Microsoft drops the Copilot+ badge from new PCs that still meet its 40 TOPS bar

Copilot+ was a hardware floor with a marketing name on it. According to TechSpot, the floor was at least 16GB of RAM and an NPU rated at 40 TOPS or more ^[2]. Microsoft introduced the brand in 2024 to separate PCs that could run AI locally from those with no NPU or one under 40 TOPS ^[1]. While the badge existed, a purchase spec could write "Copilot+ PC" and inherit both numbers.

Surface corporate vice president Brett Ostrum confirmed the change to Windows Central at Snapdragon Summit 2026 ^[3]. "These are not called Copilot+ PCs," Ostrum said. "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 out there." ^[4]

The hardware under the missing badge now varies. Some new Surface for Business laptops ship with 8GB of RAM ^[5], half the old floor ^[15]. Microsoft has taken its 32GB RAM recommendation off its website ^[8] and says it will optimize Windows 11 to run smoothly on 8GB ^[12]. An order that asks only for a current Surface for Business laptop can now land below the bar Ostrum's quote refers to ^[5].

The fix is to write the floor out. A spec line that calls for an NPU rated at 40 TOPS or higher and a 16GB RAM minimum says what "Copilot+ PC" used to say ^[2], and a reseller can check it against a datasheet. A spec that still says "Copilot+ PC" either excludes every new launch or gets waved through on a vendor's say-so, because neither Microsoft nor Qualcomm is applying the label to new devices ^[6].

A TOPS figure for the NPU may not stay the whole requirement. Microsoft has tested Copilot+ AI features on discrete GPUs, a possible route to PCs whose processors lack an NPU, according to Tom's Hardware ^[11]. Microsoft's next high-end Surface laptops, due early next month, are a collaboration with Nvidia, a company that has historically preferred running AI workloads on its RTX GPUs over NPUs, TechSpot reported ^[14]. Tom's Hardware also says it is still unclear whether every Windows 11 PC will get the AI features once locked behind the name ^[10].

Microsoft did not give a specific reason for dropping the name ^[9]. Tom's Hardware offers two: many mainstream and high-end processors now ship NPUs that reach 40 TOPS, and the memory shortage has made the 16GB minimum expensive ^[16]. The Copilot name itself is in no short supply. One AI consultant counted more than 80 distinct Copilot offerings, Tom's Hardware reported ^[13].