22:52Machine-translated from Azerbaijani by AIRead in Azerbaijani
Microsoft Unveils Surface Laptop Ultra, a MacBook Pro Rival
Microsoft unveiled the new Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by an Nvidia processor, at an event in San Francisco. Designed for artificial intelligence, video editing, programming, and gaming, the laptop will compete with Apple’s MacBook Pro models. The device, which the company describes as the most powerful Surface laptop it has ever made, has a starting price of $2,599.
The 15-inch Surface Laptop Ultra was designed specifically for content creators, programmers, engineers, and artificial intelligence specialists. Microsoft says the new model is suitable for creative projects that require high computing power, 3D modeling, and the development of complex software.
The laptop’s main feature is its use of the Nvidia RTX Spark processor. Based on the Arm architecture, this chip combines an Nvidia Blackwell RTX graphics processor with up to 6,144 cores and an Nvidia Grace central processor with up to 20 cores. The system supports up to 128 GB of unified memory.
To manage the heat generated by hardware at this level, Microsoft has used a new cooling architecture in the device. The Surface Laptop Ultra runs the Windows on Arm operating system. x86 applications that have not been adapted for the Arm architecture run through Microsoft’s Prism emulation technology.
According to Microsoft, the Surface Laptop Ultra is the highest-performing laptop the company has ever produced. The device’s display is also described as one of the brightest panels with the highest image quality used in the Surface family.
The new model features a mini-LED touchscreen. The company claims that the display’s HDR brightness is 25% higher than that of the MacBook Pro with an M5 processor. Although the display supports touch and hand gestures, it does not support stylus input.
Other advantages of the Surface Laptop Ultra include a large touchpad, user-replaceable storage, and a relatively lightweight body. According to Microsoft, the device is lighter than Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro.
The laptop also features a new magnetic power connection called Magnetic Connect. Presented as an alternative to Apple’s MagSafe solution, this technology uses a USB-C power cable that connects magnetically. Microsoft claims this is the first integrated magnetic USB-C power connection in a laptop.
Connectivity options include three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, an HDMI output, an SD memory card reader, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Alongside the Surface Laptop Ultra, Microsoft also unveiled a compact desktop computer called the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box at the event. Developed as a competitor to Apple’s Mac Studio and Mac mini devices, this model starts at $5,999.
The Surface RTX Spark Dev Box is also equipped with the Nvidia RTX Spark chip. According to the company, the device supports running artificial intelligence models with up to 120 billion parameters and can deliver up to 1 petaflop of artificial intelligence computing performance.
Meanwhile, Apple is also reportedly working on a new, more powerful MacBook model with a touchscreen. The device, which could reportedly be called the MacBook Ultra, is expected to feature an OLED display, M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, and a thinner, lighter design. However, this information has not yet been officially confirmed.
The introduction of the Surface Laptop Ultra shows Microsoft’s intention to strengthen its competition with Apple in the high-performance laptop market. In particular, combining Nvidia’s graphics and artificial intelligence technologies in a single device could make the new Surface model an appealing alternative for professional users.