Microsoft Launches $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra Ahead of October 16 Release

Microsoft said the Surface Laptop Ultra will go on sale October 16. The 15-inch notebook starts at $2,599.

The device targets creators and developers and undercuts the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $2,999. Microsoft also markets it for artificial intelligence, engineering and 3D workloads.

RTX Spark uses an Arm design

The Surface Laptop Ultra uses Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip, combining a Blackwell RTX GPU with up to 6,144 cores and a Grace CPU with up to 20 cores. It supports up to 128GB of unified memory and runs Windows on Arm, with Microsoft’s Prism emulation supporting x86 applications.

Microsoft calls the notebook its most powerful to date. Its mini-LED touchscreen supports gestures and navigation but not pen input; the company says peak HDR brightness is 25% higher than that of the M5 MacBook Pro.

Ports and magnetic charging

The model is lighter than the 16-inch MacBook Pro and includes a large haptic trackpad and upgradeable storage. Ports include three USB-C connections, USB-A, HDMI, an SD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Microsoft also added Magnetic Connect, describing it as the first built-in magnetic USB-C charging system in a laptop.

Dev Box starts at $5,999

Alongside the laptop, Microsoft introduced the $5,999 Surface RTX Spark Dev Box. It uses the same Nvidia RTX Spark chip, offers up to one petaflop of AI performance and supports models with up to 120 billion parameters.

MacBook owners can receive up to $1,000 back when buying a Surface Laptop Ultra and trading in an eligible MacBook. Microsoft said it expects the device to persuade creators and developers to switch.