Microsoft stops insisting you need a "Copilot+ PC"

Key Points:

• Since 2024, Microsoft marketed “Copilot+ PC” branding to identify Windows systems capable of running AI-accelerated workloads locally, but the new Surface PCs announced recently do not carry this label despite meeting its technical requirements.
• The new Surface Pro 12-inch (2nd Edition) and Surface Laptop 13-inch (2nd Edition) feature Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus processors and Hexagon NPUs rated at 80 TOPS, surpassing the Copilot+ PC standard of 40 TOPS, yet Microsoft has chosen not to use the Copilot+ branding.
• The Copilot+ PC marketing campaign helped boost awareness and sales of AI-capable PCs during a period of heightened generative AI interest, but its prominence is fading amid waning consumer demand and challenges such as RAM shortages and cloud-based AI alternatives.
• Other PC manufacturers, like Dell, have also scaled back AI PC branding, signaling a broader industry trend away from emphasizing on-device AI capabilities in favor of cloud solutions and newer technologies like Nvidia’s upcoming RTX Spark laptop GPUs.
• Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Laptop Ultra featuring Nvidia’s RTX Spark GPU may shift marketing focus away from Copilot+ PCs toward newer AI hardware innovations, reflecting evolving strategies in the AI PC market.