Microsoft may debut its first “computers with artificial intelligence” later this month

Microsoft will unveil the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 on March 21, according to a report. However, this is not likely to be just a matter of upgrading the hardware. Microsoft is expected to call these systems its first computers with artificial intelligence, as Windows Central notes.

The devices should be equipped with new processors based on Intel Core Ultra or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, which have the latest Neural Processing Units (NPU) to improve AI capabilities. They are said to roughly match the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro in terms of efficiency and performance.

The Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are expected to be among the first machines to support the upcoming AI features in Windows 11. Along with on-device Copilot support, these features are expected to include real-time live captions and translations, scaling for gaming , frame rate smoothing, upgraded Windows Studio effects, and something that (for now at least) appears to be called AI Explorer.

Windows Central suggests that the latter will be the feature that distinguishes AI computers from ordinary computers. AI Explorer will apparently work in any app and let you search documents, web pages, images and chats using natural language. The feature is said to create a history of everything you do on your computer and make it searchable. The tool is said to be able to understand context and suggest tasks based on what’s on the screen. AI Explorer is also expected to support text-based image editing. According to the report, these AI features are likely to be released as part of this fall’s 24H2 update for Windows 11.

As for what else to expect from Microsoft’s next laptops, both are said to have a full day of battery life. The Surface Pro 10 is expected to feature an anti-glare OLED screen with HDR capability. Rumors suggest it will have a front-facing ultra-wide web camera and an NFC reader.

The Surface Laptop 6 is believed to have a more significant redesign compared to its predecessors. Along with slimmer bezels and rounded corners, it’s expected to feature a touch-sensitive touchpad, a dedicated Copilot key, and a revamped port cluster. It’s also slated to be the first Surface Laptop with an Arm variant (it should be noted that we had major reservations about power supplies with the Arm Surface Pro 9). The report suggests that the Intel versions of the Surface Laptop 9 and Surface Pro 10 will ship in April, with the Snapdragon variants following in June.