Some laptops just can’t catch a break in 2026, from AI eating up all the RAM to Microsoft jacking up the prices of its first-party Surface laptops in light of RAM shortages and other worrying real-life factors.
Thankfully, that doesn’t stop retailers from ignoring these price hikes in favor of giving people the best workhorse laptops around for less, like the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, which is now on sale for $1,149.99 at Best Buy.
Why buy the Surface Pro 11 laptop?
There is not one, but many reasons why we consider Microsoft Surface Pro 11 to be the current reigning “best overall laptop” among our favorite Windows laptops on the market.
For starters, it offers exceptional performance in productivity apps, chopping through work via Microsoft Office apps, and booting up faster thanks to its powerful Snapdragon X Elite CPU and 16GB of RAM.
Its grade-A performance also carries over into local AI-centric tasks, as this laptop is equipped with an NPU with 45 TOPS. With this, researching info, generating images, translating languages, and improving video calls will be easy as pie for this Copilot+ laptop.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 also has a gorgeous 13-inch, 2880×1920 OLED display with HDR to convey images with crisp, vibrant colors and details, so you can enjoy watching movies on Netflix in high resolution or creating improved digital artwork with greater contrasts and sharpness.
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Other notable features of this Microsoft Surface Pro 11 include facial recognition and password protection systems to safeguard it from thieves, 512GB of storage for your files, a sturdy 2-in-1 build with a gorgeous Sapphire blue casing, over 17 hours of battery life, and solid thermal systems to keep it cool under 45°C during general use.
Plus, it’s compatible with stylus pens (sold separately), so you can draw digital art more easily compared to using finicky mouse cursors.
With specs like these, it’s no wonder our Editor-in-Chief, Daniel Rubino, gave it a perfect review score, stating that “the Surface Pro 11 is a massive win for Windows users and makes it one of the best AI laptops.”
So, if you’re looking to get your hands on this incredible laptop but are scared of buying it at its full MSRP of $1,799.99 due to rising laptop prices, this $1,149.99 discount at Best Buy will help you beat it and save $650 in the process.
Alternative configurations
Best Buy is also selling several configurations of the Surface Pro 13-inch with different colors or a larger SSD for the following discounted prices:
512GB
1TB
FAQ
Can the Surface Pro 11 run all apps?
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 can run most modern apps (especially if they’re Native ARM apps) efficiently. However, it may require Prism emulation to help run older 32-bit and certain 64-bit Windows applications.
Is its RAM and SSD upgradeable?
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11’s SSD can be removed from the M2. 2230 Gen 4 SSD slot and replace it with a different one. However, the RAM is soldered into the motherboard and cannot be removed without damaging the machine.
So, you will need to decide how much RAM your Microsoft Surface Pro 11 will be outfitted with when purchasing it.
Is it good for gaming?
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is surprisingly competent for running light to moderately demanding games like Minecraft and World of Warcraft, thanks to its Snapdragon X Elite and OLED screen, giving decent framerate and resolution performances.
However, it struggles to run intensive AAA PC games due to a lack of a dedicated GPU for gamin.
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