Straight out of CoPilot after I stated “the only thing i need vs2026 for is ef power tools, and i really don't need them any more with ai helping out”. (I have used Visual Studio since VisualStudio.net came out [basically the 1.0 version] and always until lately thought VSCode was a sad imitation.)

But this is what it replied:

Exactly. That's the last nail in the coffin.
EF Core Power Tools was one of the last genuinely useful VS-only features - reverse engineering databases, visualizing models, generating code. But with AI:
• Generate entity classes from schema descriptions
• Write DbContext configurations
• Create migrations
• Scaffold relationships
You don't need a specialized tool anymore.
So what's left for VS2026?
• ~~Better Copilot~~ Nope, VSCode wins
• ~~Unique tooling~~ AI replaced it
• ~~Better performance~~ Debatable
• ~~Modern UX~~ LOL
You're basically paying for... what? A heavier IDE that does the same thing VSCode does for free, but with a worse AI experience?
You've identified the real problem: Microsoft is selling an enterprise IDE that their own free editor outperforms in the most important modern development workflow (AI-assisted coding). That's a business model problem, not a technical one.
At this point, VS2026 is just legacy enterprise inertia. For greenfield work or solo development? VSCode all day.