Microsoft launches new API for more AI-powered features in Windows apps

Today, at the Ignite 2024 conference, Microsoft announced new Imaging APIs for Windows Copilot Runtime. The latter was announced at Build 2024 earlier this year, and it allows integrating AI-powered experiences to run locally on compatible devices, such as Copilot+ PCs with their Neural Processing Units, thanks to over 40 on-device models. The latest API will help developers integrate even more AI capabilities into their projects.

Imaging APIs offer the following:

• Image Super Resolution: This API is responsible for upscaling pictures to a higher resolution, improving the clarity of blurred images and more.
• Image Segmentation: With Image Segmentation API, applications can use AI to separate background and foreground or remove certain picture parts.
• Object Erase: This API can be implemented in image or video processing apps to remove unwanted objects and mix the cleared area with the background of a picture.
• Image description: With this API, developers can use AI to generate picture descriptions.

Some of those features are already available in Windows 11 and its apps, such as Paint. Microsoft recently started rolling out image upscaling, generative fill, and generative erase for testing on compatible devices. With the new API, similar capabilities will be available in many third-party applications.

Microsoft says a lot of developers already utilize Windows Copilot Runtime to deliver new experiences and improve what their projects can do. Those apps include Adobe Premiere Pro, Affinity Photo, LiquidText, Dot Vista, Promeo by Cyberlink, Capture One, and more.

Imaging APIs will be available in Windows App SDK 1.7 Experimental 2 release in January 2025.

You can check out other Microsoft announcements from the Ignite 2024 conference here.

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