Remember when every laptop ad screamed about "AI PCs" and that shiny Copilot+ badge?
Millions of Americans shelled out hundreds more for machines promising a new era of computing.
Now the honeymoon is over, and plenty of buyers are wondering what exactly they paid for.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: the marquee Copilot+ feature, Recall, has been a rolling disaster.
Microsoft delayed it, patched it, delayed it again, then finally shipped it in a limited preview.
Meanwhile, the flashy AI tools that did arrive, like live captions and image generation in Paint, feel like party tricks you'll use twice and forget.
These Snapdragon-powered machines often cost $100 to $200 more than comparable regular laptops, and that premium buys you... a badge.
Early adopters also discovered compatibility headaches, with some apps and games refusing to run or crawling along through emulation.
Nothing kills the AI dream faster than your favorite program refusing to open.
To be fair, the battery life on many Copilot+ laptops is genuinely impressive, and the chips run cool and quiet.
If you just want a slim, all-day machine for browsing and office work, they're perfectly fine computers.
But that's the point: they're fine computers, not magic ones.
The AI label is doing a lot of heavy lifting for features that mostly live in cloud servers anyway, meaning your "AI PC" is often just a browser tab with extra steps.
Walk into any big-box store and you'll see salespeople pushing Copilot+ models as future-proof investments.
Spoiler: the next generation of chips is already creeping toward shelves, and today's AI PC will look about as futuristic as a 2019 phone with a "5G" sticker.
The cycle never stops, and neither does the upcharge.
If you find a Copilot+ laptop on a deep discount and you need a new machine right now, go for it, the hardware is solid.
But don't pay full freight chasing a feature list that keeps shrinking.
Check whether the specific apps you rely on run natively, and ignore anyone who promises the AI will "change everything" by next Tuesday.
Our take: the AI PC era is real, but it's arriving slowly, and you shouldn't bankroll the beta test.
Buy the laptop that fits your life today, not the one marketers swear you'll need tomorrow.
Final Thoughts
Your wallet will thank you, and the AI will still be there when it's actually ready.