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Comment articles on Notebookcheck

Our writers use the opportunity to share their personal views concerning current events with the readers in the form of opinion articles to encourage public debate and further expand the breadth of public opinion.
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The editorial team at Notebookcheck is composed of 45 authors from all over the world (as of 2019). We offer our writers an opportunity to share their views with the readers in the form of opinion articles with the goal of encouraging and shaping public debates, in which all parties are welcome to partake. This is why we have a comments section at the end of each article. Readers are not required to sign up to participate.

Opinion articles only express the individual opinion of the author, and not of that of the entire editorial team. To avoid any possible confusion, these articles are clearly labeled as „comment“ and have a distinct visual style, when compared to news articles and reviews.

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The PlayStation 5 stands out in design and size. (Image source: Sony via Reddit - u/batgamerman)

PlayStation 5 devkit and final next-gen console designs are revolutionary in comparison to previous efforts leaving high expectations for the PS6

Looking through images that compare PlayStation devkits with the final products reveals a couple of things: Both the PlayStation 5 devkit and final design PS5 console are revolutionary in comparison to their predecessors, and a lo...
Column by Daniel R Deakin, Mon, 26 Oct 2020 10:44:00 +0100
Is a 120-Hz display worth it? It depends. (Image source: OnePlus)

Do smartphones really need 120-Hz screens?

New smartphones are constantly outbidding each other with ever faster displays. The newest example is the OnePlus 8T. But do 120-Hz panels really make sense in ...
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 | Qualcomm Adreno 650 | 6.55" | 188 g
Column by Florian Schmitt, Sat, 24 Oct 2020 17:40:00 +0200
iPad 10.2 (2020)

Opinion: This is why the Apple iPad 10.2 is a sustainable product

Apple has begun its push for sustainability well before Greta Thunberg by reducing the carbon footprint of its products and not using toxic materials for its de...
Apple A12 Bionic | Apple A12 Bionic GPU | 10.2" | 495 g
Daniel Schmidt, Wed, 21 Oct 2020 07:57:00 +0200
Could the iPhone SE 2020 stop people from buying the cheapest iPhone 12? (Image source: Apple).

Analyst prediction for the most popular iPhone 12 model is counter to recent trends

Apple’s upcoming release event, dubbed “Hi, Speed”, will feature its highly anticipated iPhone 12 series. Within the series are four rumoured devices, the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini, 6.1-inch iPhone 12, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and 6....
Craig Ward, Mon, 12 Oct 2020 06:55:00 +0200
More lenses will not necessarily produce better images. (Image: Notebookcheck)

8P objectives are the "next big thing" when it comes to smartphones, but are they really better?

Comment Smartphone manufacturers have spent the last few years shouting ever bigger numbers at their customers: 108 megapixel camera sensors, 100x zoom functions and slow motion at 960 frames per second are just the beginning; the battle ...
Column by Hannes Brecher, Thu, 24 Sep 2020 11:43:00 +0200
We're calling it now: 2021 will introduce new laptops with way better webcams than ever before

We're calling it now: 2021 will introduce new laptops with way better webcams than ever before

COVID-19 and work-from-home orders have been a boon to virtual gatherings and Zoom meetings for office workers, students, doctors, and so much more. We strongly believe that this will accelerate the development of laptop webcams t...
Column by Allen Ngo, Mon, 14 Sep 2020 13:11:00 +0200
There is a reason why the PlayStation maker is often called "Soony"... (Image source: Reddit - u/Any_Key)

The exasperating PlayStation 5 wait might be the greatest trick Sony ever pulled - but don't worry, the PS5 does exist

Doritos, 4chan, Soony, and a parody song: PlayStation 5 waiting fatigue has really started kicking in hard, just as a likely controlled leak from Microsoft has given up the potential prices of the Xbox Series X and S. But to parap...
Column by Daniel R Deakin, Tue, 08 Sep 2020 10:13:00 +0200
The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact: Powerful, small, affordable, and the last of its kind (source: NotebookCheck)

We demand more small phones!

Whatever happened to phones that fit in your pocket? The dearth of compact mobile devices has many enthusiasts dismayed, making sacrifices in terms of features, platforms, and hardware. Some of us even continue reaching years into the past for smartphones we can operate with one hand.
Column by Christopher Thomas, Tue, 01 Sep 2020 03:12:00 +0200
Intel's dismissal of synthetic benchmarks is not entirely justifiable. (Image Source: Intel)

Intel still leans on gaming comparisons to prove its worth, but it may have shot itself in the foot this time around

Intel has been emphasizing the need to move away from traditional benchmarks for quite some time now. A recent press briefing to APAC journalists saw Intel extolling its advantages in gaming and postulating it as a more realistic ...
Column by Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, Wed, 26 Aug 2020 10:04:00 +0200
Over 30 million Command & Conquer games were sold between 1995 and 2009. (Image source: EA)

Remastered Command & Conquer, remade The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, and rejuvenated Age of Empires can breathe life into expiring RTS genre

The real-time strategy (RTS) genre has been eclipsed over recent years by the highly popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) offshoot. However, it seems RTS fans have not been completely forgotten as beloved titles in the g...
Column by Daniel R Deakin, Thu, 20 Aug 2020 04:07:00 +0200
The Samsung Galaxy Fold — where do we go from here? (Image source: Samsung)

Thin bezels, under-display cameras, and foldables are overpriced stopgaps on the way to the post-smartphone paradigm

The rise of ultra-expensive foldable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Motorola Razr, and Apple’s rumoured iPhone/iPad hybrid underline a greater issue with the smartphone industry on the whole: the lack of genuine innovation ...
Column by Arjun Krishna Lal, Thu, 13 Aug 2020 19:05:00 +0200
Rocket Lake-S can be Intel's chance to get back in the saddle. (Image source: Intel)

How Intel can get back on top

Rocket Lake could be Intel’s comeback, its victory run and its redemption. All Intel has to do is win the core count game in the mainstream space.
Column by Stanislav Kokhanyuk, Wed, 29 Jul 2020 12:37:00 +0200
The Sony PlayStation 4 offers some fantastic exclusive titles, and the same strategy should lead the PS5 to success. (Picture: Teddy Guerrier, Unsplash)

Opinion | The Sony PlayStation 5 will win the next console battle, but the future belongs to Microsoft

History repeats itself: Sony and Microsoft will launch new consoles in the fall, but while the PlayStation 5 focuses on the upcoming console war, the Xbox team looks to the future that Microsoft does not want to miss again.
Hannes Brecher, Tue, 21 Jul 2020 14:12:00 +0200
16:10 displays are about to become mainstream on Windows laptops (Image source: Dell)

16:10 displays are about to become more mainstream on Windows laptops

Dell has kicked off the 16:10 race with the XPS 13, XPS 15, and XPS 17 and it's only a matter of time before other OEMs follow on those footsteps. The aspect ratio has proven that it has a place on consumer-centric laptops instead...
Column by Allen Ngo, Wed, 15 Jul 2020 22:13:00 +0200
The Mi A3 was released about a year ago. (Source: AndroidPit)

What is going on with the Xiaomi Mi A4?

The Mi A3 was launched right about a year ago. Going by Xiaomi's usual release schedule, one would expect the successor to that phone, the Mi A4, to be set for launch now. That doesn't seem to be the case, however, as there's been...
Ricci Rox, Sun, 12 Jul 2020 19:23:00 +0200
The OnePlus Z/Nord is coming. (Source: OnePlus)

OnePlus Z/Nord: US market set to get the short end of the stick again

OnePlus has confirmed the imminent launch of its upcoming mid-range phone. The phone is expected to be the OnePlus Z or OnePlus Nord, and will be a spiritual successor to the OnePlus X. Sadly, though, a US release looks to be in d...
Column by Ricci Rox, Wed, 24 Jun 2020 15:31:00 +0200
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 still looks fresh. (Source: BGR)

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was the last truly great Android flagship

Feature Samsung released the Galaxy Note 9 two years ago. Unlike most flagship phones from that era, however, the Note 9 still manages to look fresh, while offering premium features and performance, even by today's standards. And that, pe...
Column by Ricci Rox, Sun, 21 Jun 2020 19:55:00 +0200
Huawei and Honor aren't learning from their webcam mistakes

Huawei and Honor aren't learning from their outdated webcam mistakes

With shelter-in-place guidelines and Zoom meetings becoming increasingly common, the flaws of laptop webcams are jumping to the forefront. Huawei hasn't gotten the memo about "nosecams" and the last thing we want is for users on t...
Column by Allen Ngo, Tue, 16 Jun 2020 18:58:00 +0200
The PS5 was made for Kratos. (Image source: @BT_BlackThunder)

PS5 vs Xbox Series X: Sony has already won a crucial battle in the next-gen console war with the jaw-droppingly sexy PlayStation 5 design - but it also needs to come in black

Sony has revealed the PS5 design in all its glory and by doing so has won an important battle in the upcoming next-gen console war against the Xbox Series X. The unique and futuristic look of the PlayStation 5 has sparked a huge d...
Column by Daniel R Deakin, Sat, 13 Jun 2020 06:30:00 +0200
The Dell XPS 15 series would utterly dominate the market if it had 7 nm AMD Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 options

The Dell XPS 15 would utterly dominate the market if it had 7 nm AMD Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 options

How about an AMD-powered XPS 15? It's already one of the most popular and well-known Ultrabooks in the market, but it can be even better and faster with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, Ryzen 9 4900HS, or the Ryzen 5 4600H. Fans would eat up...
Column by Allen Ngo, Sat, 06 Jun 2020 00:39:00 +0200
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA. (Image source: PlayStation)

Opinion: Sony has made the right decision postponing the PS5 event

Sony has made the right decision by postponing the upcoming PS5 event that was originally scheduled for June 4, because “more important voices” do need to be heard at the moment. PlayStation 5 fans should support the company’s mov...
Column by Daniel R Deakin, Tue, 02 Jun 2020 02:09:00 +0200
One UI is a brilliant skin by all metrics. (Source; Samsung)

Opinion | It's about time we got better mobile hotspot controls in One UI

Samsung's One UI skin is generally hailed as one of the best OEM skins available right now, and is packed full with in-depth power-user features. All of that seems to be sorely missing in one segment: mobile hotspot, with Samsung'...
Ricci Rox, Sun, 31 May 2020 16:16:00 +0200
While GTA V went free recently on the EGS, customers worldwide have already paid for a staggering 120 million copies (Image source: Epic)

Opinion | GTA 5, Civilization 6, Borderlands, and just maybe The Witcher 3: great, but who exactly are all these Epic games for, anyway?

The Epic Games Store has been offering a steady stream of AAA titles free for quite some time, now. But considering the sheer popularity of games like GTA 5 and the prevalence of piracy, it begs the question: who exactly are these...
Arjun Krishna Lal, Thu, 28 May 2020 19:05:00 +0200
The Dell XPS 15 9500. (Image source: Dell)

Opinion | The Dell XPS 15 naming scheme is a mess

The XPS 15 naming scheme continues to cause confusion among fans of the series. With the XPS 15 9500 replacing the XPS 15 7590, which in turn replaced the XPS 15 9570, where does Dell go from 2021 onwards?
Alex Alderson, Thu, 28 May 2020 14:18:00 +0200
MagicBook 14 vs. MacBook Air

Apple MacBook Air vs. Honor MagicBook 14: Twice the price, half of the performance?

Do you really have to pay a four-digit sum to get a decent notebook? We compare Apple's new 2020 MacBook Air with the Honor MagicBook 14, which retails for 600 Euros. Is the entry-level MacBook really worth twice the price for your daily workloads?
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U | AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) | 14" | 1.4 kg
Andreas Osthoff, Mon, 25 May 2020 16:34:00 +0200
The EMUI 10 rollout for the P20 Pro has been limited. (Source: AndroidPit)

Opinion | A host of Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 10 Pro owners are still without EMUI 10

Back in February, Huawei claimed that the Mate 10 Pro and P20 Pro would receive the EMUI 10 update in March. Here we are months after, though, and most owners of the two phones remain stuck on EMUI 9.1. Comparatively, phones from ...
Ricci Rox, Sun, 24 May 2020 22:17:00 +0200
YouTube on longer offers HD content to Indian users on mobile (Image source: YouTube)

Opinion | YouTube, stop with the 480p bandwidth discrimination in India already

A month ago, YouTube decided to limit Indian mobile users to a maximum of 480p, citing bandwidth constraints. However, with 85 percent of YouTube users residing outside India, completely unaffected, the decision prompts questions ...
Arjun Krishna Lal, Mon, 18 May 2020 09:20:00 +0200
The LG V40 still looks good. (Source: Mashable)

Feature | The LG V40 ThinQ was the underappreciated flagship no one bought

The LG V40 had it all: three versatile rear cameras, five cameras in total, an excellent display, and competitive pricing. And yet, it never quite managed to hit the heights attained by its contemporaries; why?
Ricci Rox, Sun, 17 May 2020 17:33:00 +0200
Epic's Unreal 5 tech demo draws heavily on intricate, early and medieval Indian architecture (Image source: NeoGAF)

Opinion | Epic Unreal 5 Nanite and Indian architecture: complicated pyramids coming soon to a PlayStation 5 near you?

Epic's recent Unreal 5 tech demo, Lumen in the Land of Nanite, showcased the engine's Nanite micro-polygon rendering system and seemed to draw heavily from intricate ancient and medieval Indian architectural orders. Will next-gen ...
Arjun Krishna Lal, Thu, 14 May 2020 12:26:00 +0200
The ZenBook 14 inexplicably pairs a powerful Vega 7 iGPU with the MX350 (Image source: ASUS)

Opinion | The NVIDIA GeForce MX350 barely beats the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U's Vega 7 iGPU: Why are some OEMs using it anyway?

A new ASUS ZenBook 14 model sports the Ryzen 7 4700U APU, together with an Nvidia GeForce MX350 discrete graphics card. However, considering the narrow performance difference between the MX350 and the 4700U's iGPU, why does ASUS b...
Arjun Krishna Lal, Fri, 08 May 2020 09:25:00 +0200
Over 10 million gamers used Xbox Game Pass last quarter (Image source: Microsoft)

Opinion | Almost 1.5 percent of the entire world was on Xbox Live last quarter, thanks to COVID-19: Will Project xCloud and PS Now make the PS5 and Xbox Series X redundant in a post-COVID world?

Microsoft's Satya Nadella said that record numbers of users logged onto Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Live, and Project xCloud over the past few months. With social distancing set to remain, this raises questions about the future of gaming...
Arjun Krishna Lal, Thu, 30 Apr 2020 16:03:00 +0200
Both Microsoft and Sony will likely have to take a loss with the next-gen console sales. (Image source: GamersRD)

Opinion | If Sony doesn't accept a loss on initial PS5 console sales then Microsoft's Xbox Series X will wipe the floor with the PlayStation 5

Holiday 2020 is gearing up to be a true battle of the console giants: PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X. Gamers have been discussing specifications, components, power, exclusive titles, backwards compatibility and more to decide whi...
Daniel R Deakin, Sun, 19 Apr 2020 13:04:00 +0200
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Redaktion, 2020-06- 2 (Update: 2020-06- 8)
J. Simon Leitner
Editor of the original article: J. Simon Leitner - Founder, Editorial Director
After my studies at the Vienna Technical University I dedicated myself completely to the project Notebookcheck as a co-founder. Since Commodore C64 and Atari 1040 ST, computers have been an integral part of my daily activities. Beside new technologies, especially electric mobility, my interest also belongs to architecture and construction engineering.