ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The new Surface Laptop Ultra launches on October 18.
- It is thoughtfully designed but very expensive.
- The Ultra marks a shift in where PCs are going.
Microsoft has announced a launch date for its new Surface Laptop Ultra: October 18th, with a starting price of $2,599 for the lowest level configuration (and goes up to $6,000 from there). The news broke at a showcase event in San Francisco on Wednesday, attended by Satya Nadella and Jensen Huang, the CEOs of Microsoft and Nvidia, respectively.
Also: I tried the Surface Laptop Ultra at Computex, and it’s clear: Microsoft means business
I first saw the Surface Laptop Ultra at Computex in Taiwan this year, armed with Nvidia’s new RTX Spark processor running Windows on ARM, up to 128GB of unified memory, and a premium aluminum body.
Up top, it’s a gorgeous machine, with a 15-inch HDR display at 2,000 nits, a large haptic touchpad, thoughtful design elements (almost invisible cooling vents, rounded edges), and a magnetic USB-C port called “Magnetic Connection” that snaps the charger into place. It looks like a Surface, yes, but it feels like the next stage in its evolution.
The other five RTX Spark laptops from Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI were also at the event, all of which I first saw at Computex and have similar premium features: OLED displays, haptics, up to 128GB of unified memory, and similar sky-high price points. But the Surface Laptop Ultra was the love of the show with its own dramatic sizzle reel and focus in live demos.
Windows evolved
Microsoft’s positioning of the Surface Laptop Ultra as the leader of the RTX Spark Pack allows it to own the narrative of the next evolution of powerful Windows devices. All this memory is made not only for what is considered today as “frontier”, but future-oriented workflows, especially with the emphasis on Windows “hybrid intelligence”, which aims to make the cloud-to-local transition more seamless.
Also: I saw the first Nvidia RTX Spark laptops – these 4 models are leading the new Ultrabook boom
In that sense, these are future devices: the first generation of a new brand of AI-first laptops that are both a response to existing competitors and an indication of where PCs are headed. It is no surprise that many of the above features are also core components of the Apple MacBook Pro, to which the Surface Laptop Ultra is certainly an answer.
Sure, Apple’s design language is present when you look at the Surface Laptop Ultra, but you can say that about almost any modern PC. What is more interesting is how intentional the duplication is. Microsoft says it spent several years developing this laptop, showing several design iterations at the event, emphasizing a “get it right” approach that I’d say is certainly evident in the final product.
In that sense, the Surface Laptop Ultra is also a risk for Microsoft. The resources dedicated to this flagship device are not inconsistent, and as much as it communicates important brand positioning, it must also sell.
But RAM and storage are as expensive as ever, and dropping $6,000 on a laptop is only possible for a certain subset of the consumer market. These laptops ultimately speak to a niche power user, and Microsoft and Nvidia have their work cut out for them when it comes to communicating these products to the right demographic.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, as well as the other five RTX Spark Windows PCs, are available for pre-order today starting at $2,599, with general availability on October 16.
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