AMD's processors are notoriously missing from Microsoft's latest Surface device line-up, despite there being more CPU options in Microsoft Surface PCs than ever before, including an upcoming NVIDIA SKU. In a recent statement to Windows Central, Microsoft's Surface Corporate Vice President, Brett Ostrum, explained that this absence is deliberate, although not malicious, stating that Microsoft has a limited portfolio and needs to make smart choices about its offerings.

"We love working with AMD. We have a limited portfolio, and so we have to make our choices pretty wisely in terms of what we're doing and where we're doing." Ostrum is effectively arguing that there is no space within Microsoft's Surface line-up for another SKU that uses an AMD APU.

Reading between the lines, it may be the case that AMD's and Intel's CPU offerings are too close in terms of efficiency and performance, at this point, whereas having Arm and x86 CPUs side-by-side makes it easy to segment the market. This explanation comes despite smaller manufacturers with far fewer products offering a choice between AMD, Intel, and even RISC-V SKUs in the same line-up.

It was previously rumored that AMD was also working on a new Arm CPU that carried the codename "Sound Wave," and was slated to arrive in the 2026 Microsoft Surface lineup. It's unclear when that product will launch, if it even will still, but it may be the case that Microsoft is holding off on re-adopting AMD APUs until Team Red is able to get an Arm SoC released, since Microsoft has put considerable work into Windows-on-Arm.