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Report: Microsoft rethinks AI ambitions in Windows 11 after pushback

Report: Microsoft rethinks AI ambitions in Windows 11 after pushback

Microsoft apparently doesn’t know what to do with itself, at least as far as Copilot, AI, and Windows are concerned. Recent reports suggest that Microsoft is backing away from more AI in Windows 11. The past two years have seen a huge push by Microsoft to incorporate its Copilot AI into Windows, starting with Copilot+ PCs in 2024 . But recent data shows that Copilot+ PCs are a bust . Microsoft seems to know this and has started pivoting away from all that . In fact, while Microsoft once said that every Windows 11 PC will be an AI PC , the company appears to finally see the writing on the wall. According to Windows Central , Microsoft isn’t just scaling back on Copilot AI integration in Windows, but even moving to “reduce AI bloat across the operating system”: Originally announced in 2024, Microsoft’s plan to integrate Copilot across various areas of the Windows 11 shell has been shelved as the company reevaluates its AI approach in the OS. A Microsoft spokesperson commented: Our approach to product development is to preview with customers and evolve with feedback. Some experiences we may preview privately and update before rolling out more broadly, while others we may preview and iterate publicly with feedback from Windows Insiders. In both of these cases, features may change, be removed, or replaced over time as we gather input from customers. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know as well as I do that people just don’t like Copilot . In the past, Microsoft’s social media pushes for Copilot have sparked backlash, with many voicing what we’re mostly all feeling: “No one asked for this!” And it seems Microsoft is finally listening. The stubborn forcing of Copilot down the throats of Windows users has (perhaps permanently) damaged the operating system’s reputation, to the point where we’re now even saying that Microsoft Copilot is the new Internet Explorer . Can this shift in strategy repair that damage? What would it take to rebuild Windows’ status as the world’s leading OS? Or is it too little, too late? Time will tell. But if you ask me, Microsoft will need to do even more soul-searching and re-commit itself to a clean user experience that puts control back in the users’ hands if it wants our trust again. Further reading: Tired of AI in Windows? Here’s how to get rid of it

Sources: OpenAI appoints new leaders to oversee Stargate after deciding to rent more AI servers from cloud providers, and splits its computing effort in three (Anissa Gardizy/The Information)

Sources: OpenAI appoints new leaders to oversee Stargate after deciding to rent more AI servers from cloud providers, and splits its computing effort in three (Anissa Gardizy/The Information)

Anissa Gardizy / The Information : Sources: OpenAI appoints new leaders to oversee Stargate after deciding to rent more AI servers from cloud providers, and splits its computing effort in three —  OpenAI has appointed new leaders to oversee its Stargate computing initiative after deciding to rent more AI servers …

Apple announces the AirPods Max 2 with improved noise cancelation and H2 chip

Apple announces the AirPods Max 2 with improved noise cancelation and H2 chip

The AirPods Max 2 are almost here . Apple announced this morning that the first true update to its over-hear phones are up for pre-order on March 25 and will be shipping in early April. They look identical to the predecessor, with large, colorful earcups and a matching headband. But inside is the H2 chip that Apple first introduced with the AirPods Pro 2, which enables a host of new features. Chief among those is improved noise cancellation — Apple says with the H2 and improved audio algorithms, the AirPods Max 2 are 1.5 times more effective at reducing noise than the old model. From an audio perspective, there’s a new amplifier on board here as well for clearer music and improved spatial audio performance. If you want lossless music, you can get that by using the included USB-C cable. There are also a host of non-music features enabled by the H2. These include an “Adaptive Audio” mode that balances between transparency and ANC modes depending on the environment so you can hear things when you need to while still blocking extraneous noise. Similarly, the conversation awareness features lower the volume of your content and increase transparency when your’e speaking. Live Translation comes to the AirPods Max 2 as well, a feature that uses your AirPods and iPhone to translate incoming speech to and from the language of your choosing. Essentially, the AirPods Max 2 now have almost all the features you’ll find in the AirPods Pro 3 , just in an over-ear design. What hasn’t changed is the price — AirPods Max 2 still cost $549, notably more than most of the competition. Despite the high price, the first AirPods Max did sound exceptional — they’ve just been hard to recommend for years because of the aging feature set and cost. Given that the first AirPods Max were released in 2020, these new headphones are long overdue and are probably what we should have got in 2024 when Apple added USB-C but otherwise didn’t change anything besides refreshing the colors. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/apple-announces-the-airpods-max-2-with-improved-noise-cancelation-and-h2-chip-133319594.html?src=rss