Microsoft and Nvidia launch RTX Spark and the Surface Laptop Ultra, as Windows search becomes a chatbot

[Megan34]

At an event in San Francisco, Microsoft and Nvidia unveiled the RTX Spark chip, the Surface Laptop Ultra and a set of new Windows 11 AI features, Tom's Hardware reports. Pre-orders opened the same day, and devices ship on 16 October, alongside RTX Spark PCs from Asus, Dell, Lenovo, HP and MSI. The Surface Laptop Ultra starts at 2,599 dollars, and a Surface RTX Spark developer box starts at 5,999 dollars

The laptop weighs 4.5 pounds, has a magnetic USB-C charger and, according to Microsoft, the brightest peak HDR on a laptop. It was shown running Gears of War: E-Day at 60 frames per second. Microsoft compared it with an M5 Pro MacBook Pro and claimed up to 2.1 times faster time to first token, 4.3 times faster image generation and 6.2 times faster video generation. Call of Duty is coming to RTX Spark in 2027. Nvidia's Jensen Huang said: "We've reinvented the personal computer completely."

Windows is changing too. Microsoft Execution Containers, which sandbox AI agents, are moving to general availability, and agents must attribute their actions to themselves. Engadget reports that part of the taskbar will become a chatbot style Search Menu, where users can carry out thousands of actions by typing short commands like "increase mic volume." A feature called Hybrid Intelligence lets AI models run locally, with Copilot able to access local files and take actions across apps when switched on

Pavan Davuluri, head of Windows and Devices, said: "We're moving into a future where everyone can simply express what they want". Engadget notes that less than a year ago, Microsoft promised to remove unnecessary Copilot integration from Windows 11. Sandboxing agents and making them attribute their actions is welcome, given recent stories about AI agents behaving badly. But many users will be wary of an operating system built ever more tightly around AI

Would you buy an RTX Spark laptop over a MacBook? And do you want an AI chatbot running your Windows search and settings?

Microsoft and Nvidia launch Surface Laptop Ultra with RTX Spark starting at $2,599 - coinciding with major Windows 11 changes for agentic AIwww.tomshardware.com