Microsoft raises Surface prices sharply in face of memory crunch

Chris Welch, Bloomberg News on Apr 13, 2026

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Microsoft Corp. raised prices sharply across its Surface-branded device lineup, becoming the latest personal computer maker to pass along costs fueled by a historic memory chip shortage.

The 12-inch Surface Pro, touted as an affordable, lightweight computer-tablet hybrid when it debuted last year for $800, now starts at $1,050. Older products have also undergone hikes: At $1,500, the 13-inch Surface Pro 11th Edition is several hundred dollars more expensive than its $1,000 launch price in 2024. The latest-generation 13.8-inch Surface Laptop has gone up by as much as $500.

“Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current-generation hardware portfolio,” the company said in a statement. Microsoft added that while it aims to maintain pricing stability, it will regularly review and assess pricing for Surface products based on multiple factors, including “market conditions and operational costs.”

An industrywide memory chip crunch — fueled in part by the AI computing build-out — has led PC manufacturers such as Dell Technologies Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd. and HP Inc. to raise the cost of their machines and limit how extensively they can be configured.

With the Surface lineup, many of these products have been on the market long enough that interested consumers already bought them at lower prices. But the new rates can also be viewed as a revised baseline for what Microsoft’s next batch of Surface hardware will cost. The company is expected to unveil new devices in its Surface portfolio in the coming weeks.

The price changes were first reported by Windows Central and have also been highlighted by prospective buyers in recent days on social forums like Reddit.

At Apple Inc., the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro also cost more than past models. But the company bumped up the included storage to help offset a higher cost of entry.

The situation is more dire for Apple’s Mac mini and Mac Studio desktops: Both machines are back-ordered into the summer and beyond for high-memory configurations. These devices are appealing to artificial intelligence enthusiasts who want to run large language models locally.

Microsoft has never touted the Surface line as a budget option. Still, with the new rates in effect, the Windows maker no longer offers any Surface PC at under $1,000. That makes it a stark contrast to Apple’s recently released MacBook Neo, which sells for $599 and is likely to upend the market of low-cost PCs.