Microsoft held its March 2024 Surface event on Thursday, and it was very AI-centric. The company announced some new features related to its AI chatbot, Copilot, as well as two new Surface products.
Here’s what you need to know.
Microsoft Copilot and AI features
By starting the event by heralding “a new era of AI productivity,” it was clear what this year’s Surface event was going to focus on: Microsoft Copilot.
Microsoft shared some features about Copilot that have previously been known about as well as some new features, with some heavy leanings on business-related tasks.
Credit: Microsoft
Copilot is fully integrated into Microsoft Windows at this point, with those integrations extending out to Microsoft 365, the company’s productivity software and cloud services which includes Microsoft Office.
With the AI chatbot, Microsoft showed off how users can ask Copilot to summarize missed meetings and generate emails. The event also feature some operating system based tasks where users can ask Copilot to change the computer wallpaper, setup workspace windows, turn on battery saver, and suggest ways to free up hard drive space.
On the business end of things, one feature Microsoft spent some time on was the ability to use AI to analyze how certain employees are utilizing Cloud PCs, if that’s something your company requires. AI can check how each individual’s Cloud PC is performing and see if certain employees have too much computing power and if others don’t have enough.
Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6
Microsoft also had two new Surface devices to show off at the event: the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6.
Credit: Microsoft
According to the company, these are the “first AI-powered Surface PCs for business” and “among the first to market with Intel Core Ultra Processors.”
Microsoft also shared how these new devices utilize Neural Processing Units, or NPUs, to power AI tasks in order to preserve battery life and free up computing power for other processes. Microsoft claims that because of this, these computers have longer battery life, faster AI workloads, and better performance than their predecessors.
And to make it crystal clear that the focus is on AI, these computers come with a dedicate Copilot keyboard button for direct access to the AI chatbot.
Microsoft first introduced the Surface Pro 10, which by far had more features for the company to run through than its new laptop offering. Microsoft says its latest touchscreen tablet and laptop combination device has a 50 percent performance and graphics boost over the Surface Pro 9.
The Surface Pro 10 also features an anti-reflective display which is also 33 percent brighter than its predecessor. Microsoft says the Surface Pro 10 has an all-day battery life and comes with the optional 5G connection as well.
Credit: Microsoft
While not providing a demo, the company did significantly highlight the Surface Pro 10’s Surface Studio camera with an ultra wide field of view. And, of course, sticking with the theme of the event, the company introduced AI-powered Windows Studio effects, which include portrait background blur, eye contact, and auto-framing.
As for the Surface Laptop 6, Microsoft shared that its powered by the Intel Core Ultra H-Series, which is the company’s chipset for desktops. It’s also 2 times as fast as its predecessor, according to Microsoft.
Adaptive accessories offer more accessibility options
Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft also spent some brief time at the event to introduce some accessibility gear for users who can’t use the common keyboard and mouse designs. New adaptive accessories like a Surface Pro keyboard also help reduce eye strain with bolder keys and brighter backlighting. The company also showed off Copilot’s accessibility features where users can ask for live transcription or a magnifying glass option to make text on the screen larger.
All-in-all this was broadly a business-related event for Microsoft, with two new core devices announced in-between. But, the overa;l theme was clear: Microsoft is all about “becoming an AI-powered organization.” The company said so itself during the event.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft
