Copilot+ PCs: the state of play in mid-2025

If you recall Recall, then you'll know its launch was far from smooth. But good things are finally happening, with Copilot+ PCs slowly gaining new talents

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Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs didn’t have the smoothest launch in May 2024. There was only one big feature, and that was Recall: this promised the ability for users to jump back through time to what they were working on by searching through past activities. Say “Look for when I was creating a cat video” and Recall would understand and take you back there.

But the technology was beset by problems. Recall works by using OCR on captured screenshots while users were working, so it captured everything - including sensitive data that was then stored, at that point unencrypted, making it manna from heaven for cyberattackers. An instant backlash meant Microsoft delayed its release date, promising many changes in response to criticism.

This left the first tranche of Copilot+ PCs with limited features that ran locally on their fancy new computers. People could play with Windows Paint’s Cocreator AI-enhanced illustration tool, or restyle photos in Photos, but both felt like gimmicks, something to keep kids entertained for five minutes.