As the RAM/memory crisis continues, we’re seeing a major impact this week as Microsoft has just announced massive price hikes to the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro, products that launched roughly two years ago.
The Surface Laptop (7th generation) and Surface Pro (11th generation) were released in 2024 as the first Microsoft machines powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X chips. Both products started at $999. A price hike of sorts hit in 2025 when Microsoft ditched the lowest storage tiers, pushing the starting prices to $1,199 for a Snapdragon X Plus-powered machine with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
Now, it’s $1,499.
As reported by Windows Central, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 now start at $1,500 for a Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Up $300 since last year, and pushing the starting price up by $500 compared to when these machines launched in 2024. Other products in Microsoft’s lineup have also increased in price, including the 13-inch Surface Laptop introduced last year:
- Surface Laptop (13.8-inch, X Plus, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) – Prev $1,199, now $1,499
- Surface Laptop (15-inch, X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) – Prev $1,499, now $1,599
- Surface Laptop (13-inch, X Plus, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) – Prev $899, now $1,199
- Surface Pro (13-inch, X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) – Prev $1,199, now $1,499
- Surface Pro (12-inch, X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) – Prev $799, now $1,049
We’ve seen price increases in recent months from a number of big names both in the Windows laptop space, as well as in Android too. Just recently, Motorola implemented $100 price hikes across many of its budget phones, while even Samsung pushed up pricing on its Galaxy Z Fold 7.
In a statement, Microsoft said:
Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current‑generation hardware portfolio. We remain committed to delivering value to customers and partners while upholding our standards for quality and innovation.
This comes as Microsoft is expected to launch new Surface hardware sometime this year – and, by all accounts, it seems like it won’t be cheap. It’s hard not to compare this to Apple’s lineup, where the latest MacBook Air starts at $1,099 for the same configuration as Microsoft is offering, but with newer and much faster chips – Snapdragon X Plus sits somewhere in between the M2 and M3 chips found in Apple’s 2022 and 2023 machines.
These updated prices are already reflected at retailers, though Best Buy currently has the base Surface Laptop (13.8-inch) on sale for $1,199, its former retail price.
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