AI specialist position filled by Microsoft post factually; question remains whether user's laptop meets job requirements.
Unfiltered Take:
Ready to have a top-notch AI lighting genius on standby, even if you've already snapped your pic a decade back? You're in luck! Microsoft recently announced a stellar feature, rolling out to Windows 11 Insider users across the board – with a teeny catch.
Here's the scoop, but be warned, the shine gets dimmed a bit when you take a closer look.
Enter the Relight feature in the Photos app. Great News, right? Not so fast, buckaroo. This bad boy is only available to Windows 11 users rocking a Qualcomm Snapdragon X-fueled Copilot+ PC. Alright, alright, Microsoft acknowledges that AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs will also get the Relight party eventually, but they're asking for some patience – they'll get their chance in the next few months.
What on earth is the Relight feature, you ask? Well, it's like having an after-the-fact AI gaffer on speed dial, if your laptop is in the compatible Copilot+ club. This feature allows you to handle light sources in your images more efficiently, putting more control in your hands, and providing dynamic lighting adjustments.
In the Windows Insider Blog, Microsoft explains that you can position a maximum of three light sources, customize their color, intensity, and focus point. You can even mess around with the brightness and softness using a slider.
For those who'd rather skip the fine-tuning, Microsoft is also offering built-in presets, complete with ready-made lighting styles that can be applied with a simple click. Boom, done! Their examples include Softbox, Classic Portrait, Dramatic, Golden Hour, and Cyberpunk.
On May's side note, Microsoft announced a massive Windows 11 update during Build 2025, spectacularly showcasing a revamped Start menu and new capabilities in Photos and the Snipping Tool.
The Snipping Tool got a facelift, complete with a color picker and the Perfect Screenshot feature, which can shrewdly resize a screenshot and boasts an AI-powered Relight tool in the Photos app.
Though Snipping Tool features started trickling out toward the end of May, Microsoft announced on June 6 that the Photos app updates are now live.
Wanna know more about the AI-powered Relight tool in Microsoft Photos?
Buckle up, because we're about to drop some serious knowledge on ya. Relight, a dazzling AI addition to Microsoft's apps, is once again restricted to Copilot+ PCs, squarely aiming for those with a Snapdragon X, AMD, or Intel under the hood.
As of now, Microsoft is only releasing Relight for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs arriving in the next few months.
Relight ain't the only new AI game in town
Uh-oh, buckle up, because Microsoft is loading up its app lineup with even more AI-powered features. Like Relight, it comes with a caveat: it's only for Copilot+ PC enthusiasts.
Microsoft has been testing Improved Windows Search for a while and finally rolled it out broadly alongside the May Patch Tuesday update. In the same Windows Insider Blog post, Microsoft also announced that it's enabling the "improved semantically-based Windows search" in the Photos app.
This search function operates just like its counterpart in File Explorer, only within Photos. Now you can search for images based on a description instead of typing the exact file name or sifting through properties like date, file type, or tags.
For instance, if you recall a bunch of camels frolicking in the desert on vacay, rather than digging through all your vacay snaps or trying to remember the file name, you could simply type "camels in the desert" and watch the app pull up the most relevant photos for you.
Microsoft points out that this improved photo search operates on images in your Photo Library that are saved locally and have been indexed. Like Relight, you need a Copilot+ PC to test out the improved search in the Photos app.
Is this the Copilot+ PC sales pitch we've all been waiting for?
It's gotta sting a bit when Microsoft keeps introducing features that are only available on Copilot+ PCs. Although Microsoft hasn't come clean about it, it's not hard to imagine that the Copilot+ requirements could be a subtle nudge for users to upgrade to these AI-powered machines, even as some remain skeptical about Copilot+ AI.
Don't fret, though – finding alternatives to at least some of the features Microsoft is locking behind Copilot+ PCs isn't rocket science. For example, Clipdrop is an AI-powered tool that operates on a browser and can handle a Relight tool like a boss.
Once you upload your image, you can pick from various presets, add multiple light sources, and customize their color, power, distance, and radius. It matches a good chunk of what Microsoft's Relight tool has to offer, and you don't need a Copilot+ PC to get the party started.
Both AI-powered Relight and Search in Microsoft Photos are currently being tested on all Windows 11 Insider channels. They're rolling out slowly, so don't lose your cool if you don't see them right away, even if you're part of the Windows Insider program.
More from our website
- *Microsoft Copilot just helped me pirate Windows 11*
- *Microsoft's next 50 years are all about making AI feel useful*
- *Windows users call Microsoft's latest update blunder "The greatest bug in living memory" - here's why*
Enrichment Data:
- Insights on AI-powered Relight tool in Microsoft Photos: To use the Relight tool in the Microsoft Photos app for Windows 11, you need a compatible Copilot+ PC. Initially, it will only be available for Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered Copilot+ PCs. However, support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs is coming in the next few months.
- Minimum System Requirements for Windows 11: To run Windows 11, you'll need a processor of at least 1 GHz with at least 2 cores, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, and a generation of Intel 8th Gen or later, AMD Zen 2 or later, or Qualcomm 7 or 8 Series.
- The AI-powered Relight tool in Microsoft Photos is currently only available for Copilot+ PCs, including those with Qualcomm Snapdragon X, AMD, or Intel processors, though support for Intel and AMD Copilot+ PCs is coming soon.
- The AI-powered Relight tool allows users to handle light sources in their images more efficiently, providing dynamic lighting adjustments and control over light sources' position, color, intensity, and focus point.
- In addition to the Relight tool, Microsoft is also adding an AI-powered improved photo search feature to the Photos app, allowing users to search for images based on descriptions instead of specific file names, though this also requires a Copilot+ PC.
- Alternative AI-powered tools like Clipdrop can be used in a browser to achieve similar results as Microsoft's Relight tool without the need for a Copilot+ PC, offering multiple light sources, customization options, and presets.
