For years, MacBooks have reigned supreme in the laptop arena when it made the update to ARM processors with their M series chipset, boasting superior performance and battery life. But Microsoft is betting big that this reign is about to end. Enter the Copilot Plus PC, a new generation of Arm-powered Windows machines that Microsoft believes will surpass Apple’s offerings.
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Arming Up for Victory
The secret weapon? A close collaboration with Qualcomm to develop the Snapdragon X Elite chip. This custom-designed chip, housed within the Copilot Plus PCs, is what fuels Microsoft’s confidence. Benchmark tests showcased at a recent Microsoft briefing revealed impressive results: the Copilot Plus PC consistently outperformed the MacBook Air M3 in sustained performance, exceeding it by over 50%.
This dramatic leap in performance is a stark contrast to Microsoft’s previous, lackluster attempts at Windows on Arm devices. The Surface RT (2012) and Surface Pro X (2019) fell short due to sluggish performance and limited app compatibility. However, Microsoft has learned from its past mistakes.
The Power of Prism
One key improvement is the new Prism emulator. This revamped technology claims to be as efficient as Apple’s Rosetta 2, while enabling apps to run twice as fast compared to previous Windows on Arm devices. While emulation can’t compete with native apps in every case, Prism offers a significant stop-gap solution until developers fully embrace Arm architecture.
Fortunately, the tide is already turning. Major applications like Photoshop, Dropbox, Zoom, and popular streaming services are now available as native Arm64 apps. Additionally, browsers like Chrome, Opera, and Microsoft Edge have all joined the Arm party, ensuring smooth performance while browsing the web. Microsoft estimates that 87% of app usage on Copilot Plus PCs will occur within native apps, further closing the gap.
Endurance on Steroids
Performance gains are meaningless without exceptional battery life. Here too, Microsoft seems to have made significant strides. Internal tests simulating web browsing revealed the Copilot Plus PC lasting a staggering 16 hours and 56 minutes – a whopping two hours longer than the MacBook Air M3. Similarly, video playback tests showcased the Copilot Plus PC lasting over 20 hours, compared to the MacBook Air M3’s 17 hours and 45 minutes. These endurance improvements are a game-changer for Windows laptops, offering users much-needed freedom from the power cord.
The AI Advantage
But Microsoft’s ambitions don’t stop at performance and battery life. Copilot Plus PCs boast a neural processing unit (NPU) from Qualcomm, capable of handling AI tasks with exceptional efficiency. This translates to advantages over both the MacBook Air M3 and Nvidia’s RTX 4060.
Microsoft is also integrating over 40 AI models directly into Windows on Arm. These models, including small language models, will run quietly in the background, allowing developers to create innovative AI-powered experiences within their apps.
One such example is the new “Recall” feature, which acts like a personal time machine. By cataloging your activity on the PC, Recall lets you revisit previously viewed content or worked-on projects. Live Captions are also getting an AI boost, offering real-time translation for any video.
A New Dawn for Windows Laptops?
While the full potential of these AI features remains to be explored, Microsoft has laid the groundwork with a new Arm-optimized kernel and compiler. This signifies a fundamental shift for Windows on Arm, paving the way for a future filled with AI-powered features and apps.
“Every once in a while you get the opportunity to work on something special,” says Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft. “I think we might have one of those moments.”
With major manufacturers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung all on board, Copilot Plus PCs are poised to make a significant impact. If Microsoft’s claims hold true in real-world testing, this could be a monumental moment for Windows laptops, marking a potential turning point in the ongoing battle for laptop supremacy.
