Microsoft just announced new versions of its Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch. But rather than a spec bump or a design refresh, the new PCs feature 8GB of RAM.
The ongoing component crisis has led several PC makers to offer laptops with only 8GB of RAM, and that group now includes Microsoft.
While the main focus around the new Surface configurations is pricing, there is a strange side effect to the systems only having 8GB of RAM: neither of them are Copilot+ PCs.
A lighter Windows 11
By having only 8GB of RAM, the new Surface PCs fall short of the Copilot+ PC minimum requirements. As a result, neither PC will ship with or support features like Recall or Click To Do.
I suspect some would view that as a blessing in disguise. Copilot+ PC features take up space on your system that's wasted unless you use the tools.
Here are the exclusive features that ship with Copilot+ PCs, as listed by Microsoft:
- Copilot on Windows
- Recall
- Live Captions with Translations
- Cocreator
- Windows Studio Effects
- Photos
Some of those features are genuinely useful. I recommend trying Windows Studio Effects if your PC supports them.
But some consider Recall and Copilot bloat and would prefer a PC free of those features.
The Copilot+ PC features don't take up that much room. In total, they'll occupy a few hundred MB.
Many Copilot+ PC features are resource intensive, which is why the PCs need more memory. By not including those features, Microsoft almost accidentally made a leaner, more efficient Surface experience.
8GB of RAM on Windows 11
Due to the ongoing memory crisis, PC makers have reintroduced laptops with 8GB of RAM. When Acer announced the Swift Air 14, many were quick to criticize its 8GB of RAM.
It's common to see people claim that a PC with 8GB of RAM is unusable or poor in 2026. Our Cale Hunt tested that claim by stripping down a PC.
Hunt's whole article is worth a read. I'll spoil it for you though: 8GB of RAM was fine.
"That's just not the case. Within reason, running Windows 11 on 8GB of RAM is not only viable but quite enjoyable. Assuming you're not attempting to run some specialized design software or a demanding game, there's quite a bit of memory runway to work with," said Hunt.
The new Surface PCs with 8GB of RAM are not going to handle heavy-duty game or workstation loads, but that's hardly a surprise. Many people could buy and use a Surface Pro or Surface Laptop with 8GB of RAM and never run into any issues.
Shifting away from Copilot+ PC branding
I probably spend more time thinking about Copilot+ PCs than most. The reality is that the brand is net neutral for many. When the ASUS Zenbook A16 earned rave reviews, none of them mentioned that the laptop is a Copilot+ PC.
Microsoft appears to be phasing out the Copilot+ PC brand. When the Surface Laptop Ultra was announced, Microsoft did not mention if it was a Copilot+ PC. The webpage for the Surface Laptop Ultra fails to mention "Copilot+ PC" at all.
The new Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 that were announced earlier this month are Copilot+ PCs, but the branding is not featured heavily by Microsoft.
You could take things one step further and say consumers don't care about AI PCs. That's what Dell's head of product suggested earlier this year.
I think most people are neutral toward AI features on their PC, whether those features are connected to the Copilot+ PC brand or not. If tools are out of the way or easy to uninstall, most folks won't mind. Complaints will pop up any time AI is forced onto users.
That being said, it still made me chuckle to see new Surface PCs lack the Copilot+ PC branding. Maybe Microsoft should market them as Copilot - PCs.
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