I’m in love with an ultra-specific Windows Copilot+ feature

Key Takeaways:

• Copilot+ features require laptops with dedicated AI hardware (an NPU).
• Super Resolution upscales small images and smooths out graininess.
• Live Captions offers real-time subtitles and translations but won’t suit everyone’s needs.
• There are other powerful AI tools, including Generative Erase, Paint’s Cocreator, and Windows Recall.
• Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD produce chipsets supporting Copilot+ functionality.

Why Copilot+ Matters

Windows Copilot+ refers to a special class of features that depend on having an NPU—a built-in AI engine found in select Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD chips. These processors are designed to handle advanced modeling, which powers various smart tools in Windows. Because not many users own a Copilot+ PC yet, these features remain under the radar, but they have immense potential.

Exploring the AI Suite

Microsoft has introduced a range of AI-driven utilities on Copilot+ PCs, including Windows Recall, Paint’s Cocreator, Generative Erase, Click-to-Do, and more. Each tool aims to simplify tasks that once required dedicated software or manual work. For example, Windows Recall helps track down lost bits of information on your system, while Paint’s Cocreator can generate art from your sketches in near real time.

Why Super Resolution Stands Out

As a writer constantly producing content, the author often needs to resize images for publication. Super Resolution within the Windows Photos app takes a tiny icon or small photo and upscales it to a larger dimension without losing clarity. This free feature is especially helpful for anyone who needs crisp images but only has low-resolution files available. It’s not a miracle worker, but it delivers a quick, effective solution for everyday editing.

Live Captions: Magical Yet Niche

Live Captions is another AI-driven feature that translates and captions both pre-recorded and streaming video on the fly. It feels nearly futuristic—“something from Star Trek come to life”—but is mostly useful for users who frequently watch or produce content in multiple languages. For others, it may seem less essential than Super Resolution.

Additional Tools and Requirements

Generative Erase improves on Windows Photos’ earlier Spot Fix function, quickly removing or altering small details. Meanwhile, Microsoft is testing Generative Fill in Paint to add entirely new objects to images. However, Generative Fill demands NPU power, highlighting that not all AI features are available on non-Copilot+ PCs. This creates a mixed landscape of features—some accessible broadly, others exclusive to users with the latest hardware.

A Glimpse of the Future

Many of these AI-based capabilities are still rolling out, and adoption of Copilot+ PCs remains modest. Nonetheless, these features signal a future where advanced image editing and live, on-device AI become standard. For users with an NPU in their machines, tasks like photo editing, real-time captioning, and smart search may soon feel indistinguishable from magic.