Subj : Microsoft has a new AI-powered plan to defeat Apple but there's To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Tue May 23 2023 16:15:03 Microsoft has a new AI-powered plan to defeat Apple but there's one big problem Date: Tue, 23 May 2023 15:00:47 +0000 Description: Microsoft and Qualcomm team up to make new AI chips in a bid to beat Apple, but ARM could prove to be their downfall. FULL STORY ====================================================================== At the Microsoft Build event in Seattle, the tech giant has just unveiled its latest plan to go toe-to-toe with Apple. In a move that should surprise nobody with their finger on the pulse of the tech world, Microsofts new plan is of course! AI. The Windows and Surface creator is teaming up with chipmaker Qualcomm to scale AI capabilities and bring best-in-class AI experiences to users across consumer, enterprise, and industrial devices. This is just the latest effort from Microsoft to remain competitive against the powerful Apple M2 c hips , most recently seen in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro (2023) . What does this actually mean? Well, for starters, it means we can expect to see more Windows devices equipped with Qualcomms successful Snapdragon processors chips weve mostly seen so far in phones, tablets, and Chromebooks. Currently, most Windows products run on either Intel or AMD hardware. Circling back to Microsofts AI promises: Qualcomms senior vice president of product management, Ziad Asghar, made the excellent point that for machine learning technology to properly infiltrate the mainstream space, it needs to be on-device AI . AI in your pocket At present, most AI such as popular chatbot ChatGPT and Microsofts own Bing AI run using cloud computing. Switching over to local hardware will, as Microsoft noted in its press release, bring numerous benefits for cost effectiveness, privacy, personalization, and latency. Privacy is a huge factor here; there are already many concerns about what exactly cloud-based AI platforms are doing with their users data, and how secure that data might actually be. Running your favorite AI programs locally on your own hardware is a big step forward in terms of digital security. Stability AI's Stable Diffusion image generator is a nifty piece of software, and Qualcomm's new chips can run the whole program locally. (Image credit: Stability AI Stable Diffusion screenshot) So that all sounds great and we already know that Microsoft is going all-in on AI in its continued attempts to improve Windows 11 . At the Build event, Qualcomm showed off Snapdragon-powered Windows devices running Stable Diffusion (one of the best AI art generators ) entirely on local hardware an impressive feat. The latest Snapdragon processors pack a dedicated Qualcomm AI Engine specialized for handling AI-powered workloads separate from the integrated CPU and GPU, which boosts performance and makes running AI software possible even on super thin-and-light devices like the best ultrabooks . Theres one major problem that Microsoft hasnt addressed, though The ARM problem For the uninitiated, theres a very important difference between Windows devices that use the best processors from Intel and AMD, and those that use Qualcomms chips. Unlike conventional desktop CPUs, Snapdragon processors are based on the ARM compute instruction set basically, a form of computer architecture distinct from the x86 instruction set used by most Windows devices. Windows on ARM (WoA) has been a thorn in Microsofts side for years, ever since the companys first foray into creating its own ARM-based chips for the deeply lackluster Surface Pro X . Even the more recent (and definitely better) Surface Pro 9 5G suffers from using an ARM CPU. The Surface Pro 9 is an excellent tablet, but the 5G model's ARM-based CPU holds it back with compatibility issues. (Image credit: Microsoft) The issue is that since Windows is designed for x86 (and the older x64 CISC), the vast majority of third-party applications made for Windows which is a massive, massive amount of software arent actually compatible with WoA. What this means in practice is that youre effectively limited to only using software downloadable from the Microsoft Store. If theres a program you need that isnt in the Store, tough luck. Of course, Microsoft has big plans for Windows 12 to run better on its own silicon, so we might finally see a version of the popular operating system that manages to bridge the gap between x86 and ARM. If that happens, this fresh collaboration with Qualcomm could be the silver bullet Microsoft needs to smash Apples increasingly powerful MacBooks. Will it happen, though? Will Windows on ARM newly empowered with Snapdragon AI capabilities finally emerge victorious? Were divided here at TechRadar. I think Microsoft has a chance to make it work , but my colleague John Loeffler thinks Microsoft silicon is a terrible idea . Only time will tell ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-has-a-new-ai-powered-plan-to-defeat-a pple-but-theres-one-big-problem --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .