Surface Laptop Ultra Review Roundup: Beautiful and Powerful, but Not Built for Gamers

The first Surface Laptop Ultra review scores are in, and they're good but not unanimous. Microsoft's most powerful laptop, and the first big RTX Spark machine, averages around 7.9 out of 10 across the major reviews. Critics love its design, its brilliant screen brightness and its AI performance, but they're split on battery life, the Mini-LED panel and gaming.

This is a roundup of what the critics say, not our own review: we haven't tested it ourselves.

Surface Laptop Ultra review roundup at a glance

Surface Laptop Ultra review scores

• Notebookcheck: 87%
• Tom's Guide: 4/5
• Gizmodo: 4/5
• Tom's Hardware: 3.5/5

What the critics loved

• The design. Tom's Hardware calls it "the most beautiful laptop Microsoft has ever made," and Tom's Guide praises its "badass" utilitarian look and "stellar ergonomics."
• The magnetic USB-C port. Microsoft's new magnetic charging port, which also works with standard USB-C chargers, is a favourite of both Tom's Hardware and Tom's Guide.
• Local AI performance. With up to 128GB of shared memory, reviewers found it runs large AI models faster than rival laptops, including Apple's MacBook Pro in some tests.
• Ports and repairability. Three USB4 ports, USB-A, HDMI and an SD card reader mean fewer dongles, and Tom's Hardware praises how clearly it's labelled for repair.
• Brightness. The Mini-LED screen reaches over 2,000 nits for HDR, which Microsoft says is the brightest peak HDR of any laptop.

What the critics didn't like

• The screen's weaknesses. Notebookcheck's headline says "The 2000-nits Mini-LED panel is a problem": it found slow response times with visible ghosting, PWM flickering and no local dimming, which hurts black levels. Tom's Guide also found it not as vivid as OLED rivals.
• Battery life. Tom's Hardware measured 10 hours 43 minutes, and Notebookcheck about 10.5 hours at 150 nits, but only 4.5 hours at full SDR brightness. That's well short of Microsoft's 15-hour claim and behind Apple.
• Heat, noise and weight. Tom's Hardware lists "lots of fan noise" and calls it heavy, and Tom's Guide says it "can get hot fast."
• Software. It runs Windows on Arm, and Tom's Hardware says Windows "doesn't take advantage of what RTX Spark offers" for anyone not running AI models.
• The price. Tom's Hardware sums it up as "extremely expensive."

Is the Surface Laptop Ultra good for gaming?

It can game, but it isn't a gaming laptop. Tom's Guide calls its RTX performance "almost desktop-class" in some tests, while Tom's Hardware got 41–47 FPS in God of War: Ragnarök at 1440p on Ultra with DLSS, and 51–79 FPS at 1080p. But because it runs Windows on Arm, many games run through Microsoft's Prism emulator: Tom's Hardware couldn't get Red Dead Redemption 2 to run at all, and Gizmodo found emulated games load more slowly than on a normal laptop. Read our RTX Spark laptops explainer for more on what that means.

Should you buy the Surface Laptop Ultra?

Critics broadly agree: it's a superb machine if you run AI models, edit video or do 3D work and want it in a beautiful, portable Windows laptop. Tom's Guide calls it "a completely different species of laptop" to the MacBook Pro. But if you mainly game, or just want a premium everyday laptop, it's hard to justify the price, and a traditional RTX gaming laptop or a regular Surface Laptop will suit you better.

More tech reviews on iGame Magazine

• RTX Spark laptops – every model, price and what they mean for gaming
• MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review roundup – another high-end portable gaming PC
• Steam Frame review roundup – what critics said about Valve's headset

Surface Laptop Ultra review FAQ