Microsoft Rolls Out Copilot+ Features to Laptops with Intel Core Ultra 200 and AMD Ryzen AI 300 Processors, Ending Exclusivity for Qualcomm
Microsoft announces in a blog the rollout of new Copilot+ features for compatible devices. It embraces major processor manufacturers Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm. This seems to put a definitive end to the Copilot+ exclusivity for the latter.
Since Microsoft launched the Copilot+ label a year ago, it was an exclusive Qualcomm affair. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Plus were at that time the only processors that met Microsoft’s conditions to earn the Copilot+ label. One of those conditions is that the processor has a built-in NPU with at least 40 TOPS.
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The Intel Core Ultra 200 and AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors have received Microsoft’s blessing, and the first PCs with these processors are now available. Microsoft deems the time right to bring Copilot+ features to these devices. However, it’s more of a catch-up than actually new features.
Live Translations and Painting in Paint
Microsoft lists everything neatly in the blog. Among others, live translations for videos and virtual meetings, Paint Cocreator, and AI image editing functions in Windows Photos are coming to Intel’s and AMD’s Copilot+ devices. These features will become available on your device with a Windows update, if it has been updated at least to the November 2024 update.
For new functionalities, Microsoft still seems to favor Qualcomm. Voice Access will first become available on Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite laptops and will only later roll out to compatible Intel and AMD devices. This feature allows you to talk to your PC in more descriptive and natural language. Compared to previous voice control functions in Windows, you no longer need to speak ‘PC language’ and it will run on the NPU.
Even with these additions, the current Copilot+ offering remains rather scarce. The available functions are not better than counterparts that can be used via the cloud with an internet connection and/or make little use of the mandatory NPU. PC manufacturers like HP are introducing their own locally running AI assistants alongside Microsoft’s functions, but these are not yet fully developed. Thus, the AI PC remains primarily a marketing term.