Dev runs Windows 11 Recall without NPU, but Intel x64 AI models are missing

At the Windows event on May 20, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 11 Recall AI is exclusive to NPU-powered PCs with up to 40 TOPs (trillion operations per second). Is the NPU chip necessary for Recall? The latest experiment seems to suggest otherwise.

You may be able to run some Recall features on existing Intel PCs when x64 AI models are available.

According to Windows 11 Recall hardware requirements, you need a Copilot+ PC with 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an NPU chip with 40+ TOPs. Only Snapdragon X Elite and Plus-powered PCs meet these requirements, particularly the 40 TOPs NPU, which is missing in Intel and AMD chips.

It’s important to understand that these AI features are not exclusive to Snapdragon PCs, but they officially require a powerful NPU chip, which is missing in the current lineup of AMD and Intel PCs. As a result, Intel and AMD CPUs have been left out, and Microsoft has only compiled the AI models for ARM chips.

Here’s a quick benchmark of NPU chips by Windows Latest:

This will change when Intel ships the Lunar Lake CPUs with up to 40 TOPs. AMD is also trying to win back Microsoft from Qualcomm with Sound Wave ARM APU. However, for now, the AI models are not available in x64.

Windows 11 Recall AI works without NPU for core tasks

Developer Albacore, the creator of the famous open-source ViveTool, enabled the “Recall app” on Intel PCs without NPU.

While the app opened, Recall’s screen understanding and other features did not work because the app attempted to download the AI models, which are not available in x64.

Since x64 AI models aren’t available, Albacore tried installing Recall on an old ARM PC with Snapdragon 7c+.

Surprisingly, the core tech behind Recall AI successfully worked on an old Snapdragon PC without the dedicated NPU chip.

While NPU may be necessary for certain tasks, the core functions of Recall can run without it.

The Recall app is only included in Windows 11 24H2 Build 26100.712, which was recently rolled out to the testers in the Release Preview Channel. It is hidden behind Copilot+ PC requirements, which the developer bypassed in a testing virtual machine.

However, even if you manage to open Recall, it’s impossible to proceed beyond a certain prompt because the x64 components of AI models are not yet available.

Windows 11 Recall integration first checks if your PC has an NPU and chooses the appropriate code path. It doesn’t send your data to the cloud but decides between using the NPU or CPU based on your hardware.

Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC with local AI and longer battery life is an answer to MacBook, and this lineup is not for everyone. Microsoft and its OEM partners are trying to sell more Windows PCs, and unlocking Recall for everyone would be a dealbreaker for Copilot+ PCs.

Making great progress enabling Recall on current Arm64 hardware, no fancy X Elite in sight!
Should theoretically work on Intel/AMD too, OEMs only received Arm64 specific ML model bundles so there’s not much I can do yet.

Here’s a small demo video showing off screenray pic.twitter.com/w57fF1LxiN

— Albacore (@thebookisclosed) May 23, 2024

Developer Albacore noted significant progress in enabling Recall on current Arm64 hardware without needing the advanced Snapdragon X Elite. Theoretically, Recall could work on Intel and AMD systems, but OEMs have received only Arm64-specific ML model bundles so far.

According to Albacore, the code path tree is extensive, with NPUDetect supporting proprietary Qualcomm QNN technology, DirectML, and more. Observations on a Snapdragon  7c+ laptop suggest that Recall chooses the CPU on such platforms.

So, will Recall work on x64 Intel or AMD PCs? It likely will, but you’ll need to wait until the x64 AI models are released.

The Recall app is already available on x64, but the ML models provided to OEMs include mostly Arm64 packages.

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