Laptop

(June 27, 2022 update: Issue has been resolved.) There is a huge mismatch in display brightness between what Asus is claiming and what we are actually seeing on a retail unit. Hopefully we can find an official solution to "unlock" the maximum brightness potential of the otherwise impressive 120 Hz OLED touchscreen.

Lenovo uses Alder Lake P28 in its new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10. These new processors with an increased core count seem impressive on paper, but they do not hold up to scrutiny in practice.

Qualcomm asserts that its latest radiofrequency front-end (or RFFE) solution is the ideal companion for an up-to-date mobile modem, as it confers the new spec of "5G/Wi-Fi coexistence" on a given device, as well as battery savings and improved performance. It is compatible with smartphones - as well as other use-cases such as IoT, VR headsets and in-car systems for the first time.

The new 2022 Apple MacBook Pro 13 with M2 SoC has been found to feature a slower SSD than its much older M1 counterpart, depending on the amount of storage in the configuration. In the worst-case scenario, the M2 MacBook Pro’s SSD was found to offer barely half the read speed of the storage found in the equivalent 2020 MacBook Pro with M1 chip.

The reasonably specced Ryzen Edition of Dell's 15-inch gaming laptop is a good choice for budget-conscious gamers who are still looking for a new and portable notebook in the sub-US$800 category. Considering its currently discounted sale price, the Dell G15 with an AMD Ryzen 7 and RTX 3050 Ti certainly provides a lot of value at a quite affordable price.

ASUS has brought two of its latest ultrabooks to Europe, both with OLED displays. The Vivobook S 14X OLED and Vivobook S 16X OLED come with Intel Alder Lake processors and high-resolution panels. Both models tip the scales at less than 2 kg, too.

The high-end configurations of Lenovo's new 16-inch mobile workstation are usually pretty expensive laptops, but thanks to a current deal at the Chinese manufacturer's official online shop, the new ThinkPad P16s can now be ordered at a significant discount just shortly after its release.

Schenker combines a socketed Ryzen 9-5900X CPU with a GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. This results in a powerful laptop that strikes a good figure in scenarios that demand a lot of performance, be it gaming, video processing, or rendering. However, potential buyers shouldn't require a good battery life, quiet operation, or lower power consumption.

TSMC has outlined its latest semiconductor technology during its 2022 North America Technology Symposium. N2 is in fact the next generation on from the "cutting-edge" N3 and N3E FINFLEX architecture, on which the highly-anticipated 3 nanometer (nm) processors rumored to dominate 2023 are to be based. However, TSMC claims that N2 will be even faster again with greater power efficiency.

Huawei has apparently confirmed that it will offer the MateBook 16s and MateBook D 16 in Europe. Both configured with the Intel Alder Lake platform, the pair have 16-inch displays and 45 W processors.

VAIO had introduced the FE 14.1, an affordable laptop powered by Intel Alder Lake-U series processors. Available in the US from US$699, the VAIO FE 14.1 is also available with 16 GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The VAIO FE 14.1 features a 1080p display too, as well as more ports than competing laptops.

With the PCIe 6.0 specs finalized, PCI-SIG is already looking to the future and sets its goals for the seventh iteration. However, consumer PCs have not even gotten to taste the benefits of the PCIe 5.0 standard, so we would most likely have to wait until 2028 to see any PCIe 7.0 implementations.

Samsung is now rumored to launch the full-scale manufacture of its next-gen, 3 nanometer (3nm) chips by very late June or early July 2022. Doing so would allow it to beat its rival TSMC to announcing such a breakthrough. The South Korean giant is expected to apply its patented form of gate-all-around field-effect transistor (GAAFET) to its latest cutting-edge production node.

The RTX 3060 may be faster than the RTX 3050, but it is operating under the same 65 W TGP meaning it doesn't need to run any warmer or require more power from the outlet to do so.

The 13.3-inch model integrates two Thunderbolt 4 ports, 5G WWAN connectivity, Wi-Fi 6E, and a 16:10 2560 x 1600 display all in a chassis weighing less than 3 pounds. Intel Core U-series CPUs come standard with no Core P options.

Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Xiaomi Book S 12.4" thin and light laptop. Its key specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 SoC, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB of expandable storage, and a 4,920 mAh battery. It runs Windows 11 out of the box is purchasable now at €699.

Lenovo has teased the MOZI through Red Dot, a unique take on the laptop. With a retractable keyboard, the Lenovo MOZI has no display or trackpad. Instead, Lenovo equips the MOZI with a projector with a separate screen onto which it will project images. The Lenovo MOZI could project content onto a nearby wall too, among other uses.

More and more manufacturers follow Apple's example and switch to the DCI-P3 reference for their notebook panels. The large multimedia laptop Dell XPS 17 is one of the last devices with such an AdobeRGB panel, and it is also a very good one.

The ARM-based Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is finally available for purchase, but the Windows laptop with a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor has not managed to catch up with Apple in terms of Geekbench performance. The results for the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 are not only well behind those of the Apple M2, but they also lag behind the M1 SoC from 2020.

Amazon and Best Buy are slashing the latest Surface Pro 7+ to just $700 USD. The price cut may suggest that a replacement could be launching soon with Intel 12th gen CPU options.

It's been over four years since we last saw the XPS 15 2-in-1. While a proper successor has yet to made official, we can at least look towards the recently launched Inspiron 16 7620 2-in-1 as an alternative option.

The new Apple M2 SoC has made its first appearance on both GFXBench and Cinebench, and its GPU part seemingly performed way above expectations on the former benchmark. The Apple M2 managed a +45.47% performance leap over the M1 in GFXBench’s Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen test, soundly overtaking Apple’s own +35% GPU performance claim.

Lenovo offers an interesting and solid subnotebook overall with the Yoga Slim 7i Pro in the 14IAP G7 configuration, which only revealed a few weaknesses in our test.

Even though the single-core gains are modest, the M2 still beats the M1 Pro and the i7-12800H. On the multi-core side, the M2 is 16% faster than the M1, but what really impresses is the 67% improvement in the graphics department.

The Core i7-1260P is about 20 percent faster than the Core i7-1255U, but it also consumes about 20 percent more power in the process. More significant gains can be observed in terms of graphics performance as the integrated Iris Xe benefits more from the higher power envelope and faster DDR5 RAM.

An AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, which in all probability is the new Mendocino APU announced at Computex 2022, has surfaced on UserBenchmark. The Ryzen 3 7320U features an RDNA 2-based iGPU with two CUs. The preliminary UserBenchmark score seems to indicate improved multi-core performance with the 6 nm Zen 2 cores when compared with an average Ryzen 3 5300U.

VAIO has introduced the SX12 VJS125 series, an update on the 12.5-inch ultrabook that it last refreshed in late 2021. The new VAIO SX12 is available with a choice of Intel Alder Lake processors, including the Core i7-1280P and 32 GB of RAM. The VAIO SX12 will begin shipping in Japan from next month.

VAIO has refreshed the SX14, a 14-inch ultrabook that retains the company's outdated design. The VAIO SX14 VJS145 features a choice of Intel Alder Lake processors and 1080p or 4K display options, plus up to 2 TB of storage and 32 GB of RAM. An international launch is pending, currently.

With the new Zenbook Pro 14 Duo, Asus once again offers a 14-inch multimedia laptop that provides an additional screen for increased productivity. However, the image quality of the additional display isn't very impressive. An Alder Lake Core i7-12700H from Intel provides ample CPU performance.

LG launched a new generation of its ultra-light Gram-series laptops in 2022. Now, their US-market variants are bundled with one of the OEM's portable monitors for a limited time. The +view accessory has dual USB type-C ports, an IPS panel with a WQXGA resolution and a normal price of US$350.

Lenovo has officially launched its first ever manufacturing plant to be based in Europe. The inaugural facility will produce equipment for data-storage as well as full, enterprise-grade PCs. Therefore, its installation represents the potential for a welcome boost to the region's economy, as well as the OEM's business.

When Apple execs marched onstage at WWDC 2022 to introduce macOS 13 Ventura, they were quick to demo a number of helpful productivity and continuity enhancements coming to the Mac later this year. However, they conveniently opted not to disclose just how many new features would remain Apple silicon exclusives. Here’s the fine print on the enhancements that will be missing for Intel Macs.

In addition to the generous battery life of up to 10 hours, the new HyperX MIX come with both 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity for increased device compatibility. A USB-C adapter is also included, so gamers can enjoy these earbuds with their smartphones and tablets, but also with their laptops and desktop PCs.

GPD has posted multiple images and a video showcasing its upcoming laptop-handheld gaming console hybrid. The GPD Win Max 2 features a larger screen, an Intel Core i7-1260p/AMD Ryzen 7 6800U processor and metallic covers for the D-pads/face buttons.

The high-performance models will become available in October of this year with workstation-like options, Thunderbolt 4, and lots of expandable modules that we've come to expect from a rugged laptop.

Aside from the North America exclusive ThinkBook 16p NX, Lenovo is also releasing a real successor to the ThinkBook 16p G2: The ThinkBook 16p G3. Different from the NX model, this one does not downgrade the specifications and it contains a 165 Hz screen as the biggest optional upgrade.

Alldocube has begun offering the GTBook 13, an Intel Celeron N5100-powered laptop with a 3K display. The GTBook 13 also has plenty of ports, a metal chassis and weighs in at 1.3 kg.

Quietly, Lenovo is announcing a new 16 inch ThinkBook: The ThinkBook 16p NX seems to be a North America exclusive follow up to the ThinkBook 16p G2. It replaces Ryzen 5000H with Ryzen 6000H, but downgrades the GPU to the weaker Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti instead of the RTX 3060 of the predecessor.

A powerful performance, a great display with 240 Hz, and relatively slim - what more could a gamer's heart wish for? But to offer all that, Acer makes one large compromise with the Predator Triton 500 SE, sacrificing the ability to upgrade it. That should really be a no-go for a gaming laptop.