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Copilot+ PCs with AMD and Intel processor buoy the platform and give the platform devices without app compatibility questions.
New Copilot+ PCs performance details just dropped. Microsoft updated a post this week that compares Copilot+ PCs to MacBooks and that explains how Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon processors stack up against other systems. The Copilot+ PC performance details webpage has been around for months, but it only discussed Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs until recently. It now shows details about Copilot+ PCs with Intel and AMD chips as well.
Microsoft has an uphill battle when it comes to selling Copilot+ PCs. Many people don't know what a Copilot+ PC even is, and the fact that the best AI PCs and the best Copilot+ PCs roundups aren't identical lists doesn't clear things up. Additionally, Copilot+ PCs were exclusively Snapdragon PCs for much of this year, but the Copilot+ PC designation now refers to some Intel and AMD devices as well. Even that rollout can be confusing to everyday users since some features are only in testing for Intel and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs.
Only had a 0.8% market share of PCs sold in Q3 of 2024 and just 720,000 PCs sold in that quarter had Snapdragon X chips. Things will likely get better in that category as new chips come out and more app developers embrace Arm computing, but the rollout of Intel and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs should buoy the entire Copilot+ PC platform significantly.
AMD and Intel Copilot+ PCs
The ASUS Zenbook S 14 is among the first Copilot+ PCs to run on a processor not from Qualcomm.
(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
For much of this year, all Copilot+ PCs ran on Arm processors such as the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus. Our list of the best Arm laptops includes flagship devices such as the Surface Laptop 7, Surface Pro 11, and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge. But even the best Arm PC is still an Arm PC. I don't mean that as an insult as much as to highlight that at the moment there are still some people, such as gamers, who won't consider Arm PCs (more on the app situation later).
Luckily for those that need an AMD or Intel chip, Copilot+ PCs with non-Snapdragon processors started shipping in the second half of 2024. Our first impressions of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 were positive. That PC runs on an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor.
In 2025 we'll see many more Copilot+ PCs running on Intel or AMD processors. Those devices should help the Copilot+ PC platform grow.
Apps on Windows 11 on Arm
Google Chrome is one of many big-name apps to now have native Arm versions.
(Image credit: Future)
One of the biggest concerns people have with PCs powered by Arm processors is app compatibility. Since those systems run Windows 11 on Arm, some apps will not run natively. Microsoft's Prism emulation technology closes the gap some, but there are apps that still do run or run well on Windows 11 on Arm. That being said, the list of the best native Windows on Arm apps includes many popular apps and grows by the month.
Since Windows has been around for decades and has excellent backward compatibility, there are tens of millions of PC apps. The vast majority of those have not been recompiled to run natively on Arm PCs. While that number may seem staggering, many people use a relatively short list of core apps. Heck, I know people that literally only use their web browser and Office.
According to Microsoft, over 93% of total minutes spent in apps are in apps compatible with Arm devices. 87% of total app minutes are spent in apps with native Arm versions (though so may not be using the native version). Microsoft highlighted that emulated apps on devices running on a Snapdragon X Elite are over 2x faster than Windows on Arm devices from the previous generation.
Those figures are noteworthy and suggest that many can use Arm-based PCs for everyday computing, but they still indicate a gap in the platform. If one out of every 10 apps you use is not native to Arm, you may not even look at a PC with an Arm chip inside. I agree with Microsoft that emulated apps are better than ever, but they're still not native. And as mentioned above, there are some apps that don't work on Windows on Arm at all.
Copilot+ PC findings
Microsoft tested performance, battery life, and application capabilities of Copilot+ PCs throughout the year. One round of testing wrapped up in May 2024 and then another round concluded in September 2024 following the release of Intel and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs. That later round of testing also allowed Microsoft to stack Copilot+ PCs against MacBooks running macOS Sequoia. Notably, the comparisons stack Copilot+ PCs against M3 MacBooks since M4 MacBooks did not ship until November 2024.
Below are all the claims listed by Microsoft:
Performance
- Top Copilot+ PCs are up to 58% faster than MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs are up to 5 times faster than the most popular 5 year old Windows PCs still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs have up to 47% faster AI performance than MacBook Air with M3
Battery
- Copilot+ PCs deliver up to 22 hours of local video playback
- Copilot+ PCs deliver up to 15 hours of web browsing
- Copilot+ PCs deliver up to 2.3x more battery in local video playback than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs deliver up to 3x more battery in web browsing than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs deliver up to 3x more battery in web browsing than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
Apps
- Over 93% of the total minutes that users spend in apps today are in apps compatible with Arm devices
- 87% of the total app minutes that users spend in apps today have native Arm versions, providing the most efficient and performant app experience
- Emulated apps on devices running the Snapdragon X Elite are over 2x faster than on previous generation Windows Arm devices running Windows 11 22H2
AMD processors
- Copilot+ PCs powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series are up to 38% faster than a MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series are up to 4.4 times faster than the most popular 5-year-old Windows PCs still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 deliver up to 18 hours of local video playback
- Copilot+ PCs powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 deliver up to 11 hours of web browsing
- Copilot+ PCs powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 deliver up to 2x more battery in local video playback than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 deliver up to 1.9x more battery in web browsing than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
Intel processors
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel© Core Ultra 200V have up to 20% faster Microsoft Office productivity than MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel© Core Ultra 200V are up to 2.7 times faster than the most popular 5-year-old Windows PCs still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel© Core Ultra 200V have up to 47% faster AI performance than MacBook Air with M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel© Core Ultra 200V deliver up to 21 hours of local video playback
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel© Core Ultra 200V deliver up to 14 hours of web browsing
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel© Core Ultra 200V deliver up to 2.3x more battery in local video playback than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel© Core Ultra 200V deliver up to 2.4x more battery in web browsing than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
Qualcomm processors
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors are up to 58% faster than MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite are up to 5 times faster than the most popular 5 year old Windows PCs still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite have up to 44% faster AI performance than MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite deliver up to 22 hours of local video playback
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite deliver up to 15 hours of web browsing
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite deliver up to 2.3x more battery in local video playback than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite deliver up to 3x more battery in web browsing than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 10-core are up to 27% faster than a MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 10-core are up to 4 times faster than the most popular 5 year old Windows PCs still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 10-core have up to 42% faster AI performance than MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 10-core deliver up to 19 hours of local video playback
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 10-core deliver up to 15 hours of web browsing
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 10-core deliver up to 2.1x more battery in local video playback than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 10-core deliver up to 2.6x more battery in web browsing than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 8-core are up to 18% faster than a MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 8-core are up to 3.7 times faster than the most popular 5-year-old Windows PCs still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 8-core have up to 46% faster AI performance than MacBook Air M3
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 8-core deliver up to 21 hours of local video playback
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 8-core deliver up to 16 hours of web browsing
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 8-core deliver up to 2.4x more battery in local video playback than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
- Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Plus 8-core deliver up to 2.8x more battery in web browsing than the most popular 5 year old Windows devices still in use today
Hope you enjoyed this news post.
Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years.
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