If you’ve been waiting for Microsoft to update its Surface PC lineup—perhaps with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 Elite processors—I’ve got bad news for you. Microsoft is shaking up its PC lineup, but it’s doing so by instituting big price hikes. This means you’ll be paying at least $1,500 for Surface devices that launched at $1,000 just two years ago and that Microsoft no longer offers new Surface devices under $1,000 at all.
The 12-inch Surface Pro tablet that originally started at $799 and the 13-inch Surface Laptop that launched at $899 now cost $1,049 and $1,149, respectively, a $250 price increase. The higher-end Surface Laptop and 13-inch Surface Pro from 2024 both started at $999 but increased to $1,199 in 2025 when their entry-level versions with 256GB of storage were discontinued; both now start at $1,499, a $300 increase.
As originally reported by Windows Central, Microsoft is blaming “recent increases in memory and component costs” for the price hikes. Supply shortages for RAM and storage chips in particular have been wreaking havoc with consumer tech all year, delaying some launches, depleting the stock of existing products, and raising prices for small and large companies alike.
I’m rather concerned about what I do when my Surface Pro 7 dies. I inherited a Chromebook from my dad, but that’s a poor substitute.
It used to be really hard to defend Apple and the pricing of their “budget” lines. But these days it seems manufacturers are trying HARD to make apple look like the sensible option.
£1099 for a 2 year old processor, 1080p, 256GB and 16GB RAM, and it doesn’t even run linux but windows? How’s that better than a £1099 Macbook Air that comes with a better screen, brand new processor, 512GB and the same 16GB of RAM?
At this point you’re paying extra for the privilege of dealing with Windows and Copilot. 🙄
I’m rather concerned about what I do when my Surface Pro 7 dies
Well, most of what I’ve seen expects memory prices to be coming down in 2028. So if it’s got two years of use in it, you’re probably good.
If you’re desperate for a laptop sooner and cheaper, you can get used laptops on eBay (well, maybe somewhere else if you’re not in the US; dunno what the used PC market is like globally).
I stopped trusting eBay when a local buyer got my old, fully functional motherboard after I did an upgrade. Met him in the parking lot, mobo back in its antistatic packaging atop some foam, in the original box.
He then filed for a refund after presumably taking a screwdriver to the LGA for unknown reasons and then claimed that was the condition it was in when I sold it to him (with photos). So … you want to destroy something you just bought? I don’t see the logic here, but then again, there was someone who bought a phone from me and wanted a refund because T-Mobile has spotty service in their area. At least in this case, eBay was like “It’s not on the seller to know the cell coverage in a buyer’s area.”
But you’d be on the other side of the equation this time. You have more protections as the buyer.
I’m rather concerned about what I do when my Surface Pro 7 dies. I inherited a Chromebook from my dad, but that’s a poor substitute.
Do you need to use Windows? Because any old Thinkpad with Linux Mint will get you through a few years, and performance-wise should be able to handle anything you’re currently doing with your surface. Or hell, I can’t believe I’m saying this, a Macbook Neo.
The thing is, I was running KDE Neon on this, and as it’s a fanless design, it would regularly overheat. So it’s back to Windows for now. After the RAM shortage is sorted, maybe I can afford new kit.
Indeed I was not suggesting switching the OS on that device.
But if it quits on you, old thinkpad + Linux will keep you going.
Idk I’m still running my $1500 Surface Pro 3. I think I’ll get a thinkpad when it dies. I did care about the touchscreen when I used OneNote but now the form factor is just awkward.
Oh, the touchscreen was a huge feature to me. I figured I’d use it as a tablet for videos, RSS feeds and such, but the reality is it’s kinda useless when the keyboard isn’t attached.
True, I haven’t bothered to detach the thing in years but it still complains if you wiggle the screen a bit too much. And the screen protector I put on mine (good investment as it turned out) does inhibit the touch sensitivity a lot.
I had an SP3 before this (rarely used, as I still had my main rig), and in both cases, the first thing I did was get a glass screen protector. And I’m glad I did, as at certain angles, the screen is clearly cracked in multiple places, but the extra glass is successfully holding the whole thing together.
