Everything announced at Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra event
Microsoft held a Windows- and Surface-focused keynote in San Francisco where it provided release details for the new Surface Laptop Ultra and announced Windows updates tied to Copilot. The Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark Arm-based platform, will start at $2,599 and ship on October 16; Microsoft also opened preorders for a high-end Surface RTX Spark Dev Box priced at $5,999.
Why It Matters
The event couples a new class of Arm-based, RTX Spark-powered hardware with deeper OS-level AI features, marking a coordinated push by Microsoft and Nvidia into premium laptops and local AI workloads on Windows devices.
Key Facts
- Event: Microsoft Windows and Surface keynote in San Francisco
- Surface Laptop Ultra start price: $2,599
- Surface Laptop Ultra release date: October 16
- Surface Laptop Ultra configuration (RAM & storage): 24GB RAM, 512GB storage
- Surface Laptop Ultra CPU noted in coverage: 18-core CPU (as described in the detailed excerpt)
Microsoft used its Surface and Windows keynote to reveal concrete launch details for the Surface Laptop Ultra and to outline forthcoming Windows features that extend Copilot's role on-device. The Surface Laptop Ultra is built around Nvidia's new RTX Spark Arm-based platform and will be available starting October 16, with a listed entry price of $2,599 for a configuration that includes 24GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The detailed coverage describes the device as featuring an 18-core CPU and a 15-inch HDR touchscreen with up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, plus a larger haptic trackpad.
The company introduced a magnetic USB-C charging solution for the Surface Laptop Ultra, moving away from the older proprietary Surface Connect magnetic charger on smaller Surface models. Microsoft also highlighted the laptop's positioning at the premium end of the market, noting support for large unified memory configurations on the RTX Spark platform and suitability for creative work, gaming, and local AI workloads.
Alongside the laptop, Microsoft announced the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box for developers. The mini PC, which runs on Nvidia's RTX Spark platform and supports up to 128GB of unified memory, is available for preorder at $5,999 and is scheduled to ship in November. Microsoft positioned the Dev Box as a tool for running and testing local AI models — including models over 120 billion parameters — and for prototyping AI agents and on-device development workflows.
On the software side, Microsoft showed updates to Windows centered on what it calls "Hybrid Intelligence," which lets Copilot access local files and execute actions across the OS. In a demo, Microsoft’s Autopilot agent searched folders, renamed and compressed files, and drafted an email with the zip file attached. The company also previewed a new search experience that enables quick actions from the search bar. Other announcements from the event included new Surface coverage and ecosystem reporting available from outlets covering the keynote.
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