Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface RTX Spark Dev Box: what Microsoft actually announced
On October 7, 2026, Microsoft opened pre-orders for two NVIDIA RTX Spark machines. The company's devices blog, written by Surface chief Brett Ostrum, describes them as Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface RTX Spark Dev Box. Both are pitched as hardware for Microsoft's "hybrid intelligence" vision, which splits AI work between the local PC and the cloud. The specs and comparisons below are Microsoft's own claims, not independent test results.
The laptop
Microsoft says Surface Laptop Ultra pairs an NVIDIA Blackwell RTX GPU (up to 6,144 cores), an NVIDIA Grace CPU (up to 20 cores) and up to 128 GB of unified memory. Other claims from the announcement:
- Local AI: models above 120B parameters, with up to 1 petaflop of AI performance. A footnote says the petaflop figure is theoretical FP4 performance using sparsity.
- Thermals and size: up to 2.5x the thermal power capacity of current Surface Laptops, in a chassis under 18 mm thick and under 4.5 lb.
- Display: a 15-inch PixelSense Ultra touchscreen. Microsoft claims peak HDR brightness up to 25% above the MacBook Pro M5. A footnote bases that on published specs as of October 1, 2026, and cites 2,000 nits peak HDR over a 10% window.
- Storage and ports: user-removable storage and a new "Magnetic Connect" USB-C charging port. The page also lists two more USB-C ports, HDMI, USB-A, an SD card reader and a 3.5 mm jack.
- Colors: Platinum and Nightfall.
Two caveats from the footnotes are worth knowing. The 128 GB is shared between CPU and GPU, and the maximum the GPU can address is lower than the total and depends on configuration. The touchscreen is also optimized for touch only, and Microsoft says Surface Pen and similar pen input are not supported.
The Dev Box
The Surface RTX Spark Dev Box is a compact desktop built on the same RTX Spark chip. According to Microsoft's June announcement, it ships with Windows 11 Pro pre-configured for developers. That image enables Developer Mode and makes PowerShell 7 the default shell. It also configures WSL 2 with GPU passthrough and CUDA support, and installs VS Code, GitHub Copilot, Git, Python and Node.js.
For IT admins, Microsoft lists Secured-core PC architecture, BitLocker and Microsoft Defender. It also says the box integrates with Entra ID and Intune. The October post adds agent-governance plans, saying upcoming Windows capabilities will use Entra to tell agent activity apart from user activity. These are product descriptions, not audits, and the agent controls are described as upcoming.
Pricing and availability
The roundup's figures need a small correction. Microsoft's announcement gives:
- Surface Laptop Ultra: pre-order starting at $2,599 (MSRP) from Microsoft.com or select retailers worldwide, with availability beginning October 16. Commercial configurations are also available to pre-order.
- Surface RTX Spark Dev Box: $5,999 (MSRP), exclusively on Microsoft.com in the U.S., with shipping beginning in November. The roundup's "$6,000" is a rounded figure, and the machine is not yet shipping.
Microsoft is also offering up to $1,000 cash back for trading in an eligible MacBook Pro. The offer runs October 7 to November 23, 2026, and is limited to the U.S. and Canada through the Microsoft Store online. The trade-in rules are strict, so read them before counting on that money.
Practical take
The useful distinction is "local where possible, cloud where needed." Microsoft says the two machines can run GitHub Copilot tasks that investigate builds and propose fixes, with Microsoft Dev Box adding cloud capacity when required. That does not mean all Copilot activity runs on-device. Buyers should wait for independent reviews of sustained performance, battery life and Windows on Arm software compatibility before treating the claims as settled.
MPC-HC 2.8.3 gets a Windows 11 look
The MPC-HC GitHub releases page confirms the details. Version 2.8.3 is the current stable release, published October 8. A separate development build, 2.8.3.7, is dated October 9 and is meant for testing.
According to the 2.8.3 release notes, the update:
- Adds a modern theme variant for dialogs and menus based on Windows 11 design. The existing one was based on Windows 10.
- Lets you choose the style under Options > Advanced > ModernThemeStyle, regardless of which Windows version you run.
- Adds an advanced option to use native Windows 11 menus with rounded corners.
- Adds HLG tonemapping support in EVR-CP/Sync.
- Improves CUE file parsing.
- Updates MPC Video Renderer to 0.10.8.2600 and the MediaInfo DLL to version 26.10.
So the old look is a setting away. The release notes also say the player offers a classic theme or a modern dark or light theme under Options > Player > User Interface. It is mostly a cosmetic update, but it is a tidy one for people who still prefer a lean local player.
McDonald's AI pricing lawsuit: allegation, not finding
This item is not a Windows story, but it touches enterprise software and algorithmic pricing. Per Associated Press reporting carried by regional outlets, McDonald's is facing a federal lawsuit alleging its AI-enhanced pricing tool violates antitrust laws because it shares nonpublic data with franchisees who might compete in the same market. The suit was filed on behalf of a consumer, Michael Thomas of DeKalb, Illinois. Yahoo Finance describes it as a proposed nationwide class action. It also says McDonald's has significant leverage over franchisees and can pressure them to follow pricing recommendations.
McDonald's disputes this. It says the lawsuit is "filled with inaccuracies" and that it will defend itself vigorously. It says franchisees own and operate 95 per cent of its 14,000 US stores. It says it has used an AI-enhanced pricing tool for more than a decade, and that the tool weighs a store's sales, location and other factors including competitors' prices.
One correction to the roundup: the "30% rule" and the idea that the system uses personal consumer data to set prices did not appear in the AP-based coverage I reviewed. The dispute there is about data sharing among franchisees and the effect on prices. Treat those two claims as unverified.
The bottom line
- Surface: pre-orders are open at $2,599 for the laptop (availability from October 16) and $5,999 for the Dev Box (shipping in November). All performance claims are Microsoft's.
- MPC-HC: 2.8.3 adds the Windows 11 theme and native Windows 11 menus as options. Both are opt-in.
- McDonald's: it is an allegation in a lawsuit, and the company contests it.