Microsoft’s mini AI PCs are on the way

Ever since Microsoft first introduced its Arm-based Copilot Plus laptops in June, I’ve been wondering when we might see Copilot Plus features appear on desktop PCs. Six months later, it’s clear that we’re about to see mini PCs that provide the AI ​​performance needed for features like Recall, Click To Do, and AI-powered image generation and editing in Windows 11. These mini PCs could also help Microsoft competes with Apple’s latest Mac Mini.

Asus has become the first PC manufacturer to announce a mini PC that is capable of Copilot Plus in September. He then revealed the complete specification of its upcoming NUC 14 Pro AI last month, ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starting next week. Asus’ mini PC also has a Copilot button on the front and is almost identical in size to Apple’s latest Mac Mini.

The timing of the Asus spec drop came on the same day as the Taiwanese company Geekom revealed three new mini PCs that will show at CES. Geekom has released a mini PC with AMD’s Strix Point CPU inside and one with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, which means both will be Copilot Plus compatible. The third model is powered by Intel’s Arrow Lake-H laptop processors, which are unlikely to have enough NPU to be Copilot Plus compatible.

I’ll be keeping an eye out at CES next week to see if any other Windows OEMs are ready to launch Copilot Plus mini PCs. CES is usually a launch point for Microsoft’s latest laptop or tablet initiatives, and last year the company convinced OEMs to put up a Copilot key on their laptop keyboards. Asus didn’t add a Copilot button to the front of its own mini PC without Microsoft’s involvement, so I wonder how many other PC makers Microsoft has worked with with dedicated Copilot buttons.

Geekom’s mention of Qualcomm chips in its mini PC means we’ll start seeing the latest Qualcomm chips venture beyond laptops for the first time. Qualcomm should ship its mini PC Snapdragon Dev Kit in June alongside the Copilot Plus laptops, but that’s over cancel months later after problems with the manufacture of the device. Qualcomm has too teased that its Snapdragon X Elite chips could appear in mini PCs or even all-in-one PCs, so maybe we’ll also see some Copilot Plus all-in-one PCs next week.

I’m still waiting to see when we can get Copilot Plus features on traditional powerful desktop PCs. Intel the latest Core Ultra desktop CPU arrived in October with an NPU inside, but it was not capable enough to reach the 40 TOPS requirement that Microsoft imposes for Copilot Plus functions. We’ll have to wait until next-generation desktop CPUs from Intel and AMD arrive to see if more capable NPUs are a priority for chipmakers. Until then, mini PCs and all-in-one PCs using laptop processors will be the only way to get Copilot Plus features in a desktop PC form factor.

While Copilot Plus features remain limited to Windows PCs, that doesn’t mean we won’t see the main Copilot assistant appear on more devices. I’ve heard from multiple sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans that the company wants to get Copilot on devices beyond just PCs, phones, and tablets.

We may well see Copilot appear on some unexpected hardware at CES next week, as Microsoft has also hinted at its ambitions for dedicated AI hardware in recent months. Windows manager Pavan Davuluri admitted in October Notepad interview that the power of modern AI models “will free up the ability to innovate in hardware and come up with purpose-built hardware.”

Davuluri stopped short of detailing what dedicated AI hardware would be for Microsoft, but weeks later Yusuf Mahdiexecutive vice president and director of consumer marketing at Microsoft, dropped some additional suggestions in a subreport. interview with YouTuber Austin Evans.

“These devices that see the world, that you wear on your body, on your person, I think those combined with AI will be very valuable,” Mehdi said in late October. “It can do image recognition, it can talk to you about what’s going on. I think it’s a fascinating place we’re going.”

Later in the interview, Mehdi also describes wearable health-related devices as exciting and “a huge opportunity” for the future. Microsoft confirmed later last month that the CEO of Microsoft AI Mustafa Suleyman hired several former colleagues to help run a new AI health unit. It’s hard to imagine Microsoft venturing into fitness wearables again soon Microsoft Band has been discarded in 2016, but I could definitely see the company wanting to partner with device manufacturers and offer AI-powered health services for these types of devices.

In any case, 2025 will not see Microsoft slowing down with its ambition to get Copilot on all the screens we look at every day.

• 2024 was a big year for Windows on Arm. While Microsoft has pushed the “year of the PC AI” all the way to 2024, I think it was a bigger moment for Windows on Arm. Copilot Plus PCs introduced some really solid improvements in performance, compatibility and battery life for Windows on Arm this year. I can’t believe I use a Windows Arm-powered laptop every day.
• A strange Windows 11 bug won’t let some people install any security updates. Another month and another weird Windows bug. Microsoft is now warning Windows 11 users that if you have manually installed the OS recently, there is a strange bug where you could not get future security updates. It mostly affects USB installers that were created with the October and November release patches, so businesses will be most impacted. The workaround requires a full rebuild now, though, and Microsoft says it’s working on a permanent fix.
• Lenovo has a special gaming event next week with Valve and Microsoft. Leaks have suggested that Lenovo is about to announce its first SteamOS gaming PC. Now Lenovo has revealed a “future of gaming laptops” event at CES next week which will include Valve as well as Microsoft’s next generation VP, Jason Ronald. It looks like Microsoft and Valve may be heading into the future of portable gaming – something I wrote about a precedent Notepad problem. Ronald’s presence is particularly interesting since he was previously vice president of gaming devices and the Xbox ecosystem. I understand that Ronald has been involved in Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox plans for a long time, but it’s curious that Microsoft chose this particular event to confirm Ronald’s new title. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say about this mysterious Lenovo event in the coming week Notepad.
• Microsoft is testing live translation on Intel and AMD Copilot Plus PCs. Microsoft has has started previewing its live translation feature for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Live translation was initially limited to Qualcomm-powered Copilot Plus PCs, but Microsoft has begun bringing more of these Windows AI features to AMD- and Intel-powered Copilot Plus PCs.
• The collaboration of Microsoft and OpenAI depends on the AGI question. A new report from The information states that Microsoft and OpenAI’s dispute over the terms of their collaboration could involve the definition of artificial general intelligence (AGI) as a moment when $100 billion is returned in profits. AGI has always been the point at which Microsoft’s agreement with OpenAI ends, so a high-profit stage will certainly complicate OpenAI’s efforts to declare AGI and end its contract with Microsoft given that it is. still struggling with profits. Separately, Microsoft thinks that the core parts are still there missing from AGIso the debate about when it is likely to be declared will continue for a long time.
• Microsoft is killing Skype credits and phone numbers in favor of subscriptions. Skype has struggled to keep up with the popularity of WhatsApp, Messenger, Zoom and many other VoIP services in recent years. now, Microsoft ended quietly the sale of new Skype credits and the functions of the telephone number for Skype in favor of subscriptions instead. Skype Credit was a way to use a payment plan to make calls with Skype, but now you need a subscription to use this feature.
• Microsoft warns Phone Link will not show “sensitive” Android 15 notifications. A new privacy feature of Android 15 that categorizes notifications such as 2FA codes as sensitive is caused problems with Microsoft’s phone link feature in Windows. You can turn off enhanced notifications in Android 15 to deal with the problem, but Windows should still show sensitive notifications on Android devices where Phone Link has been pre-installed on the device.
• The Xbox Sebile controller is still on the way. During the FTC v. Microsoft In 2023, a huge amount of unannounced Xbox hardware has been leaked, including a new one Xbox controller code name Sebile. While the controller was originally supposed to debut in 2024, Microsoft now seems to be holding it for its next-gen console instead. Windows Central reports that a new patent details Sebile’s new haptic motors that are spread throughout the controller. Sebile will also support direct Wi-Fi connection to Xbox Cloud Gaming, like Google’s Stadia controller.
• GitHub now has a free tier for Copilot in VS Code. Microsoft’s GitHub was the first to start using the Copilot brand for a paid AI coding assistant in 2021. GitHub is now offering a free version of GitHub Copilot in VS Code. It includes 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month, and is available to the 150 million developers using GitHub. It also includes the choice between using Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet or OpenAI’s GPT-4o model to ask coding questions, explain code, or let the AI ​​models find bugs in your code.
• Microsoft is working to add non-OpenAI models to its Microsoft 365 Copilot. Microsoft is said to be working soon to add third-party AI models to its Microsoft 365 Copilot. Reuters reports that Microsoft is looking for other models to reduce the costs of the AI ​​assistant in Office applications and decrease its dependence on OpenAI. I wouldn’t be surprised if this involved Microsoft’s AI models, but the company could still follow suit GitHub’s move to support Anthropic and Google models.

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