Intel's Arrow Lake Refresh With Upgraded NPU to Bring Microsoft Copilot+ Features to Desktop PCs: Report

Intel is preparing to refresh its Arrow Lake processors later this year, and the new CPUs could finally offer support for Microsoft Copilot+ features on desktop computers, according to a report. Desktop PCs with Intel processors don't have access to Microsoft's AI features on Windows unlike Copilot+ certified laptops, including those equipped with Arm-based chips from Qualcomm. This could change, thanks to upgraded neural processing unit (NPU) that is said to be the most important part of the upcoming Arrow Lake CPU refresh, expected to arrive later this year.

Intel to Introduce new NPU 4 Design With Arrow Lake Refresh

While the Arrow Lake lineup that arrived last year brought some notable improvements to heat management and power efficiency over the Raptor Lake CPUs, the processors could not deliver 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS), which is Microsoft's requirement for Copilot+ features to be supported on PCs.

It looks like users who prefer to use Intel CPUs and want access to Copilot+ features on their Windows 11 computer will finally have an option to do so later this year, when the chipmaker launches refreshed versions of its Intel Core Ultra 200 processors. According to a ZDNet Korea report (in Korean), these CPUs will be equipped with a new NPU 4 technology.

Intel's Lunar Lake processors for laptops already offer support for Copilot+ AI features, and these chips are said to use the same NPU architecture as the chipmaker's upcoming Arrow Lake refresh. If the claims made in the report are accurate, customers will soon be able to purchase desktop computers with access to on-device AI features that are currently supported on several laptops.

Copilot+ PCs offer support for several on-device AI features, including Microsoft's contentious Recall feature that takes screenshots of a user's activity while using their computer and allows them to search for information. This feature was finally rolled out to Copilot+ PCs earlier this year.

The only notable upgrade to the refreshed Arrow Lake processors might be the NPU, according to the publication. This means that customers shouldn't expect to see major improvements to CPU or GPU performance, when the processors are unveiled later this year. More details about the updated CPUs are expected to surface online in the coming months, ahead of their anticipated debut.