CoPilot Takes Over Microsoft’s Annual Surface Hardware Launch
At Microsoft’s annual Surface event in New York City, Microsoft provided more details how CoPilot generative AI is being integrated into Windows, the Edge browser, and throughout Microsoft365 office productivity apps. This has far-reaching implications for how knowledge work is done. Three of its Surface products were updated as well; two for consumers and one for enterprise.
CoPilot Gets Real
Consumer use cases for CoPilot generative AI in Windows and the Edge browser go far beyond creating cat pictures for social media, though that is a real use case. Other scenarios include shopping assistance, finding Windows settings without spelunking through menus, and getting help solving -- and understanding -- geometry problems. CoPilot understands context based on what you're doing on the operating system and from your recent search history. There is no charge for using CoPilot and Bing Chat within Windows 11 or Microsoft's Edge browser, though there will be ads, and you can turn off the feature for privacy.
CoPilot for Windows365 is where Microsoft believes the productivity benefits are strong enough to justify direct monetization, and the company's stock jumped when it announced that it will reach general availability in early November. Corporate use cases include summarizing information to prepare for meetings, generating PowerPoints from meeting notes, helping you plan events, and creating reports for regulatory and corporate process management. And more. So much more.
The keynote was a bit hard to parse in spots, as Microsoft showed off generative AI capabilities that were a mix of entirely new, previously announced, and previously-announced-but-now-better. What is clear is that Microsoft's generative AI can be an able computing assistant that analyzes information in new ways and eliminate a lot of corporate drudgery. At an analyst session after the keynote, Microsoft had an enterprise customer that is trialing CoPilot for Microsoft365 speak freely, and they raved about the reception it got with their employees. I would expect no different from a vendor-selected customer, but it was still validating to hear the details and ask questions.
We also got to talk to senior Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella directly. Satya started off by saying that generative AI feels like the shift to relational databases. This is not an analogy that the general public would understand, but for those of us who remember the tectonic shift that relational databases and client-server architecture brought to business capabilities, it is quite powerful.
“Microsoft CoPilot genuinely looks like a major shift in how knowledge work gets done.”
Microsoft had a panel discussion about responsible AI and the steps it is taking to ensure that CoPilot doesn’t produce inappropriate results and to prevent it from being used to deliberately mislead. However, as I heard more practical, immediate details about how generative AI is changing work, I didn’t see a similar discussion around how to manage people’s fear of change and teach them the best way to combine CoPilot magic with human creativity and skill. CoPilot may well relieve people of some busywork and drudgery, but that was busywork and drudgery that people no longer need to be paid for.
Microsoft CoPilot genuinely looks like a major shift in how knowledge work gets done. Accordingly, there are going to be training/education gaps as we figure out not only what CoPilot can do, but when and how to use it effectively, and how to refocus people whose jobs shrink or roles change. Microsoft is hoping to help with the "what prompts do I use" part of that problem with CoPilot Labs, which provides examples of possible CoPilot prompts and syntax. This is a start, but it is a clear area where Microsoft needs more investment and education.
This was still a Surface hardware event. The hardware updates were mainly spec bumps, so before writing the next section I asked CoPilot to summarize the updates to give me a head start. I then fact checked, reworded things, and added my own analysis on top. CoPilot saved me time gathering the basics, which is the part of the report writing process where I typically get distracted and end up down a research rabbit hole completely unrelated to the task at hand. In my case, it wasn’t just the time saved as much as the ability to stay on task.
Surface Laptop Studio 2
The most exciting of the new Surfaces is the Surface Laptop Studio 2, which maintains the multi-position form factor that takes the laptop from traditional clamshell for productivity, to pull-forward for presentation or media consumption, to fold flat for pen-based design or signing documents. It now runs on Intel’s 13th Gen i7 H-class processors, and, like the original Surface Laptop Studio, can be configured with discrete graphics. The $1999 starting price point includes integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics. Once properly equipped with an NVIDIA RTX 4050, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 costs $2399, which is in line with Samsung’s Galaxy Book 3 Ultra and Dell’s XPS 15. For even more performance, the Surface Studio Laptop 2 can be maxed out with an NVIDIA RTX 4060, 64GB RAM, and 2 TB of storage. There is also a workstation-grade Nvidia RTX 2000 Ada chip available, and Microsoft told me that it will be made available for purchase by individuals without a business account because a critical mass of consumers sought out the enterprise version of the original Surface Laptop Studio to get the improved performance of the A2000 on that model.
The Surface Laptop Studio 2 is also the first laptop to feature Intel’s Movidius AI coprocessor, which enables AI-powered Windows Studio experiences in video calls. Qualcomm has similar capabilities baked into its Snapdragon 8cx, which Microsoft already supports on products like the Surface Pro and Lenovo’s X13s. Neither architecture supports on-device generative AI today; CoPilot runs in the cloud.
Microsoft wasn’t comparing the Studio Laptop 2 to Dell or Samsung, instead claiming that it can beat Apple’s MacBook Pro M2 Max in real world applications like animation rendering. That said, the Surface is a half-pound heavier, a third thicker – Microsoft added depth to the case for better heat dissipation – and almost certainly needs to be plugged in to achieve that performance. Microsoft also did not change the display on the Surface Laptop Studio 2, while the latest MacBook Pros have higher resolution and brightness. Of course, to use the MacBook as a professional drawing/drafting slate, you’ll need a separate iPad Pro and Apple Pencil or a Wacom tablet; the Surface Laptop Studio 2 just needs a $129 Surface Slim Pen 2.
One other thing worth noting: Microsoft changed the touchpad to an adjustable haptic system, which includes an accessibility mode for people with limited mobility in their hands. Accessibility is the best use of technology, and Microsoft continues to be a leader here.
Techsponential is getting a Surface Laptop Studio 2 review unit and will update this report accordingly.
Surface Laptop Go 3
Microsoft’s entry-level Surface Laptop gets a processor upgrade to an Intel 12th-gen Core i5 processor, which is paird with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD for a $799 starting price point. The sole possible upgrade is to 16GB RAM for $999. This is a processor generation behind at launch, but the point of the Surface Laptop Go is not strictly about performance but the overall packaging and build quality. With a 3:2 display, relatively long claimed battery life (15 hours), and relatively light weight (2.49 lb) the Surface Laptop Go 3 makes for a high-quality lightweight notebook for light productivity work. Despite somewhat underwhelming specs, it is an easy recommendation for high school students and college liberal arts majors who don’t need a PC for gaming.
Surface Go 4
The market for the Surface Go 4 is even clearer – Microsoft needs to give keep an iPad alternative in its line for enterprise customers using Windows front end apps in the field. The Surface Go 4 looks like a scaled down Surface Pro with a 10.5-inch screen, a 1080p selfie camera, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and rear kickstand. An optional keyboard is available for a laptop experience, and third parties provide cases and accessories. The main upgrades from the Surface Go 3 are an Intel N200 instead of last year’s Intel Core i3 processor, which Microsoft claims will provide an 80 percent performance boost when it goes on sale through enterprise channels.
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