The MacBook Neo kicked off a trend by packing 8 GB of RAM, and now that I’m seeing new Windows 11 laptops from Dell, Acer, and Microsoft following the same playbook, I can’t help but feel worried.
That puts a question back on the table we thought was already settled: is 8 GB still enough these days?
Turns out, there’s been a fresh wave of laptops with 8 GB of memory.
This is being driven by cost pressure from the ongoing component shortage.
Windows 11 laptop makers are copying the MacBook Neo’s formula — but is that really a smart move?
If you thought 8 GB laptops were becoming a thing of the past, think again, because they’re making a surprising comeback. And you can probably guess why.
Yep, it’s the RAM price crisis. With system memory now way more expensive, brands that want to keep their prices affordable are bringing back 8 GB models in the mid-range — just when 16 GB had practically become the bare minimum you’d expect.
Tom’s Hardware spotted this trend at Computex (though it had been quietly building up before the show), pointing out that the new Dell XPS 13 — an affordable laptop with impressive specs — starts at 8 GB for the base model (though you can of course get it with 16 GB).
Other recently unveiled laptops with 8 GB of RAM include the Acer Swift Air 14, which — like the baseline Dell XPS 13 — is built around Intel’s new Wildcat Lake silicon — and the Chuwi UniBook (especially notable for being under $500).
Microsoft’s 13-inch Surface Laptop for Business, revealed last month, also starts at 8 GB, which was a bit of a surprise — mainly because it means this entry-level device doesn’t qualify as a Copilot+ PC (those need 16 GB).
Of course, what set the stage for all of this was the arrival of the MacBook Neo with 8 GB of memory at a tempting, budget-friendly price. The Neo has been so successful that rumors say Apple has doubled production of its new MacBook for this year (from 5 million to 10 million units — speculation that got backed up earlier this week).
So now we’re seeing Intel Wildcat Lake chips and 8 GB configurations being used to crank out more attractively priced Windows 11 laptops, and this isn’t just limited to Intel silicon either. Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon C (Arm-based) CPU will power affordable Windows 11 laptops that’ll likely run on 8 GB of RAM, with the Acer Aspire Go 15 being one of them.
By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTecheNews Director