Since 2024, Microsoft has pushed the “Copilot+ PC” label to highlight Windows systems capable of running AI workloads locally. However, the new Surface PCs announced this week no longer carry that branding. Brett Ostrum, corporate VP of Surface, told Windows Central that the new Surface computers “are not called Copilot+ PCs” despite meeting the label’s requirements. He noted, “They do meet all the requirements of our previous bar for what Copilot+ devices are. We still lean into the narrative around AI on the edge and being able to have a hybrid solution out there.”

Copilot+ PCs require 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an integrated neural processing unit (NPU) rated at 40 TOPS or better. The new Surface Pro 12-inch (2nd Edition) and Surface Laptop 13-inch (2nd Edition), launching October 13, feature Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus processors and a Qualcomm Hexagon NPU rated at 80 TOPS.

Kedar Kondap, SVP of compute at Qualcomm, explained that the original purpose was to define a category with a certain bar, like a 45 TOPS NPU. Now, it’s about offering the same experiences without the specific terminology.

Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC landing page now redirects to a page for “performance PCs” that still mentions Copilot+ PCs but less prominently, signaling a shift away from the marketing term.