PC sales have been struggling this year, and giving the “Copilot+” label to laptops equipped with newer hardware and the latest Microsoft AI features was supposed to give them a shot in the arm.
The first round of these next-gen laptops, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips, are finally available to buy… minus the much-touted Recall feature, which has been put on hiatus for the launch.
If you buy a new laptop with the coveted “Copilot+” label, be aware that one of the key differentiating features that Microsoft has been pushing so hard won’t actually be available at launch.
Recall—the Copilot+ tool that records more or less every interaction you have with Windows and its applications—has been recalled delayed. After a huge amount of initial feedback (including privacy and safety concerns), Microsoft has decided to test the feature with Windows Insiders first before releasing it to the general public at a later date.
The showpiece for the Copilot+ program is the new Surface line, including the refreshed Surface Laptop and Surface Pro, but there are plenty of other choices from the big manufacturers. Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Asus all have laptops with Snapdragon X processors and their integrated NPUs with a claimed 45 TOPS performance capacity.
There’s little hard data on the capabilities of the new Snapdragon X chips versus more conventional Intel and AMD offerings. Considering how poorly previous attempts at Windows on Arm have gone, it’s only natural that consumers would be skittish.
What little data we’ve been able to get indicates that the Snapdragon X Elite is at least roughly comparable with the latest laptop processors from the competition, though emulation for games and other intense applications could be an issue. As you might expect, the Arm hardware does seem to have a marked advantage in efficiency.
We’re currently testing the new Surface hardware and other Snapdragon X laptops here at PCWorld, and we’re preparing in-depth reviews for your eager eyeballs. Stay tuned.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.