Reviews

Versatile. TThe ZenBook Flip 14 pleases with a fashionable metal case, an illuminated keyboard, and a good battery life. Not only can the touchscreen be operated with your fingers but also using the input pen which Asus sells separately. However, in terms of the equipment, Asus has made a few decisions that are questionable.

Can it be smaller? Trekstor takes the design and hardware of the Primebook C13 and crams it all into an 11-inch case. What we get as a result is the Primeboon C11, which we examine in this review to see whether the same hardware components can offer similar performance in a smaller form-factor.

Upgrade. A quad-core and an MX150 in a notebook that weighs a mere 1.3 kg - the Chinese manufacturer has upgraded its 2018 model of the Air to a level on a par with the Mi Notebook Pro. Despite identical specifications the two differ in performance though, as our extensive review shows quite clearly.

Neck and neck. One year after the launch of the predecessor, the Xiaomi Mi Mix, the Chinese manufacturer has now released a new model. Not much has changed on the outside, apart from the device shrinking slightly. While other Asian manufacturers are fighting for customers with very competitive prices, Xiaomi displays confidence in its pricing, thereby placing its focus on quality and design.

Even more versatile thanks to GeForce. We just recently tested the ThinkPad T480s, the latest model in a long series of high-quality 14 inch T series ThinkPads. Now we’re testing the same model – this time with a stronger CPU and the GeForce MX150 Max-Q. Can it confirm the strong results of the lower priced T480s? Find out in the following detailed test update. Update: Stress test with BIOS 1.11

Affordable cloudbook. While the Stream 14 is mainly focused on cloud-assisted operation, we will check whether using it offline is possible too. We shall also look into whether the 32 GB of storage and Intel Celeron processor can make a convincing package.

Plastic, pragmatic. The Asus FX503VM is a mid-tier gaming laptop at a budget-minded price. Although there are some cut corners, the overall package is capable, competent, and attractive.

Convertible with a retro design. The Huawei MateBook E has enough style to suit any office. Find out in our review whether the Intel Core i5-7Y54 and HD Graphics 615-powered convertible stands out from the competition with its internal capabilities.

Well-done all-rounder. Hewlett Packard's multimedia all-rounder features decent hardware, a fancy case, and long battery life.

Professional convertible… There’s a lot to like about the Latitude 7390 2-in-1, such as its Core i7-8650U quad-core CPU, NVMe SSD, sturdy case with a compact footprint, and dual-storage capability. But it also carries its share of drawbacks—and it’s quite expensive.

Portable multimedia machine. The UX430UN offers a bigger screen and faster GPU than the XPS 13 for hundreds less than the XPS 15. Its chassis and keyboard are unfortunately weaker than expected and feel cheaper to the touch.

Smarter. The Honor 9 Lite is not a bad buy at $290. Its SoC belongs to the upper mid-range and its other specifications are promising as well. In addition, the phone has four cameras to offer. Find out how the smartphone fares against its competition and sibling model, the Huawei P, in our review.

Mostly solid. The Envy features a powerful Ryzen 5 2500 APU, a fast NVMe SSD, and a backlit keyboard. In addition to input by fingers, the touchscreen also supports an optional stylus pen made by HP. Unfortunately, the dark display and occasional crashes dampen our expectations and the overall impression.

Marathon runner. The ZenFone 4 Max is supposed to combine maximum battery life with awesome photo quality. Accordingly, it is equipped not just with a dual-camera, but even a wide-angle lens. That said, all that glitters is not (rose) gold, as we found out during our camera tests.

Office drudge. Lenovo's 15.6-inch device offers a combination of a Kaby Lake processor, a solid state drive, and 8 GB of RAM (dual-channel). Windows 10 Pro serves as the operating system. There is no lack of flaws for this laptop. For example, the battery runtimes are lousy.

Desktop CPU in a notebook’s outfit. While most notebooks come with soldered-in processors and graphics cards, the XMG Ultra 15 from Schenker Technologies offers a lot of replaceable components. Whether it is enough to beat the competition, we aim to clarify in this review.

Ready for business The Dell Latitude 5590 combines performance and versatility into a 15-inch case. Find out in this review how this business companion fares against the competition.

State of the Art. Lenovo's new, classy (and expensive) convertible from the ThinkPad business series has amped up its hardware. Of course, one of the highlights is the HDR-capable Dolby Vision display, but the up-to-date port selection also puts the device in a great position. The manufacturer has made (almost) no mistakes - we only found one little point of criticism towards the end of the test.

Less is more! Recently, we had the 2018 ThinkPad with dedicated AMD Radeon RX 550 GPU in review. Now, we're putting the entry-level model through its paces. Let's find out what the more basic model is truly capable of.

Cheap office computer. The HP 250 G6 costs around €500 (~$615), for which you get a 15.6-inch notebook with a Core i3 processor, 8 GB of RAM, a Full HD display, an SSD, and a good battery life.
Update: HP 250 G6 4BD30ES Kaby Lake version with an Intel Core i3-7020U and SanDisk SSD tested.

No-Frills! In the convoluted world of office devices, the Lenovo ThinkPad L480 positions itself below the T-Series, but above the more affordable E-Series, all by the same manufacturer. In this review, we shall dive into what sets the L-Series apart and whether this ThinkPad is worth a consideration.

The same case but with a different name. The ThinkPad X380 shines with a fast NVMe SSD, a thin case and great battery life. The built-in quad-core Core i7 CPU cannot maintain its full performance. The Windows operating system is not included. Linux users, however, will be quite happy with the Linux compatibility of the convertible.

Function follows form. No doubt about it: the Spectre is a premium convertible with a robust high-quality case, and it's up-to-date thanks to Intel's latest 8th generation Core i7-8550U processor. Let's take a closer look at what hides behind all these flashy specs, shall we?

Heavy on options. The Latitude 5490 by Dell is marketed as the notebook equivalent of a safe. The relatively high price tag of this 14-inch productivity device justifies itself with a large number of security options, making this laptop suited for security-conscious companies. We shall not only put its security features through its paces, but also compare it to other productivity-focused devices.

Third round. The current model has an Intel Core i3-6006U processor and differs only marginally in terms of the price, when compared to the previously reviewed sibling models. We examine in this review whether this particular laptop is worth buying.

Fire-red selfie machine. The ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro’s salient feature is its high-resolution dual front-facing cameras. This is coupled with good battery life, and it is all housed in a metal case. Can the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro do enough to compete with the strong selection of mid-range smartphones?

Bigger, faster, better value? The Zotac ZBOX Magnus EK71080 is one of the most powerful small form factor desktops on the market. While relatively small compared to traditional desktops, it is twice as large as other Zotac ZBOX devices. Zotac puts this extra space to good use by packing in a full desktop Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card.

The sum of its parts. Asus' good-looking VivoBook S14 comes with ample processing power thanks to the 8th-generation CPU and a dedicated - albeit low-end - graphics card, but the chassis quality is less praiseworthy.

AMD-Update. We have already had Lenovo's IdeaPad 720s in review, and found it to be a lightweight and thin notebook for everyday challenges. The 13-inch notebook is now also available with AMD's Ryzen 5 2500U processor and as a viable alternative to the Intel SKU.

Periodic throttling. The Notebook 9 NP900X5T would have been a powerhouse of an Ultrabook if it weren't for its intolerable throttling when gaming.

Getting started for the daily routine The HP 14-bp001ng is an affordable 14-inch laptop that is equipped with an Intel Pentium N3710, 4 GB of RAM, and a 500 GB hard drive. Find out what you can expect from HP's entry-level device and its hardware in our review.

With the power of six cores. After years of quad-core processors being the standard in powerful notebooks and desktop computers, 2018 is the starting point for Hex- and Octa-Core chipsets on a large scale, thanks to Intel’s Coffee-Lake and AMD’s Ryzen architecture. The Schenker XMG Ultra 17 has to prove itself, being one of the first notebooks with a six-core processor.

Big, clunky, and enduring. Oukitel not only claims extremely long battery life for the K10 but also plenty of performance and amazing cameras. At 11,000 mAh, the battery's capacity is bigger than on some notebooks, but can the 6-inch smartphone deliver? Let us find out.

Mini Carbon. With a fresh design and a clearly thinner case, Lenovo is trying to make its traditional 12-inch ThinkPad X Series more attractive. In this review we will be explaining why this approach works well, and what features we miss despite the other improvements.

Power on a budget. The 17-inch counterpart to the VivoBook Pro we reviewed last year is now in our labs. Now equipped with an 8th-gen Intel CPU, IPS display, and NVMe SSD, can it resolve the quibbles which plagued the previous unit? Our full review awaits.

How exactly is the Huawei P Smart smart? Why did we not think of that? Choosing 'smart' as a name for a smartphone is just as in-your-face as naming a soccer team 'the team'. And it inadvertently raises the question: what exactly does 'smart' really mean?

Unpretentious workhorse! Having recently reviewed the 2018 ThinkPad equipped with a Radeon RX 550 GPU, we now have the entry-level SKU in our lab. We are particularly interested in temperatures, which were the E480's most pronounced and prominent weak spot.

In this review will be testing Anker's two cheap wireless chargers, and whether they work with the iPhone X.

Hotter, Louder, Faster, Stronger. The Asus ROG Strix GL703VM is a more powerful version of the GL703VD, which we reviewed back in October. In addition to a faster GPU, the GL703VM brings a 120 Hz display, but fan noise and temperatures leave room for improvement.

Trending. The HTC U11 Plus emerges about a year after the U11 and offers very similar specs. It comes with more storage space, and the new Super LCD display now has a trendy 2:1 aspect ratio. Moreover, the battery also gets a significant bump. You can learn here how well the new smartphone does in our review.

8 follows 5. The Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) succeeds the Galaxy A5 (2017) as the latest device in the popular Galaxy A Series. The €499 (~$615) price tag could prove to be unpopular though. We will find out in our tests whether Samsung can justify this ambitious price.

Frequency fanatic. If until recently, 120 Hz displays represented the ultimate in gaming laptops, now Asus goes a step further and presents one of the first 144 Hz notebooks with the ROG Chimera G703. You can find out in our test what the 17-incher additionally has to offer.

A business laptop? There are many 14-inch notebooks in the office segment, and HP has now presented its redesigned ProBook 440 G5 as an entry-level device. Its quad-core CPU, IPS display and large glass touchpad sound promising. Find out why all this is not quite good enough in our detailed review.

Low price and good design. But what about performance? Everyone is supposed to be able to afford the Trekstor Primebook C13, which should come with a strong hardware configuration. We have reviewed the 13-inch convertible and reveal what you can expect from this bargain-bin device.

Affordable combined with design. Ulefone is one of the Chinese manufacturers who offer affordable smartphones in all quality segments of the market. The Power 3 is the latest creation by this manufacturer, and we have tested what the device has to offer beyond its large battery.

Bigger is better. Shortly after reviewing the ThinkPad E480 its bigger brother, the E580, found its way to our lab. Does the affordable 15.6-inch business notebook suffer from the same heat issues as the E480? Let us find out, shall we?

Portable workhorse. The ProBook 450 G5 was one of the first business notebooks offering the newest generation of Intel Core processors. In this review, we will cover, whether this cheap office notebook is worth your time.

CES novelty in review. Presented by Sony at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Sony Xperia L2 is currently the Japanese manufacturer's cheapest smartphone. The €249 (~$307; RRP) device, which has a fingerprint scanner and runs Android 7.1.1, is now available in Germany. Find out how the Xperia L2 fares in our tests.

14-inch Camouflage. Update 2/22/2018: finalized our additional tests. Asus is pretty ambitious with its latest subnotebook, to say the least. At 14 inches it is large enough for serious work but at the same time highly portable with just 13 mm of thickness and a weight of no more than 1.1 kg. Thanks to NanoEdge, Asus has been able to fit a large screen into a 13-inch case. Big, ugly ports are also a thing of the past: the future belongs to 2x Thunderbolt 3, which is incidentally also used for charging.

Well made. Lenovo’s 14-incher comes equipped with a Core i5 processor, a fast SSD, a matte IPS-based screen and a dedicated GeForce 920MX graphics card in the rare configuration with GDDR5 video memory.

A multimedia device with flaws. The Inspiron 17 is based on Intel's most recent generation of processors. However, customers should pay attention to the configuration because the versatility of a multimedia device is very limited without a dedicated graphics card.

Its design, its name, its feel. The Spectre attracts attention wherever it goes - that part already worked last year. The new model features an Intel Core upgrade to the i7-8550U and its design has received a final polish. Will the Spectre impress us as much as it did last year?

4K overkill. We check out the popular 15.6-inch mainstream gaming notebook from Dell for a third time in yet another configuration. As impressive as the GTX 1060 Max-Q may be, it just isn't the best GPU for 4K gaming.

Now in a 15-inch form factor - Live Review. After a few months' delay, the larger version of the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is finally available in Germany. We have got our review device precisely at the sales launch and now we put it to the test. We are especially excited to examine the energy management of the more powerful components, because we already saw bottlenecks in this area in the smaller model. Update: display readings, Witcher 3, temperatures, video playback battery life

Dark Display. Asus's VivoBook Flip 15 is equipped with a powerful quad-core CPU, a fast solid-state drive, a backlit keyboard, and features a touchscreen with support for Asus's optional stylus pen. Yet despite its price tag of around $900, it is not free of faults.

Powerful long runner. The ZenBook 13 does not lack in power. ASUS has equipped the slim Ultrabook with a quad-core processor and a dedicated graphics card. Coupled with that is a quick SSD, long battery life and a good display. Nevertheless, the seemingly successful ZenBook draws some criticism.

My kingdom for a role-playing game. Kingdom Come: Deliverance was originally financed through Kickstarter and is an extremely ambitious Open World RPG. Will the medieval graphics look good, or suffer from performance problems? Find out in this benchmark article.

The best of both worlds. While most people have to choose between a gaming notebook that supports either G-Sync (smooth image) or Optimus (longer battery life), the XMG Pro 17 supports both Nvidia technologies at the same time. You can find out in our review what else the 17-incher has to offer.

Great components. Lenovo's Surface Pro competitor can score with a strong quad-core processor, 16 GB of RAM, an NVMe SSD, a backlit keyboard, input pen and LTE modem. But despite its high price, the device is not free from issues.

Cheap, bezel-less, good? The Maze Alpha X succeeds the recently introduced Maze Alpha and sells for 50 Euros (~$62) more on the virtual shop counter. On the outside, the screen has grown by 240 pixels vertically and the pixel-free portion on the front was decreased accordingly. We will evaluate the device's strengths and weaknesses in this review.

Sexy Beast. A lot of performance in a stylish and compact case: Schenker Technologies aims to achieve all that with the brand new Key 15. Find out in our test, how the 15-incher fares against its main competitor from Gigabyte, the Aero 15.

X marks the spot. HP has unleashed a beast in the form of the HP Omen X 17. With a high-refresh rate panel, an overclockable Core i7 CPU, and the most powerful mobile GPU currently on the market, does the Omen X 17 have the "X factor" it needs to stand apart from the crowd, or is it just white noise in a highly competitive performance tier?

The familiar problems remain. The 15.6-inch device from Lenovo has been given a good performance upgrade. The new quad-core processor is fast and works well together with the dedicated graphics card. But the biggest headache remains - the ThinkPad's low-quality screen. The battery runtimes are also rather disappointing.

Packing a punch. With its quad-core CPU and high-end GeForce GTX 1080 GPU, the ROG Strix GL702VI handles even the latest generation of graphically-intensive games with relative ease. The dual fans have no problem keeping the heat in check, but overall system performance lags slightly behind the competition.

Old on the outside, new on the inside. Dell has updated the Inspiron 13 5379 with an Intel 8th generation Kaby Lake processor. This is the only noteworthy change though. Aesthetically, everything remains the same, including the I/O. In this review we will be clarifying what performance you should expect from the Dell Inspiron 13 5379.

Lightweight. The VivoBook E12 can score with its noiselessness and long battery runtime. At a weight of around one kilogram, it is one of the lightest of its kind.

Shortly after the introduction of Ryzen-based mobile APUs AMD has also announced two desktop APUs for its AM4 platform. The more powerful Ryzen 5 2400G features 4 cores and 11 graphics compute units based on the Vega GPU architecture. We take a closer look at the application and gaming performance as well as energy efficiency.

Big laptop, small price. The VivoBook 17 X705UA from Asus can be had for 500 Euros ($620). For this price, the manufacturer promises a lot of internal storage space, heaps of performance and a great design. In our review, we take the lowest-priced version to the task to see how well these promises hold up under scrutiny.

Powerful brick. Back in August, we had the BV8000 Pro in review. Today, we are proud to present its successor, the BV9000, and you better watch out: That thing is a massive brick and most likely tougher than a human being. It also marks a point in time where Blackview is the only OEM with two current outdoor smartphones listed in our database. The newcomer shares several features with its own predecessor. In some aspects Blackview has managed to improve upon the phone, in others the company has made it worse. Let’s take a closer look and find out what exactly this means in our extensive review of the BV9000.

Wasted potential. With the GS370 Plus, the German communications company Gigaset offers an attractively priced mid-range smartphone with an 18:9 aspect ratio. Weaknesses with the screen, among other things, damage our overall impression of the 5.7-inch device though.

The Chinese original. Xiaomi notebooks are still considered a rarity in Europe and have to be imported from Asia. Not having the opportunity of looking at the device beforehand at your trusted local store, plus the additional effort of making warranty claims etc., makes it all the more important to read reviews of imported products before making your final decision. Notebookcheck has therefore decided that after reviewing the Intel Core i5-8250U version, we will now also take a look at the model with the stronger Intel Core i7-8550U. In this review, we have focused mainly on the device's performance and its differences to the other model that we have already tested.

Thinner, lighter, better? HP seeks to pack even more power into an even smaller shell with their latest Spectre x360 convertible. But with a quad-core Core i7 CPU, NVMe SSD, and 16 GB of RAM, can the machine take the heat?

Desktop in disguise. Our latest Eurocom system returns the highest PCMark 10 score in our database at 6620 points. Its removable GTX 1080 GPU and LGA 1151 Coffee Lake CPU give the system longer legs than most gaming notebooks.

The new XPS 13. It has been a few years since Dell last showered its successful XPS 13 line with a major update. While the hardware has already been used in the older model, the new thinner case is supposed to make everything better. One improvement we have already been able to spot: CABC can be fully disabled at last. Update: The review is now complete.

A compact entry-level powerhouse. For those who seek a 13-inch gaming notebook, there is practically no alternative other than the Alienware 13 R3. Nevertheless, our review device will still compete with other gaming laptops. At the same time, we compare the performance of different hardware variants in our review update for the 3rd generation of the Alienware 13.

Ultra-mobile office performance. Lenovo calls the new IdeaPad 720s an "extremely high-performance and stylish power package." Even though we would not quite call it that, the performance is still impressive for a notebook that is only 13 mm (~0.51 in) thin. We found out in our test report what exactly you can expect from the 720s in its various configurations.

Heavyweight. Final Fantasy XV is due for release on PC next month, after console owners have been enjoying the open-world roleplaying game since the end of 2016. In the meantime, Square Enix have released a benchmarking tool as a way to shorten the wait for fans of the series. Update: Benchmarks of the final version

Touches into the edges. The Nubia Z17 Mini is a 5.2-inch mid-range smartphone that tries to impress with a special mode of controlling the device from the edges of the screen. A dual-camera on the rear and ample storage options are other good reasons. Therefore, can you overlook this outdated Android?

Very power-hungry. The Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC can run all the latest games smoothly on its matte screen. The laptop comes equipped with a Ryzen 5 1600 hexa-core processor, a Radeon RX 580 GPU and a hybrid drive. This entry-level model forgoes an SSD.

Tame lightweight. A 15-inch device which is still as thin as 17 mm and weighs only 1630 grams? A brilliant screen with minimal bezels? A battery runtime lasting a whole day? We will check into those big promises the manufacturer has made, thoroughly testing the allegedly slimmest ZenBook with gaming graphics.

To InfinityEdge and beyond. Dell dauntlessly doubles down on its InfinityEdge design and the race for an even thinner Ultrabook. The end result is a noticeably smaller and more visually attractive offering that doesn’t do much else significantly better or worse than the last generation XPS 13.

Spoiled brat. WWith the new and relatively affordable TravelMate, ACER introduces a typical 15-inch office notebook, which can be purchased for less than 400 € (~$496) with weaker equipment and Linux. If you consider the price, there is hardly anything to complain about - if only the manufacturer had not skimped on the quality control of our test unit!

Battle Royale. Epic Games' Fortnite is a new survival shooter and wants to join the success of PUBG. We check the hardware requirements of the colorful multiplayer title. Is a low-end PC sufficient or do you need a high-end GPU similar to PUBG?

Price-to-performance deficit. The Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA delights with a slim, light case, a thin display lid, a backlit keyboard and great battery life. The screen and the case, however, disapoint.

A 72 Wh power bank should fulfill all your smartphone needs, but can a PowerCore power bank be used to charge laptops as well? Let's find out.

Maxed out. Samsung launches the SSD-860 series for the SATA-3 interface in order to support upgrading users without a fast M.2 connection. What is the difference between the 860 Evo and 860 Pro? How fast are the new models and who should buy one? All this is clarified in our test of the 1 TB storage version.

This little one hears everything. Today, we have taken a look at Google's small smart speaker. After having had some difficulties with touch inputs, everything should be working again now. We took a closer look at the smart little helper and wondered: What about privacy and data protection?

Alexa, where are you? The Moto X4 is released with a dual camera, IP68 protection, and a stylish design, trying to conquer the midrange market. However, the promised support for Amazon Alexa is not currently available on our test device. Is the Moto X4 still worth buying? Our review will show.

Not quite grown up yet. The new VivoBook from Asus sounds promising: A new quad-core processor and a dedicated graphics unit are wrapped in a premium-looking case. The sales price also seems very fair. While it looks similar to the high-quality ZenBook visually, taking a closer look, this is only the surface.

Fully specced. The Dell Precision wants to be the best mobile workstation with a mobile Xeon processor, plenty of RAM, Nvidia's new P5000 GPU, and a high-resolution PremierColor display.

A straightforward concept. The requirements for a convertible that functions as your daily companion are high. Apart from a fully functioning Windows operating system, performance and battery runtimes need to be good too. A bright display and solid build should also be included - and all this, ideally for a good price. Asus has a solution to offer: The Transformer Book.

Happy Medium! The Slim 15 L17 is a solid business notebook made by Schenker. On the plus side it is equipped with Intel's latest generation processors, on the downside the case is far from perfect.

Half the weight of the XPS 15. How light can a 15-inch notebook get? The LG Gram 15 dares to be the lightest in the world at just over 1 kg, but the system is not without some missing bells and whistles commonly found on most other Ultrabooks.

Gold chain substitute. The Acer Iconia Tab 10 stands out with above-average performance at an ambitious price. But can it meet these expectations? A few minutes of close contact with the device quickly leave a lasting impression.

Bulletproof? The Motorola Moto Z2 Force high-end smartphone is the latest member of the Moto Z family and is, as expected, compatible with Moto Mods upgrades. In addition, it is equipped with ShatterShield: a display technology that is supposed to make the display completely shatter-proof.

Slow start. With the 255 G6, HP offers a very affordable entry-level notebook. Using an AMD processor and a replaceable battery, our test device could be given a buying recommendation. However the moderate system performance and cheap production leave much to be desired.

Ensured updates. If it were not for the touch-sensitive sides and Android One which ensures operating system updates for two years, the HTC U11 Life would be a mid-range device like many others. Does this make it a very special smartphone?

Beauty and a beast. The EliteBook 1040 G4 now offers Intel's Core i7-7820HQ. The quad-core processor is quite a step up from most ultrabook CPUs, but how does it compare to more powerful devices and Intel's own 8th-gen Kaby Lake R silicon?

A niche of its own. Panasonic is the manufacturer of the robust Toughbooks made for the military and use on building sites. The CF-XZ6 is supposed to attract regular business customers who would usually choose a Surface, Latitude, ThinkPad or EliteBook. Find out why the Toughbook has not quite managed to get out of its niche in our detailed review.

6-inch 18:9 Android for $199. Honor has taken a page out of the current crop of flagship smartphones to deliver one of the most compelling Android smartphones yet for under $200 USD. Update: GPS and camera tests added