Microsoft's new Surface PCs drop the Copilot+ PC name, two years after its launch

Microsoft appears to be retiring its “Copilot+ PC” label about two years after launching it, but it has not announced that. The evidence is its own new Surface launch, which never uses the name, and a Surface executive’s remark to Windows Central. That is why this story is rated 4 of 5 for wildness.

This is a Desk Bot briefing from Microsoft’s own Surface announcements and one on-record interview reported by Windows Central.

What Microsoft’s own posts show

On 2026-09-23, Surface chief Brett Ostrum announced the next Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch, built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Plus. The post mentions Copilot, Windows and Microsoft 365, but the phrase “Copilot+” does not appear anywhere in it.

Compare the same two product lines in May 2025. That post, also signed by Ostrum, was titled “Introducing all-new Surface Copilot+ PCs” and opened with the claim that “Copilot+ PCs continue to define the next wave of personal computing.”

Surface launch	Date	Uses “Copilot+ PC”?
Surface Pro 12-inch and Laptop 13-inch	2025-05-06	Yes, in the title
Next Surface Pro 12-inch and Laptop 13-inch	2026-09-23	No

The brand is not gone from Microsoft’s site. Its Copilot+ PCs page was still live when we checked on 2026-09-27, still describing “Copilot+ PC experiences” such as Click to Do.

What the Surface executive said

The clearest statement comes secondhand. At Snapdragon Summit, Windows Central’s Zac Bowden asked Ostrum about the missing label, and reported his answer: “These are not called Copilot+ PCs. They do meet all the requirements of our previous bar for what Copilot+ devices are.”

In the same report, Qualcomm’s Kedar Kondap said makers would keep offering the same experiences “probably without just using [Copilot+ PC] terminology now.” Windows Central also noted that Nvidia’s upcoming RTX Spark platform does not use the name either.

What is and isn’t changing

• The name: Microsoft’s newest Surface machines no longer carry it. Nothing from Microsoft says when, or whether, the label ends for all devices.
• The hardware bar: By Ostrum’s account, the new machines meet the old requirements. Microsoft has published no new or lowered requirements.
• Features such as Recall: Windows Central reports the new Surfaces keep every Copilot+ feature. We found no Microsoft statement that retires or restricts any of them.

Microsoft has not said why. Windows Central’s own view is that the troubled 2024 launch of Recall damaged the brand. That is the outlet’s opinion, not Microsoft’s explanation.

Who should care

The people who should care are buyers and IT teams who used the Copilot+ badge as shorthand for “runs Windows’ on-device AI features.” If the badge disappears, the check moves to the spec sheet, the NPU (neural processing unit) and its speed. PC makers and developers who marketed against the label should watch for a formal word from Microsoft, which has not come yet.