Microsoft has been pushing its Copilot+ PCs to users since its launch last May, with the company posting a five-second clip claiming that it’s “The fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever.” However, its post on X (formerly Twitter) received a Community Note debunking the tech giant’s claims.
According to users, “These are not the fastest Windows PCs. They run on Snapdragon processors which have significantly less computing power than top of the line Intel or AMD chipsets.” They also added, “The [sic] lack functionality of gamers, the major aspects of the AI are not implemented,” while linking to an article from Computerworld saying you wouldn’t want a Copilot+ AI PC yet.
Some manufacturers boldly predicted that Arm PCs, the only processor used by Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs, will capture 50% of the Windows PC market in five years. However, this seems like a far-fetched forecast, as this laptop category is only a tiny fraction of laptop sales for the third quarter of 2024, the first full quarter that Copilot+ PCs are on sale. It’s so miniscule that research firms did not count it, only saying that compatible laptops (which include devices with Intel Core Ultra 200V and AMD Ryzen AI 300 chips but do not have the capabilities of Copilot+ PCs yet) accounted for less than 10% of total shipments.
The fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs everNovember 7, 2024
Arm chips made headlines in the efficiency department when Apple launched them in MacBooks in 2020. Their introduction gave laptops battery life that spanned almost a day, and Qualcomm built upon this by ensuring that Snapdragon X-powered PCs could last several days, if not weeks, on a single charge. However, Intel and AMD have since caught up, with reviews saying that Intel’s and AMD’s latest laptop chips can achieve competitive battery life.
Despite this, the biggest current drawback of Copilot+ PCs is their use of an Arm-based processor. Since it uses a different architecture from the popular x86 processors, some productivity apps and game titles have trouble running on the platform. Aside from this, some AI features, like the much-maligned Windows Recall, are still unavailable on Copilot+ PCs because of privacy and security concerns.
If you’re looking for a laptop for basic productivity tasks and mostly use web-based apps, a Copilot+ PC, like this Surface Pro 2-in-1 on sale for $999, might be a good option for you. It provides decent performance and excellent battery life in a sleek, slim form factor. However, regarding raw horsepower and widespread compatibility, it’s still defeated by offerings from Intel and AMD.
