Microsoft has launched some new variants of its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices, starting at $849. These machines see their RAM capacity cut down to just 8GB, which means they’ll be right on the edge when it comes to running the famously memory-thirsty Windows 11. Worst of all, they cost more than the 16GB machines they’re replacing.
Microsoft has listed the latest Surface Pro 12in and Surface laptop 13in configurations on its store, each packing just 8GB of memory. Until now, both devices have only been offered with 16GB of RAM, but the current memory shortage has forced Microsoft to opt for less RAM to reduce the entry price. As a result, the cheapest Surface Pro 12in now starts at $849.99, while the cheapest Surface Laptop 13in starts at $949.99.
Unfortunately, even with less memory, the 8GB Surface Pro 12in and Surface Laptop 13in remain $50 more expensive than their 16GB variants, which cost $799 and $899, respectively. For reference, the 16GB models are now listed at $1,049 and $1,149. That said, this is still cheaper than the new Snapdragon X2-powered Surface Pro 13in devices, which go from $1,499 up to an eye-watering $3,549, albeit with more RAM.
Questionable value aside, at least there is a bright side to this change for cynics who are tired of Microsoft shoving its AI everywhere. It turns out that, due to their limited memory capacity, these 8GB models are no longer compatible with Copilot+.
With Windows 11’s typical RAM usage alone hovering around 5-6GB on clean installs, there isn’t much room left for many apps on an 8GB machine, let alone multi-tasking. That means these systems will often revert to page files, which live on slower flash storage. Speaking of which, both the 8GB Surface Pro and Laptop come equipped with a 256GB SSD, so there’s not much storage space either.
Even the 10% student discount on the Surface Pro 12in 8GB only brings down the entry price to $764.99, compared to just $499.99 for an Apple MacBook Neo.
