Microsoft's big night is coming – here's what will be left out

Microsoft and Nvidia are unveiling the flagship Surface Laptop Ultra tonight, based on the RTX Spark platform and Nvidia's Grace processors. The computer is designed for running local AI models and directly competes with Apple. Alongside the excitement, the starting price is expected to be $2,800-$3,000, and the event will not include an announcement of Windows 12 or discounted models.

Microsoft and Nvidia are joining forces tonight (Wednesday) in San Francisco to unveil the flagship Surface Laptop Ultra, based on the shared RTX Spark platform. The computer is equipped with Nvidia's Grace processors and Blackwell architecture, offering a full petaflop of local AI processing power, enabling the operation of large language models without a cloud connection. Alongside the laptop, Microsoft is expected to showcase the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box for developers, and a full ecosystem of partner hardware manufacturers including Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, and MSI. The starting price is expected to range between $2,800 and $3,000, and may reach up to $7,000 for the fully equipped version. The article notes that the move is intended to ease the economic burden on Microsoft's server farms, while shifting processing costs to consumers. The event will not include an announcement of Windows 12 or discounted models, and focuses on the professional high-end niche.