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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra is the flagship RTX Spark laptop unveiled at Computex. 
• It features the RTX Spark SoC: a 20-core CPU, equivalent of a GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory.
• Despite the dazzling specs and premium build, unanswered questions remain. 

At Computex 2026, Nvidia announced its new RTX Spark processor, an ARM-based chip with some impressive performance specs across a cadre of new devices: up to 1 petaflop of AI performance, a 20-core CPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory to power creative tasks with the rough equivalent power of a GeForce RTX 5070. 

At the head of the pack is Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Ultra — the flagship RTX Spark laptop and a powerhouse that doubles down on its premium branding and an edgy, aggressive branding that speaks to developers, pro creators, and AI powerusers. 

Also: I saw the first Nvidia RTX Spark laptops – these 4 models will lead the new ultrabook boom

I went hands-on with the new Surface Ultra in Taipei, and have to say: it’s a beast, with smooth gaming capabilities and impressive video editing performance. Of course, I tested it in the controlled space of a demo showfloor, and no benchmarking or real-world testing has been performed yet. Here’s what stood out.

Flagship build

Microsoft went all-in with the Ultra’s specs and a premium build. In fact, at Computex, none of the other new RTX Spark laptops were even allowed to be powered on. Only the Surface Ultra was running, and it powered all of the demos across every category. 

The physical build is absolutely solid, even if it resembles previous Surface laptops (on the outside). The 15-inch display is a mini-LED PixelSense Ultra touchscreen with 262ppi, a 3:2 aspect ratio, and up to 2000 nits of peak HDR brightness. It’s exceptionally bright for a laptop, resulting in some truly eye-popping visuals.

Physically, it also takes inspiration from the MacBook (but what doesn’t, these days?) with recessed black chiclet keys, stalwart aluminum body, and edge-to-edge glass panel. The haptic touchpad felt very responsive and precise during the hands-on, and is appropriately-sized. It also comes with a full suite of creator-friendly ports: two USB-C, one USB-A, HDMI, SD card reader, and a headphone jack.

The RTX Spark is the star of the show — a “new class of GPU for AI”, Microsoft says, with up to 128GB of unified memory, designed explicitly to run large models and access datasets locally.

Also: The 7 coolest gadgets I saw at Computex 2026 (and when you can buy each one)

All that compute is intended to be harnessed by creators across the array of AI-powered tasks like video upscaling and intelligent masking, as well as billions of parameters of AI models locally — propelling the Surface Laptop Ultra to a whole new level of computing power than the previous generation. 

Improved thermals 

As expected, Microsoft redesigned the cooling infrastructure to deal with all the heat this kind of hardware will inevitably produce. To start, the laptop is slightly raised off the desk to allow for airflow underneath. Inside, you’ve got a dual-fan, dual heat pipe setup that funnels cool air in through the sides and out the back, moving as much air as possible through the device.

Microsoft had multiple Surface Ultra units powering games during the demo: “Pragmata” and “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” — both graphically demanding titles — and as they had been running for several hours, the laptops were certainly warm to the touch. 

Also: Acer Swift Air 14 vs. MacBook Neo: I compared both budget laptops – this model wins

Microsoft was so confident in the power of its new thermal system that it had a smoke machine demo lined up, but unfortunately the machine malfunctioned when it was turned it on. A bummer, but at least I can say the fans whirring at max power were still surprisingly quiet. 

I was also a little surprised to see some attention given to device repairability. The backplate is removable, giving easy access to both the SSD and battery, and internal parts are tagged with QR codes for individual replacement.

Questions remain

Obviously, Microsoft and its partners wanted to project a cohesive narrative, here. Computex was all about dazzling with impressive hardware and promising next-level performance, but there are still a lot of unknowns. 

The biggest question on my mind relates to configuration and price. Sure, the RTX Spark can support up to 128GB of unified memory, but what kind of minimum RAM configurations will be available? I doubt we’ll see a Surface Ultra with 16GB of RAM, for example, as that would defeat the purpose of such a powerful processor and isn’t enough to support these kinds of AI workflows.

Also: Dell’s new XPS 13 is a MacBook Neo rival that costs $599 and retains premium features

I’d estimate the absolute minimum memory configuration to be 32GB, but 64GB seems more likely, which would all but relegate this laptop to the $2,500-plus price range at the low end. High-end loadouts could run upwards of $4,000 or more. 

Besides benchmarking and performance metrics being a big question mark, battery efficiency is another open question. Each person I spoke to expressed confidence in the Surface Ultra’s battery life, but the bottom line is a 3,000-nit mini-LED display is going to require a certain amount of power, regardless of how efficient the SoC is. 

Availability is, surprise, another unknown. We’ll learn more about the Surface Laptop Ultra in the months to come, as pre-orders (hopefully?) open in late summer/early fall and it ships sometime after that.