Is Microsoft ushering in a new era of AI hardware next week?

From OpenAI's latest release of the GPT-4o multimodal model to the impressive upgrades of Gemini and the AI assistant Project Astra at Google I/O, the competition of innovative AI products in the AI industry is far from over.

On May 21st local time, another major AI giant, Microsoft, will host its annual Build developer conference in Seattle. This conference is seen as a crucial platform for Microsoft to elaborate on its strategic plans and showcase its latest AI products.

What will be announced at the Build conference?

Without a doubt, AI will continue to be the highlight of this year's Build conference.

Microsoft's description of the keynote events also emphasizes that the focus of this conference is "understanding how the AI era will unleash new opportunities, change the way developers work, and drive productivity across industries."

Considering that this is a conference for developers, many product updates targeting developers are expected to be announced, such as GitHub, Fabric, Azure AI, and Azure DevOps.

Furthermore, according to speculations from various tech media outlets, Microsoft is expected to announce consumer-oriented AI PCs, a new Windows system, and more powerful Copilots at this event.

1. All-new Surface for Consumers

In March this year, Microsoft introduced powerful Surface computers with dedicated neural processing units to better support AI tasks, but the devices released in March were all enterprise versions. Next week, Microsoft may update its product line for consumers, expected to be equipped with new Intel Core Ultra (5 or 7) processors and dedicated neural processing units. This will be Microsoft's first launch of a consumer-oriented Surface product driven by AI technology.

2. Enhanced Windows Operating System with Deeply Integrated AI Features

Microsoft is expected to release a brand new Windows operating system, further integrating its internal AI capabilities.

It was previously leaked that Microsoft is developing a new feature called AI Explorer based on machine learning technology, which may enhance the search tools on Windows, allowing users to search various content from websites to files using natural language input. There may also be a new timeline feature that allows users to trace back all their recent activities on the computer and provide contextual suggestions based on what they are currently viewing.

In addition, building on the previously exposed Copilot feature, Microsoft may add support for real-time subtitles, enhanced image editing (including real-time filters), and localized AIGC tools.

3. Smarter, Edge Computing-Independent Copilots

Some media outlets speculate that the most significant drawback of Microsoft's Copilot tool is its reliance on internet connectivity, making it unable to perform edge computing. However, Intel has confirmed earlier that Microsoft is exploring ways to drive Copilots with edge computing to enable AI assistants to quickly answer simple questions like basic math and system file queries Build 2024 will be a significant review of Microsoft's artificial intelligence capabilities. If Microsoft can convincingly demonstrate the value, reliability, and practicality of its AI products, it will further solidify its leading position in this race.