Clues in Windows 11 suggest Microsoft’s big AI feature for 24H2 update will only be for Snapdragon
Windows 11’s new pivotal feature for the 24H2 update, which in theory is AI Explorer, could be exclusive to ARM laptops โ if a new clue in Microsoft’s desktop operating system means anything.
On 24H2 update).
Turns out Windows 11 build 26100 (presumably 24H2 RTM) includes the AI โโExplorer requirements ๐ baked into the OS๐ ARM64 CPU๐ 16GiB RAM๐ 225GiB system drive (total, no free space)๐ Snapdragon is a way to drive ARM64 adoption ๐ถโ๐ซ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/ZbQf4KY1BNApril 18, 2024
Those system requirements call for 16 GB of RAM (no surprise), a system drive of at least 225 GB (that’s the total size, as opposed to free space), and an ARM processor (most definitely a surprise).
In fact, these requirements define an ARM CPU and specifically a Snapdragon X Elite NPU.
What this means in theory is that AI Explorer is designed to run only on Snapdragon X Elite laptops (the Qualcomm SoC is ARM-based, in case you hadn’t guessed). This further means that if you have an AMD or Intel (x86) processor in your laptop or desktop PC, you won’t get AI Explorer.
Analysis: Explore all possibilities
This is a pretty big deal, because AI Explorer is โ as far as we can tell from the rumor mill โ the most important feature for AI PCs, and the most significant step forward in terms of using AI with Windows 11 in the 24H2 update. It pretty much sounds like the “wow” moment for Copilot’s capabilities, which allow natural language searches to find anything on the PC (“Find me that document with all the settings for my TV”).
That this only happens on ARM-based PCs, and not on Intel or AMD devices, is therefore another kind of ‘wow’ moment, we think. A ‘wow, wait a minute, I don’t understand this?’ moment, more to the point.
We must emphasize that we must be very careful with leaks, especially with clues unearthed deep in the workings of the operating system. We have no way of knowing for sure that this is happening โ this is just a suggestion.
So, what are the chances of this happening? Well, it seems unlikely that Microsoft would put a hard limit on the best features outside of ARM devices. While the company is clearly putting a lot of weight on the Snapdragon
What we could imagine is the possibility that AI Explorer could initially be just for Snapdragon
A limited exclusivity, if you will, and the main point as to why this might be necessary is the NPU, as the Snapdragon X Elite has a much faster Neural Processing Unit โ which speeds up the AI โโworkload. It’s possible that current-generation chips, with their much weaker NPUs that don’t meet the 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second, a measure of power in relation to AI tasks) requirement, are simply not up to the task of Run AI Explorer. Or at least fast enough to be impressive.
The Snapdragon When Intel’s Lunar Lake chips โ with 45 TOPS โ or AMD’s Strix Point (at a similar level) arrive later this year, these mobile ranges will be a good fit for AI Explorer. So Microsoft will open things up more at that point.
This is of course pure guesswork. There’s also another potential benefit for Microsoft: It gives people another reason to buy a Snapdragon in 24H2 have been deleted, probably in 24H2). September, it should be noted).
Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are such AI PCs that will of course use that Snapdragon chip. (As an aside, we can assume that these devices will have an entry-level 16GB RAM and 256GB storage โ given the other requirements mentioned above โ and that in itself would be interesting).
Microsoft is busy getting Windows on ARM really off the ground, so this could all be part of that strategy. However, the requirement for ARM to power AI Explorer would surely be temporary if this happens โ and Intel plus AMD CPUs would eventually join the party? Well, time will tell, but there’s certainly no reason why they wouldn’t do that with the next generation of laptop chips from Teams Blue and Red.