Microsoft aims to make the video calling experience more engaging and collaborative on Windows 11. According to XDA Developers, the tech giant is now set to introduce new AI-powered video effects for video calls on its latest operating system.
These effects will be available on devices that come with NPUs or Neural Processing Units and include eye contact, audio focus and more, meaning that devices powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors – like the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s that are expected to feature the upcoming Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor – will The first devices to get these AI effects.
However, AI-powered video effects are nothing new, and in particular, eye contact feature is starting to appear for users in 2020, and this feature has the effect of making it appear as if the user is looking directly at the camera all the time, even if they are looking down to read Something.
Eye contact was first introduced by Microsoft in 2019, along with the Surface Pro X, which was also powered by the Snapdragon chipset.
The tech giant is now planning to expand the range of these AI features. Apart from the eye contact feature, another new feature dubbed as Auto Frames will also be available to users.
This feature will allow users’ PC cameras to follow them while they are on the move in order to remain visible to others. In addition, Microsoft also adds a soft blur effect that will create a natural bokeh effect for the user’s background during a video call.
As for audio, the company has a new audio focus feature that will potentially cancel out background noise for users so that others can hear it more clearly during calls. Microsoft also said there was “more” coming for video calls but did not share any other details regarding the features that will be introduced.
The company claims that users won’t have to worry about these features being supported by certain apps because they are built right into Windows 11, and users also don’t have to set these features manually whenever they use a new app and are expected to do so.
These features will not even affect the overall performance of other components such as the CPU or GPU because they are powered by dedicated neural processing units.
Other OEMs like HP have also implemented some of these smart features, and the company is also planning to include features like automatic windows and other improvements in laptops that will be released in 2022, and manufacturers won’t need to upgrade their technology if these features are already built into Windows. 11.
There is no information available about these video effects being implemented on Windows 11 devices running Intel or AMD, and the company hasn’t even announced an official date for these features to arrive on Snapdragon-powered devices as well.