At a Windows and Surface event this week, Microsoft laid out its vision for an agentic Windows, one where AI agents work on users' behalf and intelligence shifts between local and cloud. CEO Satya Nadella framed the moment as a shift in the 'frontier ecosystem,' and Windows chief Pavan Davuluri argued that agents and hybrid intelligence are central to Windows' future. The company is positioning Windows 11, not a Windows 12, as the foundation for that push.
To win over the developers and creators who could build that ecosystem, Microsoft introduced the Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark chips and capable of running AI models exceeding 120 billion parameters locally. It starts at $2,599, with some RTX Spark PCs reaching $6,999. The pitch is that local AI can save thousands in cloud token costs, and similar laptops are coming from Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI.
For everyday users, Microsoft had less to offer. The redesigned Windows Search is faster and more modern, but the broader benefits of local AI remain unclear. The Verge notes that earlier promises around Copilot Plus PCs and the Recall feature have not panned out. Microsoft's urgency likely stems from a threat: AI agents running in the cloud on Linux could erode Windows' long-standing dominance, so the company is courting builders now in hopes they will make its agentic OS vision real.