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TLDR: Microsoft introduces Copilot+ PCs with AI capabilities, claiming performance and battery life advantages over Apple’s MacBooks. Apple is expected to announce its own AI features and M4 chips at WWDC on June 10, reigniting the competition between the two tech giants.
The competition between Macs and PCs has taken an exciting turn, with Microsoft claiming to have tipped the scales back in its favour.
The Edge of Copilot+ PCs
Microsoft has introduced a new category of AI PCs called Copilot+ PCs, which come with:
- Neural processing units (NPUs) for running AI apps locally
- Minimum of 16GB RAM and 256GB storage
- Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant for Windows 11
According to Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, Yusuf Mehdi, these features give them a distinct advantage over Apple for some time.
The PC Industry’s Hope
The PC industry is hoping for a period of sustained sales growth after two years of steep declines. IDC reports that PC sales grew 1.5% in the first quarter, compared to a 28.7% drop in Q1 last year.
Mehdi believes that the demand is there, and Copilot+ PCs will spur PC purchases in unprecedented ways.
Apple’s AI Catch-Up
Apple has been notoriously behind Microsoft in the AI race, having sat on the sidelines until recently. However, Apple has ensured that its hardware has extremely fast AI-ready chips.
Microsoft hopes to take advantage of Apple’s back foot position with Copilot+, powered by GPT-4o, which serves as a user’s go-to assistant for various tasks.
Copilot Recall
Microsoft also introduced Copilot Recall, a feature that makes it easier to search virtually everything you’ve done on your PC, including documents, photos, and web pages.
It works by taking snapshots of your screen over time and using Copilot’s visual search feature to find the content you’re looking for.
Performance and Battery Life
Performance benchmarks have become major talking points, with Apple’s Mac laptops crushing Windows-based PCs in terms of power efficiency since the introduction of the M1 chip in 2020.
However, Microsoft claims that its Windows PCs have a new weapon: Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Pro chips.
According to Microsoft, a Copilot+ PC running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip outperforms Apple’s MacBook Air with an M3 chip in various aspects:
- 20% more battery life
- 23% better peak performance
- 58% better sustained multithread performance
The Battle Continues
For now, Microsoft has the edge thanks to its actual AI product. But Apple isn’t taking this lying down.
Apple is expected to roll out its own AI apps and services, including some that will run on OpenAI’s AI software, at its annual WWDC event on June 10.
Additionally, Apple is likely to announce its M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, which should offer better performance than its M4 and could outpace Qualcomm’s chips.
The battle between Macs and PCs is far from over, and the competition is heating up like never before.
Mark your calendars for June 10.
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