Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra review: A monster AI laptop with a monster price

The Dell Laptop Buying Guide UK: Which Dell Laptop Should You Buy? When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra is part productivity machine, part AI workstation. But can you afford it? Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra is a new class of device, combining efficient productivity, powerful graphics, plus AI capabilities, all for a price that seems totally unrealistic in the 2026 economy. Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra and its newfangled Nvidia RTX Spark chip characterize what many would call a new axis of productivity: AI. With it comes an old, familiar feeling of FOMO, or the fear of missing out. For decades, the equation has been simple: A faster CPU means applications run faster. A faster GPU equates to higher frame rates in PC games. Now there's AI, which means memory matters. Memory is shared between the Arm CPU and powerful RTX GPU inside the Nvidia Spark N1X chip powering the Surface Laptop Ultra, and more memory means the ability to load more powerful AI models. As regards the Surface Laptop Ultra model that Microsoft shipped us, my first impression was one of disappointment, as it came with just a "measly" 32GB of memory (along with its whopping $3,699 price tag).