According to TechRadar, Microsoft’s relentless push of AI into Windows 11 has yielded a mix of game-changers and gimmicks. The publication has identified five standout features that are genuinely useful, many of which require a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) found in newer Copilot+ PCs or recent laptops. These include Windows Studio Effects for enhancing video calls, Live Captions with real-time translation, Generative Erase in the Photos app, text recognition in the Snipping Tool, and new AI actions integrated directly into File Explorer. Users can check for an NPU via Task Manager under the Performance tab, and while Copilot gets the spotlight, these integrated tools offer more practical, everyday benefits.
The Practical AI Shortlist
Look, Microsoft is throwing a lot of AI spaghetti at the wall right now. But here’s the thing: some of it is actually sticking. The features TechRadar highlights aren’t about vague “assistance”; they solve specific, annoying problems. Want to look decent on a webcam without buying a ring light? Windows Studio Effects does that. Need to pull text out of an image or screenshot? Now you can, natively. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you think, “Okay, that’s handy,” instead of, “Why is this here?”
Beyond the Copilot Hype
And that’s the real story. For most users, the dedicated Copilot key is probably getting less action than the right-click menu. The smarter integration, like asking Copilot to summarize a document from File Explorer or using natural language to search for a “budget spreadsheet from last Tuesday,” feels more intuitive than chatting with a sidebar bot. It’s AI that works in the background of the tools you already use. Basically, Microsoft is learning that baking AI into the OS’s foundational apps—Photos, Snipping Tool, File Explorer—is where the real utility lives. It makes those built-in apps, often afterthoughts, suddenly compelling.
The NPU Barrier and The Future
So, what’s the catch? Well, the best version of this future needs new hardware. Features like the advanced eye contact correction in Studio Effects or some local AI actions lean on that dedicated NPU chip. If you’re on an older machine, you might not get the full experience, or it might run slower using the main CPU. This is Microsoft’s classic play: use software to drive hardware upgrades. But honestly, even without an NPU, features like Live Captions for accessibility or Generative Erase are huge wins. They signal a shift where AI isn’t just a chatbot—it’s a utility, quietly making core computing tasks a bit easier. Isn’t that what we actually want?
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