Microsoft Windows and Surface event 2026: Live updates on the Surface Laptop Ultra and NVIDIA RTX Spark

Good morning everyone and welcome to our liveblog of today's Microsoft Windows and Surface event. As it's taking place in San Francisco and currently 7AM there, I'll be kicking off this liveblog until our on-the-ground reporters Karissa Bell and Devindra Hardawar are able to. You might still see me around here after they come on, though, because I do love hanging around event liveblogs.

As we've already covered in the intro of this liveblog, there's quite a lot we know so far about what to expect today. The Surface Laptop Ultra is definitely on the agenda, and possibly more details not just about its price and availability, but perhaps also additional features we hadn't seen.

Good morning folks! I'm looking forward to seeing what's up with Microsoft and NVIDIA later today. It's certainly a big deal that Nadella and Huang are hosting this event together. Perhaps it's a sign that RTX Spark will have a bit more of a lifespan than the Copilot+ initiative.

I love hearing from our readers on what they want to see from each of these events, so leave us a comment below about your hopes and dreams. Out of Microsoft today, out of the tech industry broadly or even just in life. We're here to listen!

I know some people were wondering if this would be an event to launch Windows 12, but I don't think that's really going to happen. Microsoft has its work cut out for it trying to make agentic AI viable in Windows, so I think that'll be the major focus. I do wonder what a Windows 12 would look like, though. In 5 years, I'd imagine even more AI features front and center.

We currently have 7 comments with many of you talking about how much you like Surface computers and I am happy to report I am also in that camp. One of my daily drivers is a Surface Laptop. Wild thing to say, maybe?

Commenter Tendoboy1984 has a question: "Are they gonna finally show Xbox Helix?"

Dev, any thoughts?

Oh I'd love to get some Xbox Helix details, but that'll definitely be announced at a totally separate event where Xbox gets to shine. This event is purely for the AI sickos. Let's take our bets for how much the Surface Laptop Ultra will cost! 

I guess... $1,200. But ideally $999?

Oh I'd put it more in the range of the MacBook Pro 16-inch, since it's a similar market they're going for. That thing starts at $2,999! The current Surface Laptop starts at $1,200, so really thinking how much they can charge for RTX Spark and that "Ultra" name.

Whatever the case, the Surface Laptop Ultra definitely won't be for most consumers. And I think that will hold true for most of the RTX Spark systems. NVIDIA wants a slightly cheaper version of its DGX Spark tech for laptops and smaller desktops, but all AI hardware will need a ton of RAM to hold large models. A MacBook Pro 16-inch with 64GB of RAM starts at $4,000. RTX Spark systems can go up to 128G of RAM. 

Welp TIL that's how much the MacBook Pro starts at! I am still in the mindset of ultraportable laptop pricing from 2016 I guess. But yes, I think this will cost a lot and I have to wonder who it's for. I'm not sure there's a massive market for $3,000 laptops in this economy. 

I hope we'll return to the days of great $999 laptops eventually!

Devindra, aside from the Surface Laptop Ultra and... AI... What word do you think we'll hear most at this afternoon's keynote? And don't say "Agentic"...

Morning! It will be interesting to see how Microsoft justifies that kind of price if it does land somewhere in the $3,000 range (which I agree is likely given everything we know). I suspect a lot of it will hinge on what Dev said a little bit ago... it's for hardcore AI folks. I'd bet we will hear all about how great this laptop is for agentic coding, AI development etc. 

I won't say agentic but... maybe tons about little minions doing AI work for you ;) Seriously, this is the hot topic now, so I'm sure that will be the bulk of the event. Maybe Microsoft will try to launch another big AI feature too, but its track record with that hasn't been great. 

I believe Devindra and Karissa are both making their way to the event space and we should hear from them what it's like there soon. What do you all want to know about the on-the-ground experience? I always always always ask about snacks.

While we wait, why don't I catch you up on recent developments in the broader laptop ecosystem. There has been a lot of interesting reports lately around a potential MacBook Ultra with an OLED touch screen and a Dynamic Island. If the rumor mill is to be trusted, it sounds like this could launch at the end of October.

Meanwhile, Google recently launched its new AI-forward laptops called Googlebooks. If you're keeping track, the company has probably exhausted the laptop brands it can claim now, what with Pixelbook, Chromebook and Googlebook all having been used.

What's next, Geminibook? Oh lord now that I've said it... Anyway, Microsoft has at least kept the Surface branding consistent. 

I give it 6 months before Google forgets about Googlebooks. Look at how its premiere Android XR partner (the Xreal Aura) just dumped its news out today. 

Let's be clear, the news you're referring to is the pricing of the Xreal Aura Android XR glasses that were introduced at Google I/O this year, right? They'll cost $1,279. Or, in less understandable but more painful terms, an arm and half a leg.

At least we don't think Microsoft is going to show off any smart glasses today?

Karissa says they've arrived at the event and are in line to get in!

Right now're lined up and waiting to get in. I've never been to this area of SF along the waterfront, it's lovely!

While they get settled, a new comment has appeared! User "Guest" said

"Microsoft needs to streamline its windows, and focus on creating a bloatware free version"

How many of you agree? And yes I'll bet some Windows news will be announced today.

(Shoutouts to "Bob's uncle" and "dude" for their Big Surface Energy comments!)

Looks like Karissa and Devindra are in!

We've made it inside, and are seating in some rather cramped seats. Good news is we are in the second row so we will have a good view.

You'll notice some familiar faces in the crowd already! I've been liveblogging alongside some of these folks for longer than I'd like to admit. 

With just about 14 minutes to go, I guess it's time to grab a drink, snack and a toilet break.

Judging from one PR person I talked to outside, MS and NVIDIA are very interested in seeing how we react to the pricing of the Surface Ultra and RTX Spark devices. I couldn't fish a number out of them, unfortunately!

A Microsoft PR rep also mistook me for an HP executive, I should have let them take me to the private partner seating area!

Five minutes to go, we're starting to see MS execs and familiar faces settling in for the event.

Marcus Ash from Microsoft's Design and Research Team is on stage telling us we'll be hearing about the company's plans for hybrid intelligence today.

"We're going to start the show momentarily," he said. Hope everyone watching the stream is ready.

We were also told not to stand up so se don't interrupt the stream... you might be able to see the backs of our heads once this starts. 

This is really not the event for impromptu bathroom breaks. 

A hush descends upon the crowd, we're starting soon. A wild Jensen Huang has appeared at the front of the stage.

Huang is sitting right up front, wish I was at a good angle to get his realtime reactions to this event.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hits the stage. "My life was shaped by one such event back in 1991," he says, referring to the significance of today's event.

In 1991, he says he could clearly see essentially what would become the x86 architecture and Win32. "So I think today's event has the makings of something like that."

Satya certainly sounds nostalgic today.

"I think today is the day we'll start talking and thinking about the frontier ecosystem taking slightly different contours," he says, referring to frontier AI models. 

First off, he says we need to ensure trust to build a frontier AI ecosystem. No kidding! Let's think about how many AI hacks we've heard about recently.

He also says we need to think about overall intelligence and the "flow of human ambition," whatever that means.

Nadella says he's taking Agent 365, Microsoft IQ and Copilot together as something that he wants to make part of the core Windows architecture.

Microsoft IQ, he says, does the work of figuring out different models for users, while Copilot is the front end for consumers. We're going to witness essentially "the birth of the next generation of Windows agentic platforms."

Anyone counting how many times we hear the words "agent" and "agentic" today?

Pavan Davuluri, the head of Windows and Microsoft's devices, is on the stage to break down the news. Do NOT take shots every time you hear agentic today.

"Agents need flexible containmnet, a distinct identity and permissions separate from the users," he says.

It is interesting how Microsoft is positioning themselves as the platform for the "frontier ecosystem." They aren't a frontier lab, but they clearly believe they can contribute on the infrastructure side.

He's starting with containment, which is always a funny phrase to me around AI. I think of containment when I think of viruses and pandemics, not a major tool. He announces that Microsoft Execution Containers have reached general availability in Windows 11. A few people applause.

Developers can start integrating agents with MXC today, he says. 

"Windows brings enterprise manageability to agents with Agent 365," reads a slide on stage right now. 

He says Microsoft is launching an end-to-end platform for securing agents, which are currently pretty insecure otherwise.

That's an important point he just mentioned re: attribution... one thing that's become evident with Muse and other personal agents is that it can quickly become problematic when it's not clear that someone is interacting with an agent.

Divya Venkataramu hits the stage to discuss how Windows is securing agents. She claims Microsoft is building the most secure platform for agents. 

She's showing one example of how Microsoft's tools can detect an agent's malicious actions. Again, it seems like we're doing a lot of work to contain fundamentally untrustworthy tools. Wouldn't it be simpler... not to rely on those tools? 

On Windows, organizations can tell which agents are running, isolate what they're running and apply policies to them broadly. "With Windows, Microsoft Security and Agent 365, you control what agents access," she says.

Davaluri says partners like OpenAI and Anthropic are already building on these security tools.

We do know agents comes with a lot of security risks so it is good to see some discussion about how to make these things more secure.

Hybrid intelligence exists because people's appetite for intelligence is unlimited, Davauluri says. By hybrid intelligence, he means AI running locally and in the cloud.

Today, GitHub's HydraFusion tool can be applied to AI models running locally in Windows. This is on the developer end of things I haven't really touched, but I'm surprised this capability hasn't been there already.

If you're watching the livestream, this whole event really feels like an offshoot of a typical dry Microsoft Build keynote. 

He's emphasizing local, on-device models. As token costs keep going up, local models are becoming more important to developers. 

NVIDIA's Nemotron will launch a new model on October 15, he says. DeepSeek V5 Flash will also be able to run locally, as long as you have 60GB of memory to hold it.

We're onto Windows ML, "a scalable model to deploy runtimes across CPUs, GPUs and NPUs." He's announcing that llama.cpp is coming to Windows ML, giving devs the ability to experiment with emerging models.

Is anyone else as confused as I am? This is coming across more like Build (a developer conference) than a Windows and Surface event. Does Microsoft think people want to know all these details about AI?

We're watching a live demonstration of an AI agent performing some code cleanup. This is how you know we're really in pseudo-Build mode.

I too love to stare at my task manager's performance bars.

Even the commenters on Microsoft's livestream are asking the same question, saying it's like "watching paint dry." At least Microsoft Paint is fun.

Who here thought we would get a live GitHub demo before a hardware reveal? 

Look at that graph!

Our editor in chief Aaron Souppouris with this banger: "brb going to call my mom and tell her the good news about deepseek v5 flash on windows"

I expected this event to be pretty dev heavy, but it's even more hardcore than I figured. I wonder if we'll see a truly consumer-focused AI tool like Meta's Muse today.

I think Microsoft is trying to show that it's not just about hardware; they're trying to pitch why people should pick Windows for AI development.

Alright, we're going to learn what they mean by the "flow of human ambition." That sounds pretty culty, TBH.

Starting this fall, Windows 11 PCs will be able to take thousands of quick actions from search in the Task Bar. This is reminiscent of how Apple has enabled shortcuts in Spotlight. Great news for power users! You'll be able to do things like take a screenshot or enable dark mode right from the Task Bar.

Now that seems useful, honestly. But only for power users.

Copilot can also answer questions right within the search field on the Task Bar. Again, nifty!

After launching a revamped Copilot app recently, the company is preparing to expand its functionality within Windows, a new speaker says. It'll be able to access your files, take action on your machine and run local models.

Copilot's new abilities.

Honestly, as someone who is not a regular Windows user I'm kind of shocked Copilot couldn't access local files before now.

Now we're diving into the Copilot app revamp, which consists of three separate sections. The "Home" tab is where you start, while "Code" lets you quickly build and share an app with no programming experience. You can now use Copilot to build Windows apps and widgets.  

The Code tab will alos let you run apps in MXC Local Sandbox for security.

These look pretty good, actually.

Now we're onto the new Copilot Autopilot tab, which the company has already pitched as a spot for future agentic tools. 

This mode gives the Copilot icon a face, and it's terrifying.

Wait, is Microsoft doing cute agents too?

Why does it look so smug.

It also blinks which is somewhat unnerving tbh.

We've watched as the Autopilot tools gathered files and sent it off to a user's accountant. Hopefully, that's the sort of thing you double check before Copilot screws up your taxes.

Yes this one is a lot less "cute" and a lot more "Clippy got amorphous."

"We're excited to bring hybrid intelligence to Copilot," Davuluri says.

He's showing off Perplexity's Portable Computer tool on Windows, which can perform complex AI tasks across multiple models locally on its own, without using Perplexity cloud credits.

Meta's Muse is also coming to Windows natively with MXC integration.

Okay I was not expecting a Perplexity demo today.

And Meta's Muse is coming to Windows as a native app too. Not surprising given the success it's had so far. Wonder how that version will handle access issue sthat have cropped up on Mac so far.

He's also announcing a new "Get Started" experience in Windows, a simpler way to get started running agents out of the box. There will also be a native Windows gateway for OpenClaw.

Oh hey, he remembered Copilot+ PCs! "Over 40 percent of laptops being built for business are Copilot+ PCs," he says.

Now we're onto the "Builder" tier of devices, enter the Surface Laptop Ultra (again).

We're watching a demo video, and once again it really just seems like a Microsoft spin on the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

There it is.

It's bright, it's repairable!

Okay, calm down now, Microsoft. The music and slow-mo effects on this video are silly.

Big cheers in the room for the reveal. It definitely looks MacBook Pro-esque.

"We built it for developers and creators, pushing the limits of performance," Davuluri says.

A little bit better look at the one onstage.

Interesting they are highlighting some gaming announcements. We thought this was a laptop for AI developers, but it's also for gamers!

He says Gears of War: E-Day is able to run easily alongside serious AI work. Call of Duty is also coming to RTX Spark systems this year, he says. That's notable, because these systems are using Arm chips, not normal x86 Windows and AMD chips.

Surface Laptop has 2.5X the thermal capacity of existing Surface notebooks, he says. And it can maintain over 99% of its power while on battery. It also weighs less than 4.5 pounds (notably, less than the MacBook Pro 16-inch). There's also a new Magnetic Connect charging adapter that still uses a normal USB-C port. No more weird Surface Connectors.

Microsoft even created its own version of MagSafe! 

That is sort of interesting because it's still just a USB-C port, not another thing.

We're watching a developer using Blender to create a spaceship on the Surface Laptop Ultra. Normally, it would take him days or weeks to test out his concepts. Noew, he can use an AI tool to test his concepts quickly.

There has been so much emphasis today on local AI. A lot of developers rely heavily on local models and Microsoft has really been highlighting the performance you can get with local models on this.

He's using ComfyUI to build on his spaceship concepts. Given the anti-AI sentiment among many gamers today, I'm not sure this is a workflow many developers would actually want to use. 

Give us the price!

Davuluri is now discussing the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box. Surface Laptop Ultra is available today for preorder at $2,599, the Spark Dev Box is $5,999.

We're onto the DGX Station for Windows, which is bringing last quarter's frontier model's to your desk, Davuluri says.

DGX Station for Windows, this looks hardcore.

Nadella and Jensen Huang are hitting the stage next, we're watching them set up chairs.

VC Sriram Krishnan is on the stage to interview them. Seems like a good role for a journalist, though!

Jensen handed off his phone to an assistant right as he took the stage, guess we won't get a live Trump call today.

I remember when Krishnan was a Twitter exec (in the pre-Elon days).

Expect this to be a softball conversation folks. Krishnan asks about Nadella's favorite memory working alongside Microsoft.

Huang is reminiscing about Windows 95, which allowed for GPUs to connect with PCs, while DirectX also gave video cards a simple way to run 3D programming. "Without Windows, there would be no GeForce, without GeForce, CUDA wouldn't have come into the world," he says. And without CUDA, there wouldn't be computers for deep learning, he says.

Nadella just made a market cap joke. It is really crazy if you look back at how much NVIDIA has exploded over the last few decades.

Everyone is nostalgic today, I guess. This group definitely seems very friendly. 

Nadella says Huang has been the most consistent about the idea of high performance computing. "Satya was the first user of InfiniBand inside a cloud," Huang points out.

Ah, the billionaires are just hanging.

Jensen and Satya are just vibing. Krishnan can't even get a word in. (This wouldn't happen if a journalist was moderating.)

What happens in the era of agents, when the agent is on your computer, but it wants to have access to all of the amazing tools on your system, Huang asks.

Five minutes left in this fluff session.

When Huang said "We want the world's best Blender, the world's best Unreal..." I definitely thought about a different kind of blender...

They finally let him speak and he actually asked a good question: how does Windows MXC make agent use more secure in the context of systems that ask for full disk access.

MXC was developed because Nadella realized AI agents had to be contained at the desktop level. To put it kindly: No shit!

This will become more important if companies want enterprise adoption of agents, which Satya just alluded to.

Here's another look at all the new hardware sitting on other side of the stage btw.

Huang says MXC is going to revolutionize how agents are built and deployed. Again, of course. If you're going to let something loose on your full system, you better have a good way to keep it in check! This seems basic.

Nadella says he was using a terminal in the late '80s when he was in grad school, along a PC with a modem back at home. He says it took until the launch of Mosaic, the first browser, for him to have a seamless way of using all the tools he needed. 

You can tell Satya is excited because of how much he is gesturing.

Nadella says the idea of Hybrid Intelligence in Windows is just as substantial. I could see that being true for some developers, but it doesn't feel like the paradigm shift that Mosaic was for everyone online.

Nadella says when agents first appeared, it showed how powerful consoles and file systems remain. 

Find something you're as passionate about as Satya is about file systems gaining new relevance thanks to agentic coding.

"When was the last time I thought of OneDrive as a cloud thing or a client thing? It's there everywhere!" I still regularly use OneDrive, but I'm well aware I'm saving to those specific folders because the files are being automatically uploaded.

"We've reinvented the personal computer completely," Huang says. How many times have we heard that before? 

Huang says the Surface RTX devices are the first time you can run every major computing process right on the device. Eh, I think Apple Silicon really kicked off this trend.

Will normal users benefit from RTX Spark in the way mainstream consumers benefited from all of Apple's M-series chips? At this point, that seems like a big no.

Krishnan is wrapping up the chat. "Satya, Pavan, Microsoft Team, we have reinvented the computer as we know it," Huang says.

"Windows has been with me for 34 years, looks like it's going to be with me for 34 more," Huang says.

Jensen also <3 Windows (in case there was any doubt).

And we're done, stay tuned for my hands on with the Surface Laptop Ultra!

Davuluri returned to thank the audience and recap the news today, and yes it seems the presentation is now over! Devindra and Karissa will be hustling to get their hands on the new products (namely the Surface Laptop Ultra) and you'll have their hands-on impressions to read here on our site (or on our social channels) soon!

Karissa was able to snap some quick shots of the Surface Laptop Ultra while they were being ushered out of the presentation area.

Thank you all for joining us today. We're glad you were here, and appreciate your readership! Stay tuned, we'll have more from Microsoft for you later today, and a whole bunch of stuff from the tech industry 24/7-365!