Microsoft unveils powerful Surface Laptop Ultra with Nvidia RTX Spark chip
The Surface Laptop Ultra is the "most powerful" computer Microsoft has ever created
š» Microsoft has announced the new Surface Laptop Ultra
āļø Itās powered by Nvidiaās new ARM-based RTX Spark chip
šŗ It has a 15-inch Mini-LED display, impressive AI performance, plenty of IO, and a huge trackpad
š Microsoft has yet to reveal all of the key details about the laptop, including its price
š The Surface Laptop Ultra is just the beginning of a swath of new Nvidia laptops coming this fall
Microsoft is going big with its next Surface device. At Computex 2026, the company announced/teased the new Surface Laptop Ultra, the most powerful Surface yet and the most powerful computer Microsoft has (apparently) ever created. The new machine uses Nvidiaās new ARM-based RTX Spark chip, which promises to deliver incredible performance for both normal tasks and AI computing. Itās expected to arrive this fall, along with a slew of other Nvidia RTX Spark-powered laptops.
There are a number of things we donāt know about the Surface Laptop Ultra just yet, but Microsoft did reveal a number of key details and specs that give us an idea of what to expect. The laptop is less than 18mm thick and weighs less than 4.5 pounds, according to the company. Itāll sport a 15-inch Mini-LED display, which Microsoft says is the brightest screen its ever shipped with up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness. The trackpad is 30% larger than the previous-generation Surface Laptop, and itāll have plenty of IO (three USB-C ports, USB-A, HDMI, a headphone jack, and even SD card support).
Where the most interest lies is under the hood. Nvidiaās new RTX Spark chip lives at the core of the machine, which is expected to be offered in a range of flavors when the Surface Laptop Ultra ships. Nvidia says the chip can be configured with up to 20 CPU cores, 6,144 GPU cores, and 128GB of unified memory, but itās not clear if the Laptop Ultra will offer specs similar to that, or tone things down a bit.
Whatever the case, the laptop sounds like itās going to be very powerful. On top of handling all your everyday tasks, Microsoft says that combined with the GPU, the Surface Laptop Ultra will come with up to 1 petaflop of AI computing power, which is quite impressive. Thisāll help play into Nvidiaās vision for more AI-powered laptops for all.
The machine will come with all-day battery life, according to Microsoft, although itās unclear what kind of usage will quality under that moniker. The laptop also has a new thermal system with up to 2.5x the thermal capacity of the previous Surface Laptop. Microsoft says the Laptop Ultra is also designed for serviceability for easy repairs, and itāll have a replaceable SSD.
We donāt know the price or release date for the Surface Laptop Ultra. However, itāll be among the first Nvidia ARM chip-powered laptops and PCs to hit the market this fall, according to what weāve heard from Nvidia and Microsoft. In the mean time, we should gradually learn more about this elusive, ultra-powerful MacBook Pro competitor. Stay tuned.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. Heās been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.