Surface Laptop Ultra Takes a Bite at Apple’s MacBook Pro Market

One machine for many workloads

Microsoft is pitching the Surface Laptop Ultra as a single computer for work and play. The company’s target includes MacBook Pro shoppers and what it described as “a high performance audience.” During a week of testing, the machine summarized books and movies, generated images, ran a 70-billion-parameter AI model and played AAA games. The reviewer found its performance striking for an ARM system, while noting that the promise is not entirely settled.

The central question is whether power users can move to ARM without daily-workload problems compared with x86 laptops or Apple’s MacBook Pro. Dell’s XPS 16 Creator Edition and Asus’s ProArt series are also adopting the RTX chipset.

Premium prices and memory questions

The Surface Laptop Ultra starts at $2,599, and the highest listed price is $5,899, depending on processor and memory choices. It is positioned as high-end hardware rather than a lower-cost alternative to Apple silicon.

The 24GB unified-memory configuration comes with Windows 11 Home; other models include Windows 11 Pro. The reviewer tested a 64GB version and considered it a likely balance of cost and performance for many users.

The reviewer questioned whether 24GB is sufficient, particularly when some unified memory is assigned to gaming graphics. Asked about the base model, Microsoft offered a general answer that it could be useful for smaller local models. The article says software and drivers may provide a clearer picture in a few months.

A bright, detailed display

The 15-inch mini-LED screen has a native resolution of 3270×2180. The reviewer praised its appearance for video, games and spreadsheet work, and preferred the Enhanced color profile, while also finding Vivid and sRGB modes impressive.

Blacks remained deep beside bright images, and the reviewer reported no visible blooming. Viewing angles were strong, colors vivid, and peak brightness reached 2,000 nits, helping the screen stay legible in a sunlit room.

The glossy glass can reflect its surroundings in direct sunlight, though the reviewer said this affected photography more than everyday use. Buyers seeking a matte display may want to consider that trade-off.

A test for the ARM bet

The laptop arrives amid a difficult period for the PC market. Industry figures cited in the article showed total PC shipments down 20 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2026, while rising consumer prices and attention to enterprise spending left few new products to excite enthusiasts.

Microsoft and Nvidia’s partnership raises a broader question: whether the hardware’s capabilities will be matched by finished software. The review’s early testing suggests the machine can bring demanding AI and gaming workloads to an ARM laptop, but the base configuration and everyday compatibility remain open considerations.