Microsofts Surface Laptop Ultra is an AI supercomputer dressed as a laptop

ScarlettOctober 8, 20263 min read

Microsoft‘s got a new laptop to take on Apple’s MacBook Pro, and it’s an absolute powerhouse.

Called the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, it runs on Nvidia’s RX Spark N1X chip that either has a 5,120-core GPU and an 18-core CPU, or a 6,144-core GPU and a 20-core CPU. Memory options range from 24 to 128GB, and storage is either 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB.

The Surface Laptop Ultra is available in two colors: Platinum and Nightfall (pictured).
Credit: Microsoft

The specs above are important for developers and AI creators, as they offer a massive amount of AI computing in a portable form factor. With the Surface Laptop Ultra, you’ll be able to run local AI agents with more than 120 billion parameters, which is roughly on par with what you can do with Apple’s most powerful MacBook Pro.

If you want a lighter color, there’s always Platinum.
Credit: Microsoft

The Surface Laptop Ultra boasts a 15-inch PixelSense Ultra display and a 3,270×2,180 pixel resolution and a 120HZ refresh rate, and a battery that’s good for 12 hours of active web usage or 15 hours of local video playback. It weighs 4.5lbs, it’s only 18 millimeters thin when closed, and it’s available in two colors: Platinum and Nightfall. In terms of connectivity, you get three USB-C port, one USB-A port, an HDMI port, an SD card reader, and a headphone jack.

This is Magnetic Connect, the “world’s first built-in magnetic USB-C charging on a laptop.”
Credit: Microsoft

If you need more proof that Microsoft is positioning this one as an alternative to the MacBook Pro, consider Magnetic Connect; it’s essentially Microsoft’s version of MagSafe, only with a USB-C port. Oh, and if you trade in an eligible MacBook, you get a $1,000 “break up” bonus.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra is available for pre-order, starting at $2,599, but that’s with the less powerful chip and just 32GB of memory; the most powerful version will set you back $5,899.99. Availability starts on Oct. 16.

Need the power without the extra bits? That’s what the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box is for.
Credit: Microsoft

Besides the Surface Laptop Ultra, Microsoft also launched the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a compact box with essentially the same performance as the laptop, only without the keyboard and display. Primarily aimed at developers, it offers up to 1 petaflop of AI performance and 128GB of unified memory, and also supports AI models with more than 120 billion parameters.

In terms of specs, it runs a NVIDIA RTX Spark™ N1X chip that combines a 6144-core GPU with a 20-core CPU. 128GB LPDDR5x unified memory is the only option when it comes to RAM, and storage is a removable SSD with 2TB of space. It’s fairly portable, at 12.85×6.77×1.69 inches in size and 4.4lbs of weight.

It’s available for pre-order at Microsoft’s website for $5,999, and it’ll start shipping in November.

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