This Week in Tech: Microsoft’s $2,599 AI PC, Samsung’s Tab S12 Ultra, and Grok 4.7
Another packed week in tech. Microsoft went big on AI PCs, Samsung refreshed its premium tablets, and Elon Musk’s AI lab shipped a new flagship model. Here’s the tech news this week that actually matters, minus the noise.
Microsoft Unveils the Surface Laptop Ultra — a $2,599 AI PC
The headline launch of the week belongs to Microsoft. The company unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra, a premium machine designed to run large AI models locally on the device rather than in the cloud. Microsoft is also baking in new security mechanisms meant to stop AI agents from touching your personal data without explicit permission — a direct answer to the growing unease about agentic AI.
The catch? The starting price of $2,599 puts it firmly in enthusiast and enterprise territory for now. But the direction is clear: the “AI PC” is moving from marketing buzzword to an actual product category, and Microsoft wants to own it. Expect cheaper rivals within a year.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ Go on Sale
Samsung’s answer to the iPad Pro is here. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ went on sale on October 7, packing large AMOLED displays, the S Pen in the box, and a heavy dose of Galaxy AI features. Samsung is clearly positioning these as laptop replacements for people who live on tablets — students, designers, and note-takers.
With Apple’s iPad Pro dominating the premium tablet space, Samsung’s play is differentiation through the S Pen and DeX-style desktop mode. If you’ve been waiting to upgrade an aging tablet, this is the most interesting Android option in years.
Grok 4.7 Debuts, Chasing Claude and GPT
Elon Musk’s AI outfit — now called SpaceXAI, formerly xAI — shipped Grok 4.7 on October 11. Early reports point to a big jump in coding ability, putting it into a genuine frontier race alongside Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT models. The free-to-use Chinese models like Kimi K3 and Qwen are also closing the gap fast, which means the “best AI” crown is genuinely up for grabs right now.
For everyday users, the takeaway is simple: you no longer need to pay $20 a month to get frontier-level AI. The free tier wars are the best thing to happen to consumers in years.
Meta’s AI Assistant Lands on iPad
Meta’s AI assistant Muse got a dedicated iPad app this week, after launching on iPhone earlier. It’s a small story on its own, but it shows the bigger trend: every tech giant is racing to put its AI assistant on every screen you own. The real question nobody has fully answered yet — what should these assistants be allowed to do on your behalf, and what data do they need to do it?
What to Watch Next Week
It’s earnings season: ASML and TSMC report mid-week, which will show just how much money is still pouring into AI chip manufacturing. TechCrunch Disrupt runs October 13–15 in San Francisco with 10,000+ founders attending. And Google owes regulators in Finland an explanation over its massive AI data-center buildout. Busy times.
That’s the tech news this week in a nutshell. For daily coverage, keep an eye on our tech news section — and if any of this hardware tempted you, our gadget guides will help you decide what’s actually worth your money.
