SAN FRANCISCO — In a direct challenge to Apple, Microsoft has officially announced the pricing and release date for its new flagship laptop, the "Surface Laptop Ultra," powered by NVIDIA's cutting-edge RTX Spark chip.

The RTX Spark is a next-generation AI PC chip that combines a Blackwell Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) with a Grace Central Processing Unit (CPU).

During a high-profile event in San Francisco on the 7th (local time), Microsoft executives told Bloomberg and other outlets that the Ultra responds to prompts from on-device AI models twice as fast as Apple’s M5 MacBook Pro. Furthermore, the company claims the new laptop boasts a video generation speed six times faster than comparable Apple products.

Microsoft announced that shipments will begin soon, with pricing ranging from $2,599 to $5,999 depending on the configuration. This places the base model at roughly $400 cheaper than the entry-level 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The launch of the Ultra marks a major milestone in Microsoft's vision—first introduced two years ago—to run heavy AI workloads directly on personal computers. Microsoft believes that shifting certain tasks away from costly cloud-computing data centers will empower both enterprise and consumer Windows computers to handle heavy-duty AI processing locally. However, this is precisely the same high-end market Apple is targeting with its newest MacBooks.

In addition to hardware, Microsoft unveiled a vital new security tool designed to safeguard against the rise of autonomous AI agents. Dubbed the "Microsoft Execution Container" (MXC), the tool prevents PC- or laptop-based AI agents from accessing unauthorized data or executing unapproved actions.

Pavan Davuluri, Corporate Vice President of Windows and Devices, announced that industry giants Anthropic, OpenAI, and NVIDIA will adopt the tool. MXC allows IT departments to set strict rules and boundaries for AI agents, which the Windows operating system will automatically enforce on individual employee PCs and laptops.

"We wanted to make the PC the safest place for AI agents to run," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Taking the stage alongside Nadella, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang praised the innovation, stating that MXC will "revolutionize how agents are built and deployed."

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