Microsoft’s Windows 11 Optimizations For 8GB RAM Configurations Won’t Include Copilot+ Compatibility; One OEM Reveals You’ll Still Need 16GB For That

wccftech | Aug. 18, 2026, 4:54 a.m. | Original

Improvements to Windows 11 are still underway, with Microsoft previously confirming that it will bring optimizations to make the operating system run more efficiently on systems with 8GB RAM. However, those changes won’t include bringing compatibility with Copilot+ features, as leaked specifications of laptops belonging to an OEM reveal that you’ll still need double the memory count for that.

The commitments made by Microsoft don’t involve making lower-tier RAM machines Copilot+-capable, with reports sharing a few specification screenshots of upcoming notebooks in Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim series, in the 14-inch and 15-inch models. While the entire family ships with AMD’s Ryzen AI processors, it won’t make them compatible with Copilot+, as you’ll still need to add a total of 16GB RAM to laptops that support removable sticks.

Notebooks that arrive with 8GB of memory are expected to be labeled as non-Copilot, but a closer look at the specifications reveals that Lenovo’s IdeaPad will ship with soldered memory since LPDDR5X chips aren’t available in the SODIMM form factor. We do have the LPCAMM2 standard, but we doubt Lenovo will bring it to its entry-level notebook range. Even if Microsoft doesn’t bring Copilot+ compatibility to 8GB RAM configurations, it’s not the end of the world, as there’s a long list of improvements that take priority over Copilot+ features.

Windows 11 OEM reveals you still need 16GB RAM for Copilot+ features, despite Microsoft's commitment to optimizing 8GB RAM configurations
Windows 11 OEM reveals you still need 16GB RAM for Copilot+ features, despite Microsoft's commitment to optimizing 8GB RAM configurations

For instance, the Weather app in Windows 11 can use up to 1.6GB of RAM in certain scenarios , and for notebooks or systems that are only equipped with 8GB of memory, we can all agree that making such apps more memory efficient is more important than experiencing AI features. The Dell XPS 13 , which is currently a close rival to the MacBook Neo , can use up to 70 percent of its 8GB RAM without running any user-launched program.

Those who wish to take advantage of AI features can fire up ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini, though the only drawback is that you’ll need to be connected to the internet to leverage these LLMs.

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