Laptop

The Acer Aspire 5 A515-45-R4R1 is an affordable laptop that showed various strengths in our test. However, there are also some weaknesses, even though they can be remedied.

The expected M2 MacBook Pro will have to cut some corners compared to the recently released Apple MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 according to a noted observer. While the potential MacBook Pro 2022 will be treated to new Apple Silicon, it will have to lose out in features and specs to become an entry-level unit.

RJ45-Ethernet is not common anymore in laptops meant for consumers, Wi-Fi is the norm nowadays. Meanwhile, in the world of corporate laptops, a wired internet connection is sometimes still an important feature. This status-quo seems to be rapidly changing however: Ethernet was still standard on many 2021 ThinkPads, but in a recent update, Lenovo has made it an optional feature on many corporate models, including the popular ThinkPad T14.

The European Union Court of Justice (or CJEU) has implemented a new law by which data pertaining to users in its jurisdiction has to stay there. Meta has taken issue with this, indicating that the measures are incompatible with the way it deploys Facebook and Instagram within the bloc. Therefore, the EU just might become more of a Meta-free zone soon.

MSI could soon introduce an upgraded Summit E16 Flip Evo featuring the 14C/20T Intel Core i7-12700H Alder Lake-H, Arc A370M discrete graphics, and LPDDR5-6400 RAM that will supplant the current configuration with a Core i7-1195G7 and RTX 3050 Ti. The new Summit E16 Flip Evo leaked on PugetBench, and it seems to be about 8% slower than another laptop with a Core i7-12700H and RTX 3080 Ti.

The successor to the M1 Apple Silicon, currently widely expected to be known as the M2 chip, could appear in no fewer than four different Macs before the end of the year. The lineup of potential new Apple M2-powered devices consists of a MacBook Pro laptop, an iMac refresh, a beefed-up Mac mini, and the hotly anticipated 2022 MacBook Air.

Microsoft has announced some changes to the way in which the Windows OS will be distributed to those who need or want to experience its latest features in advance. This includes their distribution via 3 channels: Dev, Beta and the pre-existing Release Preview channels. The Redmond giant asserts that they should keep developers or enthusiasts apprised of what its engineers are up to in 2022.

The Swift 3 is one of the more affordable 14-inch laptops to ship with a high quality IPS panel capable of reproducing the full sRGB standard. Its processor is also comparable to Intel's 11th gen Core i7 series that typically retail for more.

The Intel Core i7-12700H is showing itself as not only a powerful processor, but also a comparatively efficient one. Surprisingly, the Alder Lake processor matches the Apple M1 Pro's performance per watt at 40 W in benchmark suites like Cinebench R23. The Core i7-12700H sees off representatives from the Ryzen 5000 series too, such as the Ryzen 7 5800H and the Ryzen 9 5900HX.

The TravelMate P4 scores points with long battery life, relatively low emissions, and a Thunderbolt 4 slot. Windows 10 Pro serves as the operating system. A plus: Acer grants the laptop a three-year warranty.

Fujitsu's 15.6-inch laptop produces relatively low emissions, does not weigh too much (1.8 kg, ~4 lb), and offers a DVD drive. Windows 10 Pro serves as the operating system (upgradable to Windows 11). A positive feature is the maintenance flap that gives access to the SSD, RAM, and battery.

More high-end performance options are now available for Linux-based users through the introduction of the updated System76 Kudu6 laptops that now feature the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X APU and Nvidia's RTX 3060 GPUs.

Performance numbers of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H are now available via an early review of an Acer Nitro 5 laptop. The initial figures show some gains for the 6 nm Ryzen 7 6800H over Cezanne Ryzen 9 5900HX, but Intel Alder Lake-H may have the edge in raw performance until Phoenix-H or Raphael-H hit the market.

Warner Media has announced that its streaming service HBO Max is to launch in 15 new markets in early 2022. The countries in question are all located in continental Europe, which may stand ready to access movies such as the new Dune remake through this new source of content. It is slated to expand even further thereafter.

Dell is offering a couple of incredible deals on RTX 30-series laptops at the moment. There is a choice between a notebook from the well-respected Dell XPS line and the powerful Alienware gaming range, in the form of an XPS 17 and M15 R4, respectively. Shoppers can save over US$1,000 on the M15 R4 gaming laptop with RTX 3070 GPU.

A questionable-looking render of a completely portless laptop called the Craob X has emerged online. It is just 7 mm (0.27 in) thick and packs an Intel Core i7-1280P and a 13.3-inch 4K screen. One needs to charge it wirelessly with a dedicated accessory that doubles up as a port hub.

You can now get the lightweight ultrabook Schenker Vision 14 with a dedicated RTX 3050 Ti GPU, but still weighs less than 1.2 kg. The compact laptop leaves a good impression in many regards, but there are also some drawbacks and Intel's H35 CPU is not really convincing, either.

If you're on a $500 budget, then this sale will be one of the better 15.6-inch laptops you can find if maximizing both performance and portability for the price.

Apple has been placed at #1 in a newly-released list of 500 brands ranked by "value" in 2022. The Cupertino giant has retained this position due to its perception as a company that releases high-end, reliable and easily recognizable products on a regular basis. Of course, being a tech company has not hurt in this respect, either.

Lenovo has become the latest PC company with the resources to pair the future of its hardware with first-party chipsets. Its new subsidiary for the purpose has received an injection of hundreds of millions of RMB in capital, and now lists the development of proprietary integrated circuits among its functions.

Compatible with a wide range of devices, the TeamSpeak-certified Austrian Audio PG16 gaming headset features 44 mm high-excursion drivers, a lift-to-mute omnidirectional microphone, easily replaceable earcups, metal hinges, as well as a foldable design that ensures maximum portability. The price tag reads 139 Euros (about US$157).

XMG is offering the NEO 15 E22 with the RTX 3080 Ti dGPU and the Intel i7-12700K processor starting at €3,277. The OASIS external AIO unit is completely optional and costs €199. Roadmap reveals AMD Ryzen 6000 models and additional support for OASIS.

The new Alder Lake mobile chip, the Intel Core i9-12900HK, has made its first appearance on UserBenchmark, and it’s unsurprisingly impressive. The i9-12900HK was even able to just outbench the Zen 3 Ryzen 9 5950X, which is a desktop chip. But it shouldn’t be too long before AMD’s Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 series shakes things up some more.

Razer has opened pre-orders for new configurations of the Blade 15 and Blade 17. The pair are now orderable with Core i7-12800H and Core i9-12900H processors, along with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPUs. All Alder Lake-based configurations will ship in late February.

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H has scored 1,472 and 8,054 on Geekbench's single and multi-core tests, respectively. It manages to keep up with the Alder Lake-based Intel Core i5-12500H in the multi-core test but falls flat in the single-core part and offers a remarkable performance uplift over the AMD Ryzen 5 3600H.

Unfortunately, Nvidia chose to compare the RTX 3080 Ti with the 2020 RTX 2080 SUPER. Of course, the performance improvements are clear, but a comparison with the RTX 3080 would have been more appropriate. The Razer Blade 17 2022 used for the RTX 3080 Ti tests appears to not feature the max TGP version and yet performance is comparable to a desktop RTX 3070 Ti.

The Rembrandt-based AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX was benchmarked on Geekbench, where it managed single-core scores of 1,593/1,616 and multi-core scores of 10,151/9,939. While it is faster than its previous-generation counterpart, it cannot hold up against the Alder Lake-based Intel Core i9-12900HK.

Hasee has released new variants of its ZX9 gaming laptop with a rather strange CPU and GPU combination. For some reason, one variant, the ZX9-DA3DA, features an Intel Celeron desktop processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 laptop GPU. The presence of an LGA 1700 socket provides some added upgradability that most laptops lack, though.

The Surface Laptop Studio is on the verge of making it out of North America, four months after its initial release. The innovative laptop could arrive in Europe in just under a month; memory configurations and prices have emerged, too.

The iPhone 14 series, a refreshed iPad Pro with M2 silicon, and a new entry-level MacBook Pro are some of the highlights of a full launch schedule Apple reportedly has planned for fall (autumn) 2022. On top of those headliners, it’s also believed that Cupertino will have the Apple Watch Series 8 and an updated Mac Pro to show off.

It's probably the sleekest UPS you can find in the market right now for about $259 USD. However, a few small quality-of-life changes could have made it even easier to use.

This is one of the least expensive 13.3-inch laptops you can find with the same 16:10 aspect ratio and Tiger Lake-H Core i5-11320H processor. The 16 GB of RAM is a relief since the modules are soldered and not upgradeable.

The Core i7-11800H CPU and GeForce RTX 3080 mobile GPU complement the bright, high-contrast 4K OLED screen well and are able to run all current titles smoothly. The GPU comes with 16 GB of video memory. Another plus: The laptop integrates a Thunderbolt 4 port.

Do you hate it when PC manufacturers artificially make it difficult to service a laptop? All you'll need a simple Philips screwdriver for any upgrades on the Inspiron 15 3511.

Lenovo has not yet announced most of their 2022 ThinkPad lineup. At CES, only the premium models of the ThinkPad X1 line and the new ThinkPad Z series were unveiled. In an unprecedented move, Lenovo has revealed some information about unannounced models - notably, the new Lenovo ThinkPad T16.

The Xenia 14 maximizes performance while maintaining both the desirable 16:10 aspect ratio and a weight of just under 1 kg. It's a bit more expensive even when on sale, but you're getting a bit more in return to make the investment worthwhile.

The RTX 3070 Ti manages to slightly outclass the median score of an RTX 3080 mobile GPU and it even matches a desktop Titan RTX from a few years ago in OpenCL tests. The first laptops powered by the RTX 3070 Ti mobile GPU are expected to go on sale in early February starting at US$1,499.