Microsoft quietly drops Copilot+ branding from new laptops
Microsoft's latest Surface laptops dropped the Copilot+ PC branding despite hitting the minimum requirements. Even high-end AI devices like the Nvidia RTX Spark and Microsoft's own Project Zenith are noticeably missing the label.
Microsoft has quietly discontinued the Copilot+ branding from its new laptops, despite launching the brand two years ago with the aim of differentiating its offerings with local AI capabilities. The decision comes after poor sales and a poor reception. Microsoft Surface Chief Venture Partner Brett Ostrum confirmed this during a recent interview.
The company is still calling its devices "Copilot+" devices, but without the Copilot+ branding. They still focus on the edge AI and hybrid capability narrative. However, other devices that would have met the previous Copilot+ requirements, such as Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X and Microsoft's Project Zenith, are not receiving the Copilot+ badge.
Microsoft is also scaling back Copilot's presence in Windows 11, promising to enhance its performance, reliability, and update processes. Additionally, Microsoft is optimizing the OS to run smoothly on devices with just 8GB of RAM, addressing the ongoing AI-driven memory shortage. Despite dropping the hardware branding, Microsoft continues to develop numerous AI features for its product lineup, including revamped Copilot and new features like Home, Code, and Autopilot.
The company has also tested Copilot+ AI features on discrete GPUs. While the exact reason for dropping the branding isn't explicitly stated, the surge in modern processors with NPUs capable of 40 TOPS or more and the memory chip shortage making 16GB a costly requirement suggest that the differentiation is no longer necessary.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
