CoPilot+ PCs could finally get more affordable soon – here’s what’s coming
AI-powered Windows laptops with less financial pain
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Microsofthas painted its new range ofCopilot+ PCsas the future of Windows laptops, and for the most partwe agree. But it’s hard to turn a computer into a mass seller when it costs over $1,000 (sometimes significantly more so). Fortunately, that could be addressed soon with a new range of much more affordable Copilot+ PCs that are allegedly on the brink of launching.
That’s because well-known tech tipster Evan Blass has justshared a slidefrom Qualcomm that details what we can expect from the next generation ofSnapdragon Xchips that will power upcoming Copilot+ PC models.
According to the slide, we could see eight-core chips with 1.7TFLOPSof output, support for three4Kdisplays running at 60Hz, Wi-Fi 7, and 45TOPSof artificial intelligence (AI) performance. The slide also notes that the chips will be made using a 4nm process and will come with 30MB of total cache.
What was missing from the slide was any hint at price, but Blass filled in that gap, saying that notebooks equipped with Snapdragon X Plus chips will start at $800. That’s a significant saving on the current range, like theMicrosoft Surface Laptop 7, and could help to make Copilot+ PCs a lot more accessible to a broader swath of users.
What will they be missing?
That lower price will apparently come from a few cut features. The 1.7 TFLOPS output is noticeably less than you’ll get from existingCopilot+ PCs, and that alone will go a long way towards accounting for the reduced price. But if you’d rather have a more affordable device, you might not mind.
The slide supposedly comes from a presentation by Qualcomm, the company that makes the Snapdragon X chips found inside the Copilot+ PC range. While we can’t independently verify its accuracy, Blass has a pretty strong track record when it comes to accurate leaks.
Blass suggests that we will find out more about these chips at the IFA 2024 event in Berlin next month, where Copilot+ PCs areknown to be making an appearance. IFA runs from September 6-10, and it would be an ideal opportunity for Snapdragon to unveil its new eight-core chips to the world.
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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he’s learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That’s all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.
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