In May 2024, Microsoft introduced the first Copilot+ PCs, a new category of Windows 11 computers focused on artificial intelligence. To earn this designation, the machines had to meet new hardware requirements, including the presence of a neural processor (NPU). In particular, this chip should allow certain AI functions to be executed directly on the PC, without going through the cloud.
But two years later, Microsoft and several PC manufacturers already seem to want to distance themselves from this name. It has to be said that the Copilot+ PCs didn’t really have the launch that Microsoft expected.
Microsoft begins to abandon the Copilot+ PC brand
The change is already visible on the latest Microsoft devices. Introduced on September 23, the new Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 13, equipped with Snapdragon X2 Plus, no longer carry the words Copilot+ PC in their name. In previous models, marketed in 2025, this name appeared widely highlighted on Microsoft product sheets (see screenshot below).
Asked about Windows Center During the Snapdragon Summit, Brett Ostrum, vice president of Microsoft’s Surface division, confirmed this change. The new models still meet the hardware requirements of Copilot+ PCs and retain the associated AI capabilities. Microsoft has simply chosen to no longer include this designation in its name.
At Qualcomm, the discourse seems to go in the same direction. Kedar Kondap, head of the IT division, recalls that the Copilot+ PC brand was created to identify computers equipped with an NPU powerful enough to run certain AI functionalities locally. Today, manufacturers can offer these same features without necessarily highlighting this name.
Let’s remember, the main suspect for the abandonment of Copilot+ PC?
Microsoft has not officially explained why it is starting to abandon the Copilot+ PC brand. But the controversies that accompanied its 2024 release could well have something to do with that, starting with that of Recall.
This feature, presented as one of the main new features of Copilot+ PC, should make it easier to find a document, a web page or a conversation thanks to screenshots recorded periodically in the background. However, its operation quickly raised many concerns regarding data security and confidentiality.
In particular, several security researchers have shown that it is possible to recover sensitive information recorded by Recall. Faced with criticism, Microsoft finally postponed its launch, initially scheduled for June 2024, to review its operation. Therefore, the first Copilot+ PCs were marketed without one of the most notable features during their presentation.
The recall has since appeared on supported machines, with additional protections and optional activation. But the criticism about the growing role of AI in Windows 11 is still there.
For Windows Central, this bad publicity could explain, at least in part, why Microsoft and its partners are starting to abandon the Copilot+ PC brand.
