Microsoft’s new Windows boss on the future of the OS, Surface and those annoying ads

Pavan Davuluri hasn’t been Windows chief for two months, but he’s already been tasked with announcing Microsoft’s transition to Arm-powered chips and its big AI-powered PC ambitions. There’s a lot going on right now, and Davuluri now has to lead the Surface and Windows teams through an era of AI that has the potential to change the way we use computers.

I sat down with the new Windows chief at the company’s Build developer conference this week to better understand what his vision is for Windows and Surface, whether Microsoft will still experiment with hardware, and whether we should expect an end to the announcements that are ruining the Windows experience.

Microsoft has revealed many new AI features for its new Copilot Plus PCs, setting the stage for years of Windows transformation. “I think we have a world view that we can deliver more value to Windows customers at scale by infusing AI across the entire operating system,” Davuluri said in an interview with On the edge.

Some of this AI fusion is already on the way with features like Recall – the ability to search and recall anything you’ve done on your PC – and an image creator that can view your drawings and reimagine your sketches. But this is just a start.

Microsoft wants its Copilot AI to anticipate your needs when performing repetitive or common Windows tasks. “If we can find a way to make these moments more productive and move things forward by understanding your intent and where you see value, we can get the Copilot to have context and get them to be in the flow of what you do and how you do things.” ”, says Davuluri.

AI will also have a big impact on how applications are built, says Davuluri. “The signal we continually get is that people are reimagining what their apps are on Windows,” he says.

Microsoft is counting on the Windows Copilot Runtime to help change the way apps are built for Windows. This collection of tools gives developers the opportunity to take advantage of everything Microsoft has built for its Copilot Plus PCs and the 40+ AI models that are now built into the operating system.

“I think this will open up new possibilities, because you’ll start doing things in your apps that wouldn’t otherwise be possible,” says Davuluri. “I think this is a big boost for us at Windows, platforming through experiences.”

However, it’s still early days for this Windows Copilot Runtime. It was designed exclusively for these new AI PCs, of which Microsoft believes 50 million will be sold next year. This still represents just 20% of the 247 million PCs that IDC estimates were sold during 2023.

In addition to AI, Davuluri also sees a future for Windows being streamed to devices rather than running locally on them. Microsoft has been working towards this with its Windows 365 service. “We are going to make Windows cloud native. We are making a big push for Windows 365,” he says.

Microsoft shared an example of streaming Windows to Meta Quest headsets during its Build keynote, with new “Windows Volumetric Apps” streaming HoloLens-like 3D apps and digital objects to a VR headset. This type of experience was designed for designers and people working with CAD drawings today, but Davuluri sees a future where having cloud-native Windows could change operating systems as much as he thinks AI will.

“Windows and the cloud will be a game changer for us over time,” says Davuluri. “It will also change the computing paradigm a lot because I believe that when the operating system becomes cloud native… we will have almost infinite scale for cloud computing. I think this will make us think differently about operating systems.”

Streaming Windows to future devices could even keep the operating system relevant in a world where AI could reshape hardware as more companies experiment with AI-powered devices. This idea of ​​hardware experimentation made me think of Microsoft’s own experiments with its Surface hardware over the years. Devices like the dual-screen Surface Neo and detachable Surface Book no longer exist, so will Microsoft still experiment with Surface hardware in the future?

“I think experimentation and iteration are the DNA of our team, so I think it’s vital that we continue to do that,” says Davuluri. While the Surface may still push the boundaries, it looks like Microsoft won’t be experimenting directly with customers. “I think the only difference will be the methods and tools we use to iterate and refine,” says Davuluri. “I think it will be within the industry, within the platform, within the company and with partners. Maybe less with the customers themselves.”

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro Flex keyboard is an example of pushing for more refinement rather than just sending customers an experiment. The $450 keyboard includes a haptic trackpad and a way to use it via Bluetooth for the first time. “We could have shipped that keyboard sooner if we wanted to, but the Surface team was in this kind of relentless gear that it needed to be really perfect,” says Davuluri.

As a 23-year Microsoft veteran, Davuluri has been instrumental in the company’s work on Windows silicon, helping the company make Windows on Arm a reality. Now, he has the difficult balance of working with AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm during a transition to Arm and the many PC manufacturers competing against each other.

“Arm has certainly been a big talking point, but the most important thing for me is the modernization of the platform,” says Davuluri. “In fact, modernizing the SoC platform is as true for AMD or Intel as it is for Qualcomm. This has really required us to think more deeply about silicon and the operating system as a joint system, and this has been an evolution in our own thinking and an evolution for our silicon partners. We weren’t sure how we were going to navigate it together, so it was kind of a paradigm shift in how we worked together, but it was fantastic.”

All this modernization means very little if Microsoft continues to ruin the Windows experience with malware-like Bing warnings and ads. I’ve been talking about this a lot and it looks like Microsoft might be listening. “I think it’s an ongoing journey for us. This is critical to me, ensuring we are winning Windows customers through great experiences at the end of the day,” says Davuluri. “We want them to enjoy Windows, we want them to want it. So I hear you talking about this.