Laptop

HP will be integrating some features mainstream consumers have been enjoying these past few years onto its upcoming Chromebook. Namely, the new Chromebook x360 14 will be getting USB Type-C charging and narrow 7.5 mm bezels for improved convenience and portability. Expect a launch in just a couple of weeks for a starting price of $599 USD.

The new Whiskey Lake processors for laptops were announced at IFA. Lenovo used this opportunity to unveil the extremely thin Yoga S730-13IWL. Now, Lenovo will apparently launch another Ultrabook with Whiskey Lake in the near future - the new IdeaPad S530-13IWL should be much cheaper compared to the Yoga S730.

Panos Panay opened up on why the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 lack a USB Type-C port while the Surface Studio 2, Surface Go, and even the Surface Headphones have one such port. Panay insisted that USB Type-C will not be at the expense of the traditional USB Type-A port, which still is the connector of choice for most USB devices today. The Type-C connector will eventually make it into future devices but Microsoft is in no hurry to make it happen.

AMD has a very favorable position on the CPU market, especially now that Intel is going through rougher times caused by shortages. The red team should be able to increase the market share with the release of its 7 nm Ryzen 3000, Threadripper 3000 and EPYC "Rome" CPUs, plus the Instinct GPUs in early 2019.

Dell has taken a page from its lauded XPS 15 series to create one of the strongest 15.6-inch narrow-bezel gaming laptops we've seen so far. The brand new design is 38 percent lighter, 17 percent thinner, and 30 percent smaller than the Alienware 15 R4. The system is even 20 percent lighter and 14 percent thinner than the current Alienware 13.

802.11n, 802.11ac, and 80211ax will now be known as Wi-Fi 4, Wi-Fi 5, and Wi-Fi 6, respectively. Wireless products launching in 2019 or later will use the new naming convention in their specifications list to better help customers compare and contrast wireless features.

At the recently concluded XDC 2018 conference, Intel's Linux graphics kernel developer, Manasi Navare touched upon the support for DisplayPort 1.4a and Display Stream Compression capabilities of the upcoming generation of Intel integrated graphics. The Gen 11 iGPU is slated to be a part of the 10nm 'Ice Lake' CPU family expected to launch sometime in holiday 2019.

Microsoft has used its Surface event to take the covers off its second-generation Surface Laptop, which, as rumored, comes in a new matte black color. Also joining the Surface range for the first time is a new pair of Bluetooth Surface headphones powered by the Cortana voice assistant.

The Atrohaus Freewrite Traveler is a "distraction-fee" writing machine that can do one thing: type. As a dedicated writer, the 1.8 lb computer only supports document creation and file management. However, the Traveler can sync with online services like Dropbox and Google Drive, and thanks to its E-Ink display, the device should last about 12-14 hours on a single charge (4 weeks standby).

In desktops and laptops alike, RAM is usually the easiest component to upgrade. However, tablets and smartphones all come with the memory chips soldered to the motherboards. In both cases you have to weigh all the options before making your purchase decision. How much memory do you need in a laptop? Is memory capacity more important than storage capacity? We will answer your questions in our in-depth article.

The mixed battery life results and glossy 4K UHD touchscreen on the high-end ThinkPad X1 Extreme have us curious about how the less expensive FHD configuration can perform. Will the FHD SKU be any dimmer or grainier than its pricier option? Will it exhibit less ghosting with faster response times? We'll be reviewing the FHD ThinkPad X1 Extreme - as well as its ThinkPad P1 workstation counterpart - throughout the month of October.

This past week saw a plethora of smartphone rumors overshadowed by the launch of the iPhone XS and XS Max. Laptops with 32 GB DDR4 RAM modules are now a thing and Microsoft will almost surely announce new Windows features and Surface products in the days to follow.

The CFO and interim CEO of Intel, Bob Swan, has released an open letter to all interested parties concerning the company's ongoing processor-supply woes. Swan asserted that increased investment and a renewed focus on high-end chipsets are the best ways to solve Intel's problems.

The sixth version of the Surface Pro 2-in-1 tablet was supposed to finally include USB-C connectors, but an early unboxing unveiled that this may not be the case. The overall design appears to be almost unchanged, however, the hardware was upgraded with gen 8 Intel ULV CPUs and improved iGPUs. The official unveiling is scheduled for October 2.

Do you want to own one of the first consumer laptops with 32 GB of DDR4 SODIMM RAM? Then be prepared to give up an arm and a leg. Eurocom has just updated its lineup of laptops to include the new 1.2 V 32 GB SODIMM modules from Samsung and they are definitely not coming cheap.

The new Razer Nari is a line of gaming-focused headsets that will incorporate Razer HyperSense. This is an advanced form of haptic feedback intended to intensify an immersive experience. The Nari headsets will also feature THX Spatial Audio and improved engineering for those who wear glasses or similar equipment.

The next update to Windows 10 may be rolled out in the next month. In fact, some leaks claim that this will commence on the same day on which the new Surface products are to be launched. However, for that to pan out, it leaves Microsoft with a lot of work to do in a very short space of time.

The wired interface market - which encompasses all types of USB cable, as well as others (e.g. Thunderbolt or HDMI) - is estimated to have a compound annual growth rate of 6.2% well into the next decade. However, it appears that their wireless counterparts have the potential to outstrip them in the same general time-frame.

The one-of-a-kind Zenbook Pro 15 integrates a secondary 1080p display right underneath the touchpad called a ScreenPad. For users who wish they could have two screens on a laptop, this is probably the closest you can get. The Core i7 will run you $1700 while the Core i9 version will cost $2300.

Aside from a couple of Samsung smartphones catching fire, the week has been slow in terms of rumors and releases. Just a couple of noteworthy new laptops are launching while everyone else is left wondering what new smartphones Google and Huawei may be brewing up for Christmas

While DRAM prices have been dropping since January of this year, the price of DDR4 memory is still significantly higher than it was in 2016. Now, during a time of reduced demand, Samsung may be planning to cut down on supply in order to keep today's prices.

For this week only, Razer will be throwing in one free PC game of your choice from a select few. The promotion applies to all new purchases of three specific Blade models including the Blade 15 and Blade Pro 17. The timing of the deal coincides with the recent availability of GeForce RTX graphics cards for desktops.

Whether you are looking to purchase your very first laptop or just upgrading from a five-year-old model, the following list of points should help you navigate the mine-field that is the modern technology world. We point out some of the tricks manufacturers employ to get you to buy their products and share quite a few tips in a simple, easy to understand manner.

Although the XPS 15 will not get any updates this year, Dell's performance laptop will probably be refreshed in 2019. Although the launch date of the updated XPS 15 remains a secret, Frank Azor has just confirmed that — when talking about possible design changes — a numeric keypad is not in the cards yet.

Samsung is banking on its striking chassis design to draw in gamers looking for an ultra-thin notebook akin to the MSI GS65, Asus Zephyrus GX501, or Razer Blade 15. The Odyssey Z was available first in Asia before finally making its way to North America for quite the hefty asking price.

The PJ-3280 NVMe SSD is designed to boost the performance of desktops or laptops without breaking the bank. It comes in 128, 256 and 512 GB capacities and, thanks to the PCIe Gen 3 X2 interface, it can reach sequential reading speeds of up to 1,600 MB/s plus writing speeds of up to 950 MB/s, making it 3 times faster than SATA III SSDs.

Google has released the latest version of Chrome OS, and it includes support for Linux applications for the first time. Also baked in is Google’s Material Design 2.0 theme, which brings Chrome OS a little more in line with the look and feel of Android.

The new aluminum design trims off almost 2 mm from the bezels compared to the last generation model without impacting battery life or connectivity features. The affordable convertible is now shipping on Amazon and other online retailers for $750 USD.

The ultrathin ZenBook S UX391 is already available in its new coat of paint for $1200 USD. Otherwise, there are no other internal changes or any additional colors planned at the moment.

Microsoft is holding a special Surface event on October 2 and the first leaks have started emerged. The most notable is that the Surface Laptop will get a sequel, but will also come in a slick new black color

AMD has listed a couple new CPUs, the Ryzen 5 2600H and Ryzen 7 2800H. Both chips are definite upgrades over the Ryzen 5 2500U and Ryzen 7 2700U, respectively, but their 45 W nominal TDP suggests that they will be used in gaming laptops upon release. This is curious, as the onboard Vega GPUs are far outpaced by even entry-level gaming laptops.