Microsoft’s March calendar just got a bit more crowded as it’s being reported that the company will be officially announcing upgrades to its Surface hardware lineup by the end of the month.
According to journalist Zac Bowden over at Windows Central, sources familiar with the matter have confirmed a March 21 date for a Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro 10 announcement that will carry new hardware upgrades for both devices as well as some significant SoC-led artificial intelligent features.
Based on Bowden’s reporting, Surface fans can expect a tiered rollout of new hardware and AI features of three distinct periods starting with Intel core Ultra powered Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro 10 paving the way in March while Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite variants won’t see store shelves until June, and coveted Windows AI features not surfacing until the Fall.
In specific, March 21, 2024, marks the date Microsoft will make its grand announcement of new hardware changes coming to the Laptop and Pro lineup that include new rounded OLED displays with thinner bezel profiles and brighter nits and support for HDR content while also gaining new ultrawide webcams, built-in NFC readers, haptic trackpads, an expanded port selection, dedicated Copilot keys, and all-day battery life management.
Bowden also claims that Microsoft will also tease a new Windows experiences led by its investments in AI such as real-time live captioning and translation (ala Galaxy S24 and Pixel phones), additional Windows Studio effects supporting video conferencing, streaming or podcast as well as a new OS wide search experience dubbed AI Explorer.
According to my sources, AI Explorer is the blockbuster AI experience that will separate AI PCs from non-AI PCs. It’s described as an “advanced Copilot” with a built-in history/timeline feature that turns everything you do on your computer into a searchable moment using natural language. It works across any app and allows users to search for previously opened conversations, documents, web pages, and images.
Zac Bowden – Windows Central
AI Explorer appears to be building on Windows 10’s scrapped Timeline feature and making it contextually relevant this time around.
Microsoft’s timeline for events and announcements hasn’t been made official or confirmed just yet by the company, but Bowden has been pretty reliable when it comes to leaked information about the company’s Surface business. As for how Microsoft plans to communicate the hardware and software roadmap across Spring, early Summer, and Fall, it will be interesting to see.