# Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra

33 Hacker News commenters recommended Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra and 63 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a Windows laptop whose trackpad, screen and hardware they rate near MacBook Pro; the most common caveat is its high expected price.

## Why people recommend it

- Trackpad praised as close to Apple's (4 comments): "The touchpads have been great for a long time, and the newer ones have advanced haptics that Macs don't have yet." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49998425)) "the surface laptop is the only windows laptop on the market with a trackpad that's anywhere close to Apple's" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46009795)) "my Windows touchpads are much more responsive, especially when swiping between desktops" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49002952))
- Screens and aspect ratio praised (4 comments): "The screens are a great quality, the keyboard especially in later versions is quite good." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48357343)) "the 15" miniLED with 4:3 ratio and a nice, big haptic touchpad" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49996176)) "Surface has superior aspect ratio." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48373043))
- Hardware quality seen as Mac-class (4 comments): "that surface ultra is the first time I feel like a laptop on the other side of the fence will finally offer hardware parity." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48401394)) "it will offer something that is really the first instance of a Windows device that's a better choice than an M-Macbook" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48356120)) "The ARM64 Surface Laptop is great and definitely matches the MacBook Air's quality" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249076))
- Good for people who must run Windows (2 comments): "This is the answer to that. I _must_ run Windows, and I _want_ to have a computer with integrated memory." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48368013)) "I run Windows 11 Pro on it. I like it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48383000))

## What people warn about

- Expected price is high (4 comments): "It'll cost more than the equivalent MacBook Pro. It'll be slower too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48373292)) "All in all, this rig is going to be quite expensive." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48364572)) "it is going to be $5000+ right?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48361524))
- Windows software and experience concerns (4 comments): "The problem with this is that it runs windows. The hardware is probably nice." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48363783)) "The battery life is great. OS is a complete garbage." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48356705)) "I've heard there's still a large backlog of both software problems, and hardware problems with the platform." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48356523))
- Weak Linux hardware support (3 comments): "hardware support in Linux is probably going to be painful as always" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48357643)) "with uncertain linux support (it's spotty even on the dedicated linux boxes that this chip is based on)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48356123)) "no one other than Apple has the luxury of shipping a PC with second-class Linux support anymore" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360541))
- Battery drain and sleep overheating (2 comments): "the laptop was already at low (<10%) battery when I closed the lid, and it sat for several days without a top-up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48363739)) "the overheating during sleep issue can affect any windows laptop made in the last 5 or so years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48363507))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Apple MacBook Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/macbook-pro.md): 928 recommend
- [Apple MacBook Neo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/macbook-neo.md): 707 recommend
- [MacBook Air](https://hackerapproved.com/p/macbook-air.md): 633 recommend
- [Apple MacBook](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-macbook.md): 499 recommend
- [Framework Laptop 12](https://hackerapproved.com/p/framework-laptop-12.md): 83 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Microsoft+Surface+Laptop+Ultra&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra", https://hackerapproved.com/p/surface-laptop-ultra/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).