Microsoft has introduced a magnetic USB-C charging system for its Surface Laptop Ultra, calling it Magnetic Connect. The new design replaces the company's proprietary Surface Connect port, which Microsoft had already dropped from smaller Surface devices last year. The charging cable attaches magnetically to the laptop's right-side USB-C port, and Microsoft says the port still works normally for video, data, and other USB-C connectivity.
The company demonstrated the feature during its Windows event on Wednesday, with Windows and Surface chief Pavan Davuluri noting that the connector snaps into place when brought close. While the charging cable itself remains proprietary, the port it uses is a standard USB-C port, preserving the laptop's flexibility for other accessories and peripherals.
The Surface Laptop Ultra, first announced earlier this year, is positioned as a premium machine with Nvidia's RTX Spark chip for gaming, creative work, and on-device AI. It starts at $2,599 with an 18-core CPU, 24GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, and is available for preorder now ahead of its October 16th ship date.