Spring is prime season for the tech world, and in 2024, that means “It’s time to show your AI bona fides.” Google and OpenAI has already revealed great innovations Twins and ChatGPT this month and now it’s time for Microsoft Build. The tech giant’s annual developer conference kicks off on Tuesday, May 21 with a keynote scheduled for 12:00 PM ET/9 AM PT, and you can watch the entire event live. YouTube (which is also included below) and at Microsoft’s website (registration required). What about the Microsoft Surface event you’ve heard about? Well, it actually happens a day earlier: Monday, May 20th. Mixed? Don’t worry, here’s our more in-depth summary of what you can expect, the tl;dr version. What to expect from Microsoft Build 2024: Surface event, Windows 11 and AI.
New Microsoft Surface products expected: Monday, May 20
A day before the official Build keynote, Microsoft is holding a more intimate event for journalists where it plans to unveil its “hardware and software AI vision.” That event won’t be streamed live, but Engadget will have full coverage as soon as it happens.
The rumor mill strongly suggests that we will see new consumer-targeted Surface PCs. Unlike enterprise-centric models like And Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 Introduced in March, these new models can be equipped with an updated Qualcomm Snapdragon chips – ARM chips that run cooler and offer better battery life than their Intel and AMD equivalents, but often at the expense of software compatibility and reduced processing speed.
Microsoft Build keynote: Tuesday, May 21
The idea is that Microsoft is following the template other tech giants have shown this season: first, get the hardware announcements out of the way by clearing the runway for a full AI showcase at the developer conference. What has happened with Apple and Google in recent weeks has appeared accordingly new iPads Weeks before the WWDC event in June and a the new Pixel 8a phone In the days leading up to Google I/O.
What does this mean for Tuesday? Last year’s Build announcements gives you a general flavor: Microsoft’s Copilot AI (perhaps with more powerful OpenAI-powered smarts) is integrated into more of Microsoft’s DNA, likely both at the device level (Windows) all the way to the company’s massive cloud infrastructure.
While much of Tuesday’s news will be through the lens of Microsoft’s developer community, we’re looking forward to giving you the big picture of what it means for end users and how it relates to the hardware announcements we’ll be hitting on Monday. Stay with us.
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