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The first devices in a brand-new category of Windows laptops are available in the UK today.
Dubbed Copilot+ PCs, these models benefit from a raft of exclusive features that you won't find on any previous Windows 11 models, including those who upgrade their operating system from Windows 10 ahead of the upcoming support deadline.
Copilot+ PCs require a system-on-a-chip with a portion of its circuit board dedicated to Artificial Intelligence tasks, known as the Neural Processing Unit. This enables the exclusive Windows 11 features, like real-time translation during video calls or when watching YouTube videos, a new Image Creator to generate never-before-seen images from a written prompt, and a "photographic memory" for everything you do on your PC known as Recall, which has been delayed over security concernsafter Elon Musk cautioned millions to disable it.
These devices are also the first to ship with a new button on the keyboard dedicated to Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant — the first shake-up to the Windows keyboard layout since the Start key was introduced back in 1994.
"Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built," Yusuf Mehdi, who serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Microsoft, penned in a recent blog post. "With powerful new silicon capable of an incredible 40+ TOPS (trillion operations per second), all–day battery life and access to the most advanced AI models, Copilot+ PCs will enable you to do things you can’t on any other PC."
Microsoft has spearheaded this all-new category of Windows 11 laptops with its own new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro, while Samsung's first Copilot+ PC is Galaxy Book 4 Edge. There are also devices with all of the exclusive Windows 11 features from ASUS, Lenovo, and HP too. All of these are available to buy today.
The first laptops released under the Copilot+ PC banner will all be powered by the Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite processors from Qualcomm, which is usually associated with chipsets for some of the fastest Android smartphones and tablets
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For the moment, any device that qualifies as a Copilot+ PC will need to be powered by the Snapdragon X Plus or Snapdragon X Elite from Qualcomm — a brand synonymous with performance on Android smartphones like the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Ultra, and OnePlus 12.
The Snapdragon X Elite is slightly more powerful, with 12-cores compared to 10-cores found inside the X Plus to crunch through more data simultaneously.
Artificial Intelligence is the standout feature in Copilot+ PCs, partly driven by Microsoft's $10 billion investment in OpenAI, the start-up behind ChatGPT. Thanks to the latest silicon from Qualcomm, a large proportion of these AI tasks can be carried out on the device itself — removing the need for an internet connection and a painful wait while your request is crunched in a data centre miles from your current location.
Everyday actions like setting alarms, retrieving contacts, sending messages and more can all be handled with a quick voice command to the Copilot assistant. Not only that, but the Copilot chatbot will intelligently anticipate your next step with proactive suggestions — cutting the amount of time you spend searching for documents, applications, and email threads.
Although chipsets from rival brands like Intel and MediaTek are expected in the coming months, for now, whether you buy a Copilot+ PC from Microsoft, Samsung, ASUS, or HP — you'll have the exact same chipset inside your device. That means there won't be a substantial difference in power or features, placing a greater emphasis on other aspects like screen size, hardware design, battery size, and more.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X is based on the ARM architecture widely used in smartphone and tablet chipsets for the last decade, Microsoft has turned away from industry-heavyweight Intel to enable these dramatic gains in power and efficiency.
This chipset boasts a dedicated NPU, Neural Processing Unit, which is designed to handle all AI tasks on-device. In fact, it can race through 45 trillion operations per second.
Recall is one of the headline features in this new slate of Copilot+ PCs, which lets you scroll back through everything that has happened on your Windows 11 machine and jump back in time with a click. Everything is searchable as AI has trawled through the images and text on-device
MICROSOFT PRESS OFFICE"You’re going to have the most powerful PC ever," Yusuf Mehdi told The Verge during a briefing for the new devices, held at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters in Seattle. “It’s going to outperform any device out there, including a MacBook Air with an M3 processor, by over 50% on sustained performance."
The switch to Qualcomm chipsets should dramatically boost battery life too. Speaking about its own hardware efforts, Microsoft Executive Vice President claiming the 15-inch Surface Laptop is capable of enduring 22 hours of video playback or 15 hours of web browsing between charges. That's 20% more battery life than the M3-equipped MacBook Air with the same 15-inch screen size, Yusuf Mehdi added.
Of course, we'll need to take a look at these supercharged new Surface Laptops ourselves to check Microsoft's numbers, but it's an encouraging sign that Windows 11 PCs have finally caught up with the processing power and efficiency seen on MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models since the switch from Intel chips back in 2020.
Galaxy Book 4 Edge from Samsung arrives with a choice of either a 14-or 16-inch screen. Both models pack an AMOLED screen with a 3K resolution and 120Hz variable refresh rate for smooth scrolling. It's equipped with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless standard for reliable and speedy wireless browsing.
There's also a quad-speaker system built into the laptop that's Dolby Atmos-certified. Like the Surface Laptop, Samsung is making some impressive boasts around battery life, with claims its Galaxy Book 4 Edge can endure 22 hours of video playback time before you'll need to reach for a charger.
When it's time to recharge, Samsung has equipped its all-new AI laptop with fast wired charging.
Galaxy Book 4 Edge starts from £1,399 for a 14-inch model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, rising to £1,499 for the 16-inch model with the same specifications. Samsung charges an extra £300 to upgrade to a 1TB hard drive on the 14-in model, while the same boost costs £200 for the 16-in model.
That's not cheap — especially given the Surface Laptop 7th Edition starts from £1,049.
Galaxy Book 4 Edge is the first Copilot+ PC from the teams at Samsung, with a choice of a 14- or 16-inch screen, up to 1TB of solid-state storage, and Wi-Fi 7 for speedy wireless browsing
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But luckily, Samsung has some generous new offers to make its all-new Galaxy Book 4 Edge laptops more affordable. If you're willing to part with an old laptop, Samsung will discount your new purchase by £150.
That price drop applies even if your old laptop can only be recycled — yes, really. There's no need to mail a model that's holding its resale value. If you don't want to part with your current laptop, Samsung is offering the discount code GB4 that unlocks the same £150 discount.
As such, it's only really worth sending an old laptop to Samsung if you want it to be responsibly recycled.
The new Surface Laptop, as well as Copilot+ PCs from ASUS, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, will be some of the first devices to ship with a new keyboard key dedicated to the Copilot AI assistant — the first shake-up to the standard Windows keyboard layout since the Start key was introduced back in 1994
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Microsoft is keen to take the fight to Apple with its new Surface Laptop — one of the first devices out of the gate to support Copilot+ PC features — with multiple claims that it can topple the new M3-powered MacBook Air in head-to-head tests.
However, it's not just about the AI features and additional battery life — Microsoft has taken the opportunity to refresh its hardware too. The new Surface Laptop comes equipped with a larger 13.8-inch displaywithout significantly expanding the overall footprint of the notebook. To do this, Microsoft has trimmed the bezels around the screen.
"Our new 13.8” display provides a larger viewing area than a traditional 14” laptop in a more compact design," Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Devices Pete Kyriacou penned in a blog post about the new design.
The touchscreen display has a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR technology, Dolby Vision IQ, and Adaptive Colour that adjusts the white balance automatically so that it matches your surroundings.
Compared to an earlier model, Surface Laptop 5, Microsoft says its refreshed notebook offers a 86% performance boost. It can also power three external 4K monitors for the first time.
As mentioned above, the Surface Laptop comes equipped with the longest battery life of any Surface device ever shipped by Microsoft — up to 22 hours on the 15-inch Surface Laptop, and up to 20 on the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop. When it's finally time to top-up the battery, you can recharge using the magnetic Surface Connector, which is bundled in the box. Surface Laptop supports 65W fast-charging.
Microsoft's refreshed Surface Laptop — one of the first devices in the all-new Copilot+ PC category available in the UK — ships with a choice of either a 13.8- or 15-inch screen. These new laptops can be configured up to 1TB of SSD storage and 32GB of RAM. Microsoft offers a choice of four colours, Platinum, Black, Dune and Sapphire
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Like the Galaxy Book 4 Edge, Microsoft has equipped its laptop with lightning-fast Wi-Fi 7, although you'll need to upgrade to a new Wi-Fi router to take advantage of the improved stability and speed offered by this new standard.
Elsewhere, there's a 1080p HD Surface Studio Camera that supports AI-powered Windows Studio Effects like Automatic Framing, Portrait Blur, Creative Filters and Voice Focus – all handled on-device, so you won't need to worry about internet speed scuppering your appearance on a video call. Microsoft says it's worked on "AI-enhanced sound" with its new omnisonic speakers that are Dolby Atmos certified.
The case is made with a minimum of 67.2% recycled content, including 100% recycled aluminium alloy. Microsoft is offering the Surface Laptop in four new colours: Platinum, Black, Dune and Sapphire.
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Prices start from £1,049 for the 13.8-inch variant of the Surface Laptop, maxing out at £2,049 for a model with a 1TB SSD, 32GB of RAM, and the beefier Snapdragon X Elite chipset.
If you'd rather take delivery of the 15-inch model, Surface Laptop prices start from £1,349 and top out at £2,149 for the same specifications as the flagship 13.8-inch model.
For comparison, the latest generation of MacBook Air — equipped with a custom-designed M3 system-on-a-chip and a choice of 13.6- or 15-inch screen size — starts from £1,099 for 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and a 13.6-inch display. The 15-inch model starts from £1,299.
