The new Copilot+ PC devices have ushered in a new way of interacting with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, improving experience and productivity at the work level, but at the moment they do not respond as precisely to tasks more creative.
The company introduced these computers last May, when it determined that this technology would allow users to get more out of their equipment, the new Surface computers, that is, the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro.
Surface Laptop comes in two sizes, 13.8 and 15 inches, both powered by a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip (the smaller model also has a version with a 13-core Snapdragon X Plus).
The screens of all of them incorporate PixelSense Flow technology and Corning Gorilla Glass. They also offer a resolution of 2496 x 1664 (201 dpi), sRGB and Vivid color profile with adaptive color and contrast; and a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.
Its battery life is also similar, although it depends on the size of the screen: 13.8-inch Surface Laptop offers up to 20 hours of local video playback and up to 15 hours of active web use. For its part, the largest model increases its autonomy up to 22 hours with video playback.
On the other hand, the Surface Pro varies depending on the type of screen, which in both cases is 13 inches. The one that incorporates LCD has a 10-core Snapdragon X Plus processor, while the OLED model has a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip.
The rest of the features are the same, such as 10-point multi-touch, a 120 Hz refresh rate, 2880 x 1920 (267 ppi) resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and individual color calibration display.
They also share the same battery capacity, with up to 14 hours of local video playback and up to 10 hours of active web use. Likewise, they are powered by Windows 11 Home, have support for Windows Hello – with facial authentication with a Quad HD front camera – and 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos.
All of these devices have in common their graphics processing unit (GPU), Qualcomm Adreno, and also their neural processing unit (NPU), also manufactured by the same firm. .
Specifically, they equip the Hexagon model, capable of performing about 45 billion operations per second (TOP, for its acronym in English). This is equivalent to three times what the latest generation of ‘surfaces’ offers, without natively integrated AI.
AI TO ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY
The firm has given much of its attention to developing this NPU, specialized in ‘machine learning’ algorithms, designed specifically for AI tasks and intended “as a specialized brain for the PC”, as explained in a meeting attended by attended by Europa Press.
Microsoft has noted that these NPUs are optimized to process numbers twice as fast as other laptops with Windows operating systems and that they also do so using less power, which is why the battery can last up to a day without completely draining.
Thus, the Copilot+ PCs, aimed at all types of consumers – from creative professionals and designers to enthusiastic users of new technologies – incorporate a series of experiences dedicated to facilitating day-to-day tasks.
One of them is Recall or Memories, which will be available soon with an OS update – after several reviews carried out by the Microsoft team -, which compiles everything that has been done on the PC when the user has described what they are looking for in the equipment.
The Cocreator tool is now available on the new Copilot+ PCs and is, perhaps, one of the most curious of the family of new AI-powered functions. This, specifically, is integrated into Paint, a program in which you can draw a sketch of what you want to generate with this technology.
Once the drawing is made and a brief description of what you want to generate is entered, you can choose a specific style (Illustration, Animation, Watercolor, etc.) and increase the intensity of creativity.
In our tests we drew a dog, a cat and a bird with the aim of Cocreator showing a stylized image of these animals dancing on the snow, but the result did not convince us, since the dog had two tails and the cat ” “grew” a leg where it shouldn’t have.
Copilot was also not particularly accurate during the cooking demo, when he was ordered to create a recipe with just a few ingredients, including a potato and a bunch of asparagus. This, taking a photo of them with the Surface camera.
Copilot then designed different preparation options (cooked, grilled), as well as different forms of presentation (cut into slices or whole) with various illustrations, although he confused the potato with a yellow pepper. We understand that this error could be due to the fact that there was a lot of light in the image and the assistant could have associated the color of the tuber with that of the vegetable.
IMPROVEMENTS DURING VIDEO CONFERENCES
Yes, it is satisfying to use the Windows Studio Effects, which improve lighting, cancel noises and ambient sound to give more clarity to the interlocutor’s voice, or blur distractions in the background during video calls.
In this sense, Microsoft has recalled that currently almost 90 percent of the use recorded on a computer in companies is allocated to communication and video conferencing applications. Hence, the firm has focused on the development of functionalities such as those that improve the image, with Portrait Light, which automatically adjusts the image to improve the perceived lighting in a dark environment or illuminate the foreground pixels in an environment with little light.
Another of the most notable features is the eye contact teleprompter, which makes it easier to keep looking at the camera while reading on the screen. Also interesting is speaker tracking, an option that follows the user during the presentation if they are standing, for example, zooming in if necessary.
Also integrated into video calls and the playback of content on platforms such as YouTube are the so-called Live Captions, live translations that show subtitles simultaneously and translate from English to more than 40 languages, even offline.
A COPILOT TOO “EDICATED”
Microsoft has also recalled that each Copilot+ PC comes with a button that leads directly to the assistant and whose design has been optimized and which in our tests has shown to be successful, although perhaps too disciplined, correct.
First we discovered that it responds better to commands with imperatives – for example, “make a diagram” about how something works – as well as to the proposal of writing a story with a princess and a horse, which adapts the narrative quickly when introducing a new character.
However, Copilot did not adapt so much to the type of question we asked, when we asked him to give us tricks to seduce a neighbor who had a partner. In fact, he proposed abandoning that goal and reflecting on what that could mean for that relationship.
We did see it better documented, however, when we requested a total of 20 questions that a journalist could ask the Microsoft team after the presentation of Copilot+ PC, coinciding with some of the questions that editors and specialists shared during this event.
