Microsoft is developing consumer versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6. The company will unveil these at a private event on Monday, May 20, before the annual Microsoft Build conference. The devices run on Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X Elite processors and include specialized NPUs for performing AI tasks in Windows 11.
The CPU was designed by Nuvia. Qualcomm acquired this chipmaker in 2021 for $1.4 billion (about 1.2 billion euros at the time). The processor is combined with an integrated graphics processor and an artificial intelligence accelerator. Qualcomm says the AI accelerator enables the X Elite to run large language models with up to 13 billion parameters.
It was previously announced that Microsoft would present new versions of its Surface laptops for the business market at a “digital event” on March 21. Aside from an OLED screen for the Surface Pro, an updated design and new processors, the most significant innovation is that these are the company’s first AI PCs.
Both Surface laptop models are equipped with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to handle AI tasks via Copilot efficiently. Further innovations include a haptic touchpad for the Surface 6 and a built-in NFC reader for the Surface 10 Pro.
Microsoft Build
The May 20 private event will also feature other components of Microsoft’s AI push, including Copilot. Microsoft recently introduced a Copilot Pro subscription that gives Microsoft 365 users better performance and advanced AI functionality for $20 monthly. However, that did not perform nearly as fast as hoped at launch.
Microsoft Build is an annual conference for developers and software engineers. The company often uses this event to announce new products, technologies and developments within the Microsoft ecosystem. Build takes place this year from May 21 to 23 in Seattle, with some of the content offered online.
Also read: Microsoft unveils new Surface laptops with AI on March 21
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