Microsoft raises prices on Surface PCs due to skyrocketing RAM costs

The RAMpocalypse continues. Microsoft has just revealed across the entire Surface product line, . The updated prices have already been released on the official Microsoft Store, and other retailers are expected to follow suit in the near future.

These are quite significant increases. For example, the base model 15-inch Surface Laptop 7 now starts at $1,600. It cost $1,300 when the laptop first launched in 2024. Its price actually increased last year to $1,500, so today’s increase amounts to an additional $100.

The cost increases even more when upgrading components, as a high-end 7 laptop with a Snapdragon X Elite, 64GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage now costs a whopping $3,650. For comparison, a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro, 64GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD costs $3,300, and the .

This trend continues with the Surface Pro line of hybrid computers. The 12-inch Surface Pro starts at $1,050, after launching at just $800. The flagship 13-inch Surface Pro cost $1,000 in 2024 and now starts at $1,500. That’s a $500 increase in just two years, even though the base hard drive has gotten a bit bigger.

These price increases are of course attributed to generative AI’s penchant for . “Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current-generation hardware portfolio,” Microsoft wrote in a statement.

Industry reports that the company is currently preparing updates across the entire Surface lineup. It is very likely that these new prices will be established if component prices do not decrease.

This is not due to AI. Motorola recently instituted increases of up to . Samsung also increased the price of its .

PS5 compared to 2020 launch price, although Sony did not explicitly blame these increases on RAM, but rather on “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.” There are also rumors that the ongoing RAM shortage has made the release of the .

SSD, with . It’s getting tricky out there.