Microsoft's Surface Event: The 5 big announcements

As expected, Microsoft spent most of the event talking about AI. (Image: Microsoft)

Microsoft made some big announcements at its annual hardware event, from a new Studio laptop to AI enhancements coming to Windows 11, here are some of the biggest announcements from the event

It wouldn't be a Surface event without one, and the updated Surface Laptop Studio 2 is "the most powerful Surface" that Microsoft has ever built.

The laptop retains the design of the previous iteration but updates it with more powerful hardware. The Studio 2 now has Intel's 13th Gen processors with options to choose between a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 or RTX 4060 GPUs.

You can configure the laptop with up to 2TB of internal storage and up to 64GB of RAM. Besides that is a new touchpad with haptic feedback. It also retains the 14.4-inch display of its predecessor.

The third generation Go laptop now has Intel's 12th Generation processors, and can be configured with up to 256GB of internal storage, and up to 16GB of RAM.

Besides that, it retains most of the characteristics of the Go 2, including the 3:2 12.4-inch display. Go 2 was criticized for poor battery life, something Microsoft says it has worked on, and promises "up to 15 hours" of battery life with the Go 3.

Not to be confused with the Surface Laptop Go, the Go 4 is an affordable 2-in-1 convertible that once again retains much of the design of the previous generation.

The internal hardware has been upgraded with a four-core Intel N200 processor, and the RAM has been bumped up to 8GB. Storage options include 64GB, 128GB and 256GB.

It still has the same 10.5-inch 1080p display but Microsoft says the internal components have been redesigned to be easier to repair and replace.

The next big update for Windows 11 is scheduled for September 26, and will include Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant.

As per Microsoft, "Copilot will uniquely incorporate the context and intelligence of the web, your work data and what you are doing in the moment on your PC to provide better assistance".

Microsoft also points out the security and privacy will be a priority, and the assistant will be integrated seamlessly into Windows 11, where it can work as an app, "or reveal itself when you need it with a right click".

The assistant can be launched with the dedicated Windows Key + C key bind, and it will also dynamically be part of key Windows apps like Photos or Paint.

But Windows 11 isn't the only platform that Copilot is coming to.

Starting September 26, Copilot will also available on Microsoft's Edge browser, Bing, and 365 services. Microsoft said that Copilot will be, "available when you need it and out of the way when you don't".

If you give it permission, Copilot can automatically look up data from your calendar, mail, documents and more, to help you draft texts and mails faster. It will also make real-time suggestions in Outlook, and can pull web results from Bing and the Edge browser.