Microsoft expected to unveiled its first 'AI PCs' later this month with new Surface products

Microsoft is set to unveil next-gen Surface Pro and Surface Laptop hardware on March 21, the company's first wave of new AI PCs, ahead of next-gen Windows 11 AI features later this year.

3

The news is coming from Windows Central, which reports its sources said that Microsoft's new Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are expected to be unveiled on March 21. Inside, they'll feature Intel's latest Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" CPUs and Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X Elite processors with next-gen NPUs (Neural Processor Units) for boosted AI performance.

Windows Central reports that these new processors will enable "huge performance and efficiency gains" over the previous-gen Surface Pro and Surface Laptops on the market. Both devices are posted to achieve "true all-day battery life and high-end performance capabilities". We're also told to expect other upgrades like new displays, higher-speed ports, and more.

• Read more: Microsoft preparing 'AI PC' branding for 2024 systems
• Read more: Intel plans on shipping 100 million CPUs for next-gen AI PCs by 2025
• Read more: AI PCs expected to be close to 60% of total PC shipments by 2027 says analyst
• Read more: AMD powers 90% of the AI PC market so far, says AI chips are in volume production

The new Surface Pro 10 is expected to feature an upgraded anti-reflective OLED display that's both brighter, and supports HDR content. Microsoft's new Surface Pro 10 will reportedly feature a new ultrawide front-facing camera that's enhanced with AI Studio Effects and a built-in NFC reader.

Microsoft's upgraded Surface Laptop 6 will feature a "more notable design update," with thinner bezels on the display with rounded corners, a new haptic touchpad, a dedicated Copilot key, a bunch of ports including USB-C, and a magnetic Surface Connect charger on the right.

Windows Central reports their sources said that the new Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 will ship in "two waves," the first starts in April with the Intel-only models, followed by the Qualcomm-powered versions in June.

3

The bigger deal here is that Microsoft's new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will be some of the very first devices hitting the market that have support for Windows 11's upcoming slew of next-gen AI experiences. This includes the on-device Copilot functionality, real-time live captions and translations, game upscaling and frame rate smoothing, better Windows Studio Effects, and a new feature that Microsoft is internally calling "AI Explorer."

AI Exporer is reportedly a "blockbuster" AI experience that will separate AI PCs from non-AI PCs, with Windows Central's sources stating it's an "advanced Copilot" with built-in history and timeline features that turn absolutely everything you do on your PC, into a searchable moment using natural language.

This works across any and all apps, allowing users to search for previously opened conversations, documents, web pages, images, and more. The new AI Explorer app can understand context, where you can let it help you begin projects and workflows. For example, if you were looking at images in an app, AI Explorer will automatically show you an "edit image" button that lets you type out your requests. Something like "remove the image background using the Photos app," and voila, AI Explorer does it for you.

Windows 11's upcoming 24H2 update later this fall will unleash the new AI experiences for the operating system, but we don't know if Microsoft will talk about these new features at its event on March 21 unveiling the new Surface products. We don't have much longer to wait!