Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra (Nvidia RTX Spark) Review

The Surface Laptop Ultra is Microsoft's most ambitious laptop yet, and it is built around Nvidia's RTX Spark platform. Its Spark N1X chip combines an Arm CPU with an RTX GPU that share memory. That is a new kind of Windows machine, and it shows both the promise and the rough edges of being first.

First impressions are strong where it counts for a premium machine. Reviewers single out the bright display and the solid construction. Gizmodo adds fast facial unlock, a haptic trackpad and balanced speakers to the list of strengths. The catch arrives quickly: this laptop is heavier and thicker than expected, and the price is very high.

Who is it for? Buyers who want Nvidia graphics and AI capability in a polished Windows laptop that holds up on battery, and who can absorb the cost. Mainstream buyers, and anyone sensitive to weight, should look elsewhere.

Our assessment draws on the reported findings of several reviews rather than our own benchmark data. We have not tested the laptop ourselves, so treat the rating as provisional.

Power efficiency is the most compelling part of the package:

• Reviewers say performance stays strong on battery.
• Battery life is reported to last a work day.
• PCWorld describes multicore and RTX Spark graphics performance as excellent.

That strength comes with caveats:

• Single-core speed: PCWorld found single-core performance slow enough that it may make the interface feel sluggish. That is an odd weakness at this price.
• Versus Apple: Gizmodo says the laptop trails the M5 Max MacBook Pro in raw CPU and GPU number crunching. It is also heavier and thicker than Apple's latest MacBook Pros, which weakens its case as a portable workstation.
• Software: Early bugs and quirks are part of the experience. PCWorld reports that its issues went away. Gizmodo notes that emulation on the Arm platform still causes some hiccups, which could matter if you rely on older x86 Windows apps.
• Webcam: PCWorld calls it surprisingly average for a flagship.

Price is the biggest obstacle. PCWorld's 32GB review unit costs $3,699, and the top configuration reaches $5,900, according to Gizmodo. Higher-memory configurations, from 48GB to 128GB, prompt you to load AI agents during setup. That suggests the pricier models target local AI work specifically.

The Surface Laptop Ultra is an impressive, well-built and efficient machine with a great screen. Its weight, early-platform software issues, uneven CPU performance and very high price keep it from being an easy recommendation. It is worth considering if you specifically want what RTX Spark offers and accept the trade-offs. For most buyers, the cost is hard to justify.