Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET
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**ZDNET’s Key Takeaways**
By 2026, the cost of computer memory and solid-state drives (SSDs) is projected to soar by an astonishing 130%, a surge that is expected to ripple through the personal computer market and push retail PC prices sharply higher. The Surface line of Microsoft laptops and tablets has already faced steep price increases—up to 69% within just a few recent months—directly attributed to these soaring component expenses. These growing costs for essential hardware components are likely to compress consumer demand, particularly within the entry-level and budget PC segments where pricing sensitivity is highest.
Think everyday essentials have become pricey lately? Wait until you consider what’s happening inside your next laptop—the escalating cost of the memory and storage chips that form its technical backbone. A comprehensive report from Gartner forecasts that the combined prices of DRAM and SSD components will climb 130% by the close of 2026. The underlying cause of this hike lies in the relentless, almost insatiable hunger for memory and storage capacity driven by cloud providers developing and scaling up artificial intelligence applications. For at least another year or two, semiconductor manufacturers will remain unable to meet this ballooning demand.
These skyrocketing component prices have already begun reshaping the dynamics of the PC industry, with Microsoft finding itself particularly exposed. According to an exclusive Windows Central report, the company has enacted significant price increases across its Surface portfolio—and the numbers speak for themselves.
In December 2025—merely four months ago—I ordered a top-tier Surface Pro directly from the Microsoft Store. This configuration included the high-performing Snapdragon X Elite processor, an OLED display, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, though it did not include the Type Cover accessory. At that time, with applicable tax and a four-year Microsoft Complete warranty purchased under a student, military, and employer discount, the total cost came to $1,822.17. I considered that a solid deal for advanced hardware of this caliber. Fast forward to the present: pricing that same build now totals an eye-watering $3,071.63, again excluding the Type Cover. Such an increase represents a staggering 69% jump within the brief span of four months.
Further investigation into Microsoft’s broader Surface lineup revealed that this upward trajectory is not confined to premium models. Even the lowest-cost configuration—the 12-inch Surface Pro featuring 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD—has climbed from an introductory sale price of approximately $729 nine months ago to a current base price of around $1,050, with only minimal discounts available through select retailers such as Amazon. That equates to roughly a 37% increase, a significant figure by any market standard.
A Microsoft spokesperson acknowledged these adjustments, attributing them directly to rising supply chain expenses. In an official statement, the company explained: “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.”
Even before these financial headwinds intensified, Microsoft’s Surface division was experiencing turbulence. As previously documented more than two years ago, the overall PC market had entered a corrective phase, characterized by slowing demand and oversupply, and Surface was performing more poorly than many of its competitors. Recent data suggests little improvement since then. Microsoft does not separate its hardware performance within public reports, but Gartner’s latest global PC shipment statistics for the first quarter offer revealing context.
While the data nominally indicates a 4% year-over-year increase in total PC shipments, Gartner’s Research Principal Rishi Padhi clarified that this rise did not reflect a genuine uptick in customer demand. Rather, it resulted from vendors and distributors replenishing inventory in anticipation of upcoming cost increases in the current quarter. These price hikes are primarily fueled by what the firm calls “memflation”—severe inflation in memory component costs, particularly DRAM and NAND flash, disproportionately affecting products with low profit margins. Under these conditions, major industry players have diverged in performance: Dell and Lenovo experienced growth, HP shipments declined, and Microsoft’s contribution to global totals was small enough to be classified within the undifferentiated “Others” category—a group that collectively saw a 4.6% contraction.
In contrast, Apple’s fortunes improved markedly. According to Gartner, global shipments of Macs surged 12.7% year-over-year, powered primarily by strong demand for the newly introduced MacBook Neo. The contrast between Apple’s success and the struggles of Windows PC vendors underscores the widening divide across the industry.
Gartner anticipates further turbulence, projecting that average PC prices will rise an additional 17% by the end of 2026. As buyers—both businesses and individuals—are confronted with higher costs, they will likely retain their existing machines for much longer, leading to a measurable drop in future sales volumes. Analyst Ranjit Atwal warns that this sudden escalation will erode industry margins, rendering budget-friendly laptops (those priced under $500) commercially unsustainable within the next few years. By 2028, he expects that particular segment to vanish altogether. He further cautions that escalating costs for AI-integrated PCs will delay their mass-market adoption, postponing the originally forecast 50% penetration rate until at least 2028.
For Microsoft, which has strategically aligned its product roadmap around AI-enabled hardware such as Copilot+ PCs, the situation is particularly ironic. The company’s robust investments in cloud-scale AI infrastructure—endeavors that depend on voracious amounts of the very same memory components causing the current shortfall—are indirectly contributing to the shortages choking the consumer device market.
Apple’s story is, once again, notably different. While inflationary pressures are crippling affordable PC designs across the Windows ecosystem, Apple has managed to launch and sustain a highly competitive $599 MacBook Neo. The secret lies in vertical integration: unlike most PC manufacturers, Apple does not purchase DRAM as a separate component but instead embeds it directly within its silicon architecture. The MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro system-on-chip (SoC), which integrates 8GB of unified memory in a single compact package—a design first introduced with the iPhone 16 Pro. This architecture, made possible by TSMC’s InFO-POP (Integrated Fan-Out Package on Package) process, allows the DRAM to sit directly atop the processing die, drastically simplifying assembly and reducing dependencies on third-party memory suppliers.
Though Apple’s 8GB unified memory might appear modest by Windows PC standards, in practice, it provides more than adequate performance for everyday computing tasks, often outperforming entry-level processors found in similarly priced PCs. Competing PC brands have no comparable pathway. Neither Intel, AMD, nor Qualcomm currently offer integrated SoCs with comparable embedded memory solutions appropriate for Windows 11’s relatively demanding resource profile.
Looking forward, Apple may continue capitalizing on this advantage. The forthcoming A19 Pro chip reportedly features 12GB of onboard memory, which could pave the way for a MacBook Neo 2 that continues this efficient vertically integrated model. Meanwhile, PC manufacturers operating under Microsoft’s ecosystem are poised to struggle with sub-$1,000 designs, so long as hyperscale data centers maintain their overwhelming appetite for DRAM and NAND inventory.
Yet Apple’s success brings its own unique set of constraints. Reports suggest that the MacBook Neo’s overwhelming popularity has strained supplies of eligible chips—originally earmarked from batches that might otherwise have been discarded. Apple’s ability to maximize yield through silicon repurposing is well-known, but extraordinary demand has apparently outpaced these previously sufficient supplies. Industry sources, cited by MacRumors, indicate that Apple planned to produce roughly five to six million units of the A18 Pro-based Neo before transitioning to a newer model incorporating the upcoming A19 Pro. However, vigorous demand has been so intense that available chip reserves may be depleted before the next iteration is ready for release.
In relative terms, Apple’s minor logistical challenges pale in comparison to the broader chaos confronting the Windows PC market. Gartner now predicts a global contraction in PC shipments exceeding 10% in 2026—a figure that includes Windows machines, Chromebooks, and Macs collectively. Nonetheless, a sharper decline is expected within the Windows segment specifically, with Microsoft’s Surface division potentially facing the steepest descent. For those working within that business unit, the coming years may prove especially uncertain.
Ultimately, as component scarcity reshapes pricing strategies and consumer habits alike, the PC landscape is entering a new era defined by higher costs, longer product cycles, and evolving competitive hierarchies—one where corporate adaptability and technological control over the supply chain may mean the difference between decline and survival.
Sourse: https://www.zdnet.com/article/macbook-neo-versus-microsoft-surface/
