Microsoft Build 2026 unveils Windows AI features and on-device speech-to-text
Microsoft just kicked off its Build 2026 conference, and it's all about smarter AI and tools for developers.
They're rolling out new Windows AI features, like GPU boosts for Phi Silica, sharper video with Super Resolution, and live captions.
Plus, their new Speech Recognition API lets your device turn speech into text instantly, right on the spot.
Microsoft Aion 1.0 models run locally
Microsoft announced two fresh AI models: Aion 1.0 Instruct (for quick tasks like summarizing text or figuring out what you mean) and Aion 1.0 Plan (coming soon), which will handle more complex stuff like reasoning and file management, all running locally on your Windows device.
And for developers who want serious power, the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box was revealed: it's a compact beast with NVIDIA RTX Spark silicon, up to 1-petaflop performance, and tools preinstalled so you can train giant AI models without breaking a sweat.