Pavan Davuluri hasn’t even been head of Windows for two months, but he’s already tasked with announcing Microsoft’s move to Arm-powered chips and big AI-powered PC ambitions. There’s a lot going on right now, and Davuluri now has to lead both the Surface and Windows teams through an AI era that has the potential to change the way we use computers.
I sat down with the new Windows boss at the company’s Build developer conference this week to get a better understanding of his vision for Windows and the Surface, whether Microsoft will continue to experiment with hardware, and whether we should expect to see an end to ads. that are ruining the Windows experience.
Microsoft has unveiled many new AI features for its new Copilot Plus PCs, ushering in years of Windows transformation. “I think we have an idea that we can deliver more value to Windows customers in general by bringing AI into the operating system,” Davuluri said in an interview with On the edge.
Some of that AI fusion is already on the way with features like Recall — the ability to search and retrieve everything you’ve done on your computer — and an image creator that can see your drawings and reimagine your sketches. But this is only the beginning.
Microsoft wants its Copilot AI to anticipate your needs when performing repetitive or common Windows tasks. “If we can find a way to make those moments more productive and move through things by understanding your intent and where you see value, we can make Copilot have context and make it sort of in the flow of what you’re doing and how you do things,” Davuluri says.
AI will also have a big impact on how apps are built, Davuluri says. “The signal we’re getting over and over is that people are rethinking what their Windows applications are,” he says.
Microsoft is counting on its Windows Copilot Runtime to help change the way Windows applications are built. This collection of tools enables developers to take advantage of everything Microsoft has built for its Copilot Plus PCs and more than 40 AI models that are now built into the operating system.
“I think it’s going to open up new things on the web because you’re going to start doing things in your apps that weren’t possible otherwise,” Davuluri says. “I think this is a huge boost for us in Windows, a platform through experiences.”
It’s still early for this Windows Copilot Runtime, though. It’s designed exclusively for these new AI-powered PCs, of which Microsoft estimates 50 million will be sold next year. That’s still just 20 percent of the 247 million PCs that IDC estimates will be sold in 2023.
Beyond AI, Davuluri also sees a future where Windows is streamed to devices instead of running locally on them. Microsoft is working on this with its Windows 365 service. “We’re going to make the Windows cloud natural. We’re making a big push for Windows 365,” he says.
Microsoft shared an example of Windows streaming to a Meta Quest headset during its Build keynote, with new “Windows Volumetric Apps” streaming HoloLens-like 3D apps and digital objects to the VR headset. This type of experience is reserved for designers and people working with CAD drawings right now, but Davuluri sees a future where cloud-based Windows could change operating systems just as much as he thinks AI will.
“Windows and the cloud are going to be game-changers for us over time,” says Davuluri. “It’s also going to change a lot of the computing paradigm because I believe that when the operating system becomes cloud native … we’re going to have almost infinite scale for cloud computing.” I think it will make us think differently about operating systems.”
Streaming Windows to future devices could even keep the operating system relevant in a world where AI can change hardware, as more companies experiment with AI-powered devices. This idea of hardware experimentation got me thinking about Microsoft’s own experiments with its Surface hardware over the years. Devices like the dual-screen Surface Neo and the detachable Surface Book are gone, so will Microsoft continue to experiment with Surface hardware in the future?
“I think experimentation and iteration is the DNA of our team, so I think it’s vital that we continue to do that,” says Davuluri. While the Surface may still be pushing boundaries, it looks like Microsoft won’t be experimenting directly with customers. “I think the only difference will be the methods and tools we use for how we iterate and refine,” says Davuluri. “I think it will be within the industry, within the platform, within the company and with partners. Maybe less with the customers themselves.”
Microsoft’s new Surface Pro Flex keyboard is an example of looking for more refinement instead of just sending an experiment to customers. The $450 keyboard includes a haptic trackpad and a way to use it over Bluetooth for the first time. “We could have shipped this keyboard earlier if we wanted to, but the Surface team was on this kind of relentless march that it had to be really perfect,” Davuluri says.
As a 23-year Microsoft veteran, Davuluri has contributed to the company’s Windows silicon work, helping the company make Windows on Arm a reality. It now has the difficult balance of working with AMD, Intel and Qualcomm during the Arm transition and the many PC makers competing against each other.
“Arm has certainly been a big talking point, but really the bigger thing for me is the modernization of the platform,” says Davuluri. “Honestly, SoC platform modernization is as true for AMD or Intel as it is for Qualcomm. It really required us to think about the silicon and the operating system more deeply as a system together, and it was an evolution in our own thinking and an evolution for our silicon partners. We weren’t quite sure how we were going to navigate together, so it was kind of a paradigm shift in how we worked together, but it was fantastic.”
All this modernization means very little if Microsoft is going to continue to ruin the Windows experience with malware-like prompts and Bing ads. I’ve been particularly vocal about this, and it looks like Microsoft may be listening. “I think it’s an ongoing journey for us. It’s front and center for me, making sure we’re winning Windows customers through great experiences at the end of the day,” says Davuluri. “We want them to enjoy Windows, we want them to want it.” So I hear you about him.
