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The show is about to start! Microsoft’s Frank Shaw says this show will be posted at 1pm today but for now, follow this blog for all the latest updates coming this hour.
Just got an announcement that the show is about to start. Barring any delays, things should be underway at 10am ET.
Tom’s Guide Global Editor in Chief, Mark Spoonauer has a great view of the keynote stage! The show starts soon so get ready.
Hey, everyone! Tony Polanco here taking over the live blog. I’m at the event with Mark Spoonauer to bring you the latest updates live as they happen.
As we’ve already said, this event will likely be a mix of Microsoft’s AI initiatives, along with announcements for Surface devices. Whatever’s discussed, we’ll cover it here.
We’re less than 30 minutes to the start of the event now and, if you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of what we’re expecting to see today.
Microsoft will probably lead off with a heavy focus on AI and how it’s been working to integrate similar tech into its other software, most notably its Microsoft 365 suite of productivity apps (Excel, Outlook, Word etc) in the form of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
But the real shiny stuff is likely to be new Surface products that could include the following:
Surface Laptop Studio 2: The shifty 2-in-1 will be the jewel in the crown at this event as it’s predicted to boast Intel’s 13th Gen Intel processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-Series graphics. It’ll keep the flexible screen that so impressed with the original but is rumored to be coming with more ports, including a USB-A port and microSD card reader.
Surface Laptop Go 3: Microsoft’s thinnest and lightest laptop is predicted to get a refresh with some new internals that help it offer better performance than its underwhelming predecessor.
Surface Go 4: An affordable 2-in-1 is primarily a tablet and can be a good device for students or those on a budget. What would be cool is if Microsoft included the detachable Type Cover keyboard for free with every new Go, instead of forcing customers to pay an additional $129. We can but hope!
As we mentioned, expect the word “AI” to get used a lot, as we expect Microsoft to continue down the trail it started blazing early this year by launching Bing with ChatGPT.
Okay, let’s talk for just a moment about the Surface Go.
It’s easy to get the Surface Laptop Go and the Surface Go confused. To break it down: The Surface Go is the smaller, cheaper tablet version of the Surface Laptop Go, and Microsoft hasn’t released a new one since 2021.
We’re talking about the Surface Go 3 which, to be honest, was pretty lacking when it launched in October 2021. It had a tired design and weak performance. Will Microsoft give the teeny 10.5-inch tablet a much-needed boost in the form of a Surface Go 4?
We’d hope so because, at the moment, the Surface Go line fails to justify its existence as anything other than a cheaper also-ran next to Microsoft’s more powerful Surface Pro tablets.
While much of the buzz ahead of Microsoft’s event has been around whether we’ll see new Surface laptops today, there’s a lot to get excited about on the software front. Windows 11 is finally an operating system we can recommend (it only took two years to get there), and now Microsoft is experimenting with integrating an AI-like assistant into Windows in the form of Windows Copilot.
The Windows 11 Copilot AI has been available to try for select Windows Insiders for some time now, but there’s a good chance Microsoft will show it off and give it a public release date today. Expect a more robust version of what’s already available in Bing with ChatGPT, i.e. a chatbot that you can have conversations with to do things like change system settings or turn your PC off.
Tom’s Guide’s Mark Spoonauer and Tony Polanco are on the scene for the Microsoft briefing, which it appears is still being set up ready for things to begin in just over an hour’s time.
No sneak peaks of any devices to be found so far it seems. But at least there’s someone serving coffee for the assembling audience.
Microsoft caught a lot of people’s attention earlier this week when it announced that Panos Panay, the man in charge of helping develop Windows 11 and the Surface line of devices, was leaving the company to join Amazon.
It was an odd bit of timing to announce this right before a Surface/Windows product launch, but perhaps Microsoft is attempting to communicate that it’ll be persuing a brand-new direction for its devices and software when a new leader is inevitably appointed to replace Panay.
We also have our fingers crossed for a proper update to the Surface Laptop Go 2 to be announced at the event later. Because even though it’s the cheapest of the Surface Laptops, it’s a false economy.
Using outdated and low-powered components, your money is much better spent on a laptop other than the Surface Laptop Go 2, particularly if you want more than the basic specs. Even if the Surface Laptop Go 3 only updates its CPU and memory (as rumors have suggested), it’ll still go some way to fixing the current model’s issues.
Alongside several Surface device updates, we’re also expecting Windows 11 AI Copilot to receive some attention.
Using Bing Chat as a basis, this feature will live in a dedicated sidebar, offering enhanced search and Windows functionality, and should be launching later this year to all Windows 11 users. Just remember not to call it Cortana.
We’re especially hoping that we see a new Surface Laptop Studio today. Our Computing Editor Alex Wavro described the original Laptop Studio as “the company’s most interesting laptop in years,” so a sequel is very much needed as far as we’re concerned.
We’re warming up the liveblog as we get ready for today’s Microsoft event in New York City, and we’re already hearing reports about how AI will be the star of the show. A recent internal Microsoft memo penned by company exec Yusuf Mehdi (and obtained by The Verge) talks up the importance of AI to Microsoft’s future plans and how today’s event will build on the reveal of Bing with ChatGPT back in February.
“We have innovated on and shipped this incredible technology inside of Edge and Bing. Microsoft 365, and most notably, Windows Copilot — all on new Windows 11 PCs,” reads an excerpt of Mehdi’s memo. “We lead in this race to put Al in service of people and businesses around the globe […] Our moment this Thursday is only the beginning. We have more experiences and capabilities coming soon in the weeks and months ahead.”
So it’s safe to say we’ll be hearing more about what Microsoft’s been building on the foundations of OpenAI’s ChatGPT tech today—stay tuned!