Two more Surface devices were announced this week, at least technically. The ongoing RAM crisis forced Microsoft to follow in the footsteps of Apple and Acer by making laptops with 8GB of RAM in 2026.

During a week full of deals through Amazon and other retailers, Microsoft took a different approach to make its Surface devices more affordable, at least for certain models. The Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch can now be bought with just 8GB of RAM.

Those versions with less memory start at $849 for the Surface Pro and $949 for the Surface Laptop. I'm happy to see more affordable options, but Microsoft's timing was poor. Raising Surface prices during Prime Day meant better hardware was at or near the same pricing as the cheaper Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. And with other retailers dropping prices to compete with Amazon, the new Surfaces are a bad value.

Dell’s XPS 13 with a Snapdragon X Elite, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD is still $999.99, which means better hardware is sitting only $50 above Microsoft’s new “affordable” Surface models.

Deals, discounts, and rising prices were the focus of this week, but we also saw Windows 10 support extended and Bill Gates weigh in on AI. Here are the biggest stories from the week.

Biggest News of the Week

Microsoft is in a no-win situation with pricing. RAM and other components continue to go up in price, so manufacturers have to adjust to match. Even Apple, which was more insulated than most due to stockpiles of components, had to increase the cost of MacBooks, iPads, and other devices.

As a result of shortages, Microsoft has had to raise the price of hardware. Since people still need laptops at somewhat reasonable prices, models with 8GB of RAM can fill that gap.

8GB of RAM is better than many assume on a Windows 11 PC. Our Cale Hunt said using a device with that amount of memory is "Not only viable but quite enjoyable." Since that's the case, more affordable Surface devices are good news.

But announcing a Surface Pro and a Surface Laptop with lower price tags in the same week as one of the biggest shopping events of the year is a strange strategy.

A Surface Laptop with a Snapdragon X Plus, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage costs $949.99 through Microsoft's website. The Dell XPS 13 (9345) with a Snapdragon X Elite, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage is on sale for $999.99 through Dell.

Maybe Microsoft should have rolled out its cheaper Surface devices a bit earlier or held off until other sales ended.

Shopping with Sean

The best deal of the week is still up for grabs despite Prime Day ending, and it's the laptop I just highlighted. Dell's discount on the XPS 13 with a Snapdragon X Elite drops that premium laptop to $999.99. That discounted price looks even better after Apple raised the prices of its MacBooks.

If you want something newer, the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is $650 off. That gorgeous laptop is powered by the Snapdragon X2 Elite. I'm jealous of our Senior Editor Zac Bowden because he got to review it (the OmniBook 14 Ultra earned a perfect score in that review).

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Microsoft just announced new versions of its Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch. But rather than a spec bump or a design refresh, the new PCs feature 8GB of RAM.

The ongoing component crisis has led several PC makers to offer laptops with only 8GB of RAM, and that group now includes Microsoft.

While the main focus around the new Surface configurations is pricing, there is a strange side effect to the systems only having 8GB of RAM: neither of them are Copilot+ PCs.

A lighter Windows 11

By having only 8GB of RAM, the new Surface PCs fall short of the Copilot+ PC minimum requirements. As a result, neither PC will ship with or support features like Recall or Click To Do.

I suspect some would view that as a blessing in disguise. Copilot+ PC features take up space on your system that's wasted unless you use the tools.

Here are the exclusive features that ship with Copilot+ PCs, as listed by Microsoft:

• Copilot on Windows
• Recall
• Live Captions with Translations
• Cocreator
• Windows Studio Effects
• Photos

Some of those features are genuinely useful. I recommend trying Windows Studio Effects if your PC supports them.

But some consider Recall and Copilot bloat and would prefer a PC free of those features.

The Copilot+ PC features don't take up that much room. In total, they'll occupy a few hundred MB.

Many Copilot+ PC features are resource intensive, which is why the PCs need more memory. By not including those features, Microsoft almost accidentally made a leaner, more efficient Surface experience.

8GB of RAM on Windows 11

Due to the ongoing memory crisis, PC makers have reintroduced laptops with 8GB of RAM. When Acer announced the Swift Air 14, many were quick to criticize its 8GB of RAM.

It's common to see people claim that a PC with 8GB of RAM is unusable or poor in 2026. Our Cale Hunt tested that claim by stripping down a PC.

Hunt's whole article is worth a read. I'll spoil it for you though: 8GB of RAM was fine.

"That's just not the case. Within reason, running Windows 11 on 8GB of RAM is not only viable but quite enjoyable. Assuming you're not attempting to run some specialized design software or a demanding game, there's quite a bit of memory runway to work with," said Hunt.

The new Surface PCs with 8GB of RAM are not going to handle heavy-duty game or workstation loads, but that's hardly a surprise. Many people could buy and use a Surface Pro or Surface Laptop with 8GB of RAM and never run into any issues.

Shifting away from Copilot+ PC branding

I probably spend more time thinking about Copilot+ PCs than most. The reality is that the brand is net neutral for many. When the ASUS Zenbook A16 earned rave reviews, none of them mentioned that the laptop is a Copilot+ PC.

Microsoft appears to be phasing out the Copilot+ PC brand. When the Surface Laptop Ultra was announced, Microsoft did not mention if it was a Copilot+ PC. The webpage for the Surface Laptop Ultra fails to mention "Copilot+ PC" at all.

The new Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 that were announced earlier this month are Copilot+ PCs, but the branding is not featured heavily by Microsoft.

You could take things one step further and say consumers don't care about AI PCs. That's what Dell's head of product suggested earlier this year.

I think most people are neutral toward AI features on their PC, whether those features are connected to the Copilot+ PC brand or not. If tools are out of the way or easy to uninstall, most folks won't mind. Complaints will pop up any time AI is forced onto users.

That being said, it still made me chuckle to see new Surface PCs lack the Copilot+ PC branding. Maybe Microsoft should market them as Copilot - PCs.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Microsoft is now selling new configurations of the Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch with 8GB RAM in an attempt to quell the ongoing component pricing crisis that has seen the cost of Surface PCs skyrocket in recent months. These new affordable models will now start at $849 for the Surface Pro and $949 for the Surface Laptop.

Outside of the new RAM configuration, nothing else is new with these devices. These are still the 1st Edition models of the Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch, powered by Qualcomm's now last-gen Snapdragon X Plus, along with 256GB of storage. These devices originally launched with 16GB RAM at $799 and $899, but saw price hikes to over $1,000 earlier this year.

Now that Microsoft has introduced models with less RAM, the company has been able to bring pricing back below $1,000. The company has been working to ensure Windows 11 is better optimized to run on devices with less than 16GB RAM, including disabling things like Widgets and other under the hood optimizations.

Of course, these new configurations also don't have any Copilot+ PC AI capabilities, as one of the requirements for that is a minimum of 16GB RAM. That means Windows 11 will be lighter right out of the gate, as it doesn't have to deal with all the advanced AI features that ship as part of PCs with higher RAM configurations.

Microsoft will continue to sell models with 16GB RAM for those who want to splash out on something a little more capable, but for many who just need a computer for basic tasks and workflows, the 8GB configurations should be fine enough. The good news is if you're not sure if 8GB is enough, the Microsoft Store offers a 60 day return policy, giving you plenty of time to buy the device and try it out before committing.

The new 8GB RAM options only appear to apply to the midrange Surface Laptop 13-inch and Surface Pro 12-inch. The flagship Surface Laptop 8th Generation and Surface Pro 12th Generation are not currently available with 8GB RAM configurations, meaning they still start with 16GB RAM for $1,499.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Amazon Prime Day hit the ground running with a great deal on the Surface Pro 11. A 13% discount on the 2-in-1 slashes $134.55 off the PC.

For $869.99, you get a Surface Pro 11 with a Snapdragon X Elite, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an OLED display.

Why buy the Surface Pro 11?

The Surface Pro 11 is an incredible 2-in-1 PC that defines the category. It features the traditional design with a kickstand and detachable keyboard that Microsoft pioneered and perfected.

This model runs on a Snapdragon X Elite, which provides all-day battery life and great performance when plugged in or running on battery power.

Usually, you'd have to pay for premium specs across the board to get an OLED display, but this Amazon Exclusive version of the Surface Pro 11 gets you a better screen at a discount.

"Overall, it’s an incredible 13-inch display," said our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino. He added, "OLED delivers those super dark blacks with excellent contrast, and HDR600 makes movies and video games much better."

This Surface Pro 11 runs on a Snapdragon X Elite processor. While Qualcomm has released newer Snapdragon X2 chips, the Snapdragon X Elite is still great in 2026.

Is this a good time to buy the Surface Pro 11?

It's been a tough year for PC shoppers. The base prices of Surface PCs went up significantly back in April, and prices back then were already higher than at launch.

It's not all Microsoft's fault. The ongoing RAM crisis and component shortage has caused price hikes by several PC makers. But the widespread nature of high pricing doesn't make it any easier to afford a PC.

The Prime Day discount stands out for two reasons. First, this is an Amazon Exclusive model due to its combination of 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Second, Amazon slashed the price of the Surface Pro 11 by over $140.

This particular configuration hits the key specs you need without making you overpay. While you can get by with 8GB of RAM on a Windows 11 PC, 16GB will provide a better experience. 256GB of storage is a bit small, but with OneDrive and other cloud storage options, it's okay.

I'd rather have 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage than 8GB of RAM and more storage.

The price of this Surface Pro 11 stands out even more when you look at other "offers." Browsing around online retailers and even checking other configurations at Amazon shows how high PC prices have crept over the years.

FAQ

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

It's Amazon Prime Day week, which means computers that have recently become overpriced because of the on-going component pricing crisis are back down to reasonable levels of cost, but only for a limited time. This deal on Beelink's excellent SER9 Pro for $626 caught my attention, after reviewing it last year and calling it an all-round excellent device.

If you're in the market for a new mini PC, now is the perfect time to get one. Mini PCs are great these days, with great performance and good thermals. And you can't go wrong with Beelink!

Should you buy the Beelink SER9 Pro?

The Beelink SER9 Pro is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 H 255, and this deal specifically is configured with 24GB RAM and 500GB storage.

Beelink also sells a seperate dock accessory called the Mate Mini that adds an additional set of ports and two more M.2 SSD slots for $99, and it's designed in a way that lets you sit the dock underneath the device, making it seem more integrated.

The PC itself is compact, premium, and very well built. It has a metal chassis which feels great to touch, and it's roughly the size of a Mac mini M4, though a touch larger at 135 x 135 x 44.7mm.

The device has plenty of ports, including a USB-C port and USB-A port on the front, along with a 3.5mm audio jack. Around the back, there are three additional USB-A ports, another USB-C port, a second 3.5mm audio jack, a 2.5Gb ethernet port, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 1.4. Needless to say, there is plenty of I/O on this mini PC.

It's a great performant mini PC that's good for productivity workflows and some creative professional workflows such as video and photo editing. It can even do some light gaming, but it's not a dedicated gaming machine.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Amazon Prime Day week is here, which means now is the perfect time to buy a new Windows computer for a reasonable price given the ongoing component pricing crisis which has forced PCs to skyrocket in price over the last few months. Right now, you can grab Microsoft's incredible Surface Laptop 7 for just $834 at Amazon, a saving of $514 over its current not-on-sale price.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is technically a last-gen product now, originally launching in 2024, but that doesn't make it any less good. I called it the laptop form factor perfected when I reviewed mine in 2024, and I stand by that claim even to this day.

Why buy the Surface Laptop 7 in 2026?

Powered by the Snapdragon X Plus, with 16GB RAM and 256GB upgradable storage, the Surface Laptop 7 is perfectly equipped to handle your day to day tasks with ease. It's the perfect productivity laptop, complete with a bright and crisp touchscreen display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a best-in-class keyboard and haptic trackpad, and enough ports to satisfy.

What's most impressive about the Surface Laptop 7 however is its battery life. The Snapdragon X Plus is a very energy efficient chip, which means the laptop sips on power in most workflows. You can get through a workday on a single charge with no problems, and can probably make it into the second day before needing to juice up.

It also features reliable sleep and wake, something not all Windows laptops are good at. Plus, it's a Copilot+ PC, which means it features advanced AI features like Click To Do, on-device live translations, semantic search which makes finding apps, files, and documents easier, and much more.

Although the Surface Laptop 8 is now out with the latest silicon from Qualcomm, it is significantly more expensive, starting at $1,599. I think for that price, the Laptop 8 simply isn't worth it, especially when the Laptop 7 is $834. For significantly less, you're getting pretty much the same device, without burning a hole in your wallet!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 this week, but thanks to a confusing naming scheme and the lack of an event or stream, the new PCs have not drawn the attention they deserves.

Those who paid attention and saw the announcements may have experienced sticker shock, since the new Surface devices are at least $500 more expensive than their predecessors. Microsoft will include a free keyboard to ease the pain, but still.

This week marked the third time this year that Microsoft announced new Surface PCs, and I feel cheated. This isn't how Surface week is supposed to feel.

Biggest News of the Week

Microsoft has announced a whopping six Surface devices this year. But information trickled out in a series of press releases. No on-stage event. No live stream. No buzz.

I can understand Microsoft skipping a Surface event when there's little to announce. In a couple of previous years, there's been little to talk about. But in just the first half of 2026, Microsoft unveiled:

• Surface Laptop Ultra powered by NVIDIA RTX Spark
• Surface Pro 12 for Business and Surface Pro 12 for consumers
• Surface Laptop 8 for Business and Surface Laptop 8 for consumers
• Surface RTX Spark Dev Box

Those PCs aren't just spec bumps. They include two new form types of PCs for the Surface family (a true clamshell workstation and a mini PC), and the latest components from Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm.

The Surface Laptop 8 for Business has an innovative privacy screen that should make non-business users jealous. The new consumer Surface hardware runs on the Snapdragon X2 Elite. The Surface Laptop Ultra runs NVIDIA's RTX Spark superchip and Windows on Arm.

Microsoft had the partners, internals, form factors, and unique features to fill a keynote. Instead, inboxes were filled with emails of spec sheets and basic information.

Shopping with Sean

The new Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 are beautiful machines, but I think it's hard to justify their price. Instead, I suggest a Dell XPS 13 with a Snapdragon X Elite and 32GB of RAM.

If you do get a Surface Pro, the discounted Surface Pro Flex Keyboard is worth grabbing. It can be used wirelessly or when physically attached and features a large haptic trackpad.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.