- Windows Recall is only available for Copilot+ PCs.
- The first wave of Copilot+ PCs will launch on June 18, 2024.
- Older PCs without an NPU won’t be able to run the Recall AI feature.
Windows Recall is perhaps one of the biggest new features in Windows 11 24H2, but there appears to be some confusion about which computers will be getting the feature.
I’ve been getting many questions from readers asking if their current hardware configuration will support the feature because they want to use it. On the other hand, I’ve also been asked whether version 24H2 will install and enable Windows Recall automatically, as many people have privacy concerns about the feature.
In this guide, I’ll explain which devices are getting the new Recall AI features and which ones won’t after installing Windows 11 24H2.
Windows 11 24H2 won’t include Recall unless it’s a Copilot+ PC
The Recall AI feature is exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, which Microsoft defines as a new computer category with at least a CPU with NPU with more than 40 TOPS of performance, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD.
The first wave of the Copilot+ PCs will be available on June 18, 2024, some of which include:
- Surface Pro (11th Edition).
- Surface Laptop (7th Edition).
- Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge.
- DELL Inspiron 14 Plus.
- DELL XPS 13.
- Acer Swift 14 AI.
- Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x.
- ASUS Vivobook S 15.
- HP OmniBook X 14.
One component these new Copilot+ PCs have in common is the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, the only processor in the market today that meets the requirements to enable all the AI features coming to Windows 11 (version 24H2).
AMD is expected to introduce its Ryzen AI processor, which integrates an NPU with 50+ TOPS to meet the Copilot+ PC requirements. However, it will take some time for devices featuring this processor to arrive on the market.
Also, Intel plans to release its Lunar Lake processors that will be compatible with the Copilot+ PC experience as it will integrate an NPU with more than 40 TOPS.
Currently, Windows Recall works on ARM64-based devices, but it will eventually become available for the x86 architecture as AMD and Intel plan to release chips with integrated NPU.
TOPS definition
TOPS stands for Tera Operations Per Second, and it’s a metric used to measure the performance of Neural Processing Units (NPUs). It essentially tells you how many trillion mathematical operations an NPU can perform in a single second.
Older PCs won’t get Windows Recall
Initially, only devices launching on June 18 will be “Copilot+ PCs,” so any computer that becomes available before this date won’t (theoretically) receive the Windows Recall feature when the Windows 11 24H2 releases.
It’s important to note that (at least at this time) there isn’t an upgrade path to convert your existing computer into a Copilot+ PC. You’ll have to buy one of the new devices if you want one.
If you’re planning to purchase a new laptop in the coming months and are concerned about the Windows Recall feature because of the chatter about privacy and security issues, it’s important to understand that the feature is optional and will not be enabled by default.
Windows 11 may prompt you to set it up, but it’s up to you to enable Windows Recall manually through the Settings app.
If it’s enabled, you will notice the Recall icon in the System Tray of the Taskbar, which you can’t hide or remove to let you know that the feature is running. This is similar to how your phone tells you that the camera is open with the green dot on the screen.
In the rare case that the feature is enabled, you can disable Windows Recall with these instructions.