Looking for a new PC? Microsoft gives reasons to choose an AI model
It is actually an interesting paradox: newer iterations of operating systems tend to be less hungry for resources, i.e., on older hardware, they run smoother than earlier versions, and yet we still look forward to the day when the decision to buy a new computer feels fully justified. Recently, however, the situation has changed somewhat: we now have an actually new type of machines to consider, the AI computers.
We’ve covered the important stuff about this trend in “What are AI laptops (computers, PCs)? The basics.” Since then, Microsoft has given some insight into how heavily it is going to lean on the NPU (spoiler: really heavily), and what new features it plans to bless the next makes of Windows with that will only work on the new breed of hardware. This piece is probably what you need to make a decision about your next laptop/desktop: it summarizes the announced plans of the maker of Windows, and gives some models of AI machines that are commercially available now.
New AI features in Windows
The announcement, shaped as quite a lengthy blog post, was published in the “Copilot+ PCs” category, which suggests that the features described below will work on that specific type of machines. The name of the category seems to be a bit misleading, though, since a more generic title for such computers would be “AI PCs,” without limiting them to Microsoft’s Copilot ecosystem.
The list below summarizes features, improvements, and functions that make a difference from the viewpoint of selection of a new computer. Most of these tools and functions are already available to the participants of the Windows Insiders program.
- Ask Copilot. The name of this one may be confusing, since Copilot per se has been around for some time now. There is no mistake, though: Ask Copilot will be a menu item that summons the power of Microsoft’s AI when you need its assistance while working on a text or an image.
- Recall. We’ve covered this one in several posts, the latest of which is “The controversial Recall feature is here: what to know.” Controversial or not, the feature is there, and it makes sense to at least consider embracing it.
- Click to Do. Finally, the context menu gets an upgrade with a slew of AI-driven actions. For example, when you highlight a piece of text, the menu will suggest summarizing it, correcting errors therein, etc. Basically, whatever an AI can do with a piece of content or a file under the mouse pointer, the context menu will have it.
- AI-powered search. Another feature with a name that tells it all: smart search does deliver the results you are actually looking for, provided they exist in the first place, of course.
- Live captions. With AI, you will enjoy instant translation of audio/video into English subtitles from 44 languages.
- Creative software improvements. AI is backing new features in Paint (text prompting for images, simple drawings into artistic expressions) and Microsoft Photos (retouch functions).
If you remember, in the beginning of 2025, Microsoft called 2025 the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh; it looks like they’re following up on this promise.
Models of AI (Copilot+) PCs available now
Here is a list of some AI computers from major brands that are supposed to support the new features in Windows.
- Acer Swift X 14 AI, price starting around $1,199;
- Asus Zenbook A14, price starting at $899.99;
- Dell Latitude 5455 & 7455, the approximate price is $1,200+;
- HP EliteBook 8 & 6 Series, with the price about $1,050;
- Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, costs around $1,499.
