Category: Windows 11

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Copilot+ PCs: A Game Changer for Businesses?

Back in May, Microsoft unveiled the next generation of PCs with the Copilot + PC which was released for consumers. Today (4th September 2024), Microsoft has once again set a new benchmark with the introduction of Copilot+ PCs for Business users.

Like their consumer counter parts, these next generation “AI devices”, which include the Surface Pro 11th Edition and Surface Laptop 7th Edition, are designed to revolutionise productivity and creativity in the business world. Copilot+ PCs are also shipping from other OEMs such as Dell, Lenovo, Acer, HP etc.

Copilot+ PCs are equipped with the most powerful Neural Processing Units (NPUs) available for Windows PCs, delivering blazing-fast processing power. This allows businesses users to handle the toughest tasks with ease, up to 90% faster than previous models. The integration of advanced AI features, such as live captions and real-time translations, ensures that your team can work smarter and more efficiently.

This blog, re-dives into the main differences between Copilot+ PCs and “non-Copilot PCs”, the improvements over previous models, and why these advancements are crucial for businesses and aims to answer the “why now” questions.

Copilot+ PCs vs. Non-Copilot PCs

  1. AI Integration:
    • Copilot+ PCs: These devices are equipped with advanced AI capabilities, thanks to the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that can handle up to 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS). This allows for efficient AI processing directly on the device, reducing latency and improving performance. These enable new AI workloads and functions within many applications to be enabled and powered by these new NPUs.
    • Non-Copilot PCs: Traditional PCs rely more on cloud-based AI processing (since they did not have NPUs), or required the CPU to do the grunt work, which can slow down performance and is dependent on internet connectivity.
  2. Performance:
  3. Connectivity:

Power, Performance, Productivity

This is the “why now” for Copilot+ PCs. More than just a device refresh, this new class of devices brings exceptional performance, never seen before battery life and the fastest application performance on Windows to date.

  1. Enhanced Performance: The new Copilot+ PCs feature significant performance upgrades with the Snapdragon® X Elite and X Plus processors. These processors not only boost productivity but also enhance AI processing capabilities, making them ideal for modern business applications.
  2. Incredible Battery Life: Surface Laptop 7th Edition offers up to 22 hours of battery life, a substantial improvement over previous models. This extended battery life ensures that professionals can work longer without needing to recharge, enhancing productivity on the go. Surface Pro 10 offers more than 18 hours in tests.
  3. Blazing App Performance: Microsoft has dedicated significant resources to the developer ecosystem, ensuring seamless performance for both native and emulated apps on Windows on Arm (WoA). The new Prism emulation engine further enhances performance and reduces CPU usage for emulated apps, surpassing even native apps on earlier models.
  4. Built around the user – Surface Copilot+ PCs provide a seamless and intuitive experience. These devices come with features like adaptive colour, optional OLED and HDR displays, and a flexible kickstand (Surface Pro) making them adaptable to any work environment. The all-day battery life (up to 22 hrs) ensures that your people stay productive without frequent interruptions.

Copilot+ PCs – Why Now?

  1. Productivity and Efficiency: The AI capabilities of Copilot+ PCs enable businesses to automate routine tasks, analyse data more efficiently, and make informed decisions faster. This leads to increased productivity and operational efficiency.
  2. Security: Copilot+ PCs come with advanced security features, including the Microsoft Pluton security processor and Windows Hello biometric authentication. Together these provide robust protection against both physical and digital threats and work seemlessly with your device management tools such as Intune. This comprehensive security framework ensures that your data remains safe and easily managed across the organisation. These enhanced security measures in Copilot+ PCs provide a higher level of protection, making them a more secure choice for businesses handling sensitive data.
  3. Flexibility and Mobility: With optional 5G connectivity and extended battery life, Copilot+ PCs allow professionals to work from anywhere without compromising on performance or security. This flexibility is crucial in today’s hybrid work environment.
  4. Developer Support: The Windows Copilot Runtime and the availability of on-device AI models make it easier for developers to integrate AI into their applications. This fosters innovation and allows businesses to leverage AI-driven solutions tailored to their specific needs. Aspects such as Windows Studio Effects that bring Background Blur, Automatic Framing and Voice Focus, Portrait Light, Creative Filters and Eye Contact Teleprompter, can be invoked by developers directly in their applications without having to create models or develop the code.
  5. Future Proofed Investment : As businesses increasingly turn to AI to innovate, having the right hardware is crucial. Surface Copilot+ PCs are built to scale and adapt as AI capabilities evolve, ensuring that your investment remains relevant and valuable. These devices support local development and execution of AI models, providing the agility needed to stay competitive.

What SKUs are available?

As discussed, there are two standout devices – Laptop 7, Pro 11 and the Surface Pro 5G. Here are the key specs and features from a hardware perspective to note:

Surface Laptop 7

  • Launch Date: 12th September 2024
  • Size Options: 13.5″ and 15″
  • Processors: Snapdragon® X Plus / Snapdragon® X Elite
  • NPU: Qualcomm® Hexagon™ (45 TOPs)
  • Graphics: Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU
  • Cameras: AI enhanced 1440p Quad HD front-facing Surface Studio camera with ultrawide field of view
  • NFC – Allows use of the built-in NFC reader to sign in with an NFC security key.
  • Copilot Key: Yes – for quick access to Copilot in Windows 11

Surface Pro 11

  • Launch Date: 12th September 2024
  • Processors: Snapdragon® X Plus / Snapdragon® X Elite
  • NPU: Qualcomm® Hexagon™ (45 TOPs)
  • Graphics: Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU
  • Cameras: AI enhanced 1440p Quad HD front-facing Surface Studio camera with ultrawide field of view
  • NFC – Allows use of the built-in NFC reader to sign in with an NFC security key.
  • Copilot Key: Yes – for quick access to Copilot in Windows 11
  • Options: New flex Premium keyboard designed to be used either attached to your Pro for the ultimate laptop set-up or detached as a standalone keyboard for a new level of flexibility.

New Surface Pro 5G

  • Launch Date: October 2024
  • CPU Options: Available with Intel I5/I7 and Snapdragon X Plus / Snapdragon® X Elite
  • NPU: Qualcomm® Hexagon™ (45 TOPs)/ Intel AI boost
  • Graphics: Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU / Intel graphics
  • Copilot key: Key – for quick access to Copilot in Windows 11
  • Cameras: AI enhanced 1440p Quad HD front-facing Surface Studio camera with ultrawide field of view
  • NFC– Allows use the built-in NFC reader to sign in with an NFC security key.

Conclusion

Surface Copilot+ PCs stand out due to their advanced AI integration and superior performance. Unlike non-Copilot+ PCs, which may lack dedicated NPUs, Copilot+ PCs offer specialised hardware designed to handle AI tasks efficiently. This results in faster processing times and more accurate AI-driven features.

Video (c) Microsoft

Surface Copilot+ PCs are not just another piece of hardware; they are a strategic investment in your business’s future. By equipping your team with these advanced devices, you can unlock new levels of productivity, security, and innovation, positioning your business for success in an AI-driven world.

You can read more, from Microsoft in the latest community blog update which you can access below: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/surface-it-pro-blog/accelerate-ai-transformation-with-surface-pro-and-surface-laptop/ba-p/4227521?wt.mc_id=MVP_309187

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Windows 11 August (optional) Update: What is new….


As we wait for the big 24H2 update due this autumn, Microsoft has quietly rolled out an optional update (going by the name KB5041587) for Windows 11, bringing a host of improvements and new features.

While this update is not mandatory, it does offer several enhancements that make it worth installing (especially if you have a PC powered by an AMD CPU).

Overall, the KB5041587 update for Windows 11 brings a range of valuable enhancements for users who frequently share files with Android devices, includes improvements to Narrator, voice typing, and File Explorer.

Here’s a breakdown of what this update entails and why you might want to install it.

Performance Boosts for AMD CPUs

One of the most notable improvements in the KB5041587 update is the performance boost for AMD’s latest CPUs. Users with Ryzen 5000, 7000, and 9000 series processors with up to a 13 percent increase in performance.

This enhancement addresses the previously disappointing performance of these CPUs, making it a significant update for AMD users.

Enhanced File Sharing with Android Devices

This update introduces a new feature that allows users to send files directly to an Android phone via Windows Share.

Unlike Nearby Sharing, the Android device does not need to be in close proximity to the PC. Instead, it just needs to be paired via Phone Link.

This feature simplifies the process of transferring photos and documents, making it more convenient and efficient.

Improvements to Narrator and Voice Typing

Windows 11’s Narrator feature, which reads out loud the contents of documents and websites, has received improvements in speed and accuracy.

These enhancements are particularly noticeable when using the Edge browser and reading large documents.

Additionally, voice typing has been optimized to allow for faster spelling of characters and more commands for text manipulation.

Bug Fixes in File Explorer

Several bugs in File Explorer have been addressed in this update. Issues such as the Ctrl + F keyboard shortcut not starting a search and the Shift + Tab shortcut losing keyboard focus have been fixed.

These fixes contribute to a smoother and more reliable user experience when navigating and managing files.

Installing the update

Unlike the regular security and fix updates, the KB5041587 update must be manually installed.

If you wish to install this one, you will need to navigate to Settings > Windows Update and select the update for installation. This manual process ensures that users have control over whether they want to incorporate these new features and fixes.

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Windows 11 24H2 Update will bring Quality, Performance, and AI updates

Image showing words Windows 11 24H2 Update

As we head into September, Microsoft is preparing to start the rollout of their annual Windows 11 feature update, this time focusing on the underlying platform and surface-level quality-of-life improvements and updates as well as some major updates to Windows on Arm (WoA). Windows 11 24H2 (also known as the 2024 Update) is a huge update in fact, including everything from performance increases across the board, UX changes and new AI (of course) features.

The Windows 11 2024 Update is packed with OS improvements and new features across the board, with special attention given to those running an ARM-based device this time around.

This update is a much bigger release than last years’ 2023 H2 update, due mainly to a vast number of underlying platform enhancements. There are improvements to Windows Update process, an updated and faster x86 emulation layer for Arm PCs (such as Copilot Plus PCs), and new AI features that will take advantage of newer devices which have a dedicated NPU (neural processing unit.).

On Copilot+ PCs, this Windows 11 release is also the first include features exclusive to this new category of Windows devices. This means if you don’t yet have a Copilot+ PC, then you miss out on certain features when upgrading to version 24H2, such as the controversial “Windows Recall” AI feature.

Windows 11 24H2 also promised to be much better for gamers, since it includes many new capabilities that utilise the high-performance hardware of Copilot+ PCs and new software optimisations. An example of innovation is the new emulation engine, Prism. It operates seamlessly, converting x86 or x64 code to Arm64 instructions when you launch an x86 or x64 application on an Arm-based Windows 11 device, all without requiring extra effort from developers.

Why is this important? Well, given that many of today’s games are written for x86 or x64, Prism unlocks a large back log of games that work great on Arm under emulation. While Windows on Arm has had emulation in the past, the performance improvements of Prism, along with automatic super resolution and the new Snapdragon® X Series processors together emerge as a game-changer.

So here is a summary of the key changes and updates you can expect in the Windows 24H2 update. Features in Bold are just for Copilot+ PCs.

Desktop and start menu

  • Phone Link is now integrated with the Start menu
  • Taskbar system tray layout has been further simplified
  • Quick Settings has been rebuilt to be faster and more customisable
  • Windows Spotlight image is now the default wallpaper setting
  • The Taskbar app preview thumbnails now have an animation
  • It’s now possible to set to HDR images as a desktop wallpaper

File menu

  • The File Explorer home tab now includes updated layout with shared documents.
  • Just like in Edge, you can now duplicate tabs by right clicking the tab.
  • The context menu layout has been updated with better labelling making it easier to use.
  • Added ability to create .7z and .TAR archive formats as well as ZIP files without the need for third party apps.
  • If you use Phone Link, you can view your Android phone’s file system directly in File Explorer

Native Apps

  • The new Outlook app for email, calendar, and contact is now included in the update (this will replace the mail and calendar app).
  • Photos now includes AI-enhanced generative erase and background editing.
  • The Copilot applet is now a standalone web app – meaning it can be resized and moved around like any other app.
  • Photos can now generate AI images based on user criteria (Copilot+ PC)
  • A new Recall app uses AI to capture everything you do and makes finding things easier (Copilot+ PC).
  • Paint now has built-in generative AI capabilities based on user drawn sketch (Copilot+ PC)

Settings and other stuff

  • Windows Update now supports checkpoints and hot patching for faster and less obtrusive updates.
  • New PRISM emulation layer makes x86 emulated apps run up to 2x faster and smoother on Arm meaning Arm-based devices.
  • New Voice Clarity feature uses AI to remove background noise picked up by your microphone in supported apps such as Teams.
  • Power settings for plugged/unplugged state can now be configured simultaneously just they could previously in “control panel”
  • Energy Saver mode replaces “battery saver” and now applies to laptops and desktop devices.
  • Devices with the new “Wi-Fi 7” hardware is now supported.
  • AutoSR uses AI to enhances the framerate and quality of games (Copilot+ PC)
  • Live Captions translate languages into English in real-time locally (Copilot+ PC).
  • Advanced Windows Studio Effects enhance your webcam with filters (Copilot+ PC) and some older ARM based PCs such as Surface Pro 9 5G.

Consumer and Gaming

  • Updates to x86/x64 emulation on Copilot+PCs and other ARM based devices brings significant (up to 2x) performance updates for games running under emulation – needed for games and apps that are not yet “native” ARM.

Availability and Rollout

The Windows 11 2024 Update process is rather unique in its rollout and availability this time round. Unlike previous versions of Windows 11, this release is rolling out in two distinct waves. Wave one is has essentially already shipped, but only on new Copilot+ PCs that launched on June 18. If you recently purchased a new Copilot+ PC running the Snapdragon X chipsets then you are already running Windows 11 version 24H2.

For the rest of the world, Windows 11 24H2 for “non-Copilot+ PCs” is expected to begin rolling out gradually from late September, which is when Windows 11 feature updates normally begin rolling out to users.

Windows Insiders get it earlier…

If you want to try out the Windows 11 2024 Update ahead of general availability on non-Copilot+ PCs, you can do so today by joining the Windows Insider Programme.

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Snapdragon X: The power behind Copilot Plus AI PCs

Picture of a Surface Keyboard with Snapdragon X sticker

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series processors are specifically crafted for PCs, particularly Windows on Arm and Copilot Plus PCs available from HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and of course Microsoft Surface. The processors inside these latest generation of devices, integrate the renowned Snapdragon technology from premium smartphones with the demanding performance needs of the PC domain. The goal is to deliver a processor that competes with Intel and Apple in terms of performance, while also offering the energy efficiency typical of smartphones and providing cutting edge NPU performance to power existing and upcoming AI powered applications.

Arm vs Intel: The Copilot Plus PC Revolution

Copilot Plus PCs, like the Surface Laptop 7 are powered by these Snapdragon X Arm chips. The fundamental components shared by all Snapdragon X series chips include Qualcomm’s custom Arm-based Oryon CPU, rather than Intel’s x86, an enhanced version of their Adreno GPU (derived from their mobile devices), the Hexagon NPU for on-chip AI capabilities, and cutting-edge networking technology supporting the latest Wi-Fi 6 & 7 and 5G standards.

On the software front, Microsoft offers an emulation layer within Windows on Arm (WoA) to facilitate the running of x64 applications not yet native to Arm processors. Notably, there is an extensive collection of native Arm applications from Microsoft, Adobe, and other prominent developers.

About the Snapdragon X chipset options

Snapdragon X comes in two major flavours. The X Elite, which powers the first wave of top-tier Copilot Plus PCs, and the X Plus, destined for the more affordable range of Copilot Plus PCs (You’ll see most vendors providing options for both).

Today, Qualcomm has a total of four different Snapdragon X SKUs – three under the X Elite branding and one more affordable X Plus unit. You can see the subtle differences below, with the main differentiator being CPU cores and performance.

All current Snapdragon X models boast a remarkable 45TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which means they are all equipped to handle the same AI features. An NPU enhances the traditional CPU by adding machine learning (AI) specific computational abilities. An NPU is not only faster but also more energy efficient. This offloads work from the CPU, allowing the NPU to manage AI tasks, similar to how a GPU handles graphics-intensive tasks.

  • Snapdragon X Elite
    • 12 Oryon CPU cores
    • Clock speeds up to 4.2Ghz
    • 4.6 TFLOPS GPU (Graphic Processing Unit)
    • 45 TOPS NPU (Neural Processing Unit)
  • Snapdragon X Plus
    • 10 Oryon CPU cores.
    • Clock speeds up to 3.4Ghz
    • 3.6 TFLOPS GPU
    • 45TOPS NPU

What about the new Surface Line up?

Snapdragon X offers competitive performance against not just Intel’s latest chips, but also against the Apple M3 and M4. The real star though (not a fan of just CPU benchmarks personally), is that battery life is simply incredible compared to previous generations of devices with initial testing and reports (from others such as here and here) showing these devices comfortably exceeding the demands of a busy workday, positioning these laptops as genuine contenders to the MacBook (which has always somehow always won for battery life). Running emulated x86 apps under emulation will (and does) run the CPU harder which will in turn impact battery life.

This next generation of AI powered PCs sch as Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 10 are two such devices offering superior power, power efficiency and extreeeeeeemley long batter life.

Battery Life Wins

That said, tests by PC Magazine, revealed a result of almost 25 hours usage – making “Surface Laptop one of the longest-latest laptops we’ve ever tested on battery“. In comparison a 13-inch MacBook Air lasted “just” 21 hours and 38 minutes in their testing.

Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 7 are the the first Copilot+ PC which feature these new Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Pro processors.

PC Magazine said in their comprehensive hands-on review of Surface Laptop 7 that

“…this is easily the best Arm chip we’ve tested yet in a PC. The CPU and GPU performance are there and deliver at least competitive benchmark numbers relative to current-gen Intel and AMD offerings in the early going. Qualcomm is to be commended for that.” | PC Magazine

What is your view on these Copilot Plus PCs? Have you got one yet – what are your first impressions?

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Microsoft wants to lock down the kernel after CrowdStrike hiccup knocks out millions of Windows devices.

Windows Kernel Security - Image by Designer (AI)

Microsoft is reviewing their options and looking to push for significant changes to their Windows security architecture in the after math of the major outage caused by a “faulty” CrowdStrike update last a couple of week back. The impact of the faulty update, is thought to have afftected around 8.5 million Windows devices and services when the faulty update caused Windows devices to reboot and enter their protected recovery mode.

Microsoft acknowledges the inherent ‘tradeoff’ kernel-level cybersecurity solutions pose and confirms the root cause of the global outage.

This has prompted Microsoft to reassess the level of control that third party security vendors have over the deepest parts of their operating system and they are considering limiting kernel- level access for these vendors.

“This incident shows clearly that Windows must prioritize change and innovation in the area of end-to-end resilience“. | John Cable | Microsoft see blog post,

Time to bring control back?

John Cable, Microsoft’s VP of program management for Windows servicing and delivery, discussed passionately their viewpoint in a blog post named “Windows resiliency: Best practices and the path forward.” In this post, he emphasised the need for “end-to-end resilience” and discussed potential changes Microsoft are reviewing that could mean restricting kernel access for third party security vendors such as CrowdStrike.

Snipit from John Cable’s blog post | July 2024


The CrowdStrike update bug, which resulted in widespread system crashes, has clearly highlighted the risks associated with allowing third-party security apps and services to operate at the kernel level – a new approach is needed.

Privileged access, though advantageous for detecting threats, can result in disastrous failures if mishandled. Microsoft is investigating alternatives that circumvent future kernel access issues, including VBS enclaves and the Azure Attestation service. Employing Zero Trust methodologies, these solutions aim to bolster security without incurring the dangers inherent in kernel-level operations.

Why do Microsoft let third parties access the kernel?

In short, they dont have much choice (see below).

While Microsoft may be looking to further restrict access to its Windows kernel going forward, they have used this event to  explain why third-parties antivirus and security vendors to access the “core of Windows” the first place.

The Windows kernel is a deep layer of its operating system. Kernel-level cybersecurity lets developers do more to protect machines, can perform better, and can be harder for threat actors to alter or disable.

When a kernel-level cybersecurity solution loads at the earliest possible time, it gives users (and companies) the most data and context possible when threats arise and also ensures protection can kick in at the earliest stage of the Operating Systems boot up stage rather than waiting for the OS to load and then running as a normal system process.

The EU may prevent changes over anti-trust claims

Whilst this makes common sense to most, after all why shouldn’t Microsoft be able to restrict access to ensure stability of an operating system used by more than a billion users, their push for change is likley to face resistance from both cybersecurity vendors and regulators.

Back in 2006, Microsoft tried to restrict kernel access around the release of Windows Vista, but was met with opposition and a ruling that preventing them doing this, citing anti compete. In contrast, however, Apple successfully managed to lock down their kernel level
access in macOS in 2020. The market for Windows software is of course far larger than Apple’s MacOS and Microsoft is an open platform for developers to build upon so any changes will need to be done in a way that make this possible without preventing developers software doing what they are supposed to do!

Microsoft has attributed part of the CrowdStrike outage to the 2009 European Union antitrust agreement, which mandates that Microsoft must provide kernel-level access to third-party software vendors. Conversely, Apple started to phase out kernel extensions in macOS in 2020, encouraging software vendors to adopt the “system extension framework” due to its reliability and security advantages.

It is not the first and wont be the last time either that the EU have played the anti-trust card. Microsoft has recently had to decouple Teams from Microsoft 365 as a response to competitors such as Zoom citing Mcirosoft have an unfair advantage. They have had recent claims against them with Internet Explorer and Edge.

Zero Trust Kernel Protection mayt be the way forward

The blog post indicates that Microsoft is not proposing a complete shutdown of access to the Windows kernel. Rather, it highlights alternatives like the newly introduced VBS enclaves, which offer an isolated computing environment that doesn’t necessitate kernel mode drivers for tamper resistance.

“These examples use modern Zero Trust approaches and show what can be done to encourage development practices that do not rely on kernel access…We will continue to develop these capabilities, harden our platform, and do even more to improve the resiliency of the Windows ecosystem, working openly and collaboratively with the broad security community vendors”.
John Cable | Microsoft Windows VP

Trade off between “anti-compete” and stability.

Microsoft acknowledges that the tradeoff of kernel-level cybersecurity products is that if it glitches out, it can’t be easily fixed, saying in their blog that. “all code operating at kernel level requires extensive validation because it cannot fail and restart like a normal user application.”

As such companies have to demonstrate strict quality and testing controls over their software. The CrowdStrike issue occurred since this wasn’t a new product but” simply” and software patch by CrowdStrike that… well, went wrong.

Microsoft can’t vet every patch and every update released by their “trusted” ISVs/third parties, especially when it comes to security updates which these security vendors need to roll out requently.

“There is a tradeoff that security vendors must rationalise when it comes to kernel drivers. Since kernel drivers run at the most trusted level of Windows, where containment and recovery capabilities are by nature constrained, security vendors must carefully balance needs like visibility and tamper resistance with the risk of operating within kernel mode.” | Microsoft

What ever happens – businesses still need to have backup and remediation processed in place.

In response to the CrowdStrike incident, Microsoft deployed over 5,000 support engineers to aid affected organizations and provided continuous updates via the Windows release health dashboard. They rapidly developed recovery tools to assist companies in their recovery efforts, while emphasising the significance of business continuity planning, secure data backups, and the adoption of cloud-native strategies for managing Windows devices to bolster resilience against future incidents.

Further whitepapers and guidance will be released in the coming months and I expect this will lead to Microsoft, and their third party vendors releasing more recovery tools and guidance.

Summary

Microsoft “confirmed that CrowdStrike’s analysis that this was a read-out-of-bounds memory safety error in the CrowdStrike developed CSagent.sys driver,” Microsoft explained in their technical analysis of the crash and why the impact was so huge in a technical paper published last week.

Reviewing the security architecture and access to the kernel is definately needed, but their approach and desire to prevent future issues with third party glitches will likley be at the brunt of complaints from third party security vendors and the EU anti-compete regulators.

Apple “seem” to have a much easier ride when it comes to doing what they want – they say “jump” and developers say “how high”. Microsoft repeatedly have to “please” regulators far more – this recent huge global impact, may work in Microsoft’s favour however, to bring some control and governance in the name of system and business stability which I am sure will get the backing of everyone and every organisation impacted.

One thing is for certain -Microsoft wont take this sitting down. They will work hard to continue to protect their OS which is run on billions of devices and used by almost all coporations, education and crititical infrastrucutre. Change will happen!

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Copilot+ PCs are now available – What you need to know.

Last month, Microsoft announced the next generation of AI powered PCs from Microsoft and many other OEMs including Acer and Lenovo which leverage the latest Snapdragon ARM chipsets from Qualcomm. I covered this on a previous post here....

Yesterday (June 18th 2024), Microsoft’s own devices (the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11) were officially available today to buy and any pre-orders were shipped to customers worldwide 🙂

Microsoft describes Copilot+ PCs as the “most intelligent” Windows PCs ever created. These new processors are capable of performing over 40 trillion operations per second. These PCs also offer long long long battery life and give access to advanced AI tools.

These latest Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft are sleek, lightweight, and elegantly designed to enhance productivity They ship with dedicated NPUs (for processing AI workloads on-chip) and have the longest battery life of any Surface ever.

Microsoft say that the new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are Copilot+ PCs, are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs on the market. They are available in four colour options and start at $999 Estimated Retail Price (ERP) USD on Microsoft.com or at a Microsoft Experience Center (aka store).

What is a Copilot+PCs?

Copilot+ PCs represent a new category of Windows 11 PCs, equipped with a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU), which is a specialised type of processor designed for AI-intensive tasks such as real-time translations and image generation, capable of executing over 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS).

Are Copilot+PC only available from Microsoft?

No. Copilot+PCs are a new generation of PC devices which combined Windows on ARM (WoA) technology, Snagdragon powered chipsets and new updates and features built into Windows.

Other manufacturers are also making Copilot+PCs include (but not limited to).

Are Copilot+PCs for Consumers or for Business?

Copilot+PCs are designed for personal, small business and commercial/enterprise. Devices for Business such as the Surface for Business Range will start shipping in September 2024. More details can be found here.

What can Copilot+PCs do that others cannot?

Microsoft refers to new Copilot+ PC experiences which will be baked in to the next versions of Windows 11 and are advanced AI features unique to Copilot+ PCs that accelerate your productivity and creativity. This will include new AI features such as Recall, Cocreator in Paint, Windows Studio Effects, automatic super resolution and Live Captions.There are many more coming and expect to see new AI powered experiences such as offline Copilot coming to Copilot+PC devices in the future. These features require powerful neural processing units (NPUs) –so will be exclusive to the Copilot+ PC class of devices.

One super cool feature to call out for gamers is the new Auto Super Resolution (Auto SR) feature which integrates smoothly with Windows, automatically boosting the frame rates of existing games in real time and delivering detailed visuals. This feature is said to surpasses the capabilities of standalone PC hardware. Initially, Auto SR will be exclusive to Copilot+ PCs that have a Qualcomm Snapdragon® X Series processor and will support a select list of games available at a third-party open-source site, which Microsoft has provided compatibility data for.

Do I need a special version of Windows 11?

No – all new Copilot+ PCs running a Snapdragon® X Series processor will have Copilot+ PC experiences pre-installed. Microsoft will be continuing to update and enhance the Copilot+ PC experiences, so there will be new Windows Updates coming which will enable new features delivered as part of the usual Windows Update process. Only Copilot+PCs will get the new AI features.

What about devices with the latest AI chips from Intel and AMD ?

Microsoft are partnering with Intel and AMD as well to bring Copilot+ PC experiences to PCs with their processors in the future.

Microsoft also have a real good FAQ section on their website about Copilot+PCs.

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“Windows Recall” feature postponed days ahead of launch

Windows Recall is (was) a new AI powered feature, exclusive for Copilot+PCs that can capture snapshots of your screen every few seconds allowing the user to essentially rewind back to a point in time to back track on work, application state and documents being worked on,

Recall overview (Microsoft)

Announced as the headline feature for the new generation of Copilot+PCs, this new flagship Windows Recall will now arrive at a later date, with a wider public  preview coming soon for Windows Insiders.

There has been many questions, concerns and clarity demanded from the public and tech pros about this new feature since it was announced in May, with concerns over whether Microsoft had “gone too far” in finding a use for AI and the new NPU powered Copilot+PCs. The fact this has not been through the usual process of testing my Microsoft’s loyal Windows Insider testing community was also surprising for such a huge new feature.

The first of the new Copilot+PCs are launching next week (June 18th), and in an expected update have said that their headlining “Windows Recall” feature will not be shipped at launch and  now arrive a few weeks later in an update.

Is Windows Recall too much?

Recall was heavily criticised after sourced said that recall stored it’s Recall  data in an unencrypted state, raising huge concerns among IT experts, users and anti-Windows fans!

Last week, Microsoft released a blog and announcement to try to alleviate these concerns by reassuring people that Windows Recall would encrypt data and require the user to be physically present at the device (via multi factor authentication) to access recall. They were clear however, that not only was Recall safe but they it would ship next week with the arrival of the Copilot+PCs.

The Cisilion Fireside Chat suspected so much.

Just this week, I hosted a fireside chat, and we discussed the view of Recall from a security and privacy violation.

There’s a link to the episode here if you’d like to hear the views of a number of IT leaders…but the view of my customer panel ahead of (the now postponed) launch include:

“We’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to protect our data and here we are Tada you can now just have a look at what Kim was sharing three minutes ago.” [link]

“It undermines years and years and years of work and unless they can work out a way there’s no way I’m letting this anywhere near my en.” [00:08:25][Link]

“You are the attack surface… we have to remind the the owners of the business that ultimately it’s their heads on the Block if things go wrong.” [00:45:32]

In short, our panel, beleived that Recall might face significant challenges before its implementation, possibly leading to its postponement or modification, especially in enterprise environments. They highlight the need for clear communication, education, and possibly policy changes to address the concerns raised – looks like this is exactly what happened.

Microsoft committed to trust and privacy but is it enough?

Just earlier this week, Microsoft had said that all images are encrypted, stored and analyzed locally, using on-device AI capabilities to understand their context. When logged into your Copilot+ PC, you can easily retrace your steps visually using Recall to find things from apps, websites, images, and documents that you’ve seen, operating like your own virtual and completely private “photographic memory.” You are always in control of what’s saved. You can disable saving snapshots, pause temporarily, filter applications and delete your snapshots at any time.

The question still on people minds is is this enough, how does this work if viewing content other people are sharing on screen when Recall is being used and what happens if a device is compromised or user subject to ransomware or phishing attack and get access to this device…

Postponed not cancelled?

Perhaps to ensure the backlash over recall doesn’t impact Copilot+PC sales, these new devices will not ship with Recall initially. Microsoft have said that Windows Recall will be added in a future Windows update, but has not given a timeframe for when this will be. This will give their huge Windows Insider Community time to test this with Microsoft and provide the much needed feedback, tuning controls and more.

The updated Microsoft blog post states the following:

“Recall will now shift from a preview experience broadly available for Copilot+ PCs on June 18, 2024, to a preview available first in the Windows Insider Program (WIP) in the coming weeks. Following receiving feedback on Recall from our Windows Insider Community, as we typically do, we plan to make Recall (preview) available for all Copilot+ PCs coming soon“

Copilot+PCs still get loads of new AI Goodness.

Of course, Recall wasn’t the only AI infused feature that Copilot+PCs will include, and the other rest of the AI features that Microsoft showcased will still be available to use. These include live captions and translations across all apps, new Windows Studio Effects for meetings and video, new. Image creation and generation tools across the stock Windows Apps including paint and photos.

Time will tell

Time and testing wil tell whether this feature gets simply delayed, hugely altered or scrapped all together. What do you think?

Microsoft June 13 2024 Blog Post: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/06/07/update-on-the-recall-preview-feature-for-copilot-pcs/

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Balancing Act: Microsoft’s “Recall” Feature

The day before Microsoft Build 2024, Microsoft unveiled the future of Windows and the PC with what they dubbed “Copilot+ PC”. The build conference (as expected) has unveiled a plethora of innovations aimed at developers and of course AI has at heart of everything.

One of the key pieces of innovation announced at Build and at the Copilot+PC launch was the new AI-powered ‘Recall’ feature which will be coming soon to Windows 11 and will be enabled on devices with the new Copilot+PC powered by the new SnapDragon Elite processors.

This new AI powered feature promises to revolutionise how we interact with our digital histories, but it also raises important questions about privacy.

What is Microsoft Recall?

Recall is designed to transform searchability and predictive search within Windows 11 by recording / snapshotting user activities on their device. It captures snapshots of your screen every five seconds, allowing you to search and retrieve past activities, including app usage, communications in live meetings, and websites visited – giving you (and it) the ability to rewind time to any point (subject to configuration) to help you find what you need or pick up from where you left off. Your snapshots are then locally stored and locally analysed on your PC.

Microsoft Recall – Image (c) Microsoft

Recall’s analysis allows you to search for content, including both images and text, using natural language. Nothing is shared with other users or used to train their AI models. Privacy, Microsoft say is key!

The Promise of Recall

The benefits of Recall are immense. Imagine being able to revisit any moment of your digital life (work or personal), retrieve information from a past meeting, or recall a website or document you reviewed yesterday, last week or last month. This could significantly boost productivity and ensure no detail is ever lost in the digital ether. To “recall” this information, you simple “describe how you remember” using natural language, and Recall will retrieve the moment you saw it. In Microsoft’s blog post around this, they use this example:

“Trying to remember the name of the Korean restaurant your friend Alice mentioned? Just ask Recall and it retrieves both text and visual matches for your search, automatically sorted by how closely the results match your search. Recall can even take you back to the exact location of the item you saw.”

Do we need Recall – what is wrong with search and history?

Recall does sound awesome and very clever – but are Microsoft is creating a solution for a problem that isn’t really there?

Microsoft said in the announcement “We set out to solve one of the most frustrating problems we encounter daily – finding something we know we have seen before on our PC. Today, we must remember what file folder it was stored in, what website it was on, or scroll through hundreds of emails trying to find it.”

Personally, I think search works pretty well on Windows 11 anyway and Edge has a great history, favourites and collections feature to help me find stuff I was browsing (they even work across devices). So why do we need recall?

Well…Recall will definately build on this make it much mich easier to find things and “go back in time”, essentially giving Windows 11 a “photographic memory,” as Microsoft explains it. The reason I think this will be a really awesome feature is less because I can never find something, but is more about the experience I want and am starting to expect from AI.

A webpage, image or document we are looking at doesnt paint the whole picture and with search these things are isolated. Recall brings this all together. Maybe I was researching a trip or a topic – with recall it can colate the whole story, bringing together context, images, notes, documents, searches, websites together.

Privacy Concerns

Recall’s powerful capability to record and store every action poses significant privacy concerns and social media has been rife with this (no such thing as bad press right). The thought of someone else accessing this data is unsettling, yet Microsoft assures us that the data remains fully encrypted, local, and linked to that user’s profile. It is not shared with anyone, accessible by anyone or used to train their Large Language Models or dor advertising purposes.

Of course, despite this, the potential for misuse cannot be ignored, especially if sensitive information like passwords or financial details appear on-screen so people I guess are rightfully concerned and since this is not actually “available” yet many of the concerns, assurances etc., are not yet “proven” either way.

Microsoft has a FAQ section that explains how Recall works. This is something everyone panicking about Recall should read.

Microsoft’s Safeguards

The integration of Recall into Windows 11 by Microsoft is designed to keep user data secure and private. Personally and knowing how Microsoft always put the user in control of what is and is not enabled in Windows 11, I am personally not concerned, but understand why some might be initially.

Secondly, Recall works on-device and not across the cloud. This means, no data leaves the PC to Microsoft’s servers. Microsoft will not improve its large language models using this particularly sensitive data. Microsoft say that they will also not use the data for targeting advrtisments. Recall data isn’t available to other applications.

To mitigate these concerns, Microsoft has implemented several safeguards:

  • Recall will not capture InPrivate browsing or DRM-protected content.
  • Users can pause, stop, or delete captured content at any time
  • Users can exclude specific apps or websites from being recorded
  • Users can disable recall and not use it at all.

I also wanted to share directly from Microsoft’s post around this – their approach around privavcy and responsible AI

“Microsoft has been working to advance AI responsibly since 2017, when we first defined our AI principles and later operationalized our approach through our Responsible AI Standard. Privacy and security are principles as we develop and deploy AI systems. We work to help our customers use our AI products responsibly, sharing our learnings, and building trust-based partnerships. For more about our responsible AI efforts, the principles that guide us, and the tooling and capabilities we’ve created to assure that we develop AI technology responsibly, see Responsible AI.

Recall uses optical character recognition (OCR), local to the PC, to analyse snapshots and facilitate search. For more information about OCR, see Transparency note and use cases for OCR. For more information about privacy and security, see Privacy and security for Recall & screenray“.

The Future of Recall

As we move forward, the Recall feature will likely evolve, based on feedback from the Window Insider Community and MVPs. Microsoft will need to continually balance AI innovation with user trust, ensuring that privacy is not sacrificed for convenience and that users are given choice with regards features that record and track usage and interactions. The conversation around Recall is just beginning, and it will be fascinating to see how it shapes the future of digital interaction and privacy.

In conclusion, Microsoft’s Recall stands at the crossroads of technological advancement and privacy. It’s a powerful tool that promises huge benefits but also requires careful consideration and management of privacy concerns. As with any new technology, it will be up to both Microsoft and its users to navigate these waters responsibly.

Would love to hear your views on this? What do you think, excited for this new feature (on the new Copilot+PC hardware) or will you be turning it off or jumping OS!! 🙂 

For more detailed information on the feature and its capabilities, please refer to the official announcements and resources provided by Microsoft.

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New Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 | Copilot+PCs

Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7

After unveiling the next generation of Windows and Windows hardware (the PC), Microsoft also launched (available to order today), the first of their flagship Copilot+ PCs – the new Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 – both powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite and Snapdragon X Plus Chipsets.

Surface Pro and Surface Laptop start from £1049 and are available on pre-order today!

Key themes are improved environmentals (more than 72% recycled components), repairability, ARM (Qualcomm Snapdragon powered), upgraded screens and cameras.

New Surface Laptop

The latest Surface Laptop offers a modern design with ultra-thin bezels, a vibrant touchscreen, an AI-powered camera, superior audio quality, and a new haptic touchpad. This comes in both 13.8” or 15” screen options and are available in four different colours – Platinum, Black, Dune and Sapphire .

Surface Laptop 15″ version provides up to 22 hours of video playback, while the 13.8” version offers around 20 hours – a staggering increase over previous iterations of the device making them perfect for hybrid, remote work and education. These both deliver exceptional performance and cutting-edge AI features.

Microsoft say it is 86% faster than Surface Laptop 5 and can power up to three external 4K monitors. As a Copilot+PC it’s new NPU delivers a staggering 45 TOPS NPU unlocks new AI experiences and delivers industry-leading performance for seamless productivity. It includes a large variety of ports and features Wi-Fi 7 technology. .

This has been redesigned from the inside out and is sleeker than ever before. It also has a brand new PixelSense touchscreen display with razor-thin bezels and 120Hz refresh rate, HDR technology, Dolby Vision IQ™vii and Adaptive colour technology which adapts perfectly to light for indoor or outdoor use. This generation, while including super responsive multi-touch, does not support use of Surface Pen and neither will Surface Laptop moving forward.

New Surface Pro

The newest Surface Pro builds on what has always been great with Surface, providing a versatile 2-in-1 laptop device redesigned for increased speed and longer battery life and to enable groundbreaking AI capabilities.

Powered by Snapdragon® X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, Microsoft say these deliver performance that is 90% faster than Surface Pro 9. They support up to three external 4K displays, with two USB 4 ports, and a new 13” display (with optional OLED with HDR technology). Surface Pro comes with Wi-Fi 7 and optional 5G to keep you connected where ever you are.

Camera’s get an upgrade too, with ultra-wide, quad-HD front-facing camera – the best Surface camera ever. This makes the new Windows 11 AI-powered Windows Studio Effects like Automatic Framing, keep you in focus, even as you move around your space. The upgraded 10MP Ultra HD rear-facing autofocus camera also supports 4K video.

The new innovative Surface Pro Flex Keyboard, usable both attached and detached, offers improved stability, integrated storage and charging for the Surface Slim Pen. It also has a quiet haptic touch pad. Microsoft say that Surface Slim Pen also gets better – ink  flows which feels more natural with Zero Force inking, ultra-precise shading, 4,096 points of pressure sensitivity and a built-in haptic engine for a more natural writing experience… These are also backward compatible with previous Surface Pro models!

The Surface Pro incorporates a higher percentage of recycled materials compared to the Surface Pro 9, featuring 72% recycled content within its enclosure. It is also designed to be serviceable, with an increased number of replaceable components, such as the motherboard, battery, and cameras, among others..

It’s great to see Microsoft offering their customers more choice in this new realm of AI PCs with both Intel and Qualcomm options.

What do you think about new line up?

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Copilot+PC – Fastest, most AI-ready Windows PCs ever built.

Today (20th May 2024), Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled a new category of PC that features the latest generative AI tools built directly into Windows and powered by the latest generation of AI computing hardware. Microsoft say this is “the most significant change to the Window platform in decades“.

Microsoft said this entirely new class of Windows PC is engineered to unleash the power of distributed AI in conjunction with the latest generation of AI-Powered chip sets from Qualcomm which bring new AI hardware which will power these new AI features which will be “part of” the Windows OS.

Microsoft call this new category ‘Copilot Plus’… which will see the creation of the latest, fastest, most AI-ready Windows PCs ever built. Copilot+ PCs represent a significant advancement in computing, offering powerful performance and pioneering AI capabilities. Equipped with Snapdragon® X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, these PCs are engineered to provide peak processing efficiency and swift response times.

Copilot+ PCs can run AI workloads up to 20x faster and 100x more efficiently than traditional PCs.

Microsoft have also announced today, their first Copilot+ PCs, in both the new Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 – both powered by these new AI Chipsets. They are also working with Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung who will also be bringing their Copilot+ PCs to market.

Here’s the Sizzle Video.

Copilot+PC – Microsoft (c)

As Microsoft took to the stage in front of the world’s tech press, they said that they estimate more than fifty million “AI PCs” will be sold over the next 12 months, given the appetite for devices powered by ChatGPT-style technology.

“…more than 50 million AI PCs will be sold over the next 12 months”

Satya Nadella | Microsoft.

The Copilot+ PC is here

The concept of Copilot+ PC is not merely to offer a handful of AI features. Instead, it is about having a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) on a Copilot+ PC that continuously runs multiple language models in the background of Windows 11. These models will monitor all your activities on your PC to provide contextual information whenever you need to prompt Copilot effectively. Microsoft refers to this functionality as Recall, describing it as a “sensor for AI.”

Satya Nadella announcing the Copilot+PC
Satya Nadella announcing the Copilot+PC

As suggested in the sizzle video above, this implies that a Copilot+ PC can retrieve a line from a document you write or reviewed days earlier, remind you of a commitment or action you made in an email last week, or monitor your web browsing to suggest frequently visited websites and services based on your current activity or “intent”. Whilst there are clear privacy concerns, Microsoft claims that Copilot+ becomes an AI superpower when fully operational and respects your privacy at all times – helping you to do more.

Constant monitoring will be at the heart of a Copilot+ PC, but Microsoft say that it’s substantial AI computing power can do much much more. For example, there will be many creative tools that leverage AI, ranging from Photoshop’s generative AI fill to Microsoft’s AI image generation, to AI video and voice effects in meetings. With a Copilot+ PC, these functions are executed locally on the device – saving time, reducing the need to rely in cloud services and reducing CPU workload and power consumption.

Microsoft have said that users will always be in control and will have the option to disable the always-on AI tracking and to be able to review and delete these AI snapshots individually.

To be classed as Copilot+ status, PCs must be able to deliver at least 40 Tera Operations Per Second (TOPS) of AI processing power from the Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This represents a significant increase from previous offerings, such as Intel’s Meteor Lake, which provided only 10 TOPS from the NPU.

Under the Hood of a Copilot + PC

So, what is powering these new Copilot+ PCs? Despite Microsoft announcing the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for business earlier this year, the new Copilot+ PCs are not powered Intel or AMD chips.

“Over the past year, we have seen an incredible pace of innovation of AI in the cloud with Copilot allowing us to do things that we never dreamed possible…..

Now, we begin a new chapter with AI innovation on the device…..

We have completely reimagined the entirety of the PC, from silicon to the operating system, the application layer to the cloud, with AI at the center, marking the most significant change to the Window platform in decades”

Microsoft (May 2024)

Instead, the initial series exclusively features the Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus chips, each boasting more than 40 TOPS of AI power. According to Qualcomm, these chips provide over four times the AI power of their competitors‘ chips and have more than enough power to run the latest AI infused games.

The Copilot+PC also include the dedicated button to prompt the Copilot AI assistant at any time.

Security is also AI Powered

Microsoft focussed heavily on Security. As with the current ARM powered devices such as the Surface Pro X and Surface Pro 9 5G, every Copilot+ PC comes secured out of the box.

The Microsoft Pluton Security processor (which goes way beyond TPM) is activated by default on all Copilot+ PCs, and they are introducing several new features, updates, and defaults in Windows 11 24H2 that will simplify, yet enhance user security. Additionally, Microsoft are integrated additional personalised privacy controls to safeguard personal and sensitive data.

Microsoft’s vision is to ensure this new AI standards for PCs will enable the next generation of AI development which is timely given their annual Build Conference runs this week in which they will be driving new development capability to develops eager to ride the AI gravy train for Windows system and application development.

As the primary investor in OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, Microsoft also confirmed that the newly announced GPT-4o model, which powers the chatbot, will also be integrated into Copilot+ PCs “soon”. GPT-4o is currently available in preview in Azure AI.

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Microsoft Surface – Are you ready for what m”ai” be next?

Next week is Microsoft Build, and the day before (that’s Monday 20th May), Microsoft is set to host a significant event in-person in Seattle about the the future and of Windows, Surface and Copilot.

The event (which is not being live streamed unfortunatley) takes place at 17:00 UK Time (10:00am Pacific Time) and will showcase (I hope filled with the famous Microsoft sizzle videos) the next wave of innovation for Surface, Windows and Copilot powered by new AI powered chipsets…

As usual Microsoft has not disclosed specific details about what is being announced, but there have been many “suggestive” leaks, predications and teases about what is coming. What we do know is that this will be a big and “special” announcement.

This year, Microsoft have already launched the first generation of new AI PC with the release of the Surface Pro 10 and The Surface Laptop 6 which were built on the new Intel AI Boost technology – which you can read more about here.

So what is being announced?

We know this is a pretty big annoucement and we do know that this is the year of AI and the year of the AI PC, so we can expect some pretty exciting annoucements. Despite the various leaks, we wont know until monday what is actually coming, but we do know that Microsoft’s previous product updates were only around the Intel based devices and their ARM powered devices haven’t yet received an update.

Windows Insiders will be well aware of the all the AI innovating coming to the next generation of Windows 11 so we can expect some new AI wow to be announced for Windows 11 as Microsoft gear up for the 24H2 update coming later this year.

Next Generation of Windows and Surface (and Copilot)

Given the new Qualcomm chipsets such as the Snapdragon Elite X, it would make sense for this to feature in the announcements. These new chipsets (which I discussed here) provide huge NPU capabilities which are needed to process AI workloads efficiently without sloooooooowing down the device so it will be exciting to see if these feature in the future of Surface and Windows!

Will Copilot work “locally/Offline?

What? Well today, all the AI and Copilot experiences we have seen with Windows 11 (and Microsoft 365 Copilot) take place in the cloud, but I also wonder if Microsoft will discuss their plans and advancements around local/on-device Generative AI experiences. With the newer AI Boost PCs from Intel, what is now available with Qualcomm and what Microsoft have in their arsenal with Copilot and OpenAI, it will be interesting to see what Microsoft can tell us about how they could de-couple the AI experiences, providing the ability to run local LLMs “on chip”. This of course is as much about the software (Windows OS) as it is the hardware that powers it.

What about Windows 365?

I hope so – since Windows 365 is very much part of the Windows story and I’m hoping we will hear some updates about what is coming to Windows 365. We have seen huge performance and boot time increases this year, new innovation with Windows 365 Boot and Windows 365 Switch (i have covered this in another blog) so be great to see what is next for Windows 365. There were also many things annouced over the past 12 months such as offline mode that haven’t yet made it to market – could this be finally coming?

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Introducing the new Surface IT Toolkit

The new Surface IT Toolkit which was officially released on April 25th 2024, promises to be a significant tool to help IT managing and optimise their coporate fleet of Surface devices.

We are excited to announce the Surface IT Toolkit, a modern desktop application that compiles essential commercial tools and streamlines the Surface device management experience for IT admins – all in a single application.

Microsoft.

Replacing an older mixture of admin tools, the refresh and centralising of these essential tools into a one application should simplify the deployment and management process, addressing the common challenge of using disparate tools across various locations and versions. This should greatly enhance efficiency and ease of use for IT admins.

What is in the Surface IT Toolkit?

The Surface Tool kit contains a number of new and updated apps. These are:

  • Data Eraser – Which is a NIST [Special Publication 800-88 Revision 1 NVM Express] compliant data erasure tool that also includes the ability to create certificates of sanitization for compliance and auditing. This is beneficial when repurposing, recycling, or retiring a device to guarantee that no sensitive data is left on it.
  • UEFI Configurator – enables IT to implement Surface Enterprise Management Mode (SEMM) UEFI configurations on Surface devices and peripherals such as Surface docks and other accessories. The UEFI configurator allows IT to efficiently and consistently manage and disable components at the firmware level. This enhances security and compliance by safeguarding against unauthorized modifications to device settings. For example it could be used to prevent the camera being used to comply with privacy in schools, or block USB ports being used to connect to external disks for data compliance.
  • Recovery Tool – This feature enables a full device reset, reverting it to its factory state for troubleshooting and re-building purposes. It also manages previously downloaded factory images for reuse, helping to resolve common issues and restore the device’s original performance. The latest update provides a new guided process and no longer requires the serial number to be entered. It also includes ability to build from new or build from an existing image.
  • Tool Library – The updated Tool Library houses the most recent versions of supplementary tools and installers for deployment to end users, offering IT descriptions of their functions and links to the most up-to-date documentation. This tools here include the Surface Asset Tag Tool, Surface Diagnostic Toolkit for Business, Surface Brightness Control Tool, among others.

Video: Install and using the Surface IT Toolkit

Here’s little video that shows the relevant webpages, installing the toolkit and first run experience and tools available.

Usng the Surface Tool Kit.

For more information from Microsoft on this – use the following link

How do I get the Surface IT Toolkit?

You can grab the IT Toolkit from Microsoft > here <.

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AI-PCs – what’s the hype all about?

The new buzz in the world of PCs is all about the “AI PC”. This term is the latest messaging being banded around from PC/Laptop manufacturers with a view to ensure that people, families and organisations are taking this next generation of PC into account when planning their legacy hardware upgrades over the next 12-18 months.

AI analytics and modeling require vast amounts of data, which are best suited for cloud, but performing some workloads at the device level delivers more efficient processing, or inferencing, by being offloaded to the device. These efficiencies could be applied to:

  • Visual inferencing: AI applied directly to the camera feed
  • Audio inferencing: AI applied to audio inputs
  • Live transcription: AI applied to language processing

New AI-PCs are being designed and built with specialised processors (NPUs) to support executing those models, and more, locally, in real time.

You don’t need to look very far to see the phrase “AI PC” everywhere both from Intel and leading device manufacturers including Microsoft, but what is the tech behind the latest tech phrase?

You may be aware that Microsoft recently launched the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 – both of these fit into the new “AI-PC” catagory!

Note: AI is the capability of a computer program or a machine to "think, learn, and take actions without being explicitly encoded with commands".

So what is an AI PC?

In short an AI-PC needs to have these three key components:

  • An Chipset with a new NPU, CPU and GPU built-in
  • Windows 11 and Copilot in Windows
  • A Copilot Key (technically).

Of course CPUs and GPUs have been around for a long time, but it is the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that is new in PCs and it is this that is the key part of an AI-PC. The NPU (or AI-Boost as Intel calls it) is designed to process AI workloads locally rather than in the cloud which brings many improvements for the user, including processor efficiency, improved battery life and increased security.

The NPU is a dedicated microprocessor designed to efficiently handle AI-specific tasks, such as executing predictive models, processing machine learning algorithms, or powering generative AI applications.

Surface AI-PC – Available on Surface Pro 9, 10 and Surface Laptop 6

The Intel Core Ultra processors featured in AI-PCs like Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 provide a holistic approach to running AI workloads on PC. These different processors offer programming versatility to developers that maximise the three type of microprocessors – CPU, GPU, and their new, integrated NPU. With an AI-PC, each microprocessor (compute engine) has its own specialisation, but in the context of AI on Cloud PCs mean they work together when using AI workloads with:

  • The CPU being ideal for general and traditional compute workload as well as light-weight, single inference AI tasks. Think “accelerating cloud-delivered AI” while minimising impact on overall system performance.
  • The GPU being ideal for AI infused into media and 3D rendering apps and tasks. Users can perform data visualisation tasks, create and manipulate 3D images, or generate elaborate reports, enabling your team to efficiently tackle complex data workloads.
  • The new AI-Boosting NPU which is designed specifically for sustained and efficient offloading of AI models such as Windows Studio Effects.

What are the benefits of an AI-PC?

In short – performance, battery life and enabling new AI-Powered experiences.

Windows and many other apps have AI features within their applications sets, but put simply with AI-PCs these AI features and tools will work much quicker and will unlock additional NPU-Specific features.

The NPU is a dedicated microprocessor designed to efficiently handle AI-specific tasks, such as executing predictive models, processing machine learning algorithms, or powering generative AI applications. The image below shows the difference between a video app’s back-ground blur using a CPU vs an NPU. The device on the right is a Surafce Pro 9 with dedicated NPU and it is easy to see how much better the AI effect is when it is processing the AI workload locally.

Image showing the difference between a video app’s background blur on a CPU vs. an NPU.

The key thing about the AI-PC is the impact on the CPU processing AI workloads when there is an NPU present. With AI features like voice and video effects in Windows and the wealth of AI features in apps like Adobe, CPU workload is dramatically reduced as the NPU does the AI grunt work (and is far more efficient at running them) This leads to a more efficient device, increased battery life and a more responsive OS and applications for users. The image below illustrates the impact savings running smilar tasks on a PC vs an “AI-PC”.

Image (c) Microsoft – March 2024

AI-PCs will empwer and improve many experiences – as compute for AI workloads moves to more local-mode and hybrid-mode processing. This goes beyond just video effects and speech and will include things like object detection “seeing AI”, gesture tracing, security and many more.

Intel claim that “AI PCs with an Intel Core Ultra processor are able to edit videos more than 230% faster and perform AI image editing tasks 52% faster.

AI PCs are also set to be defined by how they align with Microsoft’s Windows operating system as well. One of the most consumer-facing AI products right now is Microsoft Copilot, which is slowly rolling out to Windows 11 devices and we’re set to see a dedicated Copilot key on some laptops in the future too. Over time this will also take advantage of local AI-processing with AI-PCs

Note: Today, Copilot operates in the cloud and thus does not utilize a computer’s onboard NPU. However, this is expected to change, as Microsoft has announced plans for new system architectures that will enhance Windows AI experiences by integrating the GPU, CPU, NPU, and the cloud.

Will the birth of the AI-PC reboot the PC market?

I think the AI PC will be the PC of the next decade.

The PC market has been in decline for several years, but IDC predict that 2024 is estimated to see a 3.7 percent year-over-year increase in shipments, ending the decline the market has seen since the highs of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are seeing Microsoft, Dell, HP and Lenovo, jumping on AI PCs and with the next two years likely to be the time that more organisations really start to experiment and test AI within their organisations, the rise of the AI-PC is set (according to IDC) to kickstart the PC business again.

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Surface Laptop Go 3 Review – Value, Quality, and Agility

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (released at tail end of 2023) is the latest addition to the Surface Go family, along with its sibling the Surface Go 4 (2-in-1). This gorgeous, light weight device is a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to delivering high-quality, agile, and aesthetically pleasing devices that offer great value for money.

Quality and Looks

Available in a wide choice of colours, Surface Laptop Go 3 sports a sleek and compact design that is both light weight, sturdy yet still premium. It features a premium aluminum chassis on the lid and keyboard deck, giving it a high-end look and feel, along with reposing touch screen (but no pen support), Secure Core Architecture and Windows Hello sign in via Fingerprint Reader. It is worth nothing that the Surface Laptop Go 3 is the only device in the Surface Family that lacks pen support and Windows Hello face recognition sign in.

Surface Laptop Go 3 is available in 4 colours – Platinum, Ice Blue, Sage and Sandstone.

Performance and Agility

The Surface Laptop Go 3 is equipped with an Intel 12th Gen processor, which provides a solid performance for everyday tasks. It’s available with up to 16GB of RAM (the model I have been using has 8GB) making it capable of handling multiple applications simultaneously without slowing down. It is a device capable of anything outside of intense gaming or complex video editing.

Despite its compact and lightweight size, Surface Laptop Go 3 doesn’t compromise on screen quality. It features a 12.4-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1536 by 1024, providing users with a bright and clear display for all their computing needs even outside.

Value for money

The Surface Laptop Go 3 brings, in my opinion, great performance and power in a sleek chassis given its price point. It it not as powerful as its bigger sibling, the Surface Laptop, but at price of around $799 you get a premium device, which is repairable, sustainable, great looking, lightweight, and practical for almost any task (work, school, or home).

Comparisons with Similar devices

When compared to similar devices, the Surface Laptop Go 3 holds its own in terms for premium feel and weight, though the slight price increase over the previous generation, and competitive nature of this market, does finds itself up against some very serious competition including last year’s Surface Laptop Go 2 and the Surface Go 3, which features a smaller chassis and a lower price point.

Using it on the Go

Using Surface Laptop Go 3 is great when on the move. The “almost” full size keyboard, makes it feel like you are working on a much larger device, but it is much lighter to carry around in a bag, use on the train, coffee shop or anywhere. To be honest, it’s a great device for working anywherem with more than enough horse power for work and home use.

Battery life is not as good as devices like the Surface Laptop or Surface Pro and lasted me a full 5 hours of constant use, including being on wireless, working in Outlook and PowerPoint, using Copilot and taking part in Teams Video Calls. I carry a USB charger with me for my phone and it’s great that I can also charge my Surface Laptop Go 3 with the same power-bank which easily gives me a full day’s work in the vent I cant get to a power outlet. For internet, I simply use free wi-fi where I am, or tether to my mobile which works great.

If you do need a device with 4G/5G built in, I’d suggest Surface Go or Surface Pro which provides options for eSIM or physical SIM.

Windows 365 – a great companion.

Using Surface Laptop 3 as a personal device (as I have here) with Windows 365 makes loads of sense here in this scenario, offering a seamless blend of seamless and secure connectivity to work resources without breaching corporate policy or compromising usability. Using Surface Laptop Go with my dedicated Cloud PC through Windows 365 is a game changer.

The video below shows me connecting my new personal Surface Laptop Go 3 to a monitor and keyboard and then using Windows 365 Switch to simply move to my highly available, secure, and persistent Cloud PC.


Moreover, the Single Sign-On (SSO) feature of Windows 365 adds another layer of security with convenience. With SSO, this means I simply launch the Windows App, (which then integrates with the task switcher in Windows 11. I sign-in with my company Entra ID SSO. This means I can simply sign-in to my personal device and then quickly to my company Windows 365 desktop to get access to my corporate desktop, applications, and resources and I don’t need to mix personal and work staff on the same device – meaning no annoying corporate policies on my personal device, no security / compliance risk for my company and only need to carry one device. The USB-C charging of the laptop is also great as I just plug into a monitor, use the keyboard and mouse and I’m off!

Conclusion

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is a device that offers a blend of value, quality, looks, and agility. While it faces stiff competition from similar devices, it stands out with its sleek design, solid performance, and quality build. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a casual user, the Surface Laptop Go 3 is a definitely a device worth considering.

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Pavan Davuluri now in charge of Windows and Surface.

Surface Under One Roof

Following Panos Panay’s competitor move to Amazon last year, Microsoft split up the Windows and Surface management structure with Pavan Davuluri looking after the Surface division and Mikhail Parakhin leading a new team that looked after Windows and web experiences.

As of this week, these divisions have again been consolidated, like they were under Panos, with both Windows and Surface being run by Pavan Davuluri. Pavan has been with Microsoft for more than twenty-three years and was a huge driver behind the recent custom-designed Surface processors (SQ) developed in collaboration with Qualcomm.

According to a memo obtained by The Verge, Microsoft says merging the two teams will “enable us to take a holistic approach to building silicon, systems, experiences, and devices that span Windows client and cloud for this AI era.”

Pavan Davuluri – Microsoft Surface and Windows Chief 2024

Personally, I think its great to see the reunion of Windows and Surface teams under Pavan which sits within Microsoft’s Engineering and Devices organisation, headed by Rajesh Jha.

This move also comes after Microsoft’s appointment of DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman as CEO of a new dedicated AI division within Microsoft which has presumably prompted a re-evaluation of their team structures as Microsoft look forward to an FY25 fueled by new advances in Copilot, big updates in Windows and Microsoft’s new AI-PCs.

Reflection

This move is welcomed by Windows enthusiasts, as it promises increased collaboration and cohesion between Microsoft’s hardware and software endeavours and just makes sense to see development of the OS that powers Surface (and of course the other OEMs) being overseen by the same person.

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Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 – The new AI-PCs from Microsoft

Microsoft has just (21st March 2024) announced their 2024 AI-powered flagship devices – the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6. Both devices are AI-PCs, packed full of the latest AI hardware to designed to deliver the best performance of the next wave of AI powered apps such as Copilot for Windows, Copilot for Microsoft 365 and of course other AI powered applications from other software vendors such as Adobe. These new devices will yet again setting bar of how to make enterprise class devices for Business.

Video (C) Microsoft

Both the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 also come with a new Copilot key, putting Copilot front and centre and showing that Microsoft means business when it comes to AI PCs and Copilot.

These new AI-PCs are aimed at business users and not consumers……currently!

When are the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 Available?

Both the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 are available to pre-order now on Microsoft’s website. The devices will be released on April 9.

Introducing Surface Pro 10

Surface Pro 10 yet again improves on the previous version. In the case of Surface Pro 10 we see a huge improvement in power and performance boost over the previous Surface Pro 9 model thanks to the latest Intel Core Ultra processors which boost performance by 53%. As an AI-Powered PC, Surface Pro 10 also features a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) which does the core Edge processing of AI tasks, reducing load on the CPU and processing AI tasks significantly faster than a CPU does.

Surface Pro 10 | Image (c) Microsoft

The Surface Pro retains the same design and format of its predecessors, but does include a new screen which is now non-reflective and 33% brighter, making it much easier to use outside and when travelling, while also retaining the same battery life. Microsoft also provide more configuration options than ever with options for Intel Core Ultra 5 135U or Intel Core Ultra 7 165U processors and support for RAM configurations from 8GB to 64GB.

Surface Pro 10 also gets a front camera upgrade and comes with a brand new 1440p webcam with a 114-degree field of view. This, combined with the new Windows 11 Studio effects and the Core Ultra’s NPU for AI workloads enables brings new capabilities for video enabled applications and clearer images.

Surface Pro comes with Thunderbolt 4 ports as standard for connectivity and charging but still includes the staple Surface connector port for connections to Surface Docks and Surface Chargers. You also still get USB-A and microphone jack. There is no SD-CARD slot which is something I still think is a poor decision but hey – nothings perfect.

Connectivity and working from anywhere continues to be a big theme for Surface Pro, with Surface Pro 10 being the first Surface device to support 5G.

Introducing Surface Laptop 6

Available in 13.5-inch and 15-inch models, Surface Laptop 6 combines the sleekness and modern design of a premium laptop with the processing power of a desktop, supporting for the first time, Intel’s H-series processors without compromising on weight, thickness or prestige creating a power house of a laptop, second only to the Microsoft Surface Studio Laptop 2.

Surface Laptop 6 | Image (c) Microsoft

During Microsoft’s live event in the US, they showcased the Surface Laptop 6 connected to multiple 4K screens, running video calls, complex graphics apps, Visual Studio and other apps showcasing the sheer grunt work and power of the device. Leveraging options to choose the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H or Core Ultra 7 165H processors means that Surface Laptop 6 can run at twice the performance of the Laptop 5.

The Surface Laptop 6 stands out not only in performance capabilities but also in its range of specifications catering to various user needs. At its base, the device is equipped with 8GB of RAM, which is quite generous for standard tasks, yet it offers scalability up to an extraordinary 64GB of RAM for those requiring intensive computational power for tasks such as data analysis, programming, video editing, and more.

In terms of storage, this now starts at 256GB Gen4 SSD, ensuring quick boot times and efficient data retrieval. For users with higher storage demands, this can be configured all the way up to 1TB of storage capacity, allowing ample space for large files, video, multimedia libraries, and extensive software applications.

Further bolstering Microsoft’s security credentials, Surface Laptop 6 also comes with additional (optional) security features, with options to include a smart card reader (currently available solely in the US) and near-field communication (NFC) technology, which is aimed at bolstering a client’s commitment to zero-trust security principles. These features enable swift and secure sign-in and sign-out processes, particularly vital in high-risk areas where security is paramount.

Surface Laptop 6 still of course includes support for Windows Hello for Business and of course user-specific PINs, again helping to eliminate the need for cumbersome passwords. This approach to dual-factor authentication significantly heightens security, making unauthorised access exceedingly difficult.

Sustainability and Repairability

Finally, I need to mention Microsoft’s on-going commitment to sustainability and reparability. Microsoft design all their products with the circular economy in mind, with “integrity built in across the entire product lifecycle – from design and supply chain through product usage and end-of-life management”.

The new Surface devices are fashioned from recycled aluminium, which not only provides a sleek, modern aesthetic but also reduces the environmental footprint of the manufacturing process. Internally, the device now includes QR code guidance, which simplifies repair processes and effectively reduces the overall maintenance costs, further catering to the needs of businesses conscious of their environmental impact and operating expenses.

This dedication to environmental conscientiousness and user-centric design makes Surface an exemplary devices and the most sustainable devices on the tech market.

Surface for Business… What about Consumer?

Unlike in previous years, Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 are only available for business customers. But don’t worry – Microsoft made it clear that they “absolutely remain committed to consumer devices.” “Building great devices that people love to use aligns closely with our company mission to empower individuals as well as organisations and we are excited to be bringing devices to market that deliver great AI experiences to our customers. Todays commercial announcement is only the first part of this effort.”

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Are Microsoft Changing Copilot in Windows?

This week, Microsoft shipped Windows Insider preview build 26080 (in both the Canary and Dev channels), which has introduced a way for users to release the Copilot Window from being attached to the right-hand side of the screen where it has lived since birth!

Previously, the Copilot widget opened on the right of the screen, and whilst in recent preview builds, Microsoft introduced the ability to resize it (make it bigger), it was still attached to the right side of the screen as shown below.

Copilot in Windows (attached to the right of the screen)

Detaching Copilot

With preview build 26080, it is now possible to undock Copilot, so it feels like a traditional app, meaning you can move Copilot to wherever you want to. The Copilot “app” can moved and resized as needed to make it more customisation in how you choose to work in Windows – just like you would with say the Calculator app. Bear in mind this is in preview and subject to user feedback (file in the Feedback Hub), this may not be a permanent change.

Copilot in detached mode (Windows Insiders on Canary Build).

This is rolling out for Windows Insiders on the Canary Build but will make its way to Insiders on the Dev build soon following initial feedback from Canary build testers.

Note: Microsoft use Windows Insider Builds to try new things out, seek feedback from users and to gauge how well innovative ideas and changes are received, as well as to action the feedback from users.

Copilot in Windows is also getting bigger hooks

In this preview build, Windows Insiders are also going to see that Copilot is getting new abilities to act and control the underlying Windows 11 settings. This includes the ability to perform tasks such as emptying the Recycle Bin, toggle Live Captions, toggle Voice Access, and can also ask Copilot more about various system stats such as battery information, system infrormation and also has the ability to enable battery saver.

A note on Build Numbers

Regular Windows Insiders may also notice that both the Canary and Dev Channels are receiving the same build number currently. Microsoft remind users that this does happen sometimes as during the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26080), it provides an opportunity for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. Once this windows has passed, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.

You check out the recent builds and offioial blog from Microsoft here:

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Microsoft is saying good-bye to Android Apps on Windows

just three years after announcing they were bringing Android apps to Windows 11 (via the Amazon App Store), they have now u-turned and said they will be ending support for their Windows Subsystem for Windows from March 2025.

Amazon Apps on Windows

In a support article on Microsoft Learn, they said “Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android™️ (WSA). As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all applications and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported beginning March 5, 2025. Until then, technical support will remain available to customers. Customers that have installed the Amazon Appstore or Android apps prior to March 5, 2024, will continue to have access to those apps through the deprecation date of March 5, 2025“.

Writing was on the wall

Is this a strange move? Personally no. Even though Microsoft has been continually updating the Windows Subsystem for Android since it first launched, usage was low despite it being a big promotional item to drive value of Windows as a single OS for home and work. Microsoft had initially positioned Android apps on Windows 11 as a way to compete/align with Apple and their move to support the running of iOS apps on macOS. The main draw back of Microsoft’s approach was that their partnership with Amazon did not provide official access to Google’s Play Store, making it difficult for consumers to access download the more popular Android apps on Windows. Personally, I think this is the main reason Microsoft might be retiring support for Android Apps on Windows.

I had used it a handful of times, but in most cases defaulted to Web Apps or the Windows native app experience. I’m not really one to play loads of Android games so it wasn’t really a thing I envisaged using Windows 11 for.

It could have been better.

I think if Microsoft has managed to leverage this system using the Google Play Store rather than Amazon store, it could have been a different story. Selfishly, it is not a service I will miss, but it was a good way to enable people to access a wider set of apps not available for Windows 11 devices.

Microsoft need to spend more time on getting more developers to write apps for Windows. Its an age old problem Microsoft have experienced and whilst the best it is ever been, Windows is still not a default destination for apps with many apps being web apps for more common social media and gaming apps outside of the big hitting apps and those supported in Xbox and Windows Games.

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Microsoft Surface Go 4 Review

Surface Go 4 Blog Cover Page

Whilst there is nothing new or standout about the Surface Go 4, it is the latest version of Microsoft’s small 10-inch tablet which is ideal for use at home, as a companion device, when travelling or when away, Surface Go is also extremely popular in education, Heathcare, front-line and field operations, retail and in call/contact centres. Surface Go 4 ships with Windows 11.

Being a huge fan of the Surface Family and being a fan of the Surface Go 2 LTE and Surface Go 3 for traveling and working on the go, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Surface Go 4 and put it through the paces to see how much compared to the previous version.

Introducing the Surface Go 4

The Surface Go 4 is looks very much the same when compared to its predecessor, the Surface Go 3 – Infact, the design hasn’t really changed since the original Surface Go. It measures 245 x 175 x 8.3mm and weighs just 529grams. It has a 10.5inch, 1,920 x 1,080 IPS screen with high quality, solid magnesium body, complete with “any angle” kickstand, single USB-C port, Surface Connect Port and headphone jack port and optional Surface Pen and Type Cover Keyboard. You can find the full spec here:

Surface Go 3 vs Surface Go 4

Being the same overall size and dimensions, the great thing if you are upgrading from a previous generation Surface Go is that it is fully compatible with the any Surface Go accessories such as keyboards or cases you may have. This iteration does get an upgraded chipset and therefore performance lift over the 2021/22 version and is still built with high-quality magnesium alloy body with a premium finish making it feel like a premium device – which Surface is. I do wish, fours on however, that Microsoft would have reduced the oversized black screen bezels a little as it does look a little dated compared to other tablets. 

Surface Go is used a lot in education and with frontline workers. This is one of the reasons for the larger screen bezels. This makes it much easier to hold without accidently touching the screen.

Signature Look and Feel

As you expect with Surface 2-in-1 devices, Surface Go 4 gives you the familiar kickstand which is built into the back of the device and can be easily folded out to various angles making it extremely versatile as a tablet or a laptop with the optional (and not included) keyboard. The kick stand is smooth in operation and very sturdy. 

Surface Kick Stand

On the underside of the kickstand, you can find a MicroSD card slot. On the sides of the device, you will find the familiar Surface Connect port, a headphone jack and a USB C 3.1 port which can also be used for charging the device as well as connecting to a range of peripherals, docks or displays.

Camera, Video and Windows Hello®️

You get two cameras. At the back of device, there is an 8-megapixel camera which is good medium range camera for a rear camera on a laptop. At the front you get a 5-megapixel webcam which performs really well in various light settings on video calls and when recording in apps like PowerPoint and Clip Champ. Unlike the Surface Laptop Go, you do also get the additional sensors for Windows Hello and light adjustment and as always Windows Hello works incredibly fast.

Repairability and Sustainability

Microsoft have continued to improve on the repairability and sustainability of their devices and supply chain. Surface Go 4 is more repairable than ever, with the display, battery and back cover, kickstand, motherboard, microSDXC card reader, type cover connector, front, rear and Windows Hello camera, and speakers all being replaceable.

Screen

Surface Go 4 has the same 10.5-inch 10-point multi-touch, PixelSense display as its predecessor and has an aspect ratio of 3:2. Microsoft consistently uses this aspect, and it remains the perfect ratio for office or schoolwork.

Screen resolution supports 1920 x 1280 pixels, meaning you get a Full HD resolution on a 10.5-inch screen which makes it look super sharp and clear. The screen is bright, and colours are vibrant, and you also get great viewing angles. Gorilla Glass 3 also protects the screen. Touch is accurate and responsive as always.

For a late 2023 device, it's a shame that Microsoft didn't upgrade to a 120Hz panel as they have in the latest Pro and Laptop range. I would have also liked to have seen anti-glare screen options to help in outdoor or bright conditions.

Audio and Sound

Yoi get stereo sound with speakers located on the left and right of the display. Whilst sound quality is not studio level like you get on the Surface Laptop Studio, it is more than good enough for calls and watching videos when away or watching in bed. making it a great all-rounder and fine if you want to use it as an entertainment device.

Power and Performance

Microsoft Surface Go 4 is powered by an Intel N200 processor and comes with 8GB of RAM as a standard. This an improvement over the previous models which started at 4GB RAM which was simply not enough in my experience. Storage starts at 64GB SSD storage and provide options of 128GB and 256GB too. Strangely there is no LTE/4/5G version this time round.

According to benchmark reports I have seen, performance of the Surface Go 4 is slightly better than the Surface Go 3 due to the slightly updated chipset and is also more powerful than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE tablet. It falls short of the Apple iPad 9. which is to be expected.

Performance, like many things is subjective though. The Surface Go 4 (I have been using the 8GB/256GB) version which was more than sufficient for multi-tasking office apps and personal social media and video streaming apps.

Usage and Experience

Surface Go 4 is positioned as a work or school device and not designed (unlike a high-end iPad) for video editing or playing video intensive games. That said, for office apps and web applications, I noticed no performance lags at all and the device multi-tasked well. Microsoft’s Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote run smoothly and I was able to have many Edge tabs open at the same time with any issues.

Surface is also a great device for watching stuff on YouTube, Netflix, Disney +. This combined with good performance for multitasking with business or school apps, makes Surface Go 4 an affordable, practical, light weight and fully featured 2-in-1 device. I find this great when I travel or work away without having to take two devices.

Type Cover Keyboard

All previous generations of the Microsoft Type Cover for Surface Go are compatible with Surface Go 4 and the design has not changed with version 4. You can of course buy cheaper (non-Microsoft covers) or USB keyboards, but don’t. Microsoft’s Type Cover keyboard is excellent.

In case you are not familiar; Microsoft’s Type Cover keyboard is extremely high quality. It is made of plastic but has a very high-quality finish and a fabric-like surface. It includes a backlight and is magnetically attached to the tablet and protects the display when folded. Due to the slight angle of the keyboard that the magnetic connector creates, it makes it feel much more like a laptop than cheap ‘flat’ keyboard.

Surface Go 4 Type Cover
Surface Go Type Cover Keyboard.

The keyboard is relatively large for a small 10-inch tablet but does not feel small to use. I can easily touch type on this without effort or having to change how I type. The Type Cover is comfortable to use and much better than some of the cheap tablet keyboards I have used in the past.

There is a touchpad under the keyboard, which, while not a big as some laptops, is a good balance of size and usability whilst helping to avoid accidental touches on the touch panel.

The Surface Pen

For me, a touch screen and pen are a non-negotiator when choosing a device for work or home. Once critiqued by Apple saying that “no one would ever need to use a pen with a tablet”, Surface Pen has been a stable companion to the Surface Pro since the first Surface in 2012.

Surface Go 4 supports all previous iterations of Surface Pens (expect the ones that shipped on the first Surface Pro 1 and Surface RT devices) including the Surface Slim Pen and Slim Pen 2. The Surface Pen is very responsive and precise, and it’s fun to take handwritten notes with it. The lates

Whilst optional to buy, Surface Go 4 together with the Surface Pen and writing and graphics apps like OneNote, MS Paint, Designer, Edge, PDF etc, are what make Surface standout. Yes, you can do this on most tablets, but Surface is by far the best (and original) 2-in-1 device in my experience.

With the latest update to Windows 11, there is now also support for inking anywhere you can type in dialogue boxes.

Windows 11 brings Surface to Life

Everyone knows that Windows is not an OS designed for tablet only devices. Windows 8 tried too hard to make Tablet mode work (and was awful) and Windows 10 had various attempts at tablet mode, but Windows 11 has actually (finally) done a half decent job of adapting the OS to work with tablet devices. This includes 2-in-1s like Surface Go 4.

With Windows 11, tablet mode is switched on automatically when the keyboard is disconnected or folded back to use the device in tablet mode.

In tablet mode, the Windows taskbar becomes significantly larger so that it is easier to use with your finger or pen and the customisable on-screen keyboard opens whenever you click/tap in a text field. If have a Surface Pen, then you also get quick access to the Windows Inking features.

Within Windows, some apps are also tailored for use with Tablets, and some even adapt based on the use mode. OneNote is a good example. When using OneNote in tablet mode, the canvas gets simplified and decluttered, making it much easier to use with pen and ink.

Using Surface with Android Apps

While a Windows thing more than a Surface thing, Windows 11 supports the use of many Android apps via the Amazon App Store. To use this, you need to install the Amazon Appstore via the Microsoft Store.

Amazon App Store in Windows 11

You can then install a vast number of apps and games such as angry birds or City Mapper and use them just like any other app. Whilst you don’t get the full library of native Android apps you get in the Play store, there are thousands, and it works seamlessly once installed from the Microsoft Store.

Surface is even better with Windows 365

Windows 365 is Microsoft’s desktop as a service which is delivered as a SaaS service to business/corporate users. It is a dedicated Cloud PC which is provisioned, used, managed, and updated just like a physical PC but runs in the Microsoft Cloud. Windows 365 provides an “instant on” desktop environment than can be accessed securely from any device (or browser) and allows you to pick up where you left off, providing a seamless experience with all your corporate applications and files available wherever you need it. Since Windows 365 is a Cloud Service, access to it is secure, instantly provisioned, upgraded or updated and since it can be used on “any” device avoids the need for hardware upgrades, protects against device loss and theft and removes the data security / leakage risk of having corporate information on physical devices.

Windows 11 on Surface running Windows 365 running
Windows 365 (work PC) running on my personal Windows 11 desktop

So why Surface Go 4 and Windows 365? Well, I have recently got myself a Surface Go 4 for home and family. The kids love using pen and ink and we use a Microsoft 365 Family subscription for personal, school and work stuff.

When I’m away from the office or traveling with my family, I often need to access work-related files and applications. Windows 365 allows me to securely multitask on our shared device without having to install and download apps, set up complicated VPN services, or compromise company security or confidentiality by using a personal device for work. With Windows 365, I can use my personal device as a work device and switch back seamlessly as needed. Plus, if my kids want to play with Designer or watch YouTube, I can pause what I’m doing and resume later without worrying that they will mess up any of my work.

I’ve written other posts on Windows 365 before, and for more information on Windows 365 you can check Microsoft’s official sites here.

My Conclusion

Starting at £549 in the UK (pen and keyboard separate), Microsoft Surface Go 4 is a well priced, versitile allrounder that is great for home, work, school or a combination of all (maybe combined with Windows 365).

Surface Go continues to be a great choice if you need/want a “proper” Windows based PC type device rather than “just a tablet”. This is not a device for intense gamers or graphic designers, but for everything else, it’s a great device that is well built, offers high quality, is super repairable and includes full multipoint touch, pen support and a full and versitle type cover ketboard.

The only dissapointment was battery life. Windows devices in my experience just dont have the power efficienicies that Apple iPads offer.

If you have a Surface Go 3, I would not reccommend rushing out and upgrading (unless you have an etry level one with 4GB RAM). If you do not need a Windows device or just want a tablet to watch films on and browse social media, then Surface Go may be wasted on you.

Surface Go is also a great second device. If you have a desktop for work or home (or a chunky, heavy laptop), Surface Go is a grwat choice as a flexible second device that can also be used for work with or without Windows 365 (see above).

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Copilot gets cool little animations in the latest Windows 11 Insider build

The latest Windows 11 preview build is now rolling out to Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channel. This build (26052) is significant, since it is the first designated “Windows 24H2” build that has been made available to Insiders. It brings a number of new features and enhancements and Microsoft say its the beginning of what will be an AI infused set of updates that will come to Windows 11 this year.

One of the most noticeable things in this build (and partly to mark the 1-year birthday of Microsoft Copilot) is the introduction of new Copilot animations that are being tested. 

Image (c) Microsoft

The Copilot icon will now animate into a pencil or picture icon whenever you copy text or an image to your clipboard, indicating that Copilot can help you with the content you have just copied.

Interacting with Copilot Animations

Whenever content is copied to the clipboard and the intimation is show, users can hover the mouse over the animated Copilot icon to see a choice of different options that Copilot can do for you with the text or image just copied.

  • With text, you are presented with options to summarise, explain, or send directly to Copilot for further user defined queries and requests.
  • With images, you get an option to explain the image along with additional options to edit the image – which then takes you to the Microsoft Designer app.

With this build, Microsoft also supports the ability to launch Copilot by just dragging an image onto the Copilot icon in the taskbar, which then opens Copilot. If Copilot is already open, you can now also drag and drop an image into the text box in Copilot and type an action that you would like to perform on the image content.

Privacy

The content is not automatically sent to Copilot without your permission. The animation of the Copilot button is there to simply guide/remind you that it can help, but nothing is shared to the Copilot System until you choose too. Copilot can’t access your clipboard without consent.

First impressions

It’s an overall really handy shortcut, and one that will help less technically aware/savvy users that Copilot is available to help with content. I find this better than annoying advertising style pop-ups…

We are trying out a new experience for Copilot in Windows that helps showcase the ways that Copilot can accelerate and enhance your work.

Microsoft Windows Team

I especially like the drag and drop on to the Copilot logo and text input fields as this simplifies and shortens the time / steps needed to interactive with Copilot.

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