Surface Laptop Ultra review: a different kind of MacBook Pro
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
New coverage adds concerns about battery reporting alongside the review’s praise for the Surface Laptop Ultra’s premium design and bright display. Microsoft and Nvidia built the £5,900-class laptop to showcase new Arm-based RTX Spark chips, which can run demanding AI models locally as well as games and creative apps, but the reviewer says making local AI work well may require coding skills or considerable experimentation.
The 15-inch touchscreen has a 3:2 aspect ratio, 3,270 by 2,180 resolution and peak HDR brightness of 2,000 nits, compared with 1,600 nits on the MacBook Pro. It includes three USB-C ports, USB-A, HDMI 2.1b, an SD card reader, a headphone jack and a USB-C magnetic charging connection. The reviewer also likes the aluminium finish and haptic trackpad, but reports that unplugging at full charge can make Windows show 97 per cent battery, while haptic feedback is supported by only some apps.
- New coverage flags inconsistent battery readings.
- The 2,000-nit touchscreen is brighter than the MacBook Pro’s.
- Local AI may take coding or patience to set up.
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Microsoft’s Surface range is a family of Windows computers, while Apple’s MacBook Pro is a high-end laptop used for demanding work such as video editing and software development. The new Surface model pairs Microsoft’s premium laptop design with graphics chips from Nvidia, a company best known for making processors used in gaming and artificial intelligence.
Those chips use Arm technology, which is designed to run efficiently in computers and phones, and are intended to handle some AI tasks directly on the laptop. Running AI locally can offer more control over data and avoid relying on remote services, but setting it up may require technical know-how. The wider question is whether this kind of computer can make local AI practical for everyday users as well as specialists.
More coverage
- Ars Technica — The Surface Laptop Ultra delivers on most of Microsoft's promises
- Wired — Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra Review: The First Real AI PC