REDMOND, Washington, April 14, 2026, 04:14 PDT.
Microsoft has sharply raised U.S. prices across its Surface PC line, pushing some models up by as much as $500 as the memory shortage drives hardware costs higher. The 13-inch Surface Pro and 13.8-inch Surface Laptop now start at $1,499.99 on Microsoft’s store, while the 12-inch Surface Pro is listed at $1,049.99.
The move matters because it shows the shortage of DRAM, the short-term memory chips that keep computers handling active tasks, has moved from supplier contracts to finished devices. TrendForce said conventional DRAM contract prices jumped 90% to 95% in the first quarter from the prior quarter, and IDC now expects worldwide PC shipments to fall 11.3% in 2026 as higher prices hit demand.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central the company was updating pricing on its “current-generation hardware portfolio” because of “recent increases in memory and component costs.” The 15-inch Surface Laptop is now listed at $1,599.99 and the 13-inch Surface Laptop at $1,149.99 on Microsoft’s U.S. site. Windows Central
The increases come on top of earlier price creep. Microsoft had already removed some original $999 base configurations last year in favor of higher-storage versions, but the latest step is sharper: the flagship 13-inch Surface Pro and 13.8-inch Surface Laptop are now about $500 above their 2024 launch prices, while the 12-inch Surface Pro is roughly $250 above its 2025 debut.
In the broader premium laptop market, that leaves Surface in a tighter contest with Apple. Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,099 in the United States and the 15-inch model at $1,299, while the MacBook Neo launched last month at $599, giving buyers a much cheaper entry point at the low end.
That fits months of warnings from analysts. Jacob Bourne of eMarketer told Reuters in January that the shortage “is certainly going to show up as higher prices for consumers.” More recently, Kim Sunwoo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said buyers rushing to secure supply ahead of further increases had helped push contract prices even higher. Reuters
Rivals have already been feeling the same pressure. Lenovo chief executive Yang Yuanqing told Reuters in February that the world’s largest PC maker had raised prices to offset memory costs and still expected PC unit sales to “face pressure.” Reuters also reported that TrendForce had flagged likely early-2026 price hikes at Dell and Lenovo. Reuters
For Microsoft, the gamble is straightforward: higher prices may defend margins, but they can also thin demand. IDC says PC industry revenue can still inch higher this year because average selling prices are rising, even as unit shipments fall. If memory costs cool faster than expected, Microsoft may need heavier promotions; if they stay high, more buyers could delay upgrades or trade down.
For now, the prices themselves show how far the squeeze has travelled. Microsoft’s store lists the current Surface range from $1,049.99 for the 12-inch Surface Pro to $1,599.99 for the 15-inch Surface Laptop, with a top-end 64GB, 1TB 15-inch configuration at $3,649.99. A shortage that began in memory contracts is now visible in the sticker price.
