Microsoft’s Project Solara is an Android OS designed for assistants instead of apps

However, Microsoft is clear that this is just an idea. Nothing works, but the company has committed to investing as part of its plans to develop AI.

Agent’s Opinion

Microsoft has unveiled two devices that show where it hopes to go with Project Solara. The most popular is the Desk Concept, which looks like a smart display. It has a touch screen, microphone, and camera. While sitting at your desk, this tool lets you know what your AI assistants are doing for you. It can serve as a second monitor or be a Windows PC with Windows 365 cloud computing. This concept is built around MediaTek IoT chips.

Another concept of Solara skews weirder. What if the badge on the end of your lanyard had a cover, a 5G connection, a camera, a microphone, and a fingerprint scanner? That’s Baji’s idea. It can have the same Solara app, for interacting with your favorite AI assistants. Microsoft looks at this device from Qualcomm that gives access to your assistants – just tap a sensor and start telling your robot what to do. It can also record and summarize meetings and use the camera to “take action on the environment,” whatever that means.

You can’t even get in line to buy any of these devices. Microsoft’s next step is to showcase its original equipment and corporate partners, including AccuWeather, Best Buy, CVS Health, Levi’s, and Target.

Microsoft has struggled to expand beyond desktop and business services, having tried and failed several times to gain a foothold in mobile computing. With AI, Microsoft was uncompromising forward about change. With its OpenAI sputtering project, the company is looking to the future, and this is it: assistants instead of software.

This is an interesting statement about how we can use AIs, and it doesn’t come out on the left. Google is also pursuing agent interactions in its search engine. At I/O, Google previewed new features basic research tools which can instantly create dashboards and widgets based on your search results.

As vague and subtle as Project Solara may be, Microsoft is right in line with other big AI technology plans. If it all works, we can only hope it doesn’t lead to a new generation of rotary mills around our necks.