RAMpocalypse

 Apple products; I have read that apple computers will be costing quite a bit more for the new generation! What are we looking at?

Apple’s new-generation Macs and iPads are seeing major price jumps — typically between 18% and 33% — driven almost entirely by a global spike in memory and storage component costs. The increases are already live across Apple’s lineup, and they’re significant. 

💰 What the new prices look like (2026 updates)

Below are the new base prices compared to the previous generation:

Mac lineup

MacBook Neo: $699 (was $599)

13" MacBook Air: $1,299 (was $1,099)

15" MacBook Air: $1,499 (was $1,299)

MacBook Pro (base M5): $1,999 (was $1,699)

MacBook Pro (M5 Pro): $2,499 (was $2,199)

MacBook Pro (M5 Max): $4,099 (was $3,599)

iMac: $1,499 (was $1,299)

Mac mini (M4 Pro): $1,599 (was $1,399)

Mac Studio (M4 Max): $2,499 (was $1,999)

Mac Studio (M3 Ultra): $5,299 (was $3,999)

iPad lineup

iPad: $449 (was $349)

iPad mini: $599 (was $499)

iPad Air (11”): $749 (was $599)

iPad Pro (11”): $1,199 (was $999)

iPad Pro (13”): $1,499 (was $1,299)

Home devices & Vision Pro

HomePod mini: $129 (was $99)

HomePod: $349 (was $299)

Apple TV 4K: $199 (was $129)

Vision Pro: $3,699 (was $3,499)

🧠 Why the prices are rising

Apple has been unusually blunt about the cause:

1. Memory & storage prices have exploded

DRAM prices up 50% in Q1 2026

NAND flash up 90% quarter-over-quarter

Memory costs have risen 4× since late 2025  

This is due to AI data centers consuming massive amounts of high‑bandwidth memory — leaving less supply for consumer devices.

2. Apple says it can’t absorb the costs anymore

Tim Cook called the increases “unavoidable” and said Apple had been shielding customers until it became “unsustainable.”  

3. Industry-wide trend

Analysts expect other manufacturers to raise prices too, or shift to more premium models.

📌 What this means for you

If your current Mac still works well (like your older MacBook Pro), holding onto it is financially smart right now.

Prices may stay high through 2026 due to ongoing memory shortages.

Deals may still appear through Amazon, Best Buy, or Apple’s refurbished store — but even refurbs have gone up. 

Would you like me to:

Compare your current MacBook Pro to the new models?

Tell you the best time to buy in Canada?

Break down which Apple devices still offer good value despite the hikes?

Just tell me what direction you want to go, Louise.

Are these prices CAD or USD?

They’re USD.

All the price jumps you saw in the earlier list — MacBook Neo $699, MacBook Air $1,299, iPad Pro $1,199, etc. — match the U.S. pricing reported by multiple outlets like CNET, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and TechCrunch. 

How we know:

U.S. tech media (CNET, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, TechCrunch) all list those exact numbers as the new U.S. base prices.

Canadian pricing is much higher, and the increases are larger in absolute dollars. For example, in Canada:

MacBook Neo is $949 CAD, not $699 USD. 

MacBook Air M5 is $1,799 CAD, not $1,299 USD. 

iPad Air M4 11" is $999 CAD, not $749 USD. 

                                                                                             

So yes — the list you saw was in U.S. dollars, and Canadian prices are significantly higher.

If you want, I can break down exact CAD prices for the models you care about, or compare whether it’s worth upgrading now given the spike.

Microsoft; I have also read that Microsoft is lowering prices on its computers, but slashing the memory by half. What are the numbers for Surface products?

Microsoft is lowering the entry prices on some Surface models — but only by cutting the RAM in half, from 16 GB down to 8 GB, and by using an older Snapdragon X‑series chip. The result is cheaper Surface devices, but with reduced performance and no Copilot+ AI features.

Here are the exact numbers, grounded in the latest reports.

💻 Surface Products: New Lower‑Cost Models (2026)

🟦 1. Surface Pro (12‑inch, Snapdragon X Plus, 8 GB RAM)

Price: $849.99 USD

RAM: 8 GB (down from 16 GB)

Storage: 256 GB SSD

Chip: Snapdragon X Plus (older generation)

Notes:

Does not qualify as a Copilot+ PC (requires 16 GB).

Same chassis as the 12‑inch Surface Pro released earlier.

🟦 2. Surface Laptop (13‑inch, Snapdragon X Plus, 8 GB RAM)

Price: $949.99 USD

RAM: 8 GB (down from 16 GB)

Storage: 256 GB SSD

Chip: Snapdragon X Plus (older generation)

Notes:

Also not Copilot+ eligible.

📉 How much cheaper are these vs. the “real” new models?

The new flagship Surface Pro (13‑inch) and Surface Laptop (13.8″/15″) with Snapdragon X2 chips start at:

Surface Pro 13″ (Snapdragon X2, 16 GB): $1,499 USD

Surface Laptop 13.8″ (Snapdragon X2, 16 GB): $1,599 USD  

So the new 8 GB models are roughly:

$650 cheaper than the flagship Surface Pro

$650 cheaper than the flagship Surface Laptop

But the savings come from:

Halving RAM (16 GB → 8 GB)

Using an older chip (X Plus instead of X2)

Losing Copilot+ AI features

🧠 Why Microsoft is doing this

According to Microsoft’s Surface VP:

The 8 GB models are meant as budget entry points for basic tasks.

They are not replacements for the 16 GB Copilot+ models.

This is essentially Microsoft’s answer to the “RAMpocalypse” — the same memory price surge that caused Apple to raise prices.

🇨🇦 Want the Canadian prices too, Louise?

I can pull the exact CAD pricing for each Surface model sold in Canada and compare them to Apple’s new prices.

Would you like:

A CAD price table?

A recommendation on whether the 8 GB models are worth it?

A comparison vs. MacBook Neo or MacBook Air?

What do they mean by no Copilot... None at all!!??

Short answer:  

No Copilot does not mean “no AI at all.”  

It means you lose the special Copilot+ on‑device AI features, but you still get the regular cloud Copilot built into Windows — the same one available on any normal Windows 11 PC.

Here’s the clear breakdown, grounded in Microsoft’s published requirements.

✅ What you STILL get without Copilot+

Even on an 8 GB Surface (or any non‑Copilot+ PC), you still have:

Cloud‑based Copilot in Windows (the sidebar assistant)

Web‑based Copilot in Edge and Bing

Basic AI features that don’t require an NPU

These do not require special hardware.

Microsoft explicitly states that “Windows Copilot can be used without an NPU” .

So you are not losing Copilot entirely.

❌ What you LOSE without Copilot+

Copilot+ is a certification that requires:

40+ TOPS NPU

16 GB RAM minimum

256 GB SSD minimum  

If a device fails any of these (like the new 8 GB Surface models), it cannot run the exclusive on‑device AI features.

These features are Copilot+‑only:

Recall (timeline of everything you’ve seen on your PC)

Windows Studio Effects (AI webcam: eye contact, lighting, background blur)

Cocreator in Paint (local image generation)

Live Captions with real‑time translation  

These require the NPU and 16 GB RAM.

Without them, the features simply don’t appear in Windows.

🧠 Why Microsoft is doing this

Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs are meant to run AI locally, not in the cloud.

That requires a powerful NPU and enough RAM to keep up.

The cheaper 8 GB Surface models don’t meet the hardware bar, so Microsoft sells them as budget Windows PCs, not AI PCs.

📌 Bottom line for you, Louise

You still get Copilot, the assistant.

You do NOT get Copilot+, the advanced on‑device AI suite.

The cheaper Surface models are fine for basic tasks, but not future‑proof for AI features.

If you want, I can compare:

8 GB Surface vs. 16 GB Copilot+ Surface

Surface vs. MacBook Air (M4/M5)

Which offers better value in Canada right now

Just tell me what angle you want.

What is NPU?

An NPU is a Neural Processing Unit — a special chip inside modern computers designed specifically to run AI tasks efficiently.  

It’s different from a CPU or GPU because it’s built to accelerate the matrix math that powers neural networks.

Here’s the clear, sourced breakdown.

🧠 What an NPU actually is

A neural processing unit (NPU) is a specialized microprocessor optimized for AI neural networks, deep learning, and machine‑learning workloads. It accelerates operations like matrix multiplications, vector math, and tensor operations — the core computations behind AI models. 

NPUs are also known as AI accelerators or deep learning processors. They can be standalone chips or integrated into a system‑on‑chip (SoC) alongside CPUs and GPUs. 

⚙️ How an NPU differs from CPU and GPU

CPU: General‑purpose, handles everything but not optimized for parallel AI math.

GPU: Great at parallel workloads, but uses more power.

NPU: Purpose‑built for AI inference — extremely efficient at matrix operations, low‑precision arithmetic (INT8, FP16), and parallel processing. 

NPUs often include:

Dedicated multiply‑accumulate (MAC) units

High‑bandwidth memory

Low‑precision arithmetic support (INT8, FP8, FP16)

Architectures optimized for neural network layers

🚀 What NPUs enable in everyday devices

NPUs power on‑device AI features such as:

Speech recognition

Image enhancement and computational photography

Real‑time translation

Background blur and video effects

On‑device generative AI

Face recognition and object detection

These tasks run locally, not in the cloud, which improves privacy and reduces latency. 

🧩 Why NPUs matter for Copilot+ PCs

Microsoft requires a 40+ TOPS NPU for a PC to qualify as a Copilot+ PC.

This is because Copilot+ features (Recall, Cocreator, advanced Studio Effects) run on the NPU, not the CPU/GPU.

Without an NPU meeting that threshold, the device:

Still gets cloud Copilot,

But cannot run the advanced on‑device AI features.

If you want, Louise…

I can explain why Microsoft set the 40‑TOPS requirement, or compare NPU performance between Apple, Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD so you can see which devices are actually future‑proof.

Would you like that?