If you can’t tell by now, almost every tech company is eager to pray at the altar of AI, for better or worse. Google’s recent I/O developer conference was dominated by AI features, such as its seemingly lifelike Project Astra assistant. Just before that, OpenAI debuted GPT 4o, a free and conversational AI model that’s disturbingly catchy. Next up is Microsoft Build 2024, the company’s developer conference, which starts next week in Seattle.
Normally, Build is a pretty straightforward celebration of Microsoft’s dedication to productivity, with a little coding on stage to excite the developer crowd. But this year the company is preparing to make some bigger AI moves, following its debut of ChatGPT-based Bing Chat in early 2023. Take that along with rumors surrounding new Surface hardware, and Build 2024 could potentially be one of the -the most important events ever organized by Microsoft.
But before Build, Microsoft is hosting a showcase for new surfaces and AI in Windows 11 on May 20. Build starts a day later on May 21st. For the average Joe, the Surface event is shaping up to be the more impactful of the two, as rumors suggest we’ll see some of the first systems featuring Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite chip alongside new features coming in the next big Windows 11 update.
That doesn’t mean all is rosy for the Windows maker. Build 2024 is the point where we’ll see if AI will make or break Microsoft. Will the billions in funding for OpenAI and Copilot projects really pay off with useful tools for users? Or is the pursuit of AI and the fabled idea of ”artificial general intelligence” inherently reckless in that it makes computers more opaque and potentially untrustworthy? (How exactly do generative AI models arrive at their answers? It’s not always clear.)
Here are a few things we expect to see at Build 2024:
New Surface hardware
Although Microsoft released updates to the Surface family earlier this spring, these machines were intended more for enterprise customers, so they are not available for purchase in brick-and-mortar retail stores. A Microsoft spokesperson told us at the time that it “absolutely remains[s] engaged with consumer devices,” and that the ad-focused message is “just the first part of that effort.”
Instead, the company’s upcoming refresh of its consumer PC lineup is expected to consist of new 13- and 15-inch Surface Laptop 6 models with slimmer bezels, larger trackpads, an improved selection of ports, and the aforementioned X Elite chip. There’s a good chance that we’ll also see an Arm-based version of the Surface Pro 10 at the showcase on May 20, which will have a similar design to the business model that came out in March, but with updated accessories, including the Type Cover with a special Copilot key.
According to On the edgeMicrosoft is confident that these new systems could surpass Apple’s M3 MacBook Air in raw speed and AI performance.
The company has also reportedly revamped emulation for x86 software in its Arm-based version of Windows 11. That’s a good thing, as poor emulation was one of the main reasons we hated the Surface Pro 9 5G, a confusing SQ3 Arm-powered system on a Microsoft chip. This mobile processor was based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, which was unproven in laptops at the time. The Surface Pro 9 5G was so frustrating to use that we felt genuinely insulted that Microsoft was marketing it as a “Pro” device. So you can be sure we’re skeptical about the incredible performance improvements from another batch of Qualcomm Arm chips.
It will also be interesting to see if Microsoft’s new consumer devices look any different from their enterprise counterparts, which were basically just chip swaps in the boxes of the Surface Pro 9 and Laptop 5. If Microsoft is really banking on mobile chips for its consumer surfaces, there is room for a complete rethinking of its design, just as Apple has redesigned its entire range of laptops around its M-series chips.
AI Explorer
Aside from the updated hardware, one of the biggest upgrades to these new Surfaces should be the device’s vastly improved AI and machine learning performance thanks to the Snapdragon X Elite chip, which can deliver up to 45 TOPS (trillion operations per second) from its unit for neural processing (NPU). This is key because Microsoft previously said PCs would need at least 40 TOP to run Windows AI features locally. That brings us to some of the additions coming in the next major build of Microsoft’s operating system, including something the company calls its AI Explorer, advanced studio effects, and more.
According to Windows Central, AI Explorer will be Microsoft’s catch-all term covering a range of machine learning-based features. This is expected to include a revamped search tool that allows users to search for everything from websites to files using natural language input. There may also be a new timeline that will allow people to scroll back through everything they’ve done recently on their PC and add contextual suggestions that appear based on what they’re currently viewing. And building on some of the Copilot features we’ve seen before, it looks like Microsoft plans to add support for tools like live captioning, advanced studio effects (including real-time filters), and local generative AI tools that can help for creating photos and more on location.
Smarter and more local co-pilots
Microsoft wants AI Copilot in everything. The company first launched Github Copilot in 2021 as a way to let developers use AI to tackle mundane coding tasks. At this point, all of the company’s other AI tools have also been rebranded as “Microsoft Copilot” (which includes Bing Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot for productivity apps). With Copilot Pro, a $20 monthly offering launched earlier this year, the company provides access to the latest GPT models from OpenAI, along with other premium features.
But there’s still one downside to all Microsoft Copilot tools: they require an Internet connection. Very little work actually happens locally, on your device. That may soon change, however, as Intel has confirmed that Microsoft is already working on ways to make Copilot native. That means it can answer simpler questions, like basic math or queries about files on your system, faster, without ever going online. As impressive as Microsoft’s AI assistant can be, it still usually takes a few seconds to answer your questions.
More from Microsoft at Build 2024
Following the announcement of all new hardware and software, Build is positioned to help developers lay even more groundwork to better support these new AI and advanced Copilot features. Microsoft is already teasing things like Copilot on Edge and Copilot Plugins for 365 apps, so we expect to hear more about how they’ll work. And looking at some of the sessions already scheduled for Build, we can see that there’s a huge focus on all things AI, with breakout sessions on customizing Microsoft Copilot, Copilot in Teams, Copilot Extensions and more.
What else to watch out for?
While Microsoft will certainly get a lot of attention, it’s important to mention that it won’t be the only manufacturer offering new computers with artificial intelligence. That’s because alongside the refreshed Surfaces, we expect to see a whole host of other laptops featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip (or possibly the X Plus) from other major vendors like Dell, Lenovo, and more.
Of course, after the intense focus Google put on AI at I/O 2024, the last thing people might want to hear about is even more AI. But at this point, like most of its competitors, Microsoft is banking heavily on machine learning to grow and expand the capabilities of Windows PCs.
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