AI voice scams, and the code word that beats them
A few seconds of audio is now enough to clone a voice convincingly. The defence is not clever technology — it is one agreed word and a habit of hanging up.
Buying a laptop in 2026: is a Copilot+ PC actually worth it?
Copilot+ machines need a 40+ TOPS neural processor, 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. The AI features are real, but the reason to buy one is probably the battery.
What the badge means
Copilot+ is a Microsoft certification, not a brand of chip. To carry it, a machine needs a neural processing unit rated at 40+ TOPS, at least 16GB of RAM and at least 256GB of storage.
The RAM and storage minimums are quietly the best part of this. They rule out the 8GB, 128GB machines that have made cheap laptops miserable for a decade. A Copilot+ badge is, at minimum, a promise that the laptop is not underspecified.
What an NPU actually does
It runs AI work locally, at low power, without waking the fans or flattening the battery. Your CPU could do the same job; it would just be hotter, louder and shorter-lived on a charge.
In 2026 that matters more than it did, because Microsoft opened NPU access to third-party developers through the Windows Copilot Runtime. Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and browser-based tools such as Google Meet can now offload effects — background blur, noise suppression, transcription — to the NPU rather than the processor.
That is the practical difference. Not a new feature you did not have, but the same features running without your laptop sounding like it is preparing for take-off during a Teams call.
The real reason to buy one
Battery life. It is the most tangible benefit by a distance, and the first wave of Snapdragon X Elite machines routinely deliver 15 to 20 hours of mixed productivity work.
If you have spent years carrying a charger everywhere, that is a bigger change to your working day than any AI feature on the spec sheet. Everything else is a bonus.
When not to buy one
If the choice is between a well-specified conventional laptop and a compromised Copilot+ machine with a poor screen, weak build or too little storage, buy the better laptop. AI features are not worth living with a worse computer every day, and you will notice the hinge long after you have stopped noticing the NPU.
Gamers should also think twice: a discrete GPU still matters more, and game optimisation for NPUs is behind.
The other consideration is Arm. Many Copilot+ machines use Arm processors rather than Intel or AMD, and while compatibility is far better than it was, some older or specialist Windows software still misbehaves. If your business depends on a particular accounts package, a CAD tool or something ancient with a dongle, check before you buy a fleet. That is the single most common way a business laptop refresh goes wrong.
What we tell clients
Buy for the specification, not the badge. Prioritise 16GB of RAM as an absolute floor, a 512GB SSD if the budget stretches, and a screen you can stand looking at for eight hours. Get those right and it will be a good laptop for five years.
If a Copilot+ model wins on those terms, the NPU and the battery life are a genuine bonus. If it does not, you have lost nothing — and for the price of two premium AI laptops you can usually put decent, well-specified machines in front of three people, which is almost always the better outcome for a small business.
Sources
Where the facts in this article came from. If any of it goes out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Keep Reading
Related articles
Cyber Essentials: what the Danzell update means
New assessment accounts moved to the v3.3 Danzell question set on 27 April 2026, following the Willow changes. If you certify annually, the goalposts have moved.
Full fibre at home: what actually changes
About 78% of UK homes can now get full fibre, and the copper network behind old broadband and landlines is being retired. Here is what is genuinely different, and what is marketing.
Want a straight answer about your setup?
Tell us what you are running and we will tell you honestly whether this affects you, what it would cost to put right, and how quickly we can do it. No hard sell.
Open 9am–9pm, 7 days a week