8GB base laptops are back in 2026, and they’re showing up with higher prices and leaner specs. PC makers are trimming memory to protect their margins while parts get more expensive. TrendForce says the processor, memory, and storage now account for 68% of a mainstream laptop’s bill of materials, and PC brands were expected to pay 90% to 95% more for memory in Q1 2026 as production moved toward higher-margin HBM. So the cuts are landing on RAM.
That’s a clear reversal from the shift toward 16GB after Microsoft set 16GB as the minimum for Copilot+ PCs in May 2024 and Apple bumped the MacBook Air base model to 16GB in October 2024. Now some newer machines, including Apple’s MacBook Neo and Dell’s 2026 XPS 13, are back at 8GB.
If your laptop use goes beyond email, documents, and light web browsing, 16GB is the safer buy. Reviewers now treat 16GB as the real starting point, and testing on the base Dell XPS 13 showed roughly 80% RAM usage right after boot and 95% once browser tabs were open. Slowdowns were easy to spot, and the single-channel Intel Core 5 320 setup only made that worse.
And 8GB doesn’t even save you much money. Dell moved its XPS 13 from $699 with 8GB and 512GB of storage to $799, while Apple’s MacBook Neo reportedly went from $599 to $699. The 16GB Dell XPS 13 was also about 30% faster in PCMark 10 and lasted 1 hour 44 minutes longer on battery.
You can buy these 8GB and 16GB Windows and macOS models now from Dell and Apple.
Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia
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