Microsoft has opened preorders for the Surface Laptop Ultra at $2,599 — and it ships October 16. That’s the hard number, the hard date, and the first real availability window for a device Microsoft calls “Not Standard Issue.” It’s not a refresh. It’s a new category: a Windows laptop built around NVIDIA’s RTX Spark platform, with unified memory, Blackwell architecture, and a breakaway USB-C power connector that mimics MagSafe’s safety without proprietary hardware. No leaks. No rumors. Just live pricing, live configurations, and a firm shipping start date, all confirmed by Windows Central and Techmeme on October 7, 2026. The base model packs an 18-core N1X CPU, a 5120-core RTX GPU, 24GB of unified RAM, and 512GB storage. All inside a 15-inch mini-LED chassis with full port selection. That’s not “entry-level” by any normal laptop standard. It’s the floor. Step up to the 20-core CPU / 6144-core GPU configuration, and the lowest available spec jumps to 32GB RAM + 1TB SSD, priced at $3,699.99. Top out at 128GB unified RAM (still on a 1TB SSD) and you hit $5,899.99. All models ship in Nightfall or Platinum. No other colors. No other screen sizes. No compromises on display or I/O. Just raw compute scaling. This isn’t aimed at students or remote workers juggling Zoom and spreadsheets. Microsoft says it’s for creators, AI builders, scientists, and engineers, people who run local LLMs, render photorealistic scenes, or simulate fluid dynamics on-device. And yes, the RTX Blackwell GPU supports ray tracing, path tracing, and DLSS. But Windows Central is clear: don’t buy it for gaming. It’ll handle games, but it’s over-engineered for that use case. The breakaway USB-C power connector, noted by Techmeme as “like Apple’s MagSafe, but on a standard USB-C”. Is a quiet but meaningful detail. It’s a physical safeguard against tripping over cables and yanking the laptop off a desk. No special brick. No custom port. Just smarter USB-C. Pricing reflects macroeconomic pressure: Windows Central explicitly ties the steep cost to the ongoing RAM and storage crisis, not just ambition. That context matters. This isn’t a $2,600 laptop because Microsoft wants to charge $2,600. It’s $2,600 because 24GB of high-bandwidth unified memory and fast NVMe storage cost that much right now. And Microsoft isn’t subsidizing it. Preorders are live now on Microsoft’s US store. Indian pricing hasn’t been announced. UK or EU figures aren’t in the sources, so we won’t guess them. When those markets get numbers, we’ll report them. For now: $2,599. October 16. RTX Spark. Not Standard Issue.