Microsoft’s Windows AI features, initially exclusive to Copilot Plus PCs, are poised to expand to desktop form factors. Intel is reportedly refreshing its Arrow Lake desktop CPUs with a more advanced NPU to meet Microsoft’s 40 TOPS requirement for Copilot Plus features. This comes after the initial Core Ultra desktop CPUs, launched in October, lacked the necessary NPU capability.
The upcoming “Arrow Lake Refresh” will feature an “NPU 4” design, mirroring the architecture in Intel’s Lunar Lake laptop CPUs, which enabled Copilot Plus AI features in November. This move would bring true desktop PCs with capable NPUs, expanding beyond mini PCs and all-in-one systems that use laptop processors. While focusing on NPU improvements, the refresh is not expected to add CPU or GPU cores, potentially disappointing gamers awaiting performance boosts. Intel’s previous Arrow Lake launch acknowledged performance shortfalls, particularly in gaming, with significant competition from AMD expected until Intel’s Nova Lake CPUs launch in 2026.
