Microsoft finally gave us more information about the Surface Laptop Ultra, including price, release date, and features, at a special event on October 7.
It's confirmed that the RTX Spark-powered PC will begin shipping on October 16, and preorders are live now, starting at $2,599.
The reactions to this announcement have been interesting. It seems like a fair number of people were expecting a higher baseline price, while others are just happy that Surface now has a true MacBook Pro competitor for the age of AI.
Here's what people are saying about the new Surface Laptop Ultra and its RTX Spark platform.
The Windows community reacts to the Surface Laptop Ultra's pricing
Starting at $2,599, the Surface Laptop Ultra is actually the most affordable RTX Spark laptop you can buy right now. You can have a look for yourself in my roundup of Spark devices available for preorder today.
Many of us here at Windows Central expected the price to kick off at $2,999, and that seems to be a common thread in the community as well.
@zacbowden Quite cheap tbh I expected it to start at $2999October 7, 2026
Responding to Zac's post, X user @janekknaf said, "Quite cheap tbh I expected it to start at $2999."
Over on Reddit, the sentiment seems to be largely the same.
Commentfrom r/windowscentral
Commentfrom r/Surface
Responding to a Windows Central subreddit thread regarding other RTX Spark laptops and their pricing, user Icybubba noted, "And somehow the Surface seems to be the cheapest out of all those."
Another redditor, Valterri_Its_James, remarked, "Lowkey the pricing isn't absolutely horrendous. 32GB costs $3300 which is about the same as the ROG Zephyrus G14."
Not everyone is loving the Surface Laptop Ultra's pricing
Others aren't so sure that the Surface Laptop Ultra is a reasonable price, especially once they dig into the configuration options and see what's available for each chip.
For reference, the Laptop Ultra has two RTX Spark options available: a more affordable option with an 18-core CPU and 5120-core GPU, or a more expensive option with a 20-core CPU and 6144-core GPU.
The price difference between these two models is roughly $1,100, though the more powerful Spark defaults to at least 32GB of RAM (compared to 24GB) and a 1TB SSD (compared to 512GB).
Commentfrom r/Surface
Do you think the price hike for 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD is too extreme? Let me know in the comments below.
How's everyone feeling about the breakaway USB-C Port?
First look at Surface Laptop Ultra's special magnetic USB-C port. Pretty neat! https://t.co/TuShoRastROctober 7, 2026
The announced feature that seems to be getting a lot of attention alongside pricing is the Surface Laptop Ultra's breakaway USB-C port.
It's sort of a mashup between Apple MagSafe and Surface Connect, designed to pull out of the laptop rather than ripping it off a desk should you trip on the cable. It's designed to work with any USB-C cable, and the port offers full functionality.
Reddit user Oliver-Pearce called it a "Welcome feature!" and X user Psalter said, "Anyone who's ever tripped over a charging cable will appreciate this."
There are, of course, plenty of detractors noting that it took Microsoft this long to finally copy Apple MagSafe. That's not exactly true; Surface Connect was always magnetic and would break away if jarred. The move to the more ubiquitous USB-C form factor erased that failsafe, and Microsoft has now reintroduced it.
It's also worth pointing out that MagSafe does not handle any data and is for power only. The Surface Laptop Ultra's USB-C port handles both.
I want to know what you think!
We're a community here at Windows Central, and I'm always interested in your opinions. I want to know what you think about the Surface Laptop Ultra's pricing, configuration options, and features in more detail, so please be sure to leave a comment below!
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
