I really didn’t want to believe it, but here we are. Apple now seems to be the sensible laptop brand. Not the cool outsider. Not the affordable alternative. Apple in 2026. The reason is not that the company suddenly got generous, but that the rest of the competition has suddenly gone so crazy that a MacBook lineup starting at $599 feels strangely grounded.
Apple’s MacBook Neo starts at $599, while Microsoft’s own 13-inch Surface laptop now starts at $1,199 following this month’s price hikes. This is not a small gap that you can ignore. Meanwhile, Apple’s MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,099 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which looks like one of the few premium laptops people are still pricing.
Why Apple seems to be the right choice in 2026
The big issue that impacts pricing the most is the lack of memory. According to Gartner, DRAM and SSD prices are expected to increase by 130% by the end of 2026, leading to a 17% increase in PC prices. Meanwhile, the sub-$500 entry-level PC segment is expected to disappear by 2028, and AI PC adoption will slow because prices are just getting too ugly.
TrendForce is even clearer: AI demand has created a memory supercycle, with DRAM makers prioritizing HBM and server products while consumer electronics take the lead. In other words, AI hasn’t just made laptops more expensive. It diverted the industry’s attention away from producing affordable products.
It’s not just a matter of a company overshooting its target, but of an entire category losing track of things.
Microsoft and the Windows crowd don’t really have an answer
Microsoft’s Surface prices are the clearest example of how broken things have become. Their latest Surface lineup sees price increases of up to $500, pushing the entry point above $1,000, while their high-end PCs basically compete with the latest MacBook Pro.
And I kept hoping that ARM laptops running Windows would be the part that would finally change the equation. Initially, Qualcomm seemed to have this potential with its sleek design, long battery life, and Apple-like efficiency. But the reality in 2026 also looked harsh for Snapdragon-powered notebooks. ASUS’ new Zenbook A14 and A16 launched in the US at prices that quickly went up as soon as reviews went live.
The A14 jumped to $1,349 and the A16 to $1,699. This price increase was also reflected in other regions. And that’s what makes it so crazy. I wanted Windows OEMs to match Apple on efficiency and undercut them on price. With the new AMD Ryzen AI and Intel Core Ultra series, we were about to enter a golden era for Windows laptops – finally performance with efficiency.
Instead, there was an AI memory crisis that led to exactly the opposite result. The PC industry now seems to have no answer other than “Sorry, components are expensive.” Gartner’s latest delivery report even says that vendors and distribution channels increased inventory levels in the first quarter, ahead of expected price increases related to memory inflation in the second quarter. So everyone saw this coming, and yet we’re still here.
Apple has not become consumer-friendly. The rest of the market simply became unjustifiable
The labeling here is pretty simple. Apple hasn’t rediscovered its old motto “Does More. Costs Less.” The rest of the laptop industry has simply become so expensive, so confused, and so bloated that Macs now look like the obvious value proposition. This could be a problem for Microsoft. It should be a concern for ASUS. And it should be a big warning sign to anyone who thought the AI PC era would bring better, rather than just more expensive, options.
I wanted Windows laptops to fight back. I wanted Snapdragon X2 machines to deliver the best value that M-series Macs have had in years. Instead, AI-driven RAMmageddon made Apple the sensible option – and that’s one of the worst things I can say about the laptop market in 2026.
