2026 saw the release of the familiar Dell XPS 13, a 'new' laptop designed to be the ultimate, affordable gateway for first-time PC users thanks to its respectable performance, long-lasting battery life, high-quality build, and general reliability.

The XPS 13's work-focused 16GB configuration normally sells for $999.99 at Dell, but Best Buy now has a cheaper alternative for $799.99, thanks to a limited-time 20% discount.

Why buy Dell XPS 13 laptop?

The new Dell XPS 13 has been making waves in the PC market for its shockingly high quality for an entry-level laptop.

Even our Windows laptop connoisseurs Zac Bowden and Cale Hunt were blown away by this laptop, with Cale calling it the "perfect starter PC" and Zac saying, "MacBook Neo's reign as the best deal in computing is well and truly over, all thanks to Dell".

They don't make those comments lightly because the Dell XPS 13 has plenty of features to help it live up to the hype and make it an easy recommendation for beginner PC users, students, and workers.

These include a strong battery life of nearly 15 hours per charge, a 13.4" 3K Touchscreen with 2560x1600 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate to provide crisp and detailed images and videos, and a solid, thin 0.5 inches thick chassis weighing in at 2.2lb for easy portability.

On top of that, the Dell XPS 13 has a solid and responsive keyboard, a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports to plug in useful accessories, an IR sensor for facial recognition, great-sounding speakers, Wi-Fi 7 support for faster and more stable internet connections, and decent performance for casual use and mid-level intensive workflows thanks to its Intel Core 5 Series 3 320 CPU and 16GB of RAM.

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There have been few laptops that have completely blown us away with exceptional design, long battery life, and a smooth Windows experience quite like ASUS' Zenbook A14, and it saw a massive upgrade this year with a refresh outfitted with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite processor.

Normally, the ASUS Zenbook A14 with its $1,349.99 price tag can seem like a hard sell compared to its cheaper (yet very capable) Snapdragon X Plus predecessor (usually $939.00 — $969.99), and its premium-grade Zenbook A16 sibling with its powerful X2 Elite Extreme CPU ($1,599.99 — $1,899.99).

Thankfully, with this 26% discount, the Zenbook A14 with Snapdragon X2 Elite is now at a smarter price of $999.99 at Best Buy, compared its siblings.

Why buy the ASUS Zenbook A14?

For starters, ASUS' Zenbook A14 laptop with Snapdragon X2 Elite offers vastly superior performance for casual use and heavy workloads compared to its 2025 Snapdragon X Plus predecessor, while also outperforming Apple's M5 chip.

Additionally, this laptop also earned high praise from us for its exceptional battery life of 17 hours per charge, crisp 14-inch OLED display that runs at 1920x1200 resolution with a max refresh rate of 60Hz, and vast selection of USB4, HDMI 2.1, and USB-A ports.

Plus, this version of the ASUS Zenbook A14 laptop also has Wi-Fi 7 support for faster and more stable wireless internet connections.

So, if you're looking for a lightweight, compact Windows laptop that will make mincemeat out of CPU-heavy apps and workflows, then the ASUS Zenbook A14 laptop with the Snapdragon X2 Elite CPU will serve you well in the office or school.

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Xbox turns 25 this year, and if you're going to commemorate a quarter-century of one of gaming's most recognizable brands, slapping a green logo onto some existing hardware isn't going to cut it.

Thankfully, Razer didn't phone it in.

The new Razer | XBOX 25 Anniversary Collection (now available) takes three existing Razer products, the BlackWidow V4 75%, Basilisk V3 Pro 35K, and Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed, and transforms them with translucent green shells, Xbox detailing, and some fantastic use of RGB lighting. Razer officially announced the limited-edition collection in August, describing it as a collaboration with Xbox celebrating 25 years of the brand.

I've now spent some time with all three, and there's one product that immediately stands above the rest.

The keyboard is ridiculously good.

The BlackWidow V4 75% is the star of the show

If I could only buy one thing from this collection, it would unquestionably be the BlackWidow V4 75%.

It's absolutely awesome-looking in person.

The translucent green chassis and keycaps make exceptionally good use of Razer's Chroma lighting because you're not simply seeing RGB through the legends. The light spills through the translucent structure of the keyboard itself, illuminating the switches and keys and giving the whole thing this glowing, almost radioactive Xbox-green appearance.

My photos don't really do it justice. I've generally kept mine predominantly green for obvious reasons, but you aren't locked into the Xbox color scheme. Razer Chroma gives you full RGB customization, including per-key lighting, while the keyboard also has two-sided underglow.

There are some lovely smaller touches, too. The spacebar carries the XBOX 25 branding; there are Xbox-inspired symbols scattered across the keycaps, and the familiar ABXY colors appear around the arrow cluster. Razer has even included a dedicated Xbox key for opening Game Bar.

But perhaps my favorite finishing touch is sitting in front of the keyboard.

The included magnetic wrist rest has Razer and XBOX 25 branding prominently printed on it in green, and that's the type of detail that pushes this beyond feeling like a basic special-edition colorway. It completes the look.

More importantly, this isn't just a keyboard that photographs well. It feels fantastic to type on (read our original BlackWidow V4 75% review for more details).

Razer uses its Orange Tactile Switches Gen-3 here, while retaining the BlackWidow V4 75%'s hot-swappable design.

At $209.99 on Razer.com, it's admittedly not cheap. But if I'm buying something specifically because it's a limited Xbox 25th-anniversary edition, I want it to actually feel special. This does.

The Basilisk V3 Pro 35K completes the look

My second favorite is easily the Basilisk V3 Pro 35K (see my review of the original non-35K Razer Basilisk V3 Pro for more info).

I'm already a fan of the Basilisk line, and underneath the translucent green makeover, this remains a very capable wireless gaming mouse. You get Razer's Focus Pro 35K Optical Sensor Gen-2, HyperScroll Tilt Wheel, 13 customizable controls, HyperSpeed Wireless connectivity, and Chroma RGB.

Razer lists up to 140 hours of battery life over HyperSpeed Wireless as well.

However, once again, it's the execution of the anniversary design that makes the difference.

The translucent green upper shell lets you see hints of the mouse's internal structure, while XBOX 25 branding runs down the side. RGB lighting beneath the mouse creates a bright green glow that makes it look fantastic beside the BlackWidow.

Honestly, if you're getting the keyboard, you really should just get the mouse too (sorry about your wallet).

There's even a translucent green 2.4GHz wireless dongle! Nobody needed to do that. Razer did it anyway, and that's precisely my point about this collection. Everywhere I look, there's another little bit of attention to detail.

The Basilisk costs $179.99 on Razer.com. Yes, Razer has subsequently moved the Basilisk family forward, so you're not buying the newest generation simply because this is a new Xbox edition. But considering what you're really paying for here, namely an excellent mouse transformed into a collectible anniversary design, I'm not going to complain too much.

The Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed does exactly what it needs to

Finally, there are the Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed earbuds.

I've been using these with my ASUS Xbox Ally X, where they've made a great little companion for handheld gaming. They sound great, and the transparent green design is wonderfully nostalgic without looking cheap.

The earbuds themselves are translucent right down through the stems, while the charging case gets the same treatment with a large XBOX 25 logo across the front. It's distinctive without Razer needing to reinvent the product underneath.

To be clear, I'm not sure what else Razer could have done here.

These support both Razer HyperSpeed Wireless over 2.4GHz and Bluetooth 5.3, including Razer SmartSwitch, alongside up to 35 hours of total battery life. They're also IPX4-rated, and Razer lists surround-sound support across Xbox and PC.

At $119.99 on Razer.com, they're also the least expensive route into the collection.

This is how you do an anniversary collection

The three anniversary models carry roughly a $10 to $20 premium over their standard counterparts, depending on the product. That's the sort of "special edition tax" I can live with when I'm actually getting something special in return.

And, in my opinion, Razer really went over the top here.

There's a consistency across all three products that makes them feel like an actual collection, rather than three unrelated products that happen to share a logo and color. Put the BlackWidow and Basilisk together on a desk, and they look fantastic.

The translucent green plastic immediately evokes Xbox, while the XBOX 25 logos, custom keycaps, ABXY colors, wrist-rest embroidery, RGB implementation, and even that ridiculous little green wireless dongle demonstrate that somebody cared about sweating the details.

And that's ultimately why I like these so much.

Razer started with some of its best hardware rather than using Xbox's anniversary to dress up cheaper peripherals, and then went far enough with the aesthetic changes that they feel genuinely unique.

The Razer | XBOX 25 Anniversary Collection is available to order from October 20, with the BlackWidow V4 75% at $209.99, Basilisk V3 Pro 35K at $179.99, and Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed at $119.99.

These are limited edition, so don't be shocked if they sell out.

If I were choosing only one, I'd take the BlackWidow without hesitation. (But let's be honest: the keyboard and mouse belong together.)

A+ from me, Razer. This is how you do anniversary hardware.

Hit me up in the comments if you have any questions while I still have these on hand! And you can follow the rest of our XBOX 25 coverage as we round out 2026.

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The Surface Laptop Ultra just started shipping, so Microsoft is busy updating its support documents to make sure buyers have all the information they need about the PC. Microsoft's support document about Surface driver and firmware lifecycles was just updated to include the Surface Laptop Ultra.

That document outlines how long each Surface device will receive driver and firmware updates.

The support window for the Surface Laptop Ultra is not surprising. In fact, it's perfectly in line with other Surface devices. Microsoft splits its driver and firmware lifecycle into two different categories: devices released before January 1, 2021 and devices released on or after January 1, 2021.

Devices that shipped before 2021 receive at least four years of driver and firmware updates. All Surface PCs in that category have already reached the end of the driver and firmware lifecycle.

The Surface Laptop Ultra will continue to receive driver and firmware updates until October 16, 2032. Microsoft is quite specific about its lifecycles. For context, the newly launched Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch will only receive driver and firmware updates until October 13, 2032.

Surface Laptop Ultra owners will need to make sure their PC is running a version of Windows 11 from the prior 30 months to continue to receive driver and firmware updates.

Even when a device reaches the end of its driver and firmware lifecycle, it will continue to receive Windows 11 updates.

Firmware is low-level software built into hardware components, while drivers allow Windows to communicate with those parts. Driver and firmware updates keep everything running smoothly. They can fix hardware bugs, battery drain, and security flaws behind the scenes.

Six years is a fair time for a PC to receive driver and firmware updates. Generally, the biggest bugs and issues should be sorted by the end of the Surface Laptop Ultra's driver and firmware lifecycle.

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Black Friday is right around the corner, but that doesn't mean you have to wait for a discount on laptops if you need one to clear last-minute deadlines at work or get caught up before heading to school.

For example, the HP Omnibook X Flip 2-in-1, with its crisp 16-inch display, all-day battery, and next-gen performance, is currently on sale with a 25% discount for $1,199.99 at Best Buy.

Why buy the HP Omnibook X Flip 16" laptop?

This configuration of the HP Omnibook X Flip 2-in-1 is the total package when it comes to casual use and productivity efficiency thanks to its AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 CPU, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD, offering fast performance when running programs, transferring files, or simply booting up.

It also features a 16" 2K OLED Touchscreen that delivers vibrant colors with 100% DCI-P3 coverage for accurate colors and 120Hz adaptive refresh rates to deliver smooth visuals.

On top of that, the HP Omnibook X Flip features an NPU with 50 TOPS to help perform local AI tasks, a smart hybrid build that can swap between laptop, tent, reverse, and tablet modes, and a massive battery life of 15 hours before needing a recharge.

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Lenovo's Pro 9n is the first RTX Spark laptop that I've been able to sit down and use as I normally would at work and at home, following several brief stints with the new class of PCs at Computex and IFA.

Lenovo is aiming its 15.3-inch Pro 9n directly at creators handling demanding 3D rendering and video editing tasks. Its 2.5K OLED display with Pantone color validation, its four Dolby Atmos speakers, its pen-enabled haptic touchpad, and its newfound RTX performance all play into this direction.

Of course, thanks to NVIDIA's RTX Spark chip, it's also suited for local AI workflows, software development, and gaming.

I received the new RTX Spark-powered Lenovo Pro 9n laptop a couple of days ahead of the review embargo. I've been using it steadily since then to get some early first impressions before I start harassing it with benchmarking software. Here's what I've learned so far.

This hands-on was made possible by a review sample provided by Lenovo. The company had no input on the content of this article, nor did it see the article before it was published.

Lenovo Pro 9n: What's in the box?

The Yoga 9n laptop comes packaged — in a fully recyclable box — with a fairly compact 140W USB-C power adapter.

I haven't actually had to use it yet at the time of writing this portion, as all the downloads and puttering around I've done so far on the PC have only sapped the battery to about 35%. I talk about battery life, good and bad, in more detail below.

Lenovo also bundles the Yoga Pen (Gen 2) with each laptop. It's designed to work with the new pen-enabled haptic touchpad (which Lenovo calls a Force Pad), giving users plenty of space to sketch, draw, design, and write.

Lenovo Pro 9n early impressions — 3 things I already love

Lenovo's Pro 9n already has several features that stand out to me after a couple of days of use. I've rounded them up here to give you an idea of what we're working with.

I've also included some of the more concerning things I've noticed, which you'll definitely want to check out if you're thinking about buying this laptop.

Let's start with the good stuff.

Battery life seems solid ... most of the time

Battery life falls into both categories: What I like and what I'm worried about.

First impressions are very good. As mentioned, the laptop is sitting at about 35% after a day of downloads and tinkering around. That's with the PC adjusting its own power profile depending on the task at hand.

If you aren't hammering the hardware and are instead browsing the web, streaming video, answering email, etc., I'm confident that the laptop will deliver awesome battery life for day-to-day tasks.

I explain the flipside to the battery segment below.

Inking on the haptic touchpad

The Pro 9n's display accepts touch input, but it does not work with the Yoga Pen (Gen 2). Instead, the Pro 9n's new haptic touchpad measuring about 3.74 x 5.9 inches (95mm x 150mm) is pen-enabled.

As someone who rarely uses an active pen on any laptop that's not at least a convertible (allowing me to rotate the display around for tablet mode), I love this change.

The oversized touchpad provides plenty of space to work, and the feel and sound of the pen nib on the surface come out natural. The pen has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity thanks to AES 3.0, far more than I'm used to.

Lining up the touchpad area and the on-screen canvas takes a bit of guesswork, but I'll try it in more apps between now and my full review.

Display quality is outstanding

The Yoga 9n's 15.3-inch display uses a "PureSight Pro" OLED panel with X-Rite Pantone calibration, ensuring it's ready for specialized design work requiring accurate color reproduction.

It might be the slim bezels, or it might be the 2560x1600 resolution; in any case, it feels a lot larger than 15.3 inches.

I haven't tested it with a colorimeter yet, but Lenovo says the screen can hit 1,100 nits peak brightness with HDR enabled. I'd wager that's about right, because this thing gets very bright and I've had only minor issues with glare.

It's super smooth too, thanks to a 165Hz variable refresh rate that can automatically lower or raise depending on what you're doing. Lenovo wanted to deliver a screen for creators, and it certainly seems like it achieved its goal.

Lenovo Pro 9n early impressions — 3 things I like less

Admittedly, these three aspects I like less could turn out to be nothingburgers once I've spent more time with the PC. In any case, here they are, including more information about battery life.

A rather plain design

The Lenovo Pro 9n's design is not exactly inspiring.

This isn't just an issue I have with Lenovo's RTX Spark PC; it's largely the same across the entire product catalog, including ASUS, Dell, HP, MSI, and Surface. I imagine second-gen devices will receive a bit more flair, especially as brands branch out into more focused approaches.

In Lenovo's case, with such an emphasis on modern creators, the plain design doesn't quite sit right. Let me know in the comments section below if you disagree with me or have more to add on the subject.

I will say that the laptop is super sleek and not nearly as heavy as I was expecting. It only weighs about 3.6 pounds (1.6kg), and it's well balanced. Port selection is also quite good, with dual Thunderbolt 4, dual USB-A, HDMI 2.1, SD card reader, and 3.5mm audio jack.

Will it overheat?

The first few hours with the Lenovo Pro 9n involved some noticeably hot surfaces, but that seems to have abated now that it's all set up and finished downloading/installing updates.

Playing games causes heat to rise, especially when the AC adapter is plugged in, and it will be interesting to monitor actual temperatures and whether or not the dual-fan system can keep up with sustained heavy loads.

Battery life ... again

As noted, battery life seems great when you aren't pushing the system with anything too demanding.

I need a lot more time with the laptop to get a better idea of how efficient it can be, and I am concerned about how long the battery will last when the PC is under heavy load, for AI work or for gaming.

I gave The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt Remastered a brief play last night, and what I saw was not exactly inspiring. I was getting about 10 minutes of gaming from each 10% of battery, with NVIDIA's Multi Frame Generation turned on and off.

Final thoughts on the Lenovo Pro 9n before a full review

Lenovo's Pro 9n has a lot to unpack, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what this new class of PC can do. First impressions are generally positive, although, as noted, there are some concerns about battery life and heat.

Do you have any questions that need answering regarding the Lenovo Pro 9n or the RTX Spark platform in general? Drop them in the comments section below, and I'll do my best to address them in my full review.

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NVIDIA's RTX Spark has arrived, and tons of laptops are quickly equipping themselves with this superchip to take advantage of its NVIDIA AI, RTX graphics, and unified memory to improve their productivity and gaming performance.

Antonline is getting in on the launch-day action by offering Microsoft Surface and Lenovo laptops packed with the RTX Spark, and we've rounded up Antonline's available RTX Spark offers for your perusal.

Do note that some of Antonline's RTX Spark laptop offers are only up for pre-order, while others are not in stock yet, so check back on its website frequently for stock updates.

What is the RTX Spark?

The RTX Spark is a brand-new ARM-based superchip platform designed by NVIDIA to make a PC more efficient when running high-end PC games and local AI-workflow tasks securely without compromising its performance.

The RTX Spark has an NVIDIA Grace CPU that can support up to 20 cores for boosted performance efficiency, and its Blackwell-generation RTX GPU has gaming performance rates on par with the RTX 5070 graphics card,

Additionally, the RTX Spark can support up to 128GB of unified RAM between its CPU and GPU, and it can generate up to 1,000 TOPS to boost its power when running local AI workflows.

One of our tech experts, Zac Bowden, recently benchmark-tested the RTX Spark and concluded that, and I quote, "RTX Spark is a super interesting chipset. It's forward leaning in a lot of ways, built on the Arm64 architecture that delivers serious performance and great efficiency. While its N1X CPU is just okay, its Blackwell RTX GPU really shines.

This is the first time we've seen RTX 4070-5070 level performance in an SoC that is this small and efficient. It's optimized for AI workloads, which is its strongest workflow by far. Quantized AI models run great, and with up to 128GB of unified memory, most mainstream models will fit entirely on the GPU without a hitch."

Zac also mentions that while it's great for content creators and gamers, the RTX Spark is best recommended for workers who run AI models locally all day, develop software, crunch complex data, and manage source code using thin laptops.

So, If you're one of those hard-working data crunchers in need of a powerful productivity laptop, then laptops built with the RTX Spark are for you.

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Microsoft is finally ready to take on the MacBook Pro with the new Surface Laptop Ultra. From pricing to specs and design, Surface Laptop Ultra was inspired by MacBook Pro, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Unlike most Surface PCs we see ship these days, the Surface Laptop Ultra is a lot of firsts for Microsoft. It's the first ultra-class Surface Laptop, designed from the ground up to compete squarely with high-end professional creator or developer mobile workstations.

It's also the first Surface to ship with a new silicon partner in the way of NVIDIA and the RTX Spark, which the entire ecosystem is rallying around to give Windows on Arm a shot in the arm. It's also Microsoft's first ever Mini LED screen, and the world's first laptop to ship with magnetic USB-C charging.

What I find fascinating about Surface Laptop Ultra however is that it exists because Microsoft's own developers and engineers wanted it. They built this laptop for themselves. It feels like the company got tired of looking over the fence at the MacBook Pro, and decided "why don't we just make our own version of that?"

It really is Microsoft's most powerful and most capable Surface PC ever, and a great stage for Windows. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best Surface PC for everyone. I've been testing the laptop over the last 8 days, and here are my thoughts on Microsoft's new flagship computer.

This review was made possible thanks to a review unit supplied by NVIDIA & Microsoft. Neither company had editorial input and did not see the contents of this review prior to publication.

Price & Availability

Surface Laptop Ultra is Microsoft's most expensive Surface Laptop to date. It starts at an eyewatering $2,599 for the entry-level configuration with 24GB of RAM, 512GB SSD storage, and an 18-core RTX Spark with 5,120 GPU cores. That's an expensive laptop, and it only gets worse the higher you climb up the specs ladder.

The model I've reviewed is the very top end configuration, with a crazy 128GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and a 20-core RTX Spark with 6,144 GPU cores. That model will set you back $5,899, which at these prices basically makes this a $6,000 laptop. That's an insane amount of money to spend on a laptop, but this configuration only really exists for professionals who need the extra power to run local agents and data crunching.

For video creators, gamers, and prosumers, you'll be more than well served with the lower tier models with 24-32GB RAM. All models come with the same mini LED screen, speaker setup, ports, keyboard, and trackpad. It's also available in Platinum or Nightfall colorways (aka, silver and black.)

Design & Ports

We have to start with how this thing looks, and we do need to address the fruit-shaped elephant in the room. Yes, Surface Laptop Ultra looks an awful lot like a MacBook Pro. I wouldn't blame the layman for even thinking it was a MacBook Pro from a distance. The square edges, large trackpad, and minimalist design echo the MacBook Pro from pretty much every angle.

But I'm not here to tell you that's a bad thing. The MacBook Pro is a beautiful device, which is to say Surface Laptop Ultra is also very beautiful. In fact, I think it even improves upon the MacBook Pro's design in subtle ways. The keyboard deck isn't surrounded by a plastic bezel like on MacBook Pro, instead it's softly indented into the metal keyboard deck which looks lush and seamless.

The corners on Surface Laptop Ultra are also a little rounder than the MacBook Pro, a design choice that trickles down from the corners of the chassis to the keys on the keyboard, and corners on the trackpad. It's an entirely consistent and well thought out design, which I highly appreciate.

Microsoft also doesn't suffer from the godawful notch that you'll find on a MacBook Pro. Surface Laptop Ultra's display bezels are uniform along the left and right, and slightly thicker on the top to accommodate the Windows Hello IR face unlock sensors, which are much better than a fingerprint reader.

I should also mention that the display hinge on this laptop is perfectly tuned. It opens with one finger, and is perfectly balanced to provide a satisfying level of friction as you open and close it. It's also rock solid when typing, meaning it doesn't wobble around at all when on a desk.

The port selection is good enough. It features three USB-C ports, a USB-A port, a 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI 2.1, and a full-sized SD card reader. Of course, the star of the show in the ports department is Microsoft's clever magnetic USB-C port, which replaces the proprietary Surface Connect charge port found on older Surface Laptops.

It's great to see a laptop manufacturer attempting to innovate and improve on the universal USB-C standard. Here, we have a USB-C port that is compatible with all your USB-C peripherals, but it's also magnetized, and with the included charging cable, magnetically snaps to the device just like Apple MagSafe, while using the same universal USB-C port.

How did Microsoft do this? Well, most of the innovation is actually on the cable side. On the laptop itself, the only real change is that the USB-C port is slightly wider at its opening, but the rest of the USB-C port itself is typical in its design. Microsoft placed magnets on either side of the port, and redesigned the USB-C connector that's attached to the cable to allow for the magnetic connection to be seamless.

The cable's male USB-C end is shallower than a normal USB-C connection. This allows for it to connect to the USB-C port without clicking in, which is what locks a cable to a USB-C port normally. Instead, the magnets hold it in place, which enables the breakaway design that differentiates this USB-C port from the rest.

That does mean the USB-C cable that comes included only works with Surface Laptop Ultra, and only in this particular port. Microsoft realized this would be a problem, and designed the power brick that comes with Surface Laptop Ultra in a way that allows the magnetic cable to attach to the brick instead. The other end of the charging cable is a normal male USB-C end, which connects to any USB-C port you want.

So you can still use the Surface Laptop Ultra's power brick and cable on any device or any port you like, you just have to plug the magnetic end into the power brick first. It's a genius design, and proves that Microsoft really thought of everything when it comes to this unique magnetic USB-C experience. I love it, and I hope to see it on more laptops in the future.

Surface Laptop Ultra is available in just two colorways: Platinum and Nightfall. To me, I think the Platinum version looks the nicest, but the Nightfall version looks clean too. The good news is the dark color does a relatively good job at fending off fingerprints thanks to an anti-fingerprint coating that has been applied to the chassis.

Display & Features

Surface Laptop Ultra ships with Microsoft's first ever mini-LED display, which delivers better contrast and brighter peak brightness over your standard LCD that has been found in all other Surface Laptops to date. Unlike an LCD, the Surface Laptop Ultra's mini-LED screen packs 1,344 local dimming zones, which allows the laptop to dim darker areas of the screen that don't need as much light.

This number is not as high as the mini-LED screen on the MacBook Pro, and this results in a bit of blooming around bright elements on a dark background. If you use Windows in light mode, this will almost never bother you. But in dark mode, in a dimly lit environment, it becomes quite a bit more apparent.

The backlight also takes a fraction of a second to keep up with what's going on on your screen. If you move a bright window around on a dark background, you'll notice the backlight brightening and dimming around the edges of the window. This gives off a slight ghosting effect which degrades the 120Hz refresh rate somewhat. It isn't noticeable at all in light mode, however.

This all leads me to say I wish Microsoft had opted for an OLED panel on the Surface Laptop Ultra. I've been daily driving OLED displays for the better part of a year now, and a mini-LED panel just isn't a vibrant or contrasty as an OLED display can be. The mini LED display is good, but not the best on the market, and it's certainly no OLED.

Microsoft tells me it opted for mini LED over OLED primarily for the brightness and efficiency gains. At 2,000 nits peak brightness, it is the brightest screen ever put on a Surface. But Tandem OLED displays are also very capable of reaching similar peak brightness levels these days, and so I feel the benefits of a mini LED screen don't carry much weight here.

If you're coming from a standard LCD, the mini LED screen will be nothing but an upgrade to you. It's color accurate, very bright, and its high resolution and 120Hz make reading text and scrolling webpages look and feel great. But if you're coming from a MacBook Pro mini LED screen, or an OLED display, you will notice the downgrade in contrast and more noticeable blooming.

• What is Mini LED? Everything you need to know about display tech

The display is also a touch screen, which is the case on pretty much all Surface PCs since the line began in 2012. Microsoft truly believes that touch has a place on the laptop form factor, and I agree with it. Being able to reach out to tap on a notification or hit OK on a window prompt is really nice, even if I don't use it all the time.

For pen lovers, sadly the Surface Laptop Ultra does not support pen input. Microsoft dropped pen input from the Surface Laptop with Surface Laptop 7, and the Surface Laptop Ultra has not restored it. This makes sense however, as the screen does not lay flat so drawing on it would be uncomfortable.

I also want to mention the fact that Surface Laptop Ultra features a user upgradeable SSD drive. That means you don't have to splash out on the most storage at the checkout screen. You can opt for a lower amount, and when you finally fill it, upgrade the SSD to something larger later down the line. You can't say that about the MacBook Pro.

Unfortunately, Surface Laptop Ultra is missing a key quality of life feature that I have come to enjoy on other flagship Windows laptops over the last year: presence sensing capabilities. My daily driver is able to wake up and go to sleep whenever I approach it or walk away, and Surface Laptop Ultra is missing this functionality entirely. A crying shame.

It's also missing all Copilot+ PC features currently. Microsoft tells me that RTX Spark is a Copilot+ PC capable chip, but that the suite of Copilot+ PC features aren't yet ready for the platform, and to expect them to show up in the coming months. The RTX Spark has a 50 TOPS NPU that will power these experiences when they finally do arrive.

Keyboard & Trackpad

Surface has always delivered excellent keyboard and trackpad experiences, but Surface Laptop Ultra might be on a whole other level. This is probably the best keyboard and trackpad experience I've ever had on a Windows laptop to date. The keyboard is comfortable, tactile, and quiet, with 1.4mm key travel which is incredibly satisfying and not at all fatiguing.

The keys themselves are slightly rounder than the keys found on Surface Laptop 8, which I think is more comfortable and looks nicer as a result. It features a three-stage backlight, a Copilot key (which can be changed,) and a dedicated microphone mute key. It's pretty much perfect in every way.

But what I really want to talk about is the trackpad. It's the largest trackpad ever fitted to a Surface, and that makes a huge difference in how easy it is to use. There's so much room for activities, and you'll never find yourself at the edge of the trackpad because you needed to drag a file and ran out of room.

Palm rejection is also very good. I never once had an issue with the trackpad being in the way when typing, which means Microsoft has done a good job at ensuring the trackpad's side isn't impeding the typing experience. The trackpad itself is haptic, and feels great to click on, with strength adjustability in Windows Settings so you can really dial in just how strong that haptic feedback is.

But the new trackpad also supports Windows 11's new haptic system, which introduces subtle haptic feedback when interacting with different UI elements across Windows. When you snap an app window, or drag files across folders, you'll feel haptic bumps under your finger in the trackpad that are different from the usual click down sensation it provides. It's genuinely great.

Camera & Audio

It's a Surface, so you can and should expect great cameras and microphones on Surface Laptop Ultra. The webcam is a 1080p shooter that looks more than fine for video calls, Teams meetings, and recorded presentations. In low light, the image does get a little noisy, but not any more than any other high-end webcams on the market.

The shining star in this department are the built-in studio mics, which are very very good. They sound studio quality, with rich bass and far-field mics that do a very good job at tuning out background noise to ensure the things that you are saying are captured clearly and well.

I also need to take a moment to talk about the built-in speakers on this laptop. They are superb. Again, probably the best I've tried in a Windows laptop to date, and give the MacBook Pro 14-inch a run for its money. There's a clear sound stage, highs are crisp and bass is rich.

Performance & Battery

I've already published an in-depth look at the performance of RTX Spark on Surface Laptop Ultra, which you can read here if you're interested, so there won't be raw performance benchmark numbers in this review.

The TL:DR for that however is that the RTX Spark is a powerful chip, with okay CPU performance but great GPU performance. It's capable of playing most games at 1440p high settings above 60fps, and top end configs can fit large AI models directly onto the GPU for faster processing. But it trails behind the latest high-end Apple Silicon, and is more in-line with current-gen Snapdragon X2 Elite or last-gen Apple M4 Pro in overall performance.

By default, the 128GB Surface Laptop Ultra ships with its unified memory in a 50/50 split configuration. Users are free to adjust this in the NVIDIA app, which is good for when you need to give either the system or your GPU more RAM for whatever task it is you're completing. It requires a restart to apply, which frustratingly takes a long time on the Surface Laptop Ultra.

Performance is great for the most part. In day to day usage, it's blazing fast and is able to crunch through pretty much any workload I'd want to throw at a mobile workstation such as this. With that said, there are a couple of oddities related to performance that I feel I should mention.

Compared to other devices I have on hand, the Surface Laptop Ultra sometimes takes twice as long to restart. I'm talking over 2 minutes from hitting restart to being back on the lock screen, which is about double the amount of time it takes all the other laptops in my possession. Microsoft says they are investigating.

Surface Laptop Ultra also ships with the "Best Power Efficiency" profile set by default. This is unusual, as most Surface PCs ship with their power profile set to balanced. Microsoft says it does this to maximize battery life, but that does come at the cost of performance.

I've found that overall performance can be slashed by up to a quarter or even half when in this default mode. So if you want to make the most of your RTX Spark PC, be sure to change the power mode in Windows Settings to either Balanced or Best Performance. I usually set the on-battery mode to Balanced, and the plugged in state to Best Performance.

On the subject of battery life, the Surface Laptop Ultra's endurance is just fine. It's not class leading by any stretch, but I can definitely get through the work day without much fuss, though this will depend on your workload. Our Procyon battery life benchmark test lasted around 14 hours, and in real world use I was getting close to about 10.

But if your workload heavily leans on the GPU, you can expect to halve that number. The GPU is quite efficient for the power it outputs, but it's still a GPU and it's still hungry. So if you know you'll be using the GPU a lot throughout the day, you'll want to bring the charger with you.

With that said, sleep endurance is very good for the level of power this laptop outputs. I put the laptop to sleep at about midnight, and open the lid 10 hours later, and it's only drained one, maybe two percent from the battery. Very good on that front!

Under max load, the Surface Laptop Ultra gets quite warm. While the keys themselves remain at an okay temperature, the top part of the keyboard deck gets very toasty. I measured 123 F at its hottest under max load, which is approaching "oh that's hot" territory.

I also noticed quite audible coil whine when under max load on my Surface Laptop Ultra. This isn't a problem in day to day use, but whenever the GPU is being used, I can hear buzzing coming from inside the keyboard chassis. If you're sensitive to that kind of thing, it will annoy you.

Fan noise is acceptable even at max load. I measure around 42 decibels at its loudest, and that was after running a benchmark for 10 minutes. In normal use, the fans rarely come on, though it does run slightly warm on your lap as a result.

Conclusion

✅ You should buy this if ...

• You are a software developer utilizing on-device AI
• You live and breathe large language models and agentic workflows
• You need a beefy GPU in a portable and efficient package
• You need lots of RAM

❎ You should not buy this if ...

• You aren't interested in AI or agentic workflows
• You only need a PC for standard productivity tasks
• You occasionally game or edit video (get something cheaper)
• You want something thin and light

Surface Laptop Ultra is great, but it's not something I can comfortably recommend everyone go out and buy, especially at these high prices. At the base level, it doesn't offer enough to justify the added cost over a Surface Laptop 8 with 24GB RAM. You do get the more beefy GPU and "better" display, but that comes at the cost of portability and battery life.

The Mini LED screen isn't the upgrade I was hoping it would be. For those who have only ever used a standard LCD their whole life, I'm sure you will appreciate the added brightness. But the ghosting issue is annoying and I think most people will notice it. I would have much preferred an OLED on a laptop this expensive.

Battery life is also just okay, which, again, for a laptop of this size and weight, leaves something to be desired. You can get longer day to day use out of a thinner and lighter Surface Laptop 8, which I think most people would prefer over the raw power that Surface Laptop Ultra offers.

And that brings me back to my original point. This isn't a laptop for everyone. It's a laptop for those who know they need it, and it's mainly for AI developers and high-end content creators. If you find yourself leaning on local agents to complete tasks for you, or enjoy generating images and videos using AI models, this is the laptop for you.

If you're someone who just needs a laptop for productivity tasks that includes a little bit of photo and video editing, and sometimes some gaming, there are cheaper laptops out there that will do that job very well.

Is this the MacBook Pro for Windows? I think it is. But it's not the perfect MacBook Pro alternative just yet. RTX Spark isn't at the same level as high-end MacBook Pro silicon, the Mini LED screen isn't best in class, and battery life could use some improvement.

Microsoft held a Windows and Surface event last week that focused heavily on the Surface Laptop Ultra. Coincidentally, Panos Panay announced a new device on the same day. Panay, who led Microsoft's hardware division for years, now works for Amazon and unveiled a new range of Amazon Alexa tablets.

Those tablets aren't really direct competition to the Surface Pro, but they do have a feature I'm envious of. The nanomatte screen on one of those Amazon Alexa tablets would be perfect on a Surface Pro.

Matte displays reduce glare by diffusing light. Because the screens bounce light in different directions, the image can appear grainy. An extreme example of this is if you get a cheap matte screen protector for your phone, but even a premium PC with a matte finish can look a bit grainy.

The nanomatte display Amazon uses in its new tablets etches the screen in a way that aligns with the pixels of the display. Amazon praises the displays for providing "a first-of-its-kind cinematic viewing experience, with incredible contrast retention in bright conditions and text that feels like it’s sitting on top of the glass."

I'm not sure I agree with the claim that it's a world first. Apple's nano-texture technology is similar to what Amazon unveiled. But even if Amazon is not a pioneer in the space, it has a device with a screen I'm envious of.

Microsoft has been oddly resistant to anti-glare displays. Surface was late to the party on adding them to any device and has been selective with where it offers the screens.

Even as recently as this year, Surface Laptop 8 shoppers needed to choose between an anti-glare display or 5G connectivity.

Our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino argued back in 2020 that Microsoft needed to use anti-reflective displays in Surface PCs. Anti-reflective screens are different from anti-glare displays, but both aim to improve visibility in bright environments.

Microsoft has yet to fully embrace anti-glare screens and it holds back Surface hardware.

The anti-glare display of the Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro also has a texture that makes pen usage feel more natural. The screen is meant to make it feel like you're writing on paper, not a perfectly smooth piece of glass.

It's not surprising that a device made by Panay has features that would fit perfectly on a Surface. He shaped the Surface brand as much as anyone, and he took his expertise over to Amazon.

But as I mentioned earlier, the Alexa tablets are not competitors to the Surface Pro, so they can't serve as replacements either. The Alexa tablets run on Android and have access to the Google Play Store. That's a welcome change to the locked-down Fire Tablets of the past, but it's a far cry from a Windows-powered 2-in-1.

I'd love to see Microsoft replicate the nanomatte finish of the Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro on a Surface Pro in the future. The finish would help those using the Surface Pro in bright settings and also improve the feel of using a stylus.

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In September this year, Google announced its 'Googlebooks' as a premium laptop counterpart to its budget-conscious Chromebooks, rather than a replacement. It wouldn't have made much of a blip on my radar if the company hadn't paired with some of my favorite OEMs to build them.

Indeed, Google isn't building any first-party devices. Unlike Chromebook, these new Android-based offerings come only from OEMs like Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. 14-inch Windows laptops have quickly become my favorite, with ASUS' Zenbook in the lead, so the $1,299 ASUS Googlebook 14 is intriguing.

Admittedly, that mild intrigue is tempered by skepticism, given the ongoing controversy over app compatibility for the average consumer. I still see people blasting Windows on ARM devices as an inferior experience, despite Qualcomm's efforts with Snapdragon X2 chips proving that to be largely false.

With that in mind, could I ever seriously expect the general public to adopt another operating system with fewer features than Windows, less customization than Linux, and some pricing sensibilities of Mac? Offered a chance to test-drive a sample from ASUS, I couldn't resist. Here's how it went.

ASUS Googlebook 14: What I like

The ASUS Googlebook 14 looks (and feels) great, which didn't surprise me, given how much I've enjoyed the company's recent design evolutions. Its chassis is coated in a magnesium-aluminum alloy, which explicitly avoids being labeled as the same Ceraluminum as its Zenbooks, but it's extremely similar.

Perhaps most impressive is its weight; ASUS claims the Googlebook 14 starts at 0.99 kg (2.18 lbs), but my scales place it closer to 0.97 kg (2.13 lbs). I'm a big fan of this emerging trend, having adored the Zenbook A14 at 2.18 lbs. Yes, it comes with extra screen flex, but I don't make a habit of bending my laptops.

OLED displays rarely disappoint either, and sure enough, this 16:10 panel also looks great. I'm still getting used to matte screens, and frankly, I almost want to avoid touching it to prevent fingerprints. Nevertheless, it's rated for up to 450 nits of brightness and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. Good for creators.

Finally, the chiclet keyboard has a 1.5mm key travel, which is relatively deep and feels good enough. The 6-inch haptic touchpad, however, is immediately fantastic. Left-clicking works anywhere, and it responds convincingly when pressed. I'll even commend the I/O for keeping USB-A ports around.

ASUS Googlebook 14: What I don't like

Before I had a chance to experience much of Googlebook OS (which can refer to itself as ChromeOS during setup), I was irked by a few user experience oddities. Granted, these are primarily related to my expectations as a Windows user, but when I pressed the Caps Lock button, I expected capital letters.

Instead, Caps Lock defaults to activating a context menu indicated by a plus (+) icon, a sort of one-size-fits-all window that resembles Microsoft's 'Emoji and more' picker. Pressing Fn + Caps Lock delivers what I really wanted, which should be no big deal, just a learning curve. But it keeps going.

There's no delete key, so I need Fn + Backspace for that, which I wouldn't mind if double-tapping the touchpad would drag to select multiple words, but it doesn't work that way; I can only double-tap one word at a time. I suppose I might get used to that, too. Shift + arrow keys still select full lines, after all.

Some aren't as drastic; a single haptic click at the top of an app with maintained contact allows me to drag it around, while double-tapping restores or maximizes as I'd expect. On the other hand, there's no right-click area by default, instead requiring a two-finger tap unless I toggle that touchpad tweak in Settings.

Again, most of these gripes can be so easily dismissed as nothingburger preferences carried over from decades of habits formed on Windows, which is fair, but trying to carry out my daily workflow on the ASUS Googlebook 14 soon had me wondering how much broad appeal this platform will have.

Like an Android smartphone, Google supplies your apps from the Play Store. Starting with Slack shows how a Googlebook handles compatibility by dividing apps into categories ranked from best to worst: Made for desktop, Optimized for desktop, Compatible with desktop, Better on the website, and Built for mobile.

Slack feels like an unlucky starting place for my Googlebook adventure since it lands in the 'Better on the website' category, made worse by a message that says, "This app cannot be installed" as a PWA (Progressive Web App). Installing it anyway is, indeed, a lesser experience than using it in Chrome.

Opening the 'Compatible with desktop' Microsoft Edge brings the entire Googlebook to a strange halt, preventing even Task Manager from opening until I restart, and my chosen video editing suite, DaVinci Resolve, isn't available at all. I know it's in its infancy, but Google's OS isn't thrilling me so far.

ASUS Googlebook 14: What happens next?

All of these impressions came in the first 24 hours of having my hands on this interesting, AI-centric laptop, and there's more to see. Gemini begs me to use it at every turn, but my next step is syncing my Pixel 7 Pro or Galaxy Z Flip 7 to see how features like 'Cast my apps' actually perform.

I'm not writing it off yet, but my first impressions aren't exactly stellar. Even the RGB Glowbar gimmick offers little more than battery-life visibility; almost as frivolous as the illuminated "look what I have" logos on gaming laptop lids. On the software side, OS updates will likely fix many of my complaints.

Still, I won't ignore the outspoken Windows users who have pushed back on Copilot AI integrations in Microsoft's leading OS for the past few years, and I can only wonder who would adopt something fundamentally the same, except built by Google. Are Googlebooks perhaps only appealing to developers?

Either way, I'm impressed with ASUS but unconvinced by Googlebook. The hardware is fantastic, but it comes from the same people who built the Zenbook, so that's hardly a revelation. I'll keep using Googlebook OS for a few more days and see how it feels once the launch hype dies down.

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IDC and Omdia, two major analyst firms, recently released independent reports showing massive year-over-year drops in global PC shipments in Q3 2026. IDC shows a slightly rosier 20.1% decline compared to Q3 2025, whereas Omdia reports a 21.2% decline.

Breaking that down, Omdia notes that desktop shipments dropped 23.5% and laptops 20.6% to arrive at the average.

This decline is not normal. As IDC notes, Q3 almost always beats Q2, but this year, it's dropped by 9.1% sequentially.

Is there a need to panic? Probably not, at least not more than the new normal, as RAM and storage shortages have pushed prices beyond what many users are willing to pay. Let me explain.

Why did global PC shipments fall off a cliff in Q3 2026?

Both analysts agree that the sharp drop in global PC shipments is due to vendors and supply channels buying up stock earlier in the year. IDC's Jitesh Ubrani says it's the result of "strong first half pull-in" which has "thrown off the usual seasonality".

Despite the RAM and storage crisis already digging its claws into the market in Q1 2026, global PC shipments actually rose by 3.2% on the back of panic buyers, Windows 10 upgraders, and advance vendor stockpiling.

It wasn't until Q2 2026 that global shipments finally dropped year-over-year, this time by 4%. Again, much of the PC market was kept afloat by vendors and supply channels padding out their inventories before prices went any higher.

That momentum has finally tailed off in a major way. Ubrani remarks:

Omdia's Research Director Ishan Dutt agrees, noting that "pull-forward activity buoyed the PC market in the first half of the year" and that the sharp drop in Q3 2026 "comes as no surprise."

Which PC brand got hit the hardest in Q3 2026?

Omdia and IDC both provide detailed numbers as to how many shipments each major PC brand was able to send out in Q3 2026.

According to IDC, HP saw the biggest year-over-year decline at 30.9%, with Lenovo coming in second at a 22.6% decline. Omdia's numbers put HP at -31% and Lenovo at -22.9%, so not much difference.

Moving down IDC's list, Dell was hit by a 25% decline, ASUS by 8.6%, and other brands together by 14%. Despite Apple growing strongly in Q2 2026 thanks to the launch of its MacBook Neo, it also dropped off by 11.3% in Q3.

What does the drop in global PC shipments mean for regular buyers?

Basically, this sharp drop in shipments doesn't mean that you should suddenly see a return to more regular prices.

Vendors and suppliers had to buy their PCs in the first half of 2026 at a much higher price than usual, and they're not likely keen on losing money as they get rid of stock in Q4.

RAM and storage costs have not improved, and IDC's Ubrani notes that "with macro conditions worsening, the risk is that the outlook for the next few quarters gets worse before it gets better."

Offering buying advice here sort of feels futile. On one hand, yes, some vendors might realize they need to offload stock and will offer some tasty discounts that bring prices back into the realm of reality. Unfortunately, I can't guarantee that will happen any time in the near future.

On the other hand, laptops might be at their most affordable right now, and waiting for a great deal will only end up making you pay more later this year or next year. It's a frustrating predicament, to be sure.

It will be interesting to see what Q4 2026 has in store for the global PC market.

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Microsoft's new Surface Laptop Ultra is here. Preorders are live and shipments start next week. The PC packs an RTX Spark processor and has a mini-LED display and a nice range of ports, including the special magnetic USB-C port.

Surprisingly, the Surface Laptop Ultra has the lowest starting price of all the RTX Spark laptops. But Microsoft is pushing to compete with more than just Windows laptops. The tech giant will give you up to $1,000 cash back when you trade in a MacBook Pro and buy a Surface Laptop Ultra.

The cash back you receive would be on top of the trade-in value, not in place of it. Rather than the funds being dispensed at checkout, Microsoft will pay the cash back after receiving and evaluating your device.

"A promotional offer is extra value added to your trade-in when your device and purchase qualify," says Microsoft. "For example, you may receive a promotional bonus in addition to your device's standard trade-in value. The total amount is paid after your device is received and evaluated, not applied at checkout."

If you stack trade-in value with cash back, you can effectively save thousands of dollars on a Surface Laptop Ultra. Of course, that would require you to have a MacBook Pro in excellent condition that has incredibly high specs, all while wanting a Surface instead. I'm not sure how many people will check all those boxes.

Perhaps the bigger news here is that Microsoft specifically made a cash back offer targeting MacBook Pro owners. That's a clear shot at Apple and a sign that Microsoft wants to compete with what are often considered the best laptops on the market.

As you'd expect, the value of your device trade-in depends greatly on the model you're trading in and the condition that device is in. The highest trade-in value I was able to get through Microsoft's website was $2,115 for a MacBook Pro 16-inch (2025) with 128GB of RAM and 4TB of storage.

Interest in the Surface Laptop Ultra has been strong from our readers. It will be interesting to see if that sentiment is widespread and translates to sales.

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Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra is part of a new wave of Windows laptops running on NVIDIA's RTX Spark platform. It was first revealed at Computex 2026, and Microsoft followed up with pricing, release date, and more feature details at a special event on October 7, 2026. Prices are confirmed to start at $2,599.99, and models are expected to begin shipping on October 16.

The Surface Laptop Ultra is the most powerful Surface device yet thanks to its ARM-based NVIDIA System-on-Chip (SoC) with up to 20 CPU cores, 6,144 Blackwell RTX GPU cores, and 128GB of unified memory. Microsoft built the Surface Laptop Ultra for "world makers," also known as developers, scientists, engineers, and creators, who need a fresh take on performance and portability in the age of AI.

Microsoft finally gave us more information about the Surface Laptop Ultra, including price, release date, and features, at a special event on October 7.

It's confirmed that the RTX Spark-powered PC will begin shipping on October 16, and preorders are live now, starting at $2,599.

The reactions to this announcement have been interesting. It seems like a fair number of people were expecting a higher baseline price, while others are just happy that Surface now has a true MacBook Pro competitor for the age of AI.

Here's what people are saying about the new Surface Laptop Ultra and its RTX Spark platform.

The Windows community reacts to the Surface Laptop Ultra's pricing

Starting at $2,599, the Surface Laptop Ultra is actually the most affordable RTX Spark laptop you can buy right now. You can have a look for yourself in my roundup of Spark devices available for preorder today.

Many of us here at Windows Central expected the price to kick off at $2,999, and that seems to be a common thread in the community as well.

Responding to Zac's post, X user @janekknaf said, "Quite cheap tbh I expected it to start at $2999."

Over on Reddit, the sentiment seems to be largely the same.

Responding to a Windows Central subreddit thread regarding other RTX Spark laptops and their pricing, user Icybubba noted, "And somehow the Surface seems to be the cheapest out of all those."

Another redditor, Valterri_Its_James, remarked, "Lowkey the pricing isn't absolutely horrendous. 32GB costs $3300 which is about the same as the ROG Zephyrus G14."

Not everyone is loving the Surface Laptop Ultra's pricing

Others aren't so sure that the Surface Laptop Ultra is a reasonable price, especially once they dig into the configuration options and see what's available for each chip.

For reference, the Laptop Ultra has two RTX Spark options available: a more affordable option with an 18-core CPU and 5120-core GPU, or a more expensive option with a 20-core CPU and 6144-core GPU.

The price difference between these two models is roughly $1,100, though the more powerful Spark defaults to at least 32GB of RAM (compared to 24GB) and a 1TB SSD (compared to 512GB).

Do you think the price hike for 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD is too extreme? Let me know in the comments below.

How's everyone feeling about the breakaway USB-C Port?

The announced feature that seems to be getting a lot of attention alongside pricing is the Surface Laptop Ultra's breakaway USB-C port.

It's sort of a mashup between Apple MagSafe and Surface Connect, designed to pull out of the laptop rather than ripping it off a desk should you trip on the cable. It's designed to work with any USB-C cable, and the port offers full functionality.

Reddit user Oliver-Pearce called it a "Welcome feature!" and X user Psalter said, "Anyone who's ever tripped over a charging cable will appreciate this."

There are, of course, plenty of detractors noting that it took Microsoft this long to finally copy Apple MagSafe. That's not exactly true; Surface Connect was always magnetic and would break away if jarred. The move to the more ubiquitous USB-C form factor erased that failsafe, and Microsoft has now reintroduced it.

It's also worth pointing out that MagSafe does not handle any data and is for power only. The Surface Laptop Ultra's USB-C port handles both.

I want to know what you think!

We're a community here at Windows Central, and I'm always interested in your opinions. I want to know what you think about the Surface Laptop Ultra's pricing, configuration options, and features in more detail, so please be sure to leave a comment below!

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Microsoft finally revealed exactly how much its new Surface Laptop Ultra costs (starting at $2,599!), and preorders are now live for anyone who wants to get in on the first wave of PCs expected to ship on October 16.

While Microsoft was busy revealing new information about its most powerful Surface yet at the event, other laptop makers were busy setting their own prices and opening up preorders.

We now have a wide selection of RTX Spark laptops from the likes of ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI, and I'm expecting there to be more arriving in the near future. Until then, here's what you can preorder today.

RTX Spark laptops with confirmed pricing and release date (so far)

To make it easier for anyone hoping to land a new RTX Spark-powered PC, I've put together this list of laptops that you can now preorder.

Did I miss any RTX Spark laptops?

Did you spot a live preorder I missed? Let me know about it in the comments section below. I'd also love to hear your opinions regarding pricing on these models. Do you think it's too high? Too low? Just right? Tell me about it!

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The Surface Laptop Ultra with NVIDIA RTX Spark is now available to preorder following the October 7 Surface event in San Francisco. It arrives as a suped-up Surface Laptop 8 with a 15-inch mini-LED display, tons of ports, a sleek design, and, of course, NVIDIA's N1x chip with support for up to 128GB of unified memory.

It's a laptop that's marketed as the ultimate PC for creators, AI specialists, engineers, scientists, and developers who don't want to be tied down to a bulky workstation on a desk.

That's all fine and good, but having had the opportunity alongside my colleague Zac Bowden to use the Surface Laptop Ultra a couple of times, I can say that NVIDIA was not shy about showing off the PC's gaming prowess in closed demos.

I can also say that the gaming experience was super smooth, even in games with ray tracing, path tracing, and DLSS support. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ran flawlessly when I tried it, and every other title seemed to be an easy task for the Laptop Ultra.

What's more impressive is that many of these demo games were run through Microsoft's Prism emulation layer due to the RTX Spark's ARM architecture (the same used by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X and X2 chips).

That begs the question: Is the Surface Laptop Ultra the ultimate laptop for PC gaming?

At the risk of breaking some pixelated hearts, I'll say that dedicated PC gamers should look elsewhere. Here's why.

The Surface Laptop Ultra's specs look ideal for gaming ... what gives?

It's well established that NVIDIA's RTX platform is the preferred way to play on PC for most gamers, mainly due to the excellent performance and additional support for features like ray tracing, path tracing, and DLSS.

Considering the Surface Laptop Ultra's RTX Blackwell GPU supports all of the latest features, wouldn't that make it a capable PC for gaming?

Well, yes. But there's more to the story.

The Surface Laptop Ultra was not designed to be a gaming PC. It was made to handle intricate AI workloads locally and to be the centerpiece of a professional's arsenal, and the fact that it can run plenty of games smoothly is simply a convenient effect of using NVIDIA's technology. Its starting price of $2,599 reflects that reality.

Sure, that cost is inflated due to the ongoing RAM and storage crisis, but in any case, you can buy a quality laptop made specifically for gaming purposes (suffering from the same RAM and memory squeeze) for considerably less money.

For my PC gaming money, I'd much rather buy a PC running standard Windows 11 rather than Windows on ARM (despite serious advancements in emulation and support). That way, you're guaranteed not to experience any compatibility issues with the games or their anti-cheat methods.

Gaming laptops also come tuned for gaming right out of the box, and their hardware is designed to support that initiative. Sure, you could tune the Surface Laptop Ultra to focus more on gaming, but that's really not what it was meant for.

The bottom line regarding the Surface Laptop Ultra and PC gaming

The Surface Laptop Ultra should be treated as a pro-grade laptop that happens to have some more-than-decent gaming chops.

I know there are plenty of pros out there who love the idea of tackling AI workloads during the day and gaming at night, all from the same machine, and the Surface Laptop Ultra should be a hot ticket for those users.

For gamers at heart, however, I recommend taking a look at the host of quality dedicated gaming laptops before ever considering the Surface Laptop Ultra.

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Microsoft's Surface event today, October 7, revealed a lot more about the Surface Laptop Ultra with an NVIDIA RTX Spark chip inside.

For those who can't fathom missing out on the first wave of new laptops, I have good news. The Surface Laptop Ultra is now available to preorder starting at $2,599, with shipments expected to begin going out on October 16.

Surface Laptop Ultra — What configurations are available, and which one is best for me?

The Surface Laptop Ultra is set up so that configurations really only affect the performance hardware inside. Each model comes with a 15-inch mini-LED display, the same port selection, and the same killer design.

The baseline $2,599 model includes the RTX Spark platform with NVIDIA's 18-core N1X CPU and 5120-core RTX Blackwell GPU, 24GB of unified RAM, and 512GB of storage.

This is a decent option for those who need to balance price and performance, or for those who simply want to get their hands on this new hardware without overspending.

There's also a model with a 20-core CPU and 6144-core GPU for those who need utmost power. Configuring with 32GB of unified RAM (the lowest option) and a 1TB SSD (also the lowest option), you're looking at $3,699.99. This model is where I'd recommend most advanced users start.

Moving up from there, you can essentially trick out your PC with as much RAM and storage as you want. This is where things begin to get very expensive for pro users. The top-of-the-line model with the more powerful Spark, 128GB of unified RAM, and a 1TB SSD runs up to $5,899.99, reserving it for a select few.

Both models are available in Nightfall or Platinum colors.

Is the Surface Laptop Ultra's price too high?

I wasn't expecting the laptop Microsoft calls "Not Standard Issue" to be reasonably priced for most users.

It's a flagship PC with monster internals, and Microsoft clearly states that it's intended for creators, AI builders, scientists, engineers, and other power users who need an ultimate device to handle everything.

Those users are generally used to paying more for high-end hardware, but that doesn't make the price sting any less.

Take this high-end approach and tack on the macroeconomics of the ongoing RAM and storage crisis, and you get set prices much higher than I'm sure Microsoft ever intended.

Starting at $2,599 for a "baseline" model, you'll want to be sure this is the PC for you before you buy it.

As for the gaming angle, I've covered it in more detail in a separate post. Bottom line? You shouldn't buy the Surface Laptop Ultra as a dedicated gaming machine, but its NVIDIA Blackwell GPU will indeed power many games with ray tracing, path tracing, and DLSS in tow.

Are you preordering the new Surface Laptop Ultra today? If so, which configuration did you get? If not, what made you skip it? Let me know in the comments section below!

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