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In addition to these features, Copilot+ PCs have proven powerful enough to run common business apps like Microsoft Office products and web browsers, outperforming similarly priced Intel and AMD laptops in benchmarks in most cases. The ARM CPU’s low power consumption also means Copilot+ PCs have excellent battery life overall.
So what’s the problem? What can’t you do?
There’s a small problem in the ARM world: for decades, Windows has been rewritten many times to run on x86 chips. Any new chip architecture that comes along means the code needs to be rewritten. That’s not easy when there are thousands of apps on the market.
Application compatibility on ARM is better than it was five years ago. That’s because Microsoft’s Prism emulator can bridge the gap between code written for x86 and ARM CPUs, but it can’t bridge all the gaps. So problems remain. Some apps don’t work at all. Some are still in development. Some apps require emulation, but emulation means a significant loss of performance. There’s no standard guide for what’s supported, but: This site This is the most comprehensive list I’ve seen.
Simply put, if you try to run anything beyond the basics on your computer, you’re likely to run into compatibility issues. Specialized apps like various games and VPNs often don’t work (or don’t work well). Even mainstream apps like the desktop version of Google Drive aren’t supported on ARM. Many common Windows-based benchmarks also won’t run on ARM, which can make it difficult to make a full comparison with x86 machines.
So far, the Copilot+ PC’s graphics performance has been uniformly lackluster. The Snapdragon chipset’s integrated GPU is inferior to Intel’s and AMD’s, and those laptops don’t support more powerful discrete graphics. If you’re serious about GPU-intensive work like gaming or video rendering, the Copilot+ PC might not be for you.
These caveats won’t apply to Intel- or AMD-based Copilot+ PCs once they launch, as they won’t have the compatibility issues of ARM-based ones, but you can’t expect the same kind of battery life.
Should I buy Copilot+ PC?
Currently, Copilot+ PC is ideal for people who want good battery life but don’t want to push their laptop to the limits. Some of Copilot+ PC’s AI features are useful, and the Live Translate feature is really cool, but others are just a novelty. Will features like Recall become must-have features or be shunned by people concerned about being tracked? Only time will tell.
Copilot+ PCs, on the other hand, vary more widely than you might expect in terms of performance, features, and price, so consider each on its own merits.
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