In case you’ve been ready for Microsoft to replace its Surface PC lineup—maybe with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 Elite processors—I’ve bought unhealthy information for you.
Microsoft is shaking up its PC lineup, nevertheless it’s doing so by instituting huge worth hikes. This implies you’ll be paying not less than $1,500 for Floor units that launched at $1,000 simply two years in the past and that Microsoft not affords new Floor units beneath $1,000 in any respect.
The 12-inch Floor Professional pill that initially began at $799 and the 13-inch Floor Laptop computer that launched at $899 now value $1,049 and $1,149, respectively, a $250 worth improve. The upper-end Floor Laptop computer and 13-inch Floor Professional from 2024 each began at $999 however increased to $1,199 in 2025 when their entry-level variations with 256 GB of storage have been discontinued; each now begin at $1,499, a $300 improve.
As initially reported by Home windows Central, Microsoft is blaming “current will increase in reminiscence and part prices” for the worth hikes. Provide shortages for RAM and storage chips specifically have been wreaking havoc with shopper tech all yr, delaying some launches, depleting the stock of existing products, and raising prices for small and huge corporations alike.
The 2024 Floor updates have been a serious change for Microsoft’s first-party PCs. They have been the primary flagship Floor fashions to modify from Intel and AMD chips to Arm-based processors, the place Arm chips had beforehand been caught in facet tasks just like the Surface Pro X. They usually showcased years of labor Microsoft had executed on Home windows’ x86-to-Arm code translation layer (now referred to as Prism) and on getting third-party builders to construct Arm-native variations of their Home windows apps.
Arm-based PCs nonetheless appear to be doing superb, based mostly on the sheer number of retail listings, however these worth will increase make some other comparisons between Microsoft’s lineup and Apple Silicon Macs significantly unflattering. An equal M5 MacBook Air now prices $400 lower than a equally specced Floor Laptop computer, and nothing in Microsoft’s lineup comes near the MacBook Neo’s worth for the cash. If we do see a Snapdragon X2-based replace for these Floor units someday quickly, hopefully Microsoft doesn’t introduce one more worth improve to go along with the improve.
This story initially appeared on Ars Technica.
