{"id":192184,"date":"2025-12-19T00:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T00:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/192184\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T00:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T00:52:10","slug":"microsofts-push-for-copilot-pcs-could-stall-laptop-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/192184\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft\u2019s Push for Copilot+ PCs Could Stall Laptop Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

If we turn the clocks back a year and a half, Microsoft\u2019s leadership stood on stage and pronounced a new era of computing<\/a> was upon us. They were right, though it\u2019s not in a way anybody but AI evangelists would have preferred. Everything about the current RAM shortage<\/a> and surging price of PCs<\/a> is an irony baked into an irony. The one company that gave rise to OpenAI has worked so hard to push us into our current AI-obsessed tech landscape that it may have damaged the PC scene for the next several years.<\/p>\n

Copilot+ PCs\u2014first introduced in 2024\u2014were never going to offer us onboard AI\u2014not in the way the tech giants first proclaimed. Microsoft introduced its new class of AI PC in 2024 with a few specs restrictions. To gain access to new AI features like the much-maligned Recall<\/a>, these PCs needed to have an NPU, an AI-focused chiplet called a neural processing unit, capable of running at least 40 TOPS, or trillions of operations per second. They also needed to have at least 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 With memory prices rising in 1Q26, BOM pressure mounts for smartphone and laptop makers. As memory\u2019s cost share grows, how will brands safeguard margins?\ud83d\udca1More analysis from #TrendForce<\/a>: https:\/\/t.co\/TsS5h8Ni36<\/a> \ud83d\udd17<\/p>\n

\u2014 TrendForce (@trendforce) December 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

However, the current RAM shortage will inevitably inflate the price of laptops with more memory. That means gaming laptops with at least 16GB and up to 64GB of RAM will cost way more. Last week, analyst firm TrendForce<\/a> stated that low-end phones and lightweight notebooks would have to start downgrading specs just to maintain costs. Entry-level and mid-range laptops would have to start shrinking RAM down to 8GB. That could come at the expense of many features that depend on more memory. All those upcoming AI PCs sporting Qualcomm Snapdragon X2<\/a> and Intel Panther Lake<\/a> may be squeezed between RAM prices and consumers\u2019 ambivalence to any of these newfangled AI \u201cfeatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laptops are screwed because of memory prices \"MicrosoftRecall on Copilot+ PC was certainly not a big reason to get these laptops, though the guaranteed 16GB of RAM certainly was. \u00a9 Kyle Barr \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

The major semiconductor companies are already promising more pain in the future. Micron, the third-largest memory semiconductor company behind Samsung and SK Hynix, sunset its consumer-facing Crucial brand to focus its efforts on AI. This move has only contributed to the memory crunch, and the company knows it. In its latest earnings call<\/a>, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said, \u201cWe expect these conditions to persist beyond calendar 2026.\u201d But don\u2019t worry your pretty little head; the company\u2019s Q1 revenue was up by 57% year-over-year.<\/p>\n

PC component brand G.Skill blamed \u201cunprecedented high demand from the AI industry\u201d in a statement<\/a> posted to its website this week. G.Skill is saying what we already knew. AI data centers are creating such high demand for high-end memory that major semiconductor companies are eschewing consumer brands for the sake of building up AI cloud compute. Microsoft itself promised to double its data center footprint<\/a> over the next two years in the U.S. and across the world. That includes 200 planned data centers in Europe<\/a> by the end of 2026. Microsoft has tried (and occasionally failed<\/a>) to prop up new cloud computing sites in various places across the U.S., causing a surge in demand<\/a> for electricity and water usage.<\/p>\n

\"MsiGaming laptops, like this MSI Raider 18 HX with 64GB of RAM, will see the impact of RAM pricing far more than lower-specced devices. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

These companies are already cooked, but the laptop makers are next to feel the pressure. Next month, the entire PC industry is heading to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the annual CES conference. This is where these companies show off all the new products they intend to push throughout the year. I don\u2019t expect we\u2019ll know their prices right from the jump. The price of RAM will dictate how much more we would need to spend in 2026.<\/p>\n

And if these laptops indeed sport less RAM, then what will become of Microsoft\u2019s Copilot+ branding? Microsoft did not respond to Gizmodo\u2019s request for comment. Either laptops will need to cost a lot more, or we may see far fewer laptops proclaiming their AI capabilities next year.<\/p>\n

More RAM is always welcome, but it\u2019s now becoming standardized. More apps are tuned for 16GB of memory, especially anything that requires graphics processing. If you haven\u2019t tried doing any photo editing on an older 8GB model of an Apple MacBook Air, I wouldn\u2019t recommend it. You also cannot expect to play any more recent games with only 8GB of RAM.<\/p>\n

Apple only started sticking its MacBooks with a base 16GB of memory this past year, all thanks to the necessity for AI processing. That makes the $1,000 M4 MacBook Air truly the standout of Apple\u2019s laptop design. We can\u2019t guess what it will cost next year, but we can\u2019t advise anybody to go out and buy an 8GB laptop in this day and age. And that will pose a big problem if anybody wants to sell new computers next year.<\/p>\n

Microsoft is hurting itself for the sake of AI \"\"The big Copilot+ PC release resulted in a few awkward AI image generator apps and video transcriptions. \u00a9 Artem Golub \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

In October, Microsoft pushed the idea<\/a> that every Windows 11 device was now an \u201cAI PC,\u201d no need to go out and buy a new device. This was just around the time that the memory crunch was starting to take hold, when consumer DRAM prices started increasing by 50%, then 100%, and eventually 500% and beyond. Microsoft hoped consumers would start using their voice<\/a> to communicate with their PCs using a new Copilot interface. The chatbot would be able to see everything you do on your computer screen, make suggestions, and even point to spots on your desktop when you need help.<\/p>\n

However, few of these new or beta features turned out to be winners<\/a>. Users who could access the early version of Copilot Vision found the feature would readily offer you bad advice<\/a> and fail at simple tasks. Microsoft\u2019s Gaming Copilot, a feature that\u2019s supposed to act as a companion for when you\u2019re stuck in games, is such a consistent liar<\/a> that I would rather play blind than listen to any of its guesswork.<\/p>\n

Microsoft isn\u2019t done with promoting Copilot+ PC. The company showed off<\/a> new Surface Laptops with built-in 5G connectivity<\/a> in multiple regions earlier this year. Still, hardware isn\u2019t the goal. Hell, neither is Windows, despite Microsoft pushing the millions of Windows 10 users to make the switch to 11. Microsoft\u2019s top leadership is utterly absorbed with remaking the tech giant into an AI-first company, and that means pushing hard on company leadership to get on board. The new focus may even come at the cost of longtime officers like Windows lead Rajesh Jha. The VP of Microsoft\u2019s Experience and Devices Group is reportedly eyeing retirement, according to several anonymous Microsoft execs who talked to Business Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s global attempt to remake its business into an AI-first model will come at the expense of the over 1.4 billion<\/a> monthly active users on Windows platforms. We don\u2019t suggest you buy a new PC<\/a> at any inflated price unless it\u2019s absolutely necessary, especially if it\u2019s a worse computer than you would have procured any year before now.<\/p>\n