More AI and new hardware may be in store at Microsoft’s developer conference.
With Google I/O 2026 in the books, it’s now Microsoft’s turn to delight (or terrify) the public with new AI features. Microsoft’s Build 2026 developer conference will begin on Tuesday, June 2 at 12:30 pm ET / 9:30 pm PT with a keynote address from CEO Satya Nadella. You can watch the keynote live via the YouTube stream embedded in this article or follow Engadget’s liveblog as we react and recap the event as it happens. For even more details, Microsoft says it will also update its own blog with details on what it announces as the build progresses.
Microsoft’s annual conference tends to be drier than conferences held by its competitors Google and Apple because it is geared toward developers. Nadella’s keynote speech is supposed to focus on the opportunities the company is creating for that community in this “age of AI,” an idea that may not have the same meaning in 2026 as it did in 2025. Microsoft has publicly acknowledged the growing response to Windows 11 and is adjusting some of its AI strategy accordingly. The company and OpenAI have moved to a more open partnership through April 2026, and Microsoft has redesigned the enterprise version of Copilot and removed the AI assistant from some apps. Agent AI will undoubtedly still be part of Microsoft’s pitch, but the models the company uses and where its features are available may look very different.
The build could also be an opportunity to unveil new hardware. NVIDIA is rumored to be working on its own Arm chips to take on companies like Qualcomm, and it looks like Microsoft could be a potential partner. Pawan Davuluri, Microsoft’s executive vice president of Windows and Devices, recently said that the company will be bringing “something new to developers” with an image of the rounded corners of some new piece of hardware in the build. Separately, both NVIDIA and the official Windows accounts posted coordinates to Computex, a trade show in Taiwan that starts on the same day as the build, with the phrase “a new era of PCs.” It’s not exactly a smoking gun, but something is clearly wrong.
Something new is coming for developers. And no, this is not a new OS version 😅. See you in the build next week! pic.twitter.com/gfY90ZyjZl
– Pavana Davuluri (@pavandabuluri) May 29, 2026
Microsoft Build 2026 will run from June 2 to June 3. The full schedule of talks, demos and labs that Microsoft has planned is available on the company’s website.
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