Microsoft Launches AI PCs with Execution Containers on Windows 11

Microsoft unveils a range of Windows PCs designed to run AI models locally and announces the arrival of Execution Containers in Windows 11. The Surface Laptop Ultra and a Dev Box featuring RTX Spark come with high price tags and a trade-in discount for MacBook Pro users, while Dell opens preorders for an XPS 16 Creator Edition.

Windows 11 adds Execution Containers for AI agents

Windows 11 introduces a new feature called Execution Containers, aimed at facilitating the sandbox execution of AI agents. Satya Nadella clarified that this capability will be accessible to all Windows 11 users. He emphasized that orchestration, management of external memory to the model, and a layer capable of combining multiple models with their context, memory, and action space are necessary. Nadella added that Microsoft is making these capabilities available for its own applications as well as for any agent.

Surface Laptop Ultra and Dev Box: specifications and pricing

At an event in San Francisco during Tech Week, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra. Two main versions are available: the first starts at $2,600, while the second, equipped with a more powerful chip, begins at $3,700. Prices vary based on memory capacity and storage, potentially reaching $5,900, and Microsoft notes that the highest-end variant is already out of stock. Microsoft also introduced the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a workstation featuring the RTX Spark chip, starting at $6,000 and bundled with development tools like VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, WSL, and PowerShell 7.

Local execution of models and targeting developers

These computers and workstations are designed to enable the free local execution of AI models, leveraging the processor, graphics card, unified memory, and hardware adaptations such as an optimized cooling system. Microsoft offers up to $1,000 off when trading in a MacBook Pro, as Apple computers are now highly sought after by developers and AI enthusiasts, particularly in Silicon Valley. According to Microsoft, the graphical power of these new Surface PCs also allows for content creation, video processing, and gaming.

Beyond Microsoft, Nvidia unites and Dell outlines its plans

In June, Nvidia announced it had reached agreements with Microsoft and other manufacturers to develop Windows PCs tailored for AI and agents, based on the RTX Spark chip. In this context, Dell presented the specifications of the XPS 16 Creator Edition equipped with this chip. This model is available for preorder, with delivery expected at the end of October at Best Buy, priced at $3,800.