8GB of RAM is the new 16GB on Windows 11, says Microsoft, in an absurd comparison with five-year-old hardware, as it pushes $429 8GB laptops

vm_admin

4 days ago

By Abhijith M B
Publication Date: 2026-11-07 22:30:00

Microsoft says a new 8GB Windows 11 laptop can match a 16GB PC from 2021.

Microsoft says a 2026 Windows 11 laptop with 8GB of RAM performs about as well as a 16GB model from 2021 in several everyday and demanding workloads. The claim is about “Raising the ceiling with new silicon” and is from third-party testing that the company commissioned, but it comes combined with a year of work to make Windows 11 use less memory.

In case you forgot, Windows 11 launched in October 2021, 5 years ago, so Microsoft is pitting today’s 8GB laptops against the 16GB PCs people bought when the OS launched. This is all intensely exciting; however, I can’t help but be amused at how the company is saying so after spending the last couple of years telling everyone to buy 16GB.

The $429 Lenovo V15 Gen 6 looks like a good deal under the circumstances. Image: Walmart

The $429 Lenovo V15 Gen 6 looks like a good deal under the circumstances. Image: Walmart

Microsoft says a new 8GB laptop can keep up with a 16GB PC from 2021

In their November 3 blog post, Microsoft…