Why Microsoft bet on Surface

Almost 12 years ago, Microsoft showed us the Surface for the first time. Back then, the company’s big bet was that the laptop market was ready for a shake-up, that it could radically change both the hardware and software of a Windows PC and make everything better. Windows 8 didn’t go so well, and neither did the early attempts at building Windows on top of Arm processors. The Surface, though, has turned into a pretty great device.

Now, Microsoft is making a very different wager, this time on AI being the future of computing in practically every way you can think of. And once again, it’s making that bet with the Surface.

Finally, we take a question on the Vergecast Hotline (866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about why Google’s AI search overhaul feels like such a big deal when Google’s actually a bit late to the game.

If you want to know more on everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, first on Microsoft:

And on the AI future of Google Search: