Just a few days ago, Microsoft introduced Surface Laptop UltraYour most powerful and capable Surface PC yet, powered by the new NVIDIA RTX Spark superchip and Windows on Arm. It’s an engineering feat, boasting the most ports, the best display, and the largest trackpad ever installed on a Surface.
I was able to get one of the first sample units at Computex 2026and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. Of course, the star of the show is the RTX Spark, which I was shown plenty of demos to show off its raw power. But we’ll get to that later.
First, let’s talk about the design. Surface Laptop Ultra is basically an improved version 15-inch Surface 8 Laptop. It is thicker and heavier to accompany the more powerful RTX Spark. SoCbut it results in a device that feels amazing. It’s thick and heavy, but in a good way, just like the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
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And “just like the 16-inch MacBook Pro” is the motto of this device. It’s very clear to me that Microsoft is going after the high-end MacBook Pro crowd with the Surface Laptop Ultra. While the device is Very Surface, there is no denying that it also looks a lot like a MacBook Pro, right down to the port selection.
Surface Laptop Ultra features one full-size HDMI port and two USB-C ports on the left, and one USB-C port, one USB-A port, and one full-size SD card reader on the left. The USB-C port on the right is specialhowever. It’s larger than a regular USB-C port and supports regular USB-C cables, but Microsoft wasn’t willing to tell me that. because The port is bigger.
Many Surface fans immediately noticed that Microsoft’s Surface Connect port appears to be missing from the Surface Laptop Ultra, but it seems that may not be entirely true. While the proprietary Surface Connect magnetic port is no more, I think Microsoft may have designed the world’s first detachable USB-C port that maintains what made the Surface Connect so special.
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Of course, the company didn’t confirm this to me, but it’s clear that the correct USB-C port is different for some reason. The company said it would have more to share about specific features of the Surface Laptop Ultra later this year, so we’ll have to see. For now, I think this USB-C port features a breakaway design, maybe even magnetic? Time will tell.
Moving on to the trackpad, which is the largest ever installed on a Surface. It feels fantastic and supports The new Windows 11 haptic signaling system which provides subtle feedback when you interact with certain parts of the Windows user interface and applications. I’ve already done a full hands-on experience with this, but it elevates the Windows user experience in a similar way to what haptics can do on phones. Everyone loves the tactile feel of the iPhone and the Surface Laptop Ultra has a very similar feature.
The keyboard is also incredible, just like on the Surface Laptop 8. I would say that the Surface has the best keyboard and trackpad in the business, matching or even surpassing that of the MacBook Pro. I had no complaints when typing or mousing on the Surface Laptop Ultra. Windows felt very smooth and easy to use.
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This is also helped by the 15-inch mini-LED display, which has 120Hz and looks fantastic. I wish it was an OLED display panel, but it’s still incredibly sharp and has great color contrast. Of course, Microsoft didn’t share specific details about the display panel or color optimizations, but it looks great.
I wasn’t able to test the audio performance, but I’m sure the device’s built-in speakers will rival the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which many consider the best laptop speakers you can buy.
Of course, it’s what’s under the hood that’s making waves in the tech industry right now. This is Microsoft’s first RTX Spark device and its design was influenced by the raw power of the RTX Spark. The Surface Laptop Ultra is thicker to accommodate the RTX Spark’s thermal output and features the largest fans ever installed in a Surface PC to keep the chip cool.
That means the device may make noise under maximum load. In several of the demos I was shown, the Surface Laptop Ultra’s fans were running at full blast and I could hear them from a few feet away. That said, under normal use, the device was essentially completely silent. I understand that the fans only spin up to maximum when under sustained load for long periods, as many of the demo units had been.
As for RTX Spark performance, yes, this is the real deal. It’s an Arm SoC, which means it depends on Microsoft Prism emulation layer to run x86 applications that have not yet been built natively for Windows on Arm. It’s basically most video games and a number of little-known or less popular Windows apps, and in my hands-on time, I just couldn’t tell the difference.
Many of the games they showed me were running under emulation, but they all ran incredibly well with smooth frame rates. NVIDIA and Microsoft were not willing to show me FPS statistics nor any nitty-gritty details, but in my demo time, the games ran as if they were native, and that’s no small feat for Windows on Arm. NVIDIA is essentially forcing a native-feeling experience through its powerful chip.
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Neither Microsoft nor NVIDIA, nor any other Windows OEM, are marketing this first wave of RTX Spark devices as gaming machines, but it’s very clear that they can play games, if the user so desires. That’s not something you’ve been able to say about Windows on Arm PC until now.
I wasn’t allowed to do any benchmarking, probably for obvious reasons. All of the devices I was shown are running pre-release software, drivers and firmware, on pre-production chassis and thermal envelopes. There will likely still be a lot of tweaking that needs to be done before Microsoft or NVIDIA are ready to let us compare them properly.
App developers will also be able to make specific changes to their software to make them work better on RTX Spark. Adobe is one of those companies that is working to redesign their Premiere Pro and Photoshop apps for RTX Spark, and they showed me a demo comparing standard Premiere Pro and Enhanced Premiere Pro for RTX Spark, which was able to render a scene much faster as a result.
Microsoft had already confirmed that the Surface Laptop Ultra comes with 128GB of unified memory, but I was able to confirm that more configurations will be available at various prices. That means you’ll probably be able to get it with less (or more) RAM and storage, for those who need it or not.
Of course, Microsoft couldn’t comment on pricing for those different configurations or battery life.. No Windows OEMs are currently sharing that information, but all are targeting a fall 2026 release window, including Microsoft and the Surface Laptop Ultra. That means we should hear more about specs, pricing, and availability in the coming months.
The Surface Laptop Ultra is the best Surface PC Microsoft has ever made, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best Surface PC for everyone. This is clearly a device designed for developers, creators and professionals, who uses on the device AI models, creation and editing of videos or photographs and data processing. For most of us who only need a PC for light computing or productivity tasks, you’d be better off with a Surface Laptop 8 or equivalent PC.
Obviously, we have not yet had the opportunity to live with Surface Laptop Ultra, so this is not yet an endorsement. But first impressions are incredibly strong. Hopefully, Microsoft will be able to deliver the final product by the end of this year.
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