Microsoft’s AI ambitions re-Surface, plus more tech topics in week 21 of 2024

A lot of big events happened in tech this past week, from the unveiling of Microsoft’s first laptops powered by Qualcomm’s revolutionary Snapdragon X chips, to Apple fixing a bug that resurfaced previously deleted photos, and more. Curated especially for you, here are the top stories you might’ve missed for week 21 of 2024.

Microsoft announces an ARM-powered Surface Laptop

Microsoft has taken the wraps off the new Surface Laptop — an ARM-based laptop for consumers that’s available for preorder today, starting at $999.99 (13.8-inch) or $1,199.99 (15-inch), and shipping on June 18th. It’s got one big difference from the Surface Laptop 6 for Business announced in March — it’s equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite or Plus chip instead of Intel’s Core Ultra, leveling the playing field, the company hopes, with Apple’s powerful and efficient MacBook laptops. – The Verge

The week kicked off with Microsoft unveiling their latest Surface devices, the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, both powered by Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon Elite chips that are said to give Apple Silicon a run for its money. If true, Windows users could finally have access to the same power and performance that Mac users have enjoyed since the M1 launched in late 2020. While early tests are promising that Snapdragon X can deliver, it’s still too early to know for sure if Apple has anything to worry about...yet.

Microsoft rebuilt Windows 11 around AI and ARM chips

Windows' ARM woes may finally be over. As part of the company's new Copilot+ AI PC initiative, which includes new Surfaces and partner systems running Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips, Microsoft says it has rebuilt core components of Windows 11 to better support ARM-based hardware and AI. That includes a new kernel, compiler, and most importantly, an emulator named "Prism" for running older x86 and x64 apps. – Engadget

Microsoft has been working on a revamped version of Windows with ARM compatibility since 2017, and now that Qualcomm’s chips finally have the power and performance to compete with the likes of Apple Silicon, Windows for ARM is ready for prime time. Along with a leaner and meaner version of Windows 11, users can take advantage of a ton of new AI features, all powered by Microsoft Copilot.

Microsoft Copilot Plus PCs FAQ: What it is, features, how to access it, and PC requirements

During the Microsoft Event 2024 keynote, the company unveiled Copilot+ and discussed how next-gen AI features go hand-in-hand with AI PC laptops. Despite having a name similar to that of the Copilot AI assistant, Copilot+ is very different and encompasses several different things rather than one specific service. – Windows Central

The new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop weren’t the only showstoppers at Microsoft’s hardware event this past week. They also showed off a bunch of new AI-powered features that are coming to all “Copilot+ PCs” that are powered by NPU (Neural Processing Unit) chips, like the Snapdragon X. Among these are a controversial Recall feature that automatically takes screenshots of your displays, archives them, and makes them searchable to help users more easily find their most recent projects and data.

Apple says iOS 17.5.1 fixes ‘rare’ bug that caused deleted photos to return

Apple has released iOS 17.5.1 for iPhone. The software update specifically addresses the issue with deleted photos reportedly returning after updating to iOS 17.5. While the bug is certainly alarming, it’s important to note that Apple does not access your photos or videos. The issue resulted from a small number of photos being impacted by a corrupted database entry, making it possible for the photo to not fully delete from the device, Apple says. – 9to5Mac

In a photo-resurfacing fiasco I’ve dubbed “photogate,” Apple’s iOS 17.5 update for iPhone seemingly unearthed old photos that users thought were completely deleted, sometimes more than several months ago. I was one of the people affected, as a couple of my own photos partially made it back to my iPhone after running the update (I just had two blank photo placeholders in my Photos app, but the photos never actually showed up). This week, Apple released iOS 17.5.1 to fix this error, though we’re still waiting on an official statement describing how this bug was even possible, since deleted photos shouldn’t even have the option to return if they’re truly removed from devices.

Google promised a better search experience — now it’s telling us to put glue on our pizza

Imagine this: you’ve carved out an evening to unwind and decide to make a homemade pizza. You assemble your pie, throw it in the oven, and are excited to start eating. But once you get ready to take a bite of your oily creation, you run into a problem — the cheese falls right off. Frustrated, you turn to Google for a solution: “Add some glue,” Google answers. “Mix about 1/8 cup of Elmer’s glue in with the sauce. Non-toxic glue will work.” – The Verge

Google’s new Gemini-powered AI Overview already comes with plenty of implications, one of which could bring on the collapse of the internet as we know it, but things took an even more bizarre turn late this week. Users have started to ask AI Overview a number of questions meant to trip it up, and the results range from hilarious to absolutely confounding. In a little more than one week since the feature was launched, Google went from being the most trusted search engine in the world to an unreliable joke, thanks to the power and intelligence of AI Overview.

Nvidia ARM laptops may be in the works, and that could change everything

Imagine a laptop with an iteration of Nvidia’s ARM-based CPU combined with a powerful RTX graphics card, all enhanced by AI. Years ago, that would have sounded outlandish, but now it seems like it could actually happen. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Dell CEO Michael Dell more or less confirmed that Team Green will enter the AI-PC hype next year. – Digital Trends

Microsoft and Qualcomm stole the spotlight this week with the ARM-designed Snapdragon X chips found inside the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, but they may not be the top dogs in Windows world for long. Already the leader in GPUs and American-made AI chips, NVIDIA now has its sights set on building its own ARM chips. If done right, the GPU giant could be on the verge of creating a comprehensive CPU and GPU ecosystem that could supplant Qualcomm in a bid to pit Windows against Apple’s M-powered Mac lineup.

All-screen M5 MacBook with foldable display and Vision Pro price now rumored for 2026

Apple is working on all-screen foldable devices. Unlike its competitors, however, its focus seems less on foldable smartphones and tablets, and instead on an all-screen foldable laptop. Ming-Chi Kuo has previously reported that Apple was developing a 20.3-inch MacBook device for 2027, but today the analyst has shared several key new details about the futuristic MacBook model. One such detail is that Apple is now eyeing an earlier 2026 launch for the product. – 9to5Mac

Would you use a keyboardless laptop that’s all screen? According to Apple leaker Ming-Chi Kuo, this may be exactly what’s coming down the pike. To me, this sounds more like a proof-of-concept than a real product Apple would try to sell to the public. No one wants to trade a physical keyboard for a virtual keyboard. Although, maybe this is Apple’s way of finally giving us the touchscreen Mac that they promised would never happen. Time will tell.

Early Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite benchmarks lag behind Apple's M3 equivalent and can't get near its brand-new M4

Microsoft's recent event saw the company announce all manner of things, not least the Surface Pro 11 powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip. It's a chip that Qualcomm and PC vendors hope will offer the performance and energy efficiency that Intel simply hasn't been able to, all while going toe-to-toe with Apple silicon. – iMore

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X ARM chips are the strongest competition Apple Silicon has seen since the M1 chip launched in 2020. And yet, early tests suggest that while Snapdragon X is a huge leap forward for ARM on Windows, it still doesn’t match up to Apple’s last-gen M3 and brand new M4 chips.

Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI chatbot voice 'eerily similar' to hers

Scarlett Johansson on Monday accused OpenAI of creating a voice for the ChatGPT system that sounded "eerily similar" to the actress after she declined to voice the chatbot herself. Johansson made the comments in a statement released hours after the artificial intelligence company said it was taking down the voice, called 'Sky.' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Monday that Sky's voice was not an imitation of Johansson, but belonged to a different professional actress. – Reuters

If you thought ChatGPT’s “Sky” digital voice sounded a lot like Scarlett Johansson, you’re not alone. The celebrity star who played an AI assistant in the movie “Her” threatened legal action against OpenAI for using her vocal likeness, even after she declined an official request to be the voice of ChatGPT. To OpenAI’s credit, they were quick to remove the “Sky” voice option and claim that they did not intend to emulate Johansson’s voice. However, even though the voice actually belongs to another voice actress, it’s hard to believe that OpenAI didn’t at least notice the similarity between the two.