Win11 AI Explorer may only support Snapdragon X Elite

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Microsoft unveiled its Windows Copilot AI assistant as early as May last year, initiating the integration of AI-related functionalities within the Windows operating system and continuously releasing various measures to enhance the usage of the Copilot AI assistant. Recently, international netizens revealed that the source code for Windows 11 build 26100 suggests that the forthcoming AI Explorer in Windows 11 may exclusively support the Snapdragon X Elite, with Intel and AMD processors likely unable to enable it.

AI Explorer

The source code reveals the following prerequisites for the AI Explorer feature:

  • Utilization of an ARM 64 CPU;
  • A minimum of 16GB of memory;
  • At least 256GB of hard drive capacity;
  • A Snapdragon X Elite (model 8300) NPU (HWID QCOM0D0A).

Netizens also noted that the mandatory requirement for an ARM 64 CPU in Windows 11 AI Explorer is presumably aimed at boosting the adoption of the ARM architecture in laptops. This might also be due to considerations of NPU computational power. Previously, Intel disclosed the local operating requirements for Copilot, necessitating NPU capabilities of 40 TOPS, while currently, only the Snapdragon X Elite meets this criterion, boasting an NPU with 45 TOPS. Both AMD’s Ryzen 8000 series APU and Intel’s Core Ultra series fall significantly short of this level.

Moreover, notebooks equipped with the Snapdragon X Elite are gradually being launched. Lenovo has confirmed that its Yoga Slim 7 14 2024 and the Snapdragon edition of the ThinkPad T14s will debut at the Lenovo Innovation Technology Conference on April 20. Qualcomm has also repeatedly stated its collaboration with multiple brands, with several Snapdragon X Elite-equipped notebooks anticipated to be unveiled this summer, which will clarify whether Windows 11 AI Explorer is exclusively available for Snapdragon.

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