# Surface Laptop Ultra review finds large local AI capacity and software gaps

_Published Friday, October 16, 2026 at 9:42 AM EDT · AI, Products · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![The MS Surface Laptop Ultra displays AI Dev Gallery and a gaming launcher — Primary](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/MS_Surface_Laptop_Ultra_Feature-1152x648.jpg)

Ars Technica reports running a 70-billion-parameter AI model on Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra, while finding that some AI testing software could not use its graphics hardware. The reviewer tested a 64GB model and also reported successful modern AAA gaming on the ARM-based machine.

Its Nvidia RTX Spark N1X combines a Grace CPU with a Blackwell GPU and uses unified memory for AI workloads. But Geekbench AI offered only CPU testing, and conversational Phi and Mistral models in Microsoft's preview AI Dev Gallery also ran only on the CPU. Prices start at $2,599 and reach $5,899; the review did not establish comparable AI performance for the 24GB base model.

## Sources

- [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/reviews/2026/10/the-surface-laptop-ultra-delivers-on-most-of-microsofts-promises/)

---
Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/OIt2hGRIooX5DrDmAqBKoU
Published: 2026-10-16T13:42:43.780Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-16T12:00:05.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-16T17:00:21.821Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)