We’re gearing up for all of the news coming ahead of Microsoft Build 2024.
We’re gearing up for a huge week of news from Microsoft! Before Build, Microsoft’s annual developer conference, kicks off on Tuesday, the company has invited media to its Redmond offices today for a launch event. We expect Microsoft to show off a new batch of Arm-powered Surface PCs for consumers, as well as how it plans to better integrate AI into these devices and across Windows and other products.
Can Microsoft finally escape the curse of Windows on Arm devices? Follow along with our liveblog here starting at 1pm ET to find out! (Curiously, Microsoft isn’t livestreaming this event, but we’ll be hitting all the news as it drops.) And to catch all of the news coming out of Build on Tuesday, here’s how you can watch the Microsoft Build 2024 keynote.
Live87 updates
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:48 AM MST
There’s also a new Quad HD front-facing Studio Camera, this looks like the same one we saw on the Surface Pro 10 for Business.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:47 AM MST
The Surface Pro is up to 90% faster than the Pro 9. We also caught a glimpse of a new Flex Keyboard, which can fold on its back so you can type while it’s disconnected from the Surface tablet. Cool concept.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:46 AM MST
Now for more on the new Surface Pro, it looks like it also has much thinner bezels.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:46 AM MST
Live Captions can translate over 40 languages into English today.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:45 AM MST
Now we’re watching how Copilot+ PCs can help teams collaborate more naturally. We’re seeing a Spanish speaker having her speech being translated and subtitled instantly, then a Mandarin speaker, then what sounds like a Russian speaker. Everyone is speaking in their native language but seeing subtitles for their colleagues.
- Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:45 AM MST
Microsoft’s redesigned Surface Laptop is a Copilot+ PC with over 22 hours of battery life
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget To kick off Build 2024, Microsoft announced new Surface devices at its hardware and AI event. Among the new gear is the new Surface Laptop : a redesigned PC with thinner bezels in 13.8- and 15-inch sizes and Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite chip. Of course, AI plays a key role on the new device as this is one of the newly-named Copilot+ PCs that run over 40 models locally thanks to updates to Windows 11.
This is actually the second Surface Laptop 6. Microsoft revealed the first one back in March, but that model is basically a Laptop 5 with updated internals for business use.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:43 AM MST
We’re watching a live demo of how Magic Mask in DaVinci Resolve can track a jellyfish and change its color. And while the work is being done, his CPU and GPU aren’t being hit, just the NPU. That means less power being used to drain the battery.
- Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:42 AM MST
Microsoft rebuilt Windows 11 around AI and Arm chips
Satya Nadella (Devindra Hardawar / Engadget) Microsoft’s Windows on Arm woes may finally be over. As part of the company’s new Copilot+ AI PC initiative, which includes new Surfaces and partner systems running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips, Microsoft says it has rebuilt core components of Windows 11 to better support Arm-based hardware and AI. That includes a new kernel, compiler, and most importantly, an emulator named “Prism” for running older x86 and x64 apps.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:42 AM MST
They sent a new Surface Laptop to Ronald Ames, a leading technical producer on Amazon’s The Rings of Power. He was excited about seeing Davinci Resolve running on a Windows PC with a neural processor, something he’s only ever run on Macs. He can change the color of a shirt instantly, for example.
- Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:41 AM MST
Microsoft unveils Copilot+ PCs with generative AI capabilities baked in
ASSOCIATED PRESS We’ve been hearing rumblings for months now that Microsoft was working on so-called “AI PCs.” At a pre-Build event, the company spelled out its vision for AI PCs.
Microsoft is calling its version Copilot+ PCs, which CEO Satya Nadella described as a “new class of Windows PCs.” These include hardware designed to handle more generative AI Copilot processes locally, rather than relying on the cloud. That requires a chipset with a neural processing unit (NPU) and manufacturers such as Qualcomm have been laying the groundwork with chips like the Snapdragon X Elite.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:40 AM MST
Adobe’s flaghship apps, including Photoshop, Lightroom and Photoshop Express, are coming to Copilot+ PCs today. That also means they’ll work well with existing Arm Windows laptops, like the Surface Pro 9 with 5G.
- Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:39 AM MST
Microsoft is touting the photo editing bona fides of the new Surface Laptop. (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget) Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:39 AM MST
The display is 600 nits, the brightest Microsoft has ever shipped. It also has a P3 color gamut for a wide color range. Surface Laptop is running the batch process almost 2x as fast as the Air. (Yes, the demo really seems live.)
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:38 AM MST
He’s comparing performance to a MacBook Air M3, and of course he points out there’s no touchscreen on the Air. He’s running a batch image processing job live, a CPU intensive task that relies on multithreaded performance.
- Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:38 AM MST
This is a first look at the screen on the new Surface Laptop. (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget) Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:37 AM MST
Oyin Shenbanjo, Senior Product Manager at Surface, hits the stage to show off Photoshop on the new Surface Laptop.
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:36 AM MST
The new screen features HDR and Dolby Vision IQ, as well as new Studio Cameras incorporated into the bezel (no notch!). The keyboard now includes a Copilot key and the touchpad has haptics, like most modern systems
- Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:36 AM MST
A word cloud touts the main features of the new Surface Laptop. (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget) Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:36 AM MST
The new 15″ Surface Laptop lasted “far longer” than the Surface Laptop 5 or MacBook Air. Over 22 hours of local video playback. There’s Wi-Fi 7 support too. Finally, Surfaces with next-gen processors
Mon, May 20, 2024 at 10:34 AM MST
They’re more than 86% faster than the Surface Pro 5.