Microsoft plans to release Qualcomm-based Windows on Arm Surface laptops, as it's building a Copilot for every person

Microsoft will reportedly release Qualcomm-based Windows on Arm Surface devices equipped with the upcoming Snapdragon X Elite processors, that will beat Apple’s M3 MacBook Air, and will be capable of running highly advanced AI capabilities, as the Redmond-based tech giant is planning to have a Copilot for every person, according to The Verge.

Even though Microsoft recently unveiled that its new Surface devices will be equipped with the Intel Core Ultra processors, and will be shipped later this week, the Redmond-based tech giant will release an Arm version of these devices, later this year.

The new Snapdragon X Elite processor-powered Arm devices from Microsoft will outperform the M3 MacBook Air on almost every capability including CPU tasks, AI acceleration, and even app emulation. They will also have faster app-emulation than Apple’s Rosetta 2, translating apps made for Intel processors to Apple’s M processors.

According to the publication, Microsoft will show the new Windows on Arm devices in a series of demos that will take place on May 20, before the annual Build conference. The devices will also show some of the new AI capabilities of the Windows 11 24H2, which will be initially available only on these devices.

We’re talking about the AI Explorer, advanced video streaming capabilities, access to Windows Studio Effects, as well as a series of improvements to Windows Copilot.

The leaks also stated that these Windows on Arm devices are perfectly capable of running demanding video games, which could be a big plus, considering this Windows version was deemed as not very suitable for gaming, but more for office-oriented tasks.

Ultimately, the most interesting aspect about the new age of AI computing is Microsoft’s ambition to build a ‘Copilot for every person’, in the same way, as The Verge noted, the company did with the ‘PC in every home’ vision, decades ago.

While we don’t know what it means, we have a pretty good guess: some months ago, we theorized that Microsoft might be working to bring Windows to life based on some job listings and patented technology we discovered back then. What we meant by this is that Microsoft was working to develop a highly personalized Windows experience suited to every user particularly. This Windows experience might be supervised by Copilot, hence Copilot for every person.

However, we’ll see if that is true or not, in a month.