Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft drops Copilot+ branding from Surface PCs
Microsoft’s Surface chief said the 2026 Surface PCs are not labelled Copilot+ PCs, even though they still meet the earlier requirements, while Qualcomm described the term as a category for NPU features.
- Microsoft and Qualcomm introduced Copilot+ PCs in 2024 as a Windows hardware category with requirements for a new set of AI features.
- Security researchers criticised Recall as insecure, and Microsoft delayed the feature after that reaction.
- Zac Bowden said the Surface PCs launched in 2026 no longer used the Copilot+ PC name in their product titles.
- Brett Ostrum said the devices were not called Copilot+ PCs but still met Microsoft’s earlier requirements.
- Kedar Kondap said Copilot+ was meant to define devices that could deliver NPU experiences, with a 45 TOPS NPU used as an example.
Microsoft and Qualcomm introduced Copilot+ PCs in 2024 as a new Windows hardware category with features tied to a fresh requirements bar. The rollout was disrupted after security researchers said Recall was insecure, and Microsoft delayed that feature.
Zac Bowden said the 2026 Surface PCs no longer carried the Copilot+ PC name in their product titles. He said the label only appeared in specification sheets, unlike on Surface PCs released in 2025 and earlier.
At Snapdragon Summit, Surface CVP Brett Ostrum said the newer Surface devices were not called Copilot+ PCs, but did meet Microsoft’s earlier threshold for the category. He said Microsoft still focused on AI at the edge and on a hybrid approach.
Qualcomm SVP of compute Kedar Kondap said the branding was intended to define devices that could deliver NPU-based experiences, citing a 45 TOPS NPU as an example. Bowden also said NVIDIA had not used the Copilot+ name for its RTX Spark platform, despite saying the machines met the same specification bar.
Named in this story
People
- Brett Ostrum
- Surface CVP who said the devices were not called Copilot+ PCs
- Kedar Kondap
- Qualcomm SVP of compute who described the purpose of Copilot+ branding
Companies
- Microsoft
- co-launched Copilot+ PCs and confirmed the Surface naming change
- Qualcomm
- co-launched Copilot+ PCs and commented on the branding
- NVIDIA
- company whose RTX Spark platform was said not to use the Copilot+ label
Products and systems
- Recall
- Copilot+ feature that Microsoft delayed after security criticism
- Surface PCs
- Microsoft’s 2026 devices that no longer used the Copilot+ label
- RTX Spark
- upcoming NVIDIA platform said to meet the Copilot+ specification bar
- Copilot+ PCs
- Microsoft and Qualcomm’s Windows hardware category launched in 2024
How the source tells it
The piece was a first-person, opinionated tech commentary that mixed reporting with conclusions about the branding’s decline.
- speculation presented as fact first-person judgments and conclusions about market reaction without supporting evidence