Microsoft opens pre-orders for $2,599.99 Surface Laptop Ultra

Microsoft has opened pre-orders for Surface Laptop Ultra at $2,599.99, its first Nvidia-powered laptop. The company says local AI prompts run twice as fast as on MacBook Pro M5. Microsoft has not published the method behind that comparison, leaving buyers without a like-for-like test record.

The launch puts a performance claim alongside a published price and a defined processor configuration. Microsoft lists up to 20 Nvidia Grace cores, up to 128GB of unified memory and up to 2TB of storage. Those are maximum configurations, rather than a statement that every model includes those specifications.

Microsoft leaves performance methods unpublished

The comparison was made by Microsoft executives on stage in San Francisco on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Microsoft also says the laptop generates video six times quicker, but the source material provides no test method for that claim either. No independent test results are described in the supplied reporting, so the performance statements remain attributed company claims.

Microsoft's product information does provide a measurement note for the screen. It gives peak brightness as 2,000 nits, measured across a 10% window with HDR content. The comparison is against laptops available in October 2026, according to the cited account. The equivalent measurement detail is not provided for the MacBook Pro M5 comparison.

Nvidia Grace brings Arm into the laptop

The processor combines Nvidia Grace CPU technology with Nvidia graphics, according to the source account. Grace is based on Arm's architecture, which means the laptop's central processing design uses an instruction set licensed from Arm. An instruction set is the set of commands a processor can execute; the reporting says Arm receives a royalty for this use.

The source describes RTX Spark as pairing a Blackwell graphics processor with Nvidia Grace CPU, co-designed with MediaTek. It says Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and MSI are also shipping machines based on the platform. That context places Nvidia in a laptop market the report describes as long shared by Intel and AMD, while the Surface announcement remains Microsoft's own product launch.

Price and availability leave questions

Microsoft has set the listed price at $2,599.99 and opened pre-orders, but the supplied material does not state a shipping date or provide a full configuration-by-configuration price list. It also does not identify which exact Surface Laptop Ultra configuration is used for the local AI comparison. The distinction matters because the listed processor, memory and storage capacities are maximums.

The source says the price is about $400 below a 16-inch MacBook Pro. That comparison is reported as context, not as an independently verified matching of configurations. The material also links higher memory costs to longer hardware replacement cycles and weaker laptop shipment forecasts, but does not provide a Surface-specific sales forecast.

Microsoft presents local AI processing as cheaper and more secure than using a cloud provider. Those are the company's arguments for running models on the device, rather than evidence that this laptop produces a particular saving or security outcome. The supplied account does not include a response from Apple or a separate assessment of Microsoft's claims.

The unresolved point is how Microsoft measured prompt speed and video generation, including which models and settings it used. A published test protocol would let buyers and policy watchers assess whether the comparisons can be repeated. The next practical evidence is Microsoft's fuller product documentation and any disclosed testing details. Until then, the performance figures should be read as claims made by Microsoft.