Microsoft Copilot+ Computers Are a Confusing Mess – 3 Things You Need to Know Before You Buy

Well! Microsoft seems to have really complicated its Windows Copilot+ PC laptop lineup. At Microsoft Build 2024 we witnessed what I called Redmond’s M1 moment with the Snapdragon X Elite. Now we have a bit of a mess in the lineup where one wrong move can mean you’re not getting the best value for your money.

One thing is clear. Whichever Copilot+ PC you choose, each one is capable of holding its own against the might of the best MacBooks you can buy. When it comes to battery life and performance, we see them outperforming the likes of the M3 MacBook Air (and even the M3 Pro MacBook Pro in some areas).

But with so many chips to choose from, including Qualcomm, AMD, and (eventually) Intel, various Thermal Design Power (TDP) choices by laptop manufacturers that can actually limit the performance of those chips, and a whole minefield of app compatibility with Copilot+ features, there’s a lot to think about.

So if you’re considering buying a Copilot+, here are the three most important things you need to keep in mind when choosing the right laptop.

1. x86 or Arm? Choose your poison

Asus Zenbook S16

(Photo source: Future)

For the uninitiated, there are two main types of Copilot+ PC chipsets — the Snapdragon X Elite on Arm, and the Intel and AMD on the x86 team. Let me break down the differences.

The x86 chip architecture is the OG way Windows has been running for over 30 years — using Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) to handle every part of a complex task with its many gigahertz of power. It started with desktops (and towers still use the standard) and then moved to laptops.
Arm, meanwhile, is a mobile-centric architecture — instead, it uses Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) technology to execute each small step of a complex process one by one with each tick of the processor’s clock cycle.

Each has its ups and downs. If you choose Intel or AMD-based x86, you won’t have to worry about any application compatibility (all Windows applications for the past three decades have been built for it).

But considering it started life as a chip you put into your desktop PC, and the way it throws all its power at every task, it’s not the most energy-efficient — which means thermal management and battery life suffer. It’s the equivalent of trying to check off all the tasks on your list at once instead of just doing them one at a time — you’re stressing yourself out under the pressure!

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Laptop	Geekbench 6 multi-core	Handbrake Video Transcoding (mm:ss)	Battery life (hh:mm)
15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (Snapdragon X Elite)	14367	04:49	15:38
Asus Zenbook S16 (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370)	13282	05:08	11:35
15-inch MacBook Air (M3)	11041	07:36	14:59

Meanwhile, we’ve seen the Snapdragon X Elite find a better balance between performance and power management, and Microsoft has chosen Qualcomm laptops to showcase Copilot+ PC features first (bringing the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 to the standard). But given the company’s… let’s just say, rocky history with Arm, many developers haven’t made the switch. And because of that, it’s going to take a long time to get full support for all apps — rather than relying on the Prism translation layer or a developer simply not letting it run.

So the choice is yours: app compatibility and worse battery life, or worse battery life than the MacBook and waiting for all apps to migrate to Arm. Personally, as I wrote in my Asus Zenbook S 16 review , I’d go with the latter, as x86 app emulation is better than I expected.

2. Not every Snapdragon X Elite is the same

Microsoft Surface 7 Laptop

(Photo source: Future)

Did you know there are three different Snapdragon X Elite variants? You wouldn’t know that from looking at sites like Best Buy, but that has an impact on the performance potential of these chips. Brace yourself—this name is going to be confusing:

Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 processor: The lower end of the three that lacks dual-core clocking (for faster multitasking) and a weaker GPU.
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 processor: Same GPU speed and maximum CPU speed as the 78, but with two additional cores.
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 processor: The best device with the highest speed and the most powerful graphics processor.

They all have the same number of cores and the same NPU size. But as you can see below, these differences in CPU speed and GPU potential affect our test results:

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Laptop	Geekbench 6 Single Core	Geekbench 6 multi-core
Asus Vivobook S15 (X1E-78-100)	14367	04:49
Microsoft Surface 7 laptop (X1E-80-100)	13282	05:08
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge (X1E-84-100)	11041	07:36

You won’t find much difference between the two lower models, so make a strategic decision. Here’s the bottom line: If you need extra power, look for the 84. If not, the 80 or even the 78 will give you more durability.

It’s also worth noting that while the Snapdragon X Elite is capable of supporting dedicated GPUs (Qualcomm has confirmed that the chip has PCIe lanes to support it), no Arm laptop currently comes with a chip like the RTX 4060. If you’re a gamer, that makes the decision a lot easier — stick with x86.

3. AMD Ryzen AI is treated differently by different companies

Asus Zenbook S16

(Photo source: Future)

And finally, a note on the new kid on the block for the Copilot+ — the AMD Ryzen AI 300 series of chips. Three chips have been confirmed, but only one has been made publicly available so far: the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. Honestly, the less I say about this half-hearted effort to simplify naming, the better.

But what’s even more confusing is that laptop manufacturers are changing the TDP in these chips. I thought the Snapdragon X Elite was confusing enough, but at least we’re just playing with three different chips. With AMD, we have one chip and very different results.

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Laptop	Geekbench 6 Single Core	Geekbench 6 multi-core
Asus Zenbook S16 (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 28W processor)	2765	13282
Asus ProArt P16 (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 running at 50W)	2898	15362

What this boils down to is that the Zenbook S 16 runs at 28W, while the ProArt P16 (review coming soon) runs at 50W. As with Snapdragon, each company is figuring out what the right balance is here, with some going for longer battery life, while others are cranking up the temperature at the expense of it.

We’ll still show the TDP in our review to provide full transparency on what to expect, but make sure to check it out for yourself as well. You may get the latest chip, but you may not get everything.