Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra Ships With Nvidia Arm Chip and Magnetic USB-C — But Early Reviews Are Mixed

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra, the company’s most ambitious bid yet to take on Apple’s MacBook Pro, began shipping on October 16, 2026. The device is the first to ship with Nvidia’s Arm-based RTX Spark chip, and introduces a proprietary magnetic USB-C charging system called Magnetic Connect. But early reviews from outlets including The Verge suggest the hardware is impressive while the software and CPU performance fall short of the competition.

What changed

The Surface Laptop Ultra is not a routine refresh. It was developed in close partnership with Nvidia after Microsoft concluded that existing Arm chips from Qualcomm could not match the MacBook Pro’s compute performance, according to Brett Ostrum, corporate vice president of Surface. “Nvidia was a logical choice,” Ostrum told The Verge in a behind-the-scenes look at the Redmond lab where the device was tested Source 1.

The result is a laptop that runs on Nvidia’s RTX Spark, an Arm-based chip that can handle demanding AI models locally, AAA games, and creative workloads. The device starts at $2,599 for an 18-core CPU, 24GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. A top-end configuration reviewed by The Verge costs $5,900 Source 3.

Magnetic USB-C charging

Microsoft has a history of proprietary charging solutions, and the Surface Laptop Ultra continues that trend with Magnetic Connect. The charging cable attaches magnetically to the right-side USB-C port, but that port still works for data and video. During a Windows event, Windows and Surface chief Pavan Davuluri demonstrated the snap-to-fit mechanism Source 2. It’s a convenience feature, but the proprietary cable means users cannot simply grab any USB-C cable for charging.

Hardware highs and software lows

The hardware design is widely praised. The Verge’s review notes a CNC-machined aluminum body, a large haptic trackpad, a 15-inch MicroLED display that peaks at 2,000 nits (brighter than the MacBook Pro’s 1,600 nits), and a 3:2 touchscreen. Port selection includes three USB-C, one USB-A, HDMI 2.1b, SD card reader, and a headphone jack Source 3.

However, the review calls the local AI experience “beta-quality.” Getting the most out of the RTX Spark’s on-device AI capabilities requires coding experience or patience to experiment with models and agents. The CPU performance is described as “underwhelming,” and the reviewer encountered bugs with sound and display. The Verge’s score is 6/10 Source 3.

What it means for developers and power users

For the Tech Desk audience, the Surface Laptop Ultra is a niche tool. It can run demanding local AI models and play AAA games, but the software ecosystem around Nvidia’s Arm chip is still immature. Developers who are willing to tinker may find a powerful platform; those expecting a polished MacBook Pro alternative out of the box may be disappointed. The magnetic charging is a nice touch but not a game-changer.

Open questions remain: Will Microsoft refine the local AI experience beyond its current state? Can the CPU performance be improved through firmware updates? And will the Magnetic Connect standard spread beyond this single device? For now, the Surface Laptop Ultra is a bold bet that delivers on hardware but leaves software as a work in progress.