as well as 14- and 16-inch clamshell models, all with new performance, security and device management features to support professionals and IT technicians. [caption id="attachment_178887" align="alignnone" width="1024"] TravelMate P4 Spin 14[/caption] The TravelMate P4 Series PCs are designed to withstand the rigors of daily wear and tear without impeding performance, thanks to military-grade durability compliance. Acer Dust Defender helps minimize dust buildup internally, while privacy shutters and fingerprint readers for secured logins extend device protection. Acer also announced the Aspire C Series desktops, powered by Intel Core Ultra processors. These PCs include AI-supported features such as Copilot in Windows – which leverages the power of AI to boost productivity and unlock creativity – and Windows Studio effects. Another addition: the Swift series models with new AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors. [caption id="attachment_178888" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Aspire C24 AIO[/caption] Head over to Acer’s Media Center and the Acer Press Room to find out more on these and other announcements the company made at Computex.

Computex 2024: AMD and ecosystem partners unlock new AI experiences for PCs

Athima Chansanchai, Writer — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 15:30:48 +0000

At Computex, AMD revealed new products to power end-to-end AI infrastructure from the data center to PCs. These include a multiyear, expanded AMD Instinct accelerator roadmap which will bring an annual cadence of leadership AI performance and memory capabilities at every generation, a preview of the AMD Instinct MI325X and AMD Instinct MI350X accelerators, and 5^th Gen AMD EPYC server processors. At the keynote, AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su showcased how partners are leveraging the broad portfolio of AMD training and inference compute engines to accelerate AI across PCs, data centers and the edge. AMD also reiterated that AMD Instinct MI300X accelerators power the new ND MI300X v5-series VMs. The stage also featured the unveiling of new PC experiences powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors [1] and AMD Ryzen 9000 Series desktop processors. Ecosystem partners showcased how they are working with AMD to unlock new AI experiences for PCs. Microsoft highlighted its longstanding partnership with AMD and announced AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors exceed Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC requirements. These Windows 11 AI PCs will receive a free update to Copilot+ PC experiences when available [2]. Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. Powered by silicon running at over 40 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), they arrive ready to accelerate your productivity and creativity with the latest AI tools. There’s Recall, which you can use to find anything you’ve seen on your PC instantly. There’s Cocreator, which enables you to create artwork from text prompts. And there’s Live Captions, which can provide subtitles for any spoken audio in real-time, translated into English from more than 40 languages. It’s a whole new way to use a PC, and it comes equipped with all-day battery life and the highest standard of Windows security available to help you work and play longer and safer. Head over to AMD to find out more about these and other announcements from the company at Computex. [1] Ryzen AI is defined as the combination of a dedicated AI engine, AMD Radeon graphics engine, and Ryzen processor cores that enable AI capabilities. OEM and ISV enablement is required, and certain AI features may not yet be optimized for Ryzen AI processors. Ryzen AI is compatible with: (a) AMD Ryzen 7040 and 8040 Series processors except Ryzen 5 7540U, Ryzen 5 8540U, Ryzen 3 7440U, and Ryzen 3 8440U processors; (b) AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors, and (c) all AMD Ryzen 8000G Series desktop processors except the Ryzen 5 8500G/GE and Ryzen 3 8300G/GE. Please check with your system manufacturer for feature availability prior to purchase. GD-220c. [2] Windows 11 AI PCs in this context refer to Windows 11 AI PCs that can receive the update with the Copilot+ experiences.

Microsoft Copilot improvements for Windows 11

Yusuf Mehdi — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:00:03 +0000

Microsoft Copilot is your everyday AI companion. As we continue to innovate with Windows, we’re delighted to introduce some useful new features to our Copilot Preview¹ for Windows 11. These new capabilities build on the introduction of the Copilot Key on new Windows 11 PC keyboards², updates to the Copilot icon on the taskbar, and the ability to dock, undock and resize the Copilot pane. Starting today, we introduce plugins from your favorite apps like OpenTable, Shopify and Kayak, as well as new skills to simplify your tasks and use of Windows. We can’t wait for you to try these. In addition to the new features in Copilot, over the next month, we are bringing even more value to Windows 11. We are adding new AI editing capabilities in Photos designed to make creating simpler, enabling easier video editing with the preview of Clipchamp silence removal, and launching improvements to features like Snap, Widgets and Inking, making it even easier to get things done. For our commercial customers, we are also making it even easier to securely manage updates across your organization.

Copilot in Windows 11

New plugins

With Copilot in Windows, you can now use plugins for easy access to some of your favorite applications. Need to make a dinner reservation with friends? Ask Copilot and OpenTable to handle it. Change your mind and want to stay in? Simply prompt Copilot with “Create a healthy dinner party menu for 8” and watch your options unfold. Not happy with the salad suggested? Ask Copilot to swap it for a vegetable and when you’re ready to shop, Instacart is right there for you, all within Copilot in Windows. Over the next month, we will be adding new ways to connect and get things done from partners like Shopify, Klarna and Kayak, in addition to what OpenTable and Instacart and a growing list of other Copilot in Windows plugins can do.

New skills

Sometimes we all need a little help in getting things done, including adjusting our PC settings, quickly accessing the tools and information to make learning and doing easier, and finding the fastest access to help, all at our fingertips. Beginning in late March, you will see the following new skills enabled within your Copilot in Windows experience. To use these skills, simply type in a prompt to Copilot in Windows. For example, type “enable battery saver” or “turn off battery saver” and Copilot will take the appropriate action and confirm completion.

Settings:
- Turn on/off battery saver
- Show device information
- Show system information
- Show battery information
- Open storage page
Accessibility:
- Launch live captions
- Launch narrator
- Launch screen magnifier
- Open voice access page
- Open text size page
- Open contrast themes page
- Launch voice input
Device information:
- Show available Wi-Fi network
- Display IP address
- Show available storage space
- Empty recycle bin

New creativity app updates

Building on the success of our AI-enhanced Inbox apps, today we begin rolling out two exciting updates designed to make creating simpler. Generative Erase: When using the Photos app, you can now select and remove unwanted objects or imperfections from your images using the new Generative Erase feature. Snapped the ideal sunset photo but want to remove the airplane flying above? Generative Erase in Photos can do just that. Clipchamp silence removal preview: Gaps in conversation are natural in real life, but awkward in a video. With the addition of Clipchamp silence removal, removing those gaps in the audio track is easy. The preview of silence removal in Clipchamp starts to become available today.

Accessible by default

Voice Shortcuts: Save your voice and finish tasks faster with new Voice Shortcuts. You can now create custom commands to quickly accomplish what you’re trying to do using just a single phrase. From pasting text and media, pressing keyboard keys or mouse clicks, to opening folders, files, apps or URLs, Voice Shortcuts are there to help. Multi-Display: To make navigating a multiple monitor setup even easier, you can now use voice commands across connected screens, making it easier than ever to navigate between displays or move files and apps.

More to love on Windows 11

Windows 11 and your Android platform phone

Your Windows 11 PC and Android phone connection just got better. Soon you will be able to access recent photos on your PC or use your phone as a webcam on all video conferencing apps, making your Android device a productivity partner to your Windows 11 PC. Intelligent Snap suggestions: Make the most of your screen real estate with new personalized layout suggestions. Snap suggestions help you quickly organize open apps based on how you use them, making it even easier to get things done. Widgets: Many of us experience information overload from time to time, but still need to stay up to date on the information we care about most. Now with the new Widgets board experience, you are able to create a focused board and organize your Widgets into distinct categories – whether for work or play. If you’re looking to catch up on current events, you’ll find the familiar experience currently available through your feed located right in the discovery dashboard. Windows Ink: Windows Ink enables natural writing on pen-capable PCs. With this update, we are expanding the number of apps and languages available to Windows Ink to include your favorites like Photos, Paint, WhatsApp and Messenger, all offering greater flexibility for where you ink or type. Share content to more third-party apps: Need to share your favorite vacation photo with a friend on Snapchat? Windows 11 has expanded the file sharing options to include additional apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat and Instagram, with more apps like Facebook Messenger coming soon.

A unified management solution for our enterprise customers

For our enterprise customers, we are simplifying the update management solution by unifying the Windows Update for Business deployment service with Autopatch into a single update management solution. Windows Autopatch will now become the unifying Windows update management solution, providing a single way in which organizations can manage updates while maintaining the highest level of control. Windows Autopatch provides the update solution for Windows PCs, Microsoft 365 applications, Microsoft Edge and Teams, and will now leverage AI to program the necessary updates and reduce the impact on team productivity. Learn more about what’s new in Autopatch.

How to take advantage of these new and improved features

Many of these new experiences will start to become available today, via Windows Update and new apps available via Microsoft Store updates. Windows 11 devices will get new functionality at different times, as we will be gradually rolling out some of these new features over the coming weeks initially via controlled feature rollout (CFR) to consumers. Consumers with eligible devices running Windows 11, versions 22H2 and 23H2, who are interested in experiencing these new enhancements now can choose to do so by going to Settings > Windows Update and turning on “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” and then selecting “Check for updates.” We anticipate broad availability for most new features by the April 2024 security update release for all eligible devices. Most of these new Windows 11 features will be enabled by default in the March 2024 optional non-security preview release for all editions of Windows 11, versions 23H2 and 22H2. IT admins who want to get the new Windows 11 features can use the enable and control optional updates policy to enable optional updates for their managed devices. As is our normal practice, we will closely monitor the rollout of these new Windows 11 features and continue to share timely information on the status of the rollout and known issues (open and resolved) via the Windows release health dashboard and @WindowsUpdate. Please continue to tell us about your experience by providing comments or suggestions via Feedback Hub. For a full list of features available via Windows Update, learn more here. Ready to upgrade to a new Windows 11 PC? Find the PC that’s right for you. ¹ Copilot in Windows (in preview) is available in select global markets and will be rolled out to additional markets over time. Learn more. ² When Copilot for Windows is not available or enabled on the device, pressing the Copilot key will launch Windows Search. The Copilot key will be available on many new Windows 11 PCs starting in early 2024.

MWC 2024: Intel Core Ultra extends AI PCs to businesses

Athima Chansanchai, Writer — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 17:04:44 +0000

At Mobile World Congress, Intel announced more than 100 AI PCs in an array of designs from partners including Acer, ASUS, Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, LG, Microsoft Surface, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung and VAIO. They’ll all have something new: the Intel vPro platform that extends the benefits of the AI PC to businesses of all sizes. These PCs will expand the current portfolio of AI PCs in market with new neural processing unit (NPU), graphics processing unit (GPU) and central processing unit (CPU) powered silicon that bring new AI experiences in productivity and creativity. Across these PCs, help is always at hand with Microsoft Copilot in Windows 11. These laptops have the new built-in Copilot key, providing faster access to your everyday AI companion in Windows 11, harnessing the capabilities of AI to make the things you do every day easier. Features include helping you summarize web pages and change settings. And in a world where people expect more in graphics performance for the professional workstation, this new generation of Intel Core Ultra-powered mobile workstations comes equipped with built-in Intel Arc graphics offering advanced features and a leap in gen-over-gen performance. Additionally, these new mobile workstations also feature a new dedicated OEM-enabled Intel Arc Pro workstation graphics driver for enhanced performance optimizations across creative, design and engineering software. Intel brings a new era of responsive and reliable graphics capabilities to the modern workforce. Ray tracing capabilities help visualize product designs, AI upscales video to 8K, AV1 offers royalty-free and superior image compression and streaming, and ISV-certified drivers provide architectural and product design reliability. For frictionless OS transitions, Intel vPro validates and ensures Windows 10 and Windows 11 compatibility. Intel’s developer program helped deliver 99.7% application compatibility on Windows 11. With dedicated AI acceleration capability spread across the CPU, GPU and the new NPU, Intel Core Ultra-powered commercial PCs will support frequently used apps and unlock a new wave of AI experiences. Additionally, new Intel Core 14th Gen processors will power a range of desktops and entry-level workstations to extend the commercial portfolio. One of the pivotal features of Intel Core processors is a performance hybrid architecture that maximizes computing headroom for advanced applications and multitasking. Find out more about Intel’s announcements at MWC.