Samsung has introduced CoPilot+ PCs running on Qualcomm processors, but has warned buyers in South Korea — and only in that country — that they won't be able to run many common applications.
The term “Copilot+ PC” was invented by Microsoft to denote a machine with a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of operating at 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS), and therefore suitable for running all of Windows 11's shiny AI bells and whistles at pleasing speeds. The first examples of Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs used Qualcomm's Snapdragon Xe Elite processors, which pack 45 TOPS and use the Arm processor architecture.
Since most PCs use the x86 architecture, machines built around Arm increase the likelihood of older software becoming orphaned – which would hardly encourage buyers. However, Microsoft has created an emulation layer called Prism which it claims will “run your apps great, whether native or emulated” on Copilot+ PCs.
Samsung South Korea disagrees.
In a compatibility notice, the Korean giant warns that several security applications, Adobe Illustrator and Google Drive will not run on its GalaxyBook Edge 4 Copilot+ PC. Games such as Fortnite, League of Legends and Microsoft's flagship shooter Halo Infinite are also unhappy under Windows 11 for Arm and Snapdragon silicon.
The websites of some South Korean financial service providers are also incompatible with the machines. The compatibility page also warns that some printers may not work with the machines without new software.
register Samsung's sites outside of South Korea were checked and we did not find similar compatibility information. We've also searched for the product codes listed with the laptops in Korea and were unable to find them anywhere else.
This could be an important clue. Around 2005 Microsoft lost an antitrust lawsuit in South Korea and had to divest some Windows components – most notably the media player. The OS giant produced Windows only in Korea until at least Windows 10.
We've asked Microsoft and Samsung for clarification on the compatibility notice and will let readers know if we receive a concrete response.