Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra review.

A $3,899.99 Surface that wants to take on gaming laptops and the MacBook Pro

The Surface Laptop Ultra starts at $3,899.99 in Canada, according to Microsoft's Canadian product page. That price buys the base model: an 18-core chip, 24GB of memory and a 512GB drive. For comparison, iPhone in Canada reports the regular 15-inch Surface Laptop launched here at $2,399.99 in June and was on sale for $1,999.99 in October. The Ultra is not a small step up.

What you get is a 15-inch, roughly 18mm Windows laptop built around Nvidia's RTX Spark chip. It's an Arm processor with an Nvidia GPU on the same package, and both share one pool of memory that goes up to 128GB. That's the Apple approach, done by Nvidia and Microsoft, and it's why reviewers keep reaching for the MacBook Pro as the comparison.

So the question is simple. Is it worth that money? Gizmodo, PCWorld and Macworld all say the hardware is impressive in places, and all three tie the verdict to the price. The rest of this piece explains where it's fast, where it isn't, and who should look elsewhere.

What Microsoft changed, and who shouldn't bother

Previous Surface Laptops were thin Windows laptops built for typing, browsing and meetings. This one is a different machine. The Nvidia chip, the mini-LED screen, the haptic trackpad and up to 128GB of memory are all new. ServeTheHome also reports that the SSD is a standard M.2 2280 drive a buyer can swap, which is welcome on a Surface.

PCWorld points out how much cheaper the siblings are. It lists the 15-inch Surface Laptop 8 with a Snapdragon X2 Elite at US$1,615, and it calls the Ultra weak for plain productivity work, where cheaper machines do better. That matches the Macworld view that the Ultra doesn't threaten the MacBook Pro for general use.

If you mostly live in a browser, Office and Teams, don't buy this. If you own a recent Surface Laptop like the Surface Laptop 7, there's nothing here that fixes a problem you have. The people it's for are the ones whose current laptop runs out of GPU or memory.

How close does it get to a MacBook Pro? Closer in graphics than in everyday speed

Gizmodo put it against Apple's M5 Max MacBook Pro and found the Mac ahead nearly everywhere. The Apple chip was about 44% faster in Geekbench 7 multi-core and about 11% ahead in Cinebench 2026 multi-core. In a Blender render, the Surface took just under 1 minute 30 seconds, and the Mac finished more than 20 seconds sooner.

Graphics is where the gap narrows. In 3DMark Steel Nomad, Gizmodo had the Surface 50% faster than an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H laptop and 37% faster than an Asus ProArt PX13, though about 22% slower than the top Mac. In ray tracing it trailed by about 6%. It also edged the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 in Cinebench by about 5%.

Macworld's tests were less kind. It says the Surface beats the base M5 in multi-core, but is about 21% slower than the 15-core M5 Pro, and its single-core score fell below the A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo. PCWorld measured Geekbench 7 scores of 2,008 single-core and 20,093 multi-core, rising to 2,687 and 23,256 with the power slider maxed. On battery, multi-core fell to 17,328.

The takeaway is plain. It's a strong multi-core and graphics laptop with a weak single-core score, and that weak score is what makes ordinary apps feel slower than the price suggests. PCWorld says the machine can feel sluggish until you flip to the performance mode.

The screen says Ultra, but it's mini-LED and one reviewer got 792 nits

Microsoft's page describes a 15-inch touchscreen at 120Hz with 100% DCI-P3 coverage and up to 2,000 nits peak HDR, measured over a 10% window. Gizmodo warns that Ultra shouldn't make you think OLED, because the panel is mini-LED. ServeTheHome adds that it doesn't carry DisplayHDR certification.

PCWorld put numbers on the gap. Its meter showed a peak SDR brightness of about 792 nits against Microsoft's 1,000-nit claim, and it couldn't reach the 2,000-nit HDR figure either. The reviewer still called the display excellent apart from that shortfall, and Gizmodo lists it as very bright. PCWorld also notes the review unit may not match the final spec.

In real life, 792 nits is plenty for a bright room, and a mini-LED panel avoids the burn-in worry some people have with OLED. But if you're paying a premium for HDR editing, ask whether the claimed peak applies to the screen you'll get, because at least one reviewer didn't see it.

Local AI and games: the real reason this chip exists

PCWorld ran local AI tests, and they're the best case for the Ultra. It measured about 52 tokens per second on Mistral 7B and 39.9 tokens per second with a Qwen model in LM Studio. That compares with 15.2 for an MSI Raider and 61.9 for an Asus ROG Strix in the same test. A ComfyUI WAN video run took 13.73 minutes. The Surface drew roughly 133 to 144W during a benchmark run, against 261 to 310W for the ROG Strix.

Gizmodo agrees the machine suits local AI models and agents, while calling it a useful tool and not an answer for everything. PCWorld's caution is worth heeding: 32GB of memory and 512GB to 1TB of storage limit local AI, and cloud models may be cheaper for many people.

Games are mixed. PCWorld got about 104 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p Ultra with DLSS and frame generation. Gizmodo saw Warhammer III roughly tie the MacBook Pro and Gears of War: E-Day average about 40 fps on high with DLSS. A Lenovo Legion 5i with an RTX 5070, listed at US$3,016, beat it in Star Wars: Galactic Racer, topping 60 fps.

The catch is Windows on Arm. Gizmodo reports slow game loads and shader compiling through Microsoft's Prism emulation, and says the promised Advanced Shader Delivery hadn't arrived yet. If gaming is your main goal, a conventional gaming laptop is the safer buy.

Microsoft says 15 hours of battery. The tests show 8 to 10

Microsoft claims up to 15 hours of local video and up to 12 hours of web browsing. It says those numbers come from preproduction hardware at 150 nits with auto-brightness off, and that results will vary.

PCWorld measured about 7 hours 57 minutes of 4K streaming and about 10 hours 3 minutes in an Office loop. Gizmodo got most of a workday in efficiency mode at reduced brightness, and only about 2 to 3 hours when gaming or running GPU-heavy AI work. Macworld couldn't compare directly because it uses a different test, in which its own MacBook ran about 20 hours.

A useful detail from Gizmodo is that performance barely changed between battery and plugged in. That's a real strength next to a gaming laptop, which usually slows a lot off the charger. But the 140W adapter is large, and PCWorld flagged a costly extension cable. Plan on carrying it for any heavy-use day.

The rough edges early reviewers ran into

PCWorld reported app crashes and freezes early on, which it put down partly to a defective unit and partly to a later security update. It also found the webcam mediocre and missing Windows Studio Effects, inconsistent noise cancellation, and a brief hint of coil whine. Gizmodo called the webcam unremarkable and listed software bugs, including flashing screens and a speaker scratching sound.

Arm compatibility is the other recurring issue. PCWorld says Adobe Premiere needed a beta build to run natively. Gizmodo saw emulation slowdowns. Most mainstream software runs fine on Windows on Arm now, but if you rely on niche drivers, anti-cheat games or older plug-ins, check them first.

Heat and noise are fine for normal use. PCWorld says the fans are audible under load but not especially loud, while Gizmodo says they can get loud at full power. Throttling looks mild: PCWorld saw CPU performance fall about 6.3% after 10 minutes of Cinebench and GPU performance fall about 6.8% in a looped 3DMark run.

How it stacks up in Canada against the MacBook Pro and cheaper Surface

In Canada the closest Apple rival is the 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro. iPhone in Canada lists it at $4,199 for 24GB and 1TB as of October 20, and Apple's refurbished store at $3,569. A refurbished 14-inch M5 Pro with the same memory and storage was $2,969. Those are Apple's prices after its June 25 increase, and the Surface's base model has half the storage.

Macworld's US comparison tells the same story. The tested Surface cost US$3,699 with 32GB and 1TB, while a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro, 48GB and 1TB cost US$3,599, and Macworld calls it much faster in general use. The Surface counters with Windows, a touchscreen, Nvidia's software stack and more graphics muscle.

Cheaper options exist. The 15-inch Surface Laptop was $1,999.99 on sale in Canada, and Gizmodo says a gaming laptop like the Legion 5i gives more gaming per dollar, although with much shorter battery life. No Canadian price for that Lenovo was found. Check Microsoft's trade-in promotion too, which Microsoft's page says offers up to $1,300 CAD cash back on qualifying devices until November 23, 2026, terms apply.

One more wrinkle: iPhone in Canada noted that Apple was expected to show a redesigned MacBook Pro at an October 28 event. This review couldn't confirm what Apple announced, so check before buying either.

Living with it: warranty, repairs and what it really costs

Microsoft's Canadian page doesn't state a warranty length. It refers to the Limited Hardware Warranty and notes that damage during self-repair is generally not covered. A US retailer listing shows one year, but the Canadian term wasn't verified, so read Microsoft's warranty page before paying.

The ownership costs add up. A larger configuration, a protection plan and the spare charger or extension cable PCWorld mentions can add a lot to the sticker price. A swappable SSD, if it works as ServeTheHome describes, can at least let you add storage later for less than Microsoft charges.

Software is the bigger risk. Several of the issues reviewers hit are fixable by updates, and Gizmodo expects Microsoft's shader tool to help, but that's a promise, not a feature. A laptop at this price shouldn't need patience, so a store with a good return window matters here.

Who should buy it, who should skip it, and what to buy instead

Buy it if you do local AI, 3D or GPU-heavy creative work, you want Windows and Nvidia's tools, and you value a thin body with strong efficiency. Gizmodo's 4-out-of-5 score and Editor's Choice badge come from people who are in exactly that group.

Skip it if your work is documents, email and video calls. PCWorld and Macworld both say the money is better spent elsewhere, and the weak single-core score matters more to you than graphics. Skip it if you want the best possible screen, because it's mini-LED and one reviewer measured lower brightness than claimed.

Buy instead: a MacBook Pro if you want faster everyday speed and longer battery life, a Legion-class gaming laptop if games are the point, or the cheaper 15-inch Surface Laptop if you just want a good Windows machine. If you can wait, watch for a firm Canadian price on the 32GB model and for the software fixes reviewers asked for.