Microsoft just unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra, a 15-inch laptop built around an NVIDIA chip, with up to 128GB of memory and a user-replaceable SSD. Pre-orders opened October 7 at $2,599, and Engadget reports it ships October 16.
What Microsoft announced
Microsoft calls it a “builder class PC,” aimed at developers and AI researchers. Inside is the NVIDIA RTX Spark, a system-on-a-chip that puts the CPU and an RTX graphics processor in one package. Engadget describes an 18-core and a 20-core version. The 20-core model has graphics performance comparable to a GeForce RTX 5070, with ray tracing, DLSS and NVIDIA Reflex support.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Display | 15-inch mini-LED touchscreen, 3:2, up to 2,000 nits peak |
| Memory | 32GB base, up to 128GB unified on the 20-core chip |
| Storage | Up to 2TB, user-removable SSD |
| AI compute | Up to 1 petaflop of FP4, per Microsoft |
| Ports | USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, headphone jack, full-size SD reader, magnetic charging connector |
| Body | Aluminum, 18mm thick, 4.5 pounds |
| Colors | Platinum and Nightfall |
Unified memory means the CPU and GPU share one pool, which helps when you load a large AI model and don’t want to shuffle data between two separate chips. FP4 is a compact number format used in AI work, and the petaflop figure is Microsoft’s own claim.
Cooling, trackpad and repairs
Microsoft says the cooling system has about 2.5 times the thermal capacity of its earlier laptops and delivers 99% of peak performance on battery. The haptic trackpad is about 30% larger than on a typical 15-inch Surface. Microsoft promises a full day of battery life based on internal tests, with no hour figure given. If storage is your worry on an existing PC, see our guide to freeing up space on Windows with DISM. Repair guides and spare parts are planned through the Microsoft Store and iFixit, with availability varying by market.
How it stacks up against the MacBook Pro
Apple is working on its own answer, as we covered in the OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro rumor. Microsoft compares the laptop with a MacBook Pro using the M5 Pro chip. It claims 6.2 times faster video generation, 4.3 times faster image creation and 2.1 times faster time to first token. Those are the company’s own numbers, so wait for independent reviews before treating them as settled.
A desktop version, the Surface RTX Dev Box, is also up for pre-order, starting at $5,999.
Windows gets more agent features
At the same event, Microsoft showed off agentic AI features for Windows. With your permission, Copilot can act on local files, run AI models on the device and tap cloud compute when it needs more power, and it can build apps and widgets. Taskbar search is due to get thousands of quick actions, such as toggling dark mode or taking screenshots, starting this fall.
Should you pre-order?
At $2,599 it is priced in MacBook Pro territory, so the real question is whether you need local AI performance. If you mostly browse, write and stream, a cheaper laptop does the job. If you work with large models, the removable SSD and 128GB ceiling are the draw. Reviews should land closer to the October 16 ship date.
