Computing

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra Targets MacBook Pro

Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Ultra is designed as a high-performance Windows alternative to Apple’s MacBook Pro. Its Nvidia N1X platform brings local AI, gaming and creative workloads together, although reviews point to limited battery life and an unfinished AI experience.

Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer

Published: October 16, 2026 · Updated: October 16, 2026 · 5 min read

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra Targets MacBook Pro — Image: WIRED

Microsoft’s MacBook Pro challenger

Microsoft has launched the Surface Laptop Ultra as the flagship of a new generation of Windows laptops built around Nvidia’s RTX Spark N1X platform. The company is positioning the clamshell laptop as a machine capable of handling local artificial intelligence, gaming, content creation and other demanding workloads in one device.

The approach marks a shift from Microsoft’s earlier attempt to reach creative professionals with the hybrid Surface Laptop Studio. Rather than use a convertible design, the Surface Laptop Ultra follows a conventional laptop format with a more polished finish and additional performance. WIRED describes it as a Windows system capable of trading blows with the very best laptops, while noting that its battery life prevents it from fully matching the MacBook Pro.

A premium design with practical connections

The Surface Laptop Ultra weighs 4.4 pounds, making it lighter than Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro, though it is slightly thicker. Its aluminum construction, concealed side vents and rounded screen corners give it a distinctive appearance. The keyboard received strong praise in the reviews, as did the extra-large haptic touchpad, although the power-button placement and relatively small keycaps were identified as minor annoyances.

Microsoft has also introduced Magnetic Connect, a magnetic charging system built into the USB-C port on the laptop’s right side. All three USB-C ports can deliver power, but only the right-side port has the magnetic function. The computer also includes HDMI, USB-A, a headphone jack and an SD card slot, and can drive up to three 4K external monitors or one 5K display at refresh rates of up to 120Hz.

Bright 3:2 touchscreen

The laptop uses a 15-inch touchscreen with Microsoft’s preferred 3:2 aspect ratio, providing additional vertical space for documents, spreadsheets, websites and code. WIRED measured a pixel density of 257 pixels per inch and described the display as exceptionally sharp. The Verge reports a 3,270-by-2,180 resolution and peak HDR brightness of up to 2,000 nits.

The display uses Mini-LED backlighting according to WIRED, with 1,344 dimming zones and measured brightness of 987 nits in SDR and 1,945 nits in HDR in a 9 percent window. Games and movies benefit from the brightness, contrast and 120Hz refresh rate. However, the glossy surface produces pronounced reflections, including when viewing dark websites at maximum brightness.

Surface Laptop Ultra review: a different kind of MacBook Pro — Image related to the report from The Verge · Source: The Verge

Nvidia N1X brings local AI to Windows

The N1X is a system-on-a-chip design that combines the CPU, GPU and memory, allowing both processors to access unified resources. The Verge tested a high-end configuration with a 20-core CPU, a 6,144-CUDA-core GPU, 128GB of unified memory and a 1TB Gen 5 SSD. The publication compares the graphics capability roughly with a mobile RTX 5060, while the base model has an 18-core CPU, a 5,120-CUDA-core GPU and 24GB of unified memory.

The platform is intended to run AI models and agents locally instead of relying entirely on cloud services. Microsoft prompts owners to select an agent, with Hermes, OpenClaw and Perplexity among the available choices described by The Verge. Testing with the Qwen3.8-27B model showed that demanding local AI tasks could drive the fans at full speed, use the GPU heavily and generate substantial heat.

The local AI experience is not yet straightforward for every user. The Verge needed to reinstall OpenClaw after an initial gateway problem, and found that achieving useful results required choosing an appropriate model for each task. The publication concluded that users may need coding experience or considerable patience to get the most from the laptop’s AI capabilities.

Performance strengths meet unfinished edges

The Surface Laptop Ultra’s hardware has several additional strengths. Its four speakers are described as loud, rich and full, with sound quality close to Apple’s larger professional laptops. The 1080p webcam supports Windows Hello and Windows Studio Effects, although WIRED found that it struggled in low light and produced a noisy image.

The reviews also identify problems that could affect daily use. The Verge reported occasional display lag and ghosting, loud interference from the speakers and unusually slow reboots. Changing Windows power settings appeared to reduce some of the display lag, while restarting the computer resolved the speaker interference during testing.

Battery life remains the clearest weakness in the overall package. WIRED says the laptop cannot keep pace with the MacBook Pro in endurance. The Verge also observed that the battery indicator could fall from 100 percent to 97 percent immediately after unplugging. Microsoft said this behavior is intentional: charging pauses when the battery is full and resumes after the level drops to 95 percent, reducing long-term wear.

Pricing and positioning

The base Surface Laptop Ultra costs $2,599, according to The Verge, while the tested top configuration costs $5,899. That price range places the device firmly in the professional laptop market and makes the choice of specification especially important. The higher-end model is aimed at users with a specific need for local AI, advanced graphics or other demanding workloads rather than ordinary productivity.

Taken together, the reviews present the Surface Laptop Ultra as Microsoft’s most credible high-end Windows rival to the MacBook Pro yet. Its display, construction, connectivity and N1X capabilities establish a strong hardware foundation, but battery endurance, software bugs and the complexity of local AI keep it from being a universal recommendation.