Microsoft's latest iteration of its 13-inch Surface Laptop is reportedly struggling with basic operations, including multitasking, video streaming, and even document editing, according to a new report. The issues appear to stem from a combination of Windows 11's optimization and a reduction in RAM on the budget-friendly model.
The cheapest retail version of the 13-inch Surface Laptop, which now sells for $950, has been downgraded from 16GB to 8GB of RAM compared to its predecessor. This reduction, intended to maintain a lower price point, seems to have had a detrimental effect on performance. Reviewers noted that the laptop frequently froze or became unresponsive during everyday tasks, even when not under heavy load.
During a Microsoft Teams call, when a brief video was streamed, the laptop reportedly hung for several seconds. This occurred with approximately 10 Chrome tabs open across two desktops, alongside Slack and Signal, without webcams being active. Similar temporary freezes were observed even when working in Google Docs, suggesting that the system struggles with relatively light multitasking.
When examined, Task Manager indicated that the 8GB Surface Laptop was using 4.2GB of RAM after a fresh reboot with minimal startup applications. This figure is nearly half of the available RAM, highlighting the significant overhead required to run Windows 11.
The report suggests that Windows 11's optimization is only part of the problem. The increasing cost and scarcity of RAM, referred to as "RAMageddon," are partly attributed to Microsoft's substantial investments in building AI data centers and supporting initiatives like OpenAI and Copilot. This global demand for memory components is driving up prices across the industry.
This situation has drawn criticism, with some suggesting that savings from recent layoffs within Microsoft's gaming division, including Xbox employees, could have been better allocated to hardware development or maintaining performance standards. The ongoing issues with Windows 11's performance on even Microsoft's own hardware raise questions about the operating system's efficiency and its impact on user experience.