Overview
- Project Solara, which Microsoft unveiled at its Build developer conference on Tuesday, introduces reference designs for a wearable badge and a desk hub and names Qualcomm and MediaTek as chip partners.
- The platform separates device and intelligence by keeping large models in Azure while endpoints run MDEP, an Android/AOSP-based thin client that acts as a window into cloud-hosted agents.
- Microsoft built Solara for enterprise management and security with Intune for device control, Entra ID and Windows Hello for Business for authentication, and planned hardware privacy controls such as a physical microphone mute.
- The system uses a ‘Just-in-Time UI’ where agents generate adaptive interfaces for each form factor and an open multi-agent stack—Copilot Studio, the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK, and the Azure Agent Framework—for third-party and OEM agents.
- Microsoft says hundreds of employees are testing Solara internally and external pilots with companies including AccuWeather, Best Buy, CVS Health, Levi's and Target are planned, but real-world reliability, privacy in areas like healthcare, and broad commercial availability remain unproven.