The Copilot+ PC is finally coming to an end. After a few years of advertising the lineup as the next big thing, Microsoft is stepping away from the branding.

Through a new interview with Windows Central, Microsoft has confirmed that the company is slowly stepping back from the Copilot+ branding. Despite launching a series of new Surface PCs that fit the bill of such a brand, the company has not affixed any of these devices with the usual branding of the AI-infused series.

“These are not called Copilot+ PCs. 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,” Microsoft Surface CVP Brett Ostrum said.

Now, the Copilot+ PC programs hasn’t been a massive success for Microsoft. For all the time that it’s been out in the market, the series hasn’t really made much of an impact. TOPS is still a difficult metric to measure. The Copilot button is still one of the most unusable buttons on a modern keyboard. Even worse, Recall, the lineup’s most highly touted feature, crashed and burned practically the same moment it came out because of privacy concerns.

Microsoft had a lot of hopes for the Copilot+ lineup. Prior to today’s deteriorating perceptions about AI, the lineup imagined a string of devices united with a focus on AI-supported performance. However, we know better today. At best, AI PCs provide moderately boosted performance without the need for top-of-the-line hardware. At worse, they’re a privacy nightmare that places an unnecessary burden on the entire industry.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft continues to shove Copilot where it’s not wanted

As you can probably read from our reviews, we were impressed with the Xiaomi 17 series. Like previous years, the Chinese brand knows how to make impressive flagships. Unfortunately, despite our raving, the world didn’t get the complete flagship experience because the Xiaomi 17 Pro and Pro Max were exclusive for Chinese users. This year, however, the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max will finally grace the entire world with their presence.

Recently, Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Pro duo. Normally, the launch of the Pro series doesn’t make waves outside of China because of the exclusive release. However, soon after the series’ debut, Xiaomi CMO Xu Fei officially confirmed that the duo will make a global debut sometime this year.

Now, the launch of the two smartphones should catch your eye. While the regular Xiaomi 18 series belongs to the more traditional form factors for smartphones, the two Pro models feature a smaller 2.7-inch (or a 2.9-inch) LTPO AMOLED rear screen, adding that extra bit of spice even if the phone is facing downwards. Other than that, the series comes with up to a Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. It also features a trio of rear cameras including a 200-megapixel main sensor, a 200-megapixel periscope lens, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor. In front, it has a 50-megapixel selfie shooter. Finally, the series goes up to an 8500mAh battery.

To be clear, there is a chance that the global version won’t match these specs. Regardless, it’s surely an impressive phone when it does launch elsewhere.

Censoring photos is heavy work. Either you stick on random emojis or draw an indiscriminate splotch of doodles to cover sensitive information. It’s an imperfect art but an essential one to protect privacy. Today, Google Photos is getting a Redact feature which can censor sensitive bits with pixelated blocks.

An addition to the Markup tool, Redact acts like a nifty pen that can hide information that you don’t want seen. Unlike a ghastly emoji or a splotch, the censored bar mixes better with the surrounding elements. In the example that Google used, a censored license plate blends well with the car it’s attached to, making the photo look more cohesive. Besides license plates, it’s the perfect tool for covering other information like phone numbers, addresses, and the faces of your loved ones.

Google Photos is also rolling out Moods, a set of filters that give photos a nostalgic look, including a 2000s night digicam vibe that’s popular today. There are also 15 new Remix templates to add more creation options.

Both the Redact and the Moods features will roll out to Android users starting today. The new Remix templates, however, will be limited to some countries on both Android and iOS.

SEE ALSO: Google will force Android users to use Gemini next month