Summary

  • Get ready for AI-powered Windows on Arm laptops to outperform the M3 MacBook Air in CPU tasks and AI acceleration.
  • Upcoming Windows on Arm laptops will also be able to handle native x64 apps better than Apple Silicon Macs.
  • Windows AI PCs will offer exclusive AI features like AI Explorer and improved video streaming, setting them apart.

AI PCs are not the thing of a distant future, you'll see them in action when Microsoft launches the Snapdragon X Elite-powered Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 next month. While we wait for that day, Microsoft is confident that a new round of Windows on Arm laptops, powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors, will be capable enough to beat the M3 MacBook Air in CPU and AI performance.

Microsoft already announced business-focused Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 with Intel Core Ultra processors, but their Snapdragon X Elite counterparts are what consumers are more excited about. While Microsoft and Qualcomm came together in the past to make Windows on Arm but failed, this time the odds are in favor of Windows on Arm laptops.

In what ways will Windows on Arm laptops be better than M3 MacBook Air?

Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans told The Verge that the software giant will show many demos showcasing the superiority of Snapdragon X Elite chips over the M3 MacBook Air in handling CPU tasks and AI acceleration. The company is equally confident in beating Apple in the app-emulation technology. It claims Windows AI PCs will be faster at translating x64 apps, designed to run natively on Intel-based PCs, than Apple Silicon Macs.

Upcoming AI PCs powered by Arm chips will be interesting and different from Intel-powered devices in many ways. For one, one of the major advantages will be that Windows on Arm laptops will get AI-powered Windows features, such as the AI Explorer, first.

Moreover, Microsoft is said to be actively working on a new AI-powered feature to improve video streaming on Windows on Arm devices. These devices will also reportedly offer users access to Windows Studio Effects for background blur and allow them to create images for free. All of these AI features will be available to the consumer versions of Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 as well as other Windows on Arm laptops launching afterward, though it remains to be seen whether they become available from Day One of the launch of those products.