Microsoft’s Surface AI event: news, rumors, and lots of Qualcomm laptops

Microsoft is expected to bring Windows, AI, and Arm processors together at a new Surface event on May 20th, and we’re tracking all the announcements here.

We’ll find out if thinner laptops that get better battery life can combine with AI tools like Copilot to change what we expect from Windows PCs. As Tom Warren wrote in his Notepad newsletter ahead of the event, “It’s clear Microsoft has grown tired of Intel’s failed attempts at a comeback, so it’s going all in on these latest Qualcomm chips — and bringing its closest PC partners along for the ride.”

Ahead of Microsoft’s big reveal, we can already see other major PC manufacturers are on board: Asus’ AI PC teaser and a leak of Dell’s new lineup show that it’s about more than just the new AI-focused Copilot key.

With Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X Elite processors and dedicated NPU hardware for accelerating AI tasks in Windows 11, they can hopefully challenge Apple Silicon and revive the Mac vs. PC debate while avoiding the buggy performance and compatibility issues of the past. The company claims its new chips can beat Apple, Intel, and AMD on performance, power efficiency, and battery life, and May 20th could be our first chance to find out if that’s true.

In this storystream, we’ll bring you all the latest news and updates.