Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra launches at $2,599 — a direct, priced shot across Apple’s bow. The 15-inch Windows laptop is positioned not as a general-purpose notebook but as an AI-native alternative to the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro, which starts at the same $2,599 in the US. In India, the Surface Laptop Ultra is priced at Rs 1,99,999, confirmed by Microsoft’s Indian press materials cited in local tech reports. Matching the premium tier of Apple’s latest Pro lineup there, too. It goes on sale globally on October 21, 2026. Pre-orders open Monday, October 14, the same day Microsoft begins accepting trade-ins for up to $1,000 off the Surface Laptop Ultra if you hand in an eligible MacBook Pro. That offer is live in the US and India. Terms specify ‘2021 or newer’ models qualify, though exact eligibility isn’t detailed beyond that. No UK or EU pricing appears in the reporting. Only the US and Indian figures are confirmed. The device ships with Windows 12, built-in Copilot+ features, and Nvidia’s new RTX Spark N1X SoC, a chip Microsoft calls a ‘Superchip’, and one that hasn’t appeared in any prior laptop. It pairs an 18- or 20-core CPU (core breakdown unconfirmed) with a Blackwell-based GPU offering either 5,120 or 6,144 CUDA cores. Memory starts at 24GB unified RAM, with options up to 128GB. More than Apple offers in the base M5 Pro configuration, where 24GB is standard and 48GB or 64GB are paid upgrades. The display is a 15-inch PixelSense Ultra panel: 3,270 × 2,180 resolution, 3:2 aspect ratio, 2,000-nit peak brightness, 100,000:1 contrast, Dolby Vision IQ, and full ten-point touch support, a feature Apple still omits from all MacBooks. By comparison, the 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR on the M5 Pro MacBook Pro hits 1,600 nits and 1,000,000:1 contrast, but runs 16:10 and lacks touch. Physical specs: the Surface Laptop Ultra measures 12.95 × 9.40 inches and weighs 4.41 pounds. Larger and heavier than the 14-inch MacBook Pro (12.31 × 8.71 inches, 3.5 pounds), though still lighter than the 16-inch MacBook Pro (4.7 pounds). Thickness is 0.71 inches versus Apple’s 0.61. Both use aluminum chassis. Color options are Platinum/Nightfall (Surface) and Space Black/Silver (MacBook). There are no battery life claims, no benchmark results, and no real-world performance data in the source material, just spec sheets and marketing positioning. What’s clear is intent: this isn’t a refresh. It’s Microsoft’s first laptop built explicitly to lure MacBook Pro users. Not with macOS parity, but with AI throughput, touch, and a trade-in hammer. Next step? Retail availability on October 21. And yes, the name is Surface Laptop Ultra, not Surface Laptop 7. That’s what Microsoft calls it. That’s what buyers will search for.