Laptop

NVIDIA and OEMs will no longer specify whether a given Ampere Mobile GPU is a Max-Q or a Max-P variant. Ampere Mobile will be offered in a range of TGPs, and it will be the OEMs' discretion to decide which third generation Max-Q specs and TGG value should be used. This can confuse end users as a higher Watt RTX 3060 Mobile can potentially outperform a lower Watt RTX 3080 Mobile for a given workload.

Expect a deluge of sales on 2020 AMD laptops now that retailers are preparing to stock up on Zen 3 replacements. The Asus ZenBook 14 is a flagship Ultrabook offering with both AMD and Nvidia parts for a low-moderate price.

Samsung has announced the latest in its EVO series of SSDs. The OEM is pitching the 870 at users with network-attached servers (NASs) as well as consumer PCs. It is rated for top SATA read and write speeds and for 30% performance improvements over its predecessor.

The latest 11.6-inch HP Chromebooks will have both Intel and MediaTek options. Users who favor battery life will prefer the latter while the former will excel in performance and ports.

Users who don't update might get a fancy 10th gen Xeon or Core i9 CPU running slower than a cheaper 9th gen Core i7-9750H. Luckily, all it takes is a quick download from HP to fix the issue.

Get brand name features without overpaying for the name. The EasySMX may not have everything, but its core experience is solid and reliable.

You can't call something "the best laptop in show" when you never actually went hands-on with any of them. These "awards" for CES 2021 are nothing more than lists and opinions based entirely off of manufacturer pictures and videos rather than the editors' hands-on experiences that they are supposed to represent.

The ROG Zephyrus G14 will soon be available with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Max-P, according to ASUS and two European retailers. Top-end SKUs will retail for as much as €2,299 and should start shipping by early February. There will be a Ryzen 7 5800HS and GeForce GTX 1650 edition, too.

The new Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ has made a couple of appearances on Geekbench that point to the convertible laptop being ideal for some light gaming sessions. The Iris Xe iGPU in the Surface Pro 7+ device’s Intel Core i7-1165G7 managed to outscore both the Nvidia GeForce MX350 dGPU and AMD’s Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000 class).

With up to 12 hours of battery life and a MIL-STD 810H-certified rugged design, the Acer TravelMate Spin B3 convertible promises to deliver all that classroom use requires. This Windows 10-powered portable will hit China in February, EMEA in Q2, and North America in April, with prices starting at US$329.99.

Acer has used the BETT education show to debut four new Chromebooks. Headlining the new models is the Chromebook 511 which includes LTE support and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c, compute optimized chipset.

An image taken from an alleged Geekbench run for a MacBook Pro18,1 system has supposedly revealed the multi-core power of the rumored Apple M1X chip. The score of 18,520 is over 140% higher than our results with an 8-core Apple M1. But it seems more likely shenanigans are to blame rather than an appearance by a 12-core Apple part or 20-core monster.

The Huawei MateBook 14 2021 features many internal upgrades from last year's model, including a switch to Intel's Tiger Lake platform. The MateBook 14 is available with up to a Core i7-1165G7 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU and 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM. Huawei only offers the MateBook 14 2021 with a 512 GB SSD though, and in two somewhat understated colours.

Huawei has updated the MateBook 13 to Intel's Tiger Lake platform. The MateBook 13 comes with a Core i5-1135G7 or Core i7-1165G7 processor, along with an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU and a 13-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio. The MateBook 13 2021 starts at CNY 5,449 (~US$848), but little else has changed from its predecessor.

Huawei has updated flagship laptop, the MateBook X Pro. The company has upgraded the MateBook X Pro to Intel's Tiger Lake platform, which it will offer with 16 GB of RAM and up to a 1 TB SSD. The 1.33 kg machine also features a 13.9-inch 3K display and starts at CNY 8,999 (~US$1,389).

Single-core performance figures of the new Intel Core i7-11375H Special Edition from a purported Asus TUF Dash F15 laptop have leaked. The scores seem to indicate perceivable improvements over the Core i7-10750H and a significant lead over the AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS. Though these are still early leaks, they seem to be in the ballpark of what Intel claimed during its CES announcement of the Tiger Lake-H35 series.

Units are expected to ship as early as January 22 while the $1800 GeForce RTX 3070 configuration will come a bit later. Asus is betting big on both AMD and liquid metal to pull itself ahead of the competition this year.

HP offers a privacy filter for its ultra-thin workstation that is supposed to protect the screen content from curious eyes. However, the HP Sure View technology is more of a curse than a blessing.

The ZenBook Duo series is aching for a panel provider who can mass produce OLED displays in the form factor that Asus needs. The IPS ScreenPad for the UX482 works better than it did on the UX481, but its core viewing angle disadvantages remain.

The IdeaPad series is marketed as a mid-range offering to contrast to high-end Yoga series. Apparently, this also means that certain Yoga laptops with lesser Core i5 CPUs may slightly pull ahead of some IdeaPad laptops with the pricier Core i7.

NVIDIA has all but confirmed that the 2021 HP Omen 15 gaming laptop will be powered by RTX 3000-series graphics. According to a clearly premature sales listing on bestbuy.com, they will comprise the RTX 3070 Max-Q hinted at in previous tips. Its latest leak puts its starting price at US$1600.

With Bob Swan gone, new Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has set out a bold aim for the chipmaker ahead of the beginning of his reign next month. Apparently, he wants Intel to build better chips than the Apple M1, which has impressed with its custom ARM cores' performance. Naturally, Gelsinger belittled Apple as a 'lifestyle company in Cupertino'.

A recent video from WindowsCentral's YouTube channel purports to demo the Windows 10X interface. The latest word on this version of the OS is that it will first arrive on devices that are single-screen, touchscreen-oriented or both. Its new leak seems to bear that impression out in detail.

Cyberport has revealed the price of what will probably be the flagship SKU of the new ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15, and it is expensive. At €2,799, the ROG Zephyrus G15 features an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS APU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q GPU a 165 Hz display with a native 1440p resolution. There is only one SO-DIMM slot though, with ASUS soldering 8 GB of RAM to the motherboard.

The Slimbook Titan offers an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H APU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and a 165 Hz display with a native QHD resolution. The machine currently starts at €1,599 and is intended for Linux users, but you can also configure it with Windows 10 licenses. The inclusion of a 93.4 Wh battery should keep the Slimbook Titan ticking over, too.

Apple supply chain specialist Ming-chi Kuo has issued a new note to investors detailing some of the changes expected on the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. According to Kuo, the new models will drop in mid-2021 and will include minor design changes but will most notably drop the somewhat controversial OLED Touch Bar.

Ice Lake laptops had a lot of flak for launching at high prices, but these newer deals can be hard to pass for those who don't want to spend hundreds more for the latest 11th gen Intel processors.

After we recently took a look at the MagicBook 14 with AMD's Ryzen 5 4500U, it's now the MagicBook 15's turn. It reveals small and big improvements but also known weaknesses.

The Zen 3 Cezanne part AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS has been spotted on Geekbench as part of the fascinating Asus ROG Flow X13 2-in-1 laptop. However, the results don’t seem as high as could be expected, when the Ryzen 9 5900HS should be flying past the Ryzen 9 4900HS and Tiger Lake Intel Core i7-1165G7.

Alder Lake is probably the last CPU lineup to be produced exclusively by Intel's fabs. After that, Intel plans to gradually outsource CPU lineups to TSMC, with the low-end Core i3 models scheduled to be produced by the Taiwanese fabs in the second half of 2021. A year later, TSMC is also expected to begin mass-production for Intel's mid-range and high-end processors on the 3 nm nodes.

HP introduces some of the first business laptops powered by AMD's Ryzen Pro 5000 APUs. The new EliteBook 805 G8 series comes with lightweight chassis and three sizes to choose from, including 13.3-inch, 14-inch and 15.6-inch. These models can be equipped with up to 64 GB of RAM and up to 2 TB NVMe SSD storage, plus quite a few display options.

Samsung has teased its first display with an under display camera. Somewhat surprisingly, the technology will find its way into a Samsung laptop before it makes its way into a Samsung smartphone.

Asus has released its new ZenBook 13 OLED UM325 and ZenBook 14 UM425 thin and light laptops. These ZenBooks differ primarily with respect to the display and available Ryzen 5000 APU options. While the ZenBook 13 OLED UM325 offers a mix of both Cezanne and Lucienne APUs, the ZenBook 14 offers only Lucienne parts.

The huge catch is that you'll have to live with an older quad-core Core i5-10200H CPU and just 8 GB of base RAM. Shipments are expected to arrive by February 2nd.

Asus has upgraded its ROG Strix Scar 17 with AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and RTX 3080 Mobile. Like all ROG models in 2021, the Scar 17 will use liquid metal as the thermal interface material for the CPU. The Scar 17 also features a 360 Hz display, optical mechanical keyboard, ROG Keystone II, and more.

XMG has announced that the 2021 iterations of its PRO and NEO 15/17 laptops will have new, slim cases in addition to new specs. The NEO 15 and 17 also boasts fresh Ryzen 9 5900HX or 7 5800H AMD platforms, while the PROs stick with a Core i7 processor so as to be among the first on the market to combine RTX 3000 graphics with Thunderbolt 3.

Asus has refreshed the ZenBook Duo 14 with Intel 11th gen Tiger Lake and NVIDIA MX450 graphics. In our time with the unit, we found that the new ZenBook Duo 14 UX482 offers better sustained boost performance and an improved ScreenPad Plus experience.

Asus has refreshed its unique ZenBook Pro Duo design with updated internals. The new ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED comes with Comet Lake-H and RTX 3070 Mobile options. Asus has also improved the multi-tasking experience with the new ScreenPad Plus that now brings native support for Adobe apps.

Asus has upgraded its ultralight ExpertBook B9 line of business laptops. The new ExpertBook B9450CEA features Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake Core i7 CPUs, Intel vPro, and are Intel Evo certified.

Asus has debuted its new Instant Guard facility in the new RT-AX68U Wi-Fi 6 home router. The device also sprouts 3x3 MIMO antennae for speeds of up to 2.7 gigabits per second (Gb/s). It also supports the OEM's AiMesh software, so as to integrate into and proliferate any such network it finds itself in.

The Asus BR1100 is a new ruggedized convertible designed for the education market. In addition to features typical of a ruggedized school notebook (e.g., a rubberized bumper), the BR1100 includes an active stylus that can detect up to 4096 levels of pressure. The laptop can charge the stylus for up to 45 minutes of use in just 15 seconds.

The Asus VivoBook S14 (S435) is a Tiger Lake refresh of the existing VivoBook S14 (S433). The 14-inch laptop is Intel Evo certified and supports up to a Core-i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. It will be available for purchase sometime in February 2021 for an unspecified price.

The Asus TUF Gaming Dash F15 is the newest addition to Asus' TUF line of gaming laptops. It comes with 11th-generation Intel Tiger Lake processors, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card, a 15.6-inch 240Hz screen, up to 32GB of user-upgradable RAM and 2TB of solid-state storage. It will hit stores in Q1 2021, with the price to be revealed at a later point.

Both powered by 11th gen Intel Core processors with Irix Xe graphics, the Asus ExpertBook B1400 and B1500 feature up to 48 GB of memory, optional NVIDIA dedicated graphics, dual storage combinations that can provide up to 1 TB SSD + 2 TB HDD of space, as well as multiple connectivity options, and much more.

In the past, bright displays and ThinkPads did not come hand in hand. Now, finally, another model cracks the 600-nit mark. The panel in the P15s, which is the brightest in the ThinkPad series, is also used in other workstation-grade ThinkPads.

MSI has unveiled an upgraded Stealth 15M gaming laptop at its MSIology event at CES 2021. MSI calls the Stealth 15M the world's thinnest gaming laptop. The Stealth 15M is powered by the Core i7-11375H and RTX 3060 Mobile and comes in Carbon Gray and Pure White variants.