Microsoft recently released its new Surface laptop lineup for 2026. This lineup also includes a Surface with 8GB of RAM. However, it was found that the device has serious performance deficiencies, as it seemed to struggle with any task that was somewhat intensive.
This may have made Microsoft realize that Windows 11's minimum system requirements might need a revision. Almost immediately after, we saw the company announce special optimizations for devices with 8GB of memory, thus making an unintended admission that 8GB of memory is simply not enough for a Windows 11 computer in 2026.
So you'd expect a 16GB Surface Laptop to do better. While it does better, it can't match an Apple MacBook Air, at least in terms of performance. Recently, the YouTube channel PhoneBuff, which does controlled lab tests of devices, tested a 16GB Surface and compared it to a 16GB MacBook Air.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, its more powerful 16GB laptop couldn't even beat Apple's in Microsoft's own Word, as the latter was found to be nearly twice as fast. As you can see, the MacBook Air was able to complete the task in about 6.5 seconds, which the Surface Laptop took about 12 seconds.
Exporting files was even slower on the Windows 11 PC, taking over 40 seconds on the Surface compared to less than 10 seconds on the Mac. Adobe Premiere Pro was another area where the MacBook Air easily outpaced the Surface.
The PhoneBuff YouTube channel tried a lot more. Watch the video
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
