Filed under:By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.Microsoft's “special event” in New York City is over after revealing new Surface hardware and detailing its vision for AI-powered features in Windows, Office, Bing, and more.The event took place just days after former Windows and Surface chief Panos Panay publicly announced he was leaving Microsoft. Panay didn’t present and is rumored to be joining Amazon. Announcements included new AI features in Windows 11 launching later this month and new Surface devices, including the Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Surface Laptop Go 3.Read up on all the latest Microsoft announcements right here.TODAY, An hour agoSheena VasaniMicrosoft announced the Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Surface Laptop Go 3 during its recent hardware event in New York City, introducing the two laptops alongside a flurry of AI-powered features for Windows 11, Microsoft 365, and Bing. The high-end Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at $1,099, while the Surface Laptop Go 3 starts at $799; both are slated to launch on October 3rd at 12AM ET.Although the forthcoming laptops look similar in design to their predecessors, the new Surface devices arrive with upgraded processors, better battery life, and other minor spec bumps. We’ve yet to fully test either laptop, but if you want to preorder them ahead of their official release, you can already do so via various retailers. Here’s what you should know.TODAY, 8:11 PM UTCRichard LawlerNow that the update’s launch on September 26th was announced during Thursday’s Surface, Windows, and AI showcase event, Microsoft released Windows 11 Build 22621.2361 (KB5030310) to the Release Preview Channel of its Insiders test program. This version 22H2 update adds the Copilot AI sidebar to Windows, the Windows Backup dedicated app, managing saved Passkey authentication under account settings, and more. Check out our video below as Tom Warren explains the biggest news from Microsoft’s event and what changes Copilot is bringing to Windows.TODAY, 9:42 AM UTCJess WeatherbedMicrosoft’s incoming Windows 11 update will introduce public support for passkeys — a passwordless login technology that instead uses your face, fingerprint, or device PIN to sign into accounts. Announced at Microsoft’s AI and Surface launch event on Thursday, the latest Windows 11 update (available from September 26th) will allow users to create, manage, and store passkeys, and use them to access supported websites and services using their device’s own authentication systems.Microsoft began testing passkey management in the Windows Insider developer channel back in June, so this Windows 11 update is bringing the technology into general availability.Sep 21Emma RothMicrosoft has revealed the Surface Hub 3, the latest version of the company’s all-in-one collaborative touchscreen device. Unlike its predecessors, the Surface Hub 3 supports smart rotation and portrait mode, allowing users to physically rotate the screen to a vertical orientation while the layout updates automatically.The Surface Hub 3 comes in two sizes: 50 and 85 inches. As is the case with previous devices, the Surface Hub 3 is meant to live in conference rooms as a replacement for TVs and monitors. The device runs Microsoft Teams on Windows, which means the device will offer a “consistent experience across all meeting spaces,” allowing users to “effortlessly transition from one room to another.” Microsoft says the Surface Hub will also feature the AI-powered Copilot in the future.Sep 21Tom WarrenWe’ve just had a chance to play with Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Studio 2 after it was announced at a “special event” in New York City. Visually, it doesn’t look a lot different than what came before it, but the trackpad is greatly improved, the specs inside upgraded, and there’s a new AI-focused neural processing unit that’s designed to light up some AI-powered experiences in Windows 11.The Surface Laptop Studio 2 retains the same unique fold-over design as its predecessor but makes the laptop all around more capable. It runs on one of Intel’s 13th Gen i7 H-class processors and can be specced with an Nvidia GPU, including the RTX 4050 and 4060, between 16 and 64GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage. It still has a 14.4-inch touchscreen with a 2400 x 1600 pixel display, but Microsoft has added HDR support — including Dolby Vision.Sep 21Nathan EdwardsToday, Microsoft announced a new unified Copilot experience in Windows 11, launching on September 26th. The new “everyday AI companion,” now called Microsoft Copilot in Windows, will be “seamlessly available across all the apps and experiences you use most,” including the Windows 11 desktop, Microsoft 365, Outlook, the Edge browser, and (uh) Bing.During the event, Yusuf Mehdi, consumer chief marketing officer, called Copilot “a handshake between you and technology — available when you need it and out of the way when you don’t.”Sep 21Monica Chin and Jay PetersMicrosoft just announced the Surface Laptop Go 3 at its Surface event on Thursday, and we’ve gotten to briefly try it out as part of a demo session after the main presentation.As we expected after watching Microsoft’s presentation, the laptop looks just like last year’s Surface Laptop Go 2 in person. It’s very light, but it has a solid build. That lightness is the real draw of this device — but the low-resolution 12.4-inch screen, at 1536 x 1024, feels like a bit of a disappointment when the rest of the hardware is built with such high quality. The nice chassis makes the screen look all the more grainy, and with Copilot taking up a good chunk of the right side of the screen, the interface has a cramped feel. We’ll have to conduct more extensive testing to see how much the resolution ultimately impacts the user experience. Sep 21Jess WeatherbedMicrosoft has announced the Surface Go 4 — the latest version of its affordable 2-in-1 laptop series — at its Surface device launch event today. The new Go 4 features some minor performance upgrades over its predecessor, but it won’t be sold to consumers — the company says it’s specifically targeted at businesses and frontline workers. As WinFuture leaked last week, the official Surface Go 4 specifications reveal that the two-core Intel Pentium processor featured on the Surface Go 3 has now been replaced with a new, slightly beefier four-core Intel N200 chip.Microsoft has also ditched the 4GB RAM configuration that’s been available on previous models, which means the Surface Go 4 will now only be available with 8GB of LPDDR5 memory. Even with the Surface Go range primarily targeting the business and education market, that’s a welcome change, considering 4GB is barely capable of handling every multitasking duty these days. Storage starts at 64GB, with additional options available for 128GB and 256GB. Sep 21Emma RothMicrosoft has just wrapped up its September event, where it made several major announcements. Not only did we see some new Surface devices, but Microsoft also shared some updates about the new AI features coming to its products.You can check out all the news from Microsoft’s event below.Sep 21Umar ShakirMicrosoft has revealed a new third-generation model of its Surface Laptop Go line during its Surface event today. The company’s new notebook will launch on October 3rd, have “up to 15 hours of battery,” and command a starting price of $799.The new Surface Laptop Go 3 is not to be confused with the non-laptop Surface Go, a smaller and less performant version of the popular main Surface tablet line. The 12.4-inch Surface Laptop Go 3 is the company’s latest cheap and light notebook offering for those who aren’t looking for a powerhouse but like the Surface style.Sep 21David PierceMicrosoft just showed off its new high-end convertible laptop, the Surface Laptop Studio 2, at its launch event in New York City. The Laptop Studio 2 keeps the overall aesthetic of its predecessor, including the pull-forward 14.4-inch display that makes it a much more touch-friendly device but adds some welcome power-user features.The Studio 2, which starts at $1,999, runs on Intel’s 13th Generation chips — specifically the i7 H class — with an Nvidia RTX 4050 or RTX 4060 GPU inside. It also has an Intel Neural Processing Unit, or NPU, which is the first Intel NPU in a Windows computer. (There were rumblings that Microsoft might be making this chip itself, but it appears not.) You can configure it with up to 2TB of storage and 64 gigs of RAM. In all, Microsoft says it’s “the most powerful Surface we’ve ever built” and promises twice the performance of the previous device.Sep 21Emilia DavidMicrosoft announced it will soon add access to OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 image generator for users to create images right in a chat.DALL-E 3, which will be released for ChatGPT’s enterprise users in October, will allow people to type a couple of sentences to create a photo. Microsoft did not specify when DALL-E 3 on Bing will come out. Sep 21Wes DavisMicrosoft’s 365 Copilot AI assistant will be available starting on November 1st for Microsoft 365 customers on certain business and enterprise plans. But the add-on isn’t free: the company announced in July it would be charging a $30 per month premium per user for access to the feature, which almost doubles the total price of a subscription for businesses on some lower-end plans.Copilot is like a modern-day Clippy sans anthropomorphic animated paperclip. With it, business users can sum up documents or outsource email creation to their AI helper. It can also create wholly new Word projects using information from other files or offer real-time highlights from Teams meetings. It can even tell you how it did something in Excel after you ask it to visualize data for you or make projections.Sep 21Tom WarrenMicrosoft will release its next big Windows 11 update on September 26th. The update will include the new AI-powered Windows Copilot feature, a redesigned File Explorer, a new Ink Anywhere feature for pen users, big improvements to the Paint app, and much more.Windows Copilot is the headline feature for this Windows 11 update, bringing the same Bing Chat feature straight to the Windows 11 desktop. It appears as a sidebar in Windows 11, allowing you to control settings on a PC, launch apps, or simply answer queries. It’s integrated all over the operating system, too: Microsoft executives demoed using Copilot to write text messages using data from your calendar, navigation options in Outlook, and more. Sep 21Tom WarrenThe room is full. The elevator music is booming. But there’s no pumped Panos Panay this time. It’s Microsoft’s Surface and AI event, and The Verge is covering all the key announcements live. Microsoft isn’t live streaming this one, so make sure you tune into our live blog. It all kicks off at 10AM ET.Sep 21Tom WarrenMicrosoft is ready to talk more about its AI plans at a “special event” in New York City today. We’re expecting to hear about three new Surface devices, with the Surface Laptop Studio 2 being the main flagship device that could be part of a bigger AI push for Windows.The event comes just days after former Surface and Windows chief Panos Panay announced his resignation from Microsoft. Panay won’t be presenting at the event anymore, and we’re expecting to see Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of consumer marketing, instead. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will also appear onstage.Sep 20Tom WarrenMicrosoft is gearing up to share its “vision for what’s ahead” with AI integration into Windows, Microsoft 365 services, Surface, and more at a special event on Thursday. The event will take place just days after former Windows and Surface chief Panos Panay publicly announced his resignation.In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of consumer marketing, described Panay as a “champion of our consumer business and our engineering teams.” He also teased that Thursday’s “special event” will build on the existing OpenAI partnership and is “only the beginning” of an AI-powered vision for Microsoft’s key products.Sep 19Tom WarrenMicrosoft is holding a “special event” in New York City later this week where it’s expected to debut three new Surface devices and AI-powered features for Windows, Office, Bing, Surface, and more.The event is taking place just days after Panos Panay, Microsoft’s former head of Windows and Surface, resigned in a surprise announcement. We’ll now see how the new leaders of Windows and Surface push ahead with Microsoft’s big AI plans Sep 18Tom WarrenPanos Panay has always been the force behind Microsoft’s Surface line. He helped bring Surface to life as a secret project more than 10 years ago. He’s presented the new devices onstage at events, showed up at malls to promote Surface hardware, and has steered Microsoft’s Surface tablets to success in the years since.Now, he’s leaving in a surprise departure announced just days before Microsoft’s next big Surface event. Panay will no longer be presenting at Microsoft’s showcase on Thursday but will remain at the company for another couple of weeks as part of a transition process. He’s reportedly joining Amazon to replace Dave Limp and lead Amazon’s Echo and Alexa push. Amazon is also holding its own hardware event on Wednesday.Sep 18Tom Warren and Jay PetersPanos Panay is reportedly joining Amazon, Bloomberg reports. The former Windows and Surface chief announced his departure from Microsoft earlier today, and Bloomberg reports that he’s moving to Seattle’s other giant tech company to oversee Amazon’s vast hardware products.Panay has been instrumental in the creation of Surface devices and much of their success and will no longer be presenting at Microsoft’s event on Thursday. He will remain at Microsoft for another couple of weeks as part of a transition process before joining Amazon.Sep 18Emma RothPanos Panay, the chief product officer at Microsoft, leading Windows development and the company’s Surface line, is leaving Microsoft. In an email on Monday, Rajesh Jha, Microsoft’s vice president of experience and devices, told employees: “After nearly 20 years at the company, Panos Panay has decided to leave Microsoft.”Panay’s departure from Microsoft is somewhat abrupt. Just last month, Panay mentioned he was excited to appear at Microsoft’s special event that’s set to take place on Thursday, September 21st, where the company is poised to reveal the latest additions to its Surface lineup and “AI innovation.” However, Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw tells The Verge Panay will not appear at this week’s event.Aug 17Tom WarrenMicrosoft has started sending media invites for a “special event” in New York City next month. “Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 21, 2023, for a special Microsoft event,” reads the invite to members of the press. Microsoft typically holds Surface events in September or October, so it’s likely we’re about to see some new hardware next month. / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily.The Verge is a vox media network© 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved