Not all Copilot+ laptops will receive AI features immediately.
Before Apple's WWDC event, Microsoft's AI laptop project received some disappointing news. Although the first Copilot+ devices will launch on June 18, only a handful of new laptops sold under the Copilot+ label will have any sort of advanced AI features from the start.
This news is particularly surprising considering both Intel and AMD revealed at Computex that they would release Copilot+ compatible laptop chips later this year. Prior to that, Microsoft had only mentioned Copilot+ coming to Windows on Arm devices, which use chips from Qualcomm.
In other words, Copilot+ laptops will now be divided among three different chipsets, and sadly, two of them will be left behind.
Microsoft, Intel, AMD, and Nvidia representatives have all confirmed that non-Qualcomm laptops will have to wait for their Copilot+ add-ons. Arm-based laptops will get Recall and the gaming-oriented Auto Super Resolution mode at launch, but AMD and Intel laptops won't receive these features until "free updates" are made available, according to Microsoft marketing manager James Howell.
AMD's PR manager, Matthew Hurwitz, echoed this timeline, suggesting Copilot+ experiences might not arrive for AMD and Intel laptops until "the end of 2024."
The possibility of these delays was hinted at before. Intel's own press release for its AI laptop chips mentioned Copilot+ features coming via free updates "when available." But clarity on the language and potential timelines wasn't completely clear until now.
It's worth noting that Microsoft itself doesn't manufacture AMD or Intel computers, except for specific Surface models. Nevertheless, this puts Microsoft in a dicey position as Apple prepares to integrate its AI features into MacOS 15. Typically, an Apple user can purchase a new Mac and expect it to do all the Mac things; Windows users looking to try AI will have to choose between three options and put in additional effort to understand what they can and can't do with their new computers out of the box.
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Despite the anticipated Copilot+ launch on June 18, tech-related updates for the Copilot+ project, including advanced AI features, have been delayed for non-Qualcomm laptops. Microsoft's marketing manager, James Howell, mentioned that these features would arrive for AMD and Intel laptops via free updates, but potential timing extended to the end of 2024, according to AMD's PR manager, Matthew Hurwitz.
