Microsoft’s wins, fails, and WTF moments of 2024

Not surprisingly, the best and worst things to happen to Microsoft in 2024 are focused on artificial intelligence. When Microsoft tried to force Copilot on us, it didn’t go well. But when it uses artificial intelligence to enhance features that already work, the results are even more successful.

In the past few years (2021, 2022and 2023) We look back at what I call Microsoft’s wins, losses, and WTF moments: Microsoft’s highs, lows, and moments where you wonder what the hell this company is doing.

We won’t try to piece together the company’s enterprise strategy (basically Azure and Copilot). Instead, we stick with the fun stuff: Surface, Game Pass, and the madness of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence. If you feel uncomfortable, write us a nasty email and use Copilot to rewrite it in a “professional” tone. We’ll figure this out at some point.

Windows on Arm: WIN

when i look back Microsoft Surface Pro version 11 Last June, I also tested app compatibility with the support of Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite. Certain apps like Slack, Google, Drive, VPNs, and some games either refused to run or just bogged down, and the experience of using an older printer on the Snapdragon X platform just wasn’t that great.

But in autumn, Google Drive has been ported to Arm. Slack works perfectly. VPNs including Nord now run natively on Arm. Of course, AMD and Intel offer full x86 compatibility, and I don’t see PC gaming migrating to Arm for quite some time — unless Nvidia launches rumored Arm chips,possible. If I need to print something to my old Brother printer, I’ll still drag out an x86 laptop, but the Windows on Arm ecosystem is looking more and more like The future of productivity computers. Now, my daily driver is Arm-powered Surface laptopeven though I have an Intel Lunar Lake laptop on my bookshelf.

You really listened! You did something about it! Bravo, the Arm ecosystem. Whether you ultimately win or not, competition is one of the most powerful market forces. We all benefit.

Microsoft Recall: WTF

Regardless of the final outcome of Microsoft’s recall campaign, it can only be described as a fiasco. The recall was supposed to be a push for consumers and businesses to use Copilot+ PCs and the Windows 11 2024 update. i like this conceptalthough I pointed out that it would Devouring storage Load by truck. Privacy advocates are horrified. Memories of meeting Delay After a delay, the concept was redesigned to include Opt out and be able to completely delete recalls.

Instead, Microsoft is building PCs for developers with Snapdragon X Elite or (in December) Intel Lunar Lake/AMD Ryzen AI 300 PCs at the end of the year. Surprisingly, with the holidays approaching, Recall seemed to disappear from public view.

Microsoft seems to be doing a good job with the Recall opt-in. in my Think back to hands-on workHowever, I found Recall’s crime to be inconsistent: it snapshots some things, but not others. This makes me unsure if I want to rely on it. At this point, “Who knows” should be Recall’s slogan.

Windows 11 2024 Update: Failed

Between the four Microsoft Windows Insider release pipelines, plus Windows on Arm (June, Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 releases) and x86 (October, releases Windows 11 2024 Update) and With schedules varying across Windows apps, this year has been a nightmare in terms of knowing what will be released and when. Even assuming Microsoft sticks to the timeline.

Now, after making it absolutely mandatory for users to comply with Windows 11 hardware requirements, Microsoft is now Published guide for upgrading to Windows 11 On unsupported hardware? between that and Consumer version of its expanded security update program Regarding Windows 10, it feels like Microsoft is starting to panic.

Surface Pro (2024): Winner

The 11th version of Microsoft’s Surface Pro has gone through more than a dozen iterations to get it right, so the success of Windows tablets is no surprise. This is how I see it: Surface Pro 9 (5G)Its predecessor was an Arm tablet with a Qualcomm Snapdragon SQ3 chip inside, which performed well when running Microsoft’s core applications. this year’s The brilliant Surface Pro version 11 Continue to expand the capabilities of 9 to more mainstream applications.

The tablet isn’t perfect – the OLED display needs tweaking, and the range offered by the new Wireless Flex Pro keyboard might be too much? But if you’re the kind of person who prefers a Windows tablet, the Surface Pro has you covered. Even the occasional app incompatibility issue received prompt attention, which was refreshing.

Surface Laptop 7: WIN

Due to the unexpected compression of Microsoft’s review time, I didn’t have the opportunity to try out Surface Laptop 7 until my colleague sent me an email. Matt Smith raved about it. I think he’s right. Currently, the Surface Laptop 7 is my daily driver since the original Surface Laptop Studio may have bored me.

To me, 2024 is the year manufacturers give up on offering charging ports at press conferences, which means having to carry around a power-hungry laptop. Currently, the Surface Laptop 7 offers the best combination of long battery life, a great screen, and a comfortable keyboard. Do I want to use something fully x86 compatible? I’d love to, but the Asus “Lunar Lake” laptop I have on hand is a bit too slow right now. For general office work, the Surface Laptop 7 has been the star.

Game Pass Level: WTF

My colleague Michael Crider summed it up succinctly: Microsoft’s Game Pass just received Microsoft 365 certification. What was once a relatively easy-to-understand two-tier gaming advantage is now essentially four or five tiers, with some plans now giving you free games and others not. I’m lucky, I’ve accumulated points Microsoft Rewards There is no need to think about what happened in the past few years.

Surface Studio 2+, RIP: Failed

No one liked the Surface Studio’s baffling selection of moving parts, but people were impressed by its giant rotating touch screen, which inspired pure technological lust in anyone who saw it. Now Microsoft has Discontinued.

Goodbye, surface display. We are not the first to ask, but we will not be the last. What a great opportunity, now lost.

Microsoft Co-Pilot: Failure

Wait, was Microsoft a failure in repurposing the entire company’s foundational AI tools? From a consumer perspective, yes, it is.

Copilot is now an appand a lame one at that. Thankfully, the co-pilot’s attitude has evolved from a reserved assistant to a more direct one, but the option to set the tone as creative or informative has also disappeared. It’s just not particularly helpful. Bing has also removed Copilot-driven results from its Bing results page, and I can’t tell if this is due to user backlash or as an opportunity to save money. Copilot can no longer even control your computer.

What is the co-pilot at this time? Is it nothing more than a commercial subscription? Copilot Pro, already bundled into some consumer plans Because it can’t be sold? While it’s fair to say that Microsoft is still figuring out who will use Copilot and for what purpose, “Innovations” like Copilot Vision Just goes to show that Microsoft seems to be reinventing functionality that Copilot previously offered for free. I’d like to say I “get” Copilot, but now it’s just a label slapped on whatever Microsoft wants to sell you next.

HoloLens 2, RIP: Failure

HoloLens has actually been dead for years. However, Microsoft Confirmed Go to UploadVR now real Although the U.S. Army continues to use the militarized HoloLens IVAS, as a commercial product it has died. Even if HoloLens dies, Microsoft dies too Works with Meta and Meta Quest 3/3S for Windows streaming to them.

The HoloLens debut was one of the greatest demos I’ve ever seen. If only Microsoft could get it right.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Failure

I’m not a flight simulator fan, but Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 It feels like a meditative journey into a world I will never be able to visit, especially during a pandemic. Its real advantage lies in Microsoft’s commitment to creating “digital twins” of the real world.

Flight Simulator 2024 Takes it to another level, but that’s not always nice. Microsoft only loads 50GB of data onto your PC, despite the fact that the digital Earth it captures is as realistic as possible, even including personal car traffic and even animals. This requires a large amount of data to be transferred from Microsoft’s servers, bend under load. (I just barely got out of the splash screen myself.)

Yes, The results are apparently close to astonishing. But for me, MSFS2024The experience was underwhelming, especially with reports that it consumes 81GB of data per hour just playing games. For players with data caps, this makes MSFS2024 This is actually an impossible proposition.

Microsoft Copilot+ PC: WTF

New processors, new Windows feature updates, flagship Windows features—all seem to be setting the stage for a new, powerful PC branding initiative? Well, the recall bombed. PC with Intel Lunar Lake and AMD Ryzen AI 300 Not receiving Windows updates This will give them Copilot+ PC functionality – and them still Not yet, put aside the memories. Co-pilot?

It’s not all bad! More and more applications are being ported to Arm, making the Copilot+ PC even more powerful. But when we write stories How to Repair Copilot+ Computeryou know you failed.

Generative AI in Windows: WIN

If I were to invent a suite of creative apps in Windows, I’m not sure I’d put all my chips on the legacy Paint app. But with the innovation we’ve seen this year Paint (co-creator) and Photos (Background Wipe and Produce Delete) Microsoft shows that there is still room for intelligent, creative expression in Windows. Paint, Photos, and Clipchamp strip these creative processes down to their essence and then build upon them.

The application of artificial intelligence has achieved good results in the following aspects Paint’s generated fill and erasebut not too crazy (the exception being Cocreator, whose on-the-fly AI-generated art doesn’t really work). But even Clipchamp is starting to use AI-generated templates. Artificial intelligence and local artificial intelligence represent rich opportunities to improve core Windows applications.

Personally, I wonder if Microsoft doesn’t have some tricks up its sleeve for Windows Voice Recorder. We already have images and video – using some AI features to enhance audio editing in Windows seems like a no-brainer, right?

Windows95Man Paperclip: WIN

Of course, this may have nothing to do with Microsoft itselfbut how can you not support Finland’s representative at Eurovision 2024, Teemu Keisteri? Windows95Man gives us a list of the best wins, losses, and WTF moments of 2024 with the smash(?) “Paperclip,” which celebrates Microsoft’s iconic icon Clippy.

See you in 2025!