If You Build It, You Are Dumb - Snapdragon X Series SKUs, Phi-3-mini, Fallout

Leo, Paul, and Richard steer towards the performance race as they speculate about how Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus PCs will compare to Apple Silicon MacBooks. What makes a laptop truly user-friendly? System reliability, UI consistency, battery life? Plus, the recent Fallout TV series, the practicality of using winget for browser installations, and how the ARM chipset switch is revving up the PC market.
ARMed & ready
• Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon X Plus and confirms Paul’s report that the Snapdragon X Elite will have three SKUs (product editions)
• All four SKUs outperform Apple M3, Intel Core Ultra 7/9, AMD Ryzen 9 7940/8945HS on most benchmarks
• Why? PC makers asked Qualcomm for familiar choices
• Previously, an X Plus-based Surface Pro 10 and an X Elite-based ThinkPad T40s leaked. Paul can now confirm from a source that Surface Laptop 6 (13 and 15-inch) and Surface Pro will all be on X (something}
• Vivaldi is bringing its browser to Windows on Arm too
Windows 11
• The April 2024 Week D preview update is here: Recommended apps and frequently used apps in Start, Widgets icon updates, Lock screen widgets improvements
• Canary: Moves off 24H2 train to build 26200, no more switch to Dev, minor changes to the Widgets board and Taskbar (no new build for Dev)
• Beta: New Widgets design with navigation bar, new account manager in Start, Gmail in Share, MSA recovery advertisement, and new Game Pass recommendation card in Settings
• Microsoft Store app downloads from the web get simpler, more sophisticated
• After yet another Quest 2 Headset price cut, and mounting problems for Apple’s Vision Pro, Meta opens up Horizon OS, Microsoft is sort-of on board
Microsoft 365/Dev
• Office LTSC 2024 commercial is now available in preview
• Classic Teams rides off into the sunset on July 1
• Dropbox offers deeper Microsoft 365 integration
• GitHub sees success in 2FA push
AI
• The European Commission will not formally investigate Microsoft/OpenAI partnership
• Microsoft released a new SLM
• Microsoft gives a sneak peek of VASA-1, a crazy and scary “talking faces” AI tool
• Google copies Microsoft again, announces massive AI reorg - that has Pixel fans worried
• Adobe’s generative AI image capabilities are predictably fantastic
Xbox
• Get an Xbox Mastercard in the US, if you’re a tool
• Microsoft announces IGN x ID@Xbox digital showcase - indie games
Tips & Picks
• Tip of the week: Have you heard the one joke about the one time you need to use Edge?
• App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder
• RunAs Radio this week: PowerShell 7.4 with Sydney Smith
• Brown liquor pick of the week: GlenKinchie 12
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Windows Weekly episode 878
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