Convertible / 2-in-1

The trend for laptop displays is currently moving towards a longer 16:10 aspect ratio. The result is smaller bezels below and above the screen, more space for documents - and much better usability in tablet mode. This is shown by the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga Gen 2, for example.

Lenovo's latest Windows tablet is barely 4 months old and it's already being discounted. If you're in the market for a Windows Surface Pro, then you may want to consider getting the ThinkPad X12 instead.

The current silicon crisis is often perceived as bad news for CPU and GPU supplies worldwide. However, a new report highlights the point that its ramifications might be more widespread than that. It indicates that disrupted sales of a controller chip necessary for working USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 might lead to a lack of PCs with 11th-gen Intel processors next, or to OEMs resorting to releasing the same machines without this spec.

On paper, HP Sure View sounds great with its ability to limit viewing angles with just a press of a button. In practice, however, the feature entails a host of other disadvantages that potential owners should be aware of.

Microsoft has patented a new and particularly futuristic take on its logo: one that integrates camera sensors. This concept, which might come as part of the OEM's hardware one day, uses emerging under-display technology to put a tiny lens behind each square of the iconic Windows-evoking symbol. The new leak hints that it might appear on either the front or rear of next-gen devices.

The HP Spectre x360 14 is a 2-in-1 device which features a Tiger Lake CPU, two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 13.5-inch OLED touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio. The touchscreen can recognise inputs from the included HP Tilt Pen and fingers.

Even though the Ryzen 7 5700U launched day and date with the Ryzen 7 5800U, it's still based on AMD's older Zen 2 architecture. However, benchmarks and real-world games show that this difference won't really matter for most users.

A slew of leaks and rumors have purported to pronounce the Galaxy Note 21 series dead as of 2021. However, photos of what is claimed to be a piece of corporate art at a new physical Samsung store now dispute those claims. It incorporates the phablets' names alongside many of the OEM's pre-existing Android devices, suggesting they might be on the way after all

Jingling has confirmed the price of the JingPad A1, the 2-in-1 convertible running a Linux-based tablet OS. The JingPad A1 features a Unisoc Tiger T7510 SoC though, so the tablet may offer limited performance.

Based on our WLAN tests, the cheaper IPS configuration can outlast the more expensive OLED configuration by almost 4 hours when browsing the web at identical brightness levels, identical web pages, and identical power profiles each.

Samsung has only just launched laptop-sized AMOLED displays in the Galaxy Book Pro line-up; now, the OEM has revealed another new party trick for these panels. They have attained an SGS certification that states they match up to this body's standards for use during gaming. They include certain levels of blur length and contrast ratio.

The Nanote P8 is a tiny 7-inch mini-laptop coming to Japan. While the machine uses older hardware, it's relatively cheap (compared to other mini laptops) at only US$300.

Lenovo’s 2-in-1 Chromebook comes with a Comet Lake-based CPU, an NVMe SSD and a backlit keyboard. The touchscreen can be operated not only with fingers but also with the Lenovo USI Pen, which is sold separately. The Chromebook also supports Power Delivery over USB-C.

Dell has issued numerous patches as part of its latest Security Advisory (DSA-2021-088) in response to findings of a "severe" CVE consisting of five different privilege-exploit bugs that have apparently been in effect for the last 12 years. Fortunately, they have never been acted upon, which, as they could have allowed unauthorized users to write data or manipulate memory.

Lenovo's new ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a very good business convertible, which got a major update with Tiger-Lake CPUs and 16:10 screens. However, there are still problems with the BIOS and the performance utilization when you stress CPU and iGPU simultaneously.

With its up-to-Ryzen 9 5980HS processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics, Asus has designed the ROG Flow X13 to bring gaming to the 2-in-1 category. Now, a new report asserts the OEM is about to introduce this machine to India on May 12, 2021. Whether the PC's matching XG Mobile eGPU will be joining it in its putative new market is less clear at this point.

The market for laptops has arguably remained relatively unscathed in the pandemic era, largely thanks to the demand for educational or gaming machines still going strong in 2021. Now, new research indicates that shipments for these devices will total 62 million at least in this year's second quarter (2Q2021). Acer, Asus and HP are thought to be the biggest winners in the 3 months in question.

The Spin 713 offers a 3:2 touchscreen, very good battery life and support for Power Delivery over USB-C. With an 800-Euro price tag, it is not one of the cheapest Chromebooks on the market.

MSI's first stab at a luxurious subnotebook convertible is already good enough to rival the best from Dell. It's not perfect, but it offers enough extras to make it worth considering on your list.

The Galaxy Book Flex 2 Alpha has arrived, even if it missed the cut at yesterday's Galaxy Unpacked event. The convertible laptop has a 13.3-inch display, a choice between two Intel Tiger Lake laptops and a 54 Wh battery. The Galaxy Book Flex 2 Alpha will start shipping next month in two colours.

If it's got "Galaxy" in the name, then you know it's going to have a lot to live up to. The Galaxy Book Pro 360 looks set to be Samsung's premier Windows convertible with features that rival the best prosumer laptops from Dell, HP, or Lenovo.

The Yoga Duet 7 2021 features a Core i5-1135G7 or a Core i7-1165G7, along with 16 GB of RAM and a Thunderbolt 4 port. The device will go on sale in China on April 30.

The new Surface-like device from Dell comes with a detachable keyboard + stylus and enterprise-grade features. It is powered by Intel's Tiger Lake-U CPUs with vPro technology coupled with up to 16 GB of LPDDR4x-4266 RAM and up to 1 TB NVMe SSD or 256 NVMe SED storage. It also integrates a 13-inch touchscreen with 3:2 aspect ratio, 1080p resolution and 500 nit brightness.

Lenovo equips the second generation of the ThinkPad L13 Yoga compact business convertible with an up-to-date Tiger Lake CPU and faster connections including a Thunderbolt 4 port. The convertible's major advantage is still its extensive range of connectivity options.

The brand-new ThinkPad X1 Yoga G6 has arrived in our editorial office and it is immediately noticeable that it is better than the more expensive ThinkPad x1 Titanium Yoga in pretty much every way.

On first glance, the ThinkPad X12 Detachable looks a lot like the ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 3. Despite the similarity, the X12 is no direct successor, as it is not an X1 ThinkPad anymore. This is not necessarily a bad thing: Since it is not a flagship model anymore, the ThinkPad X12 Detachable is much more affordable and thus more competitive.

The new Inspiron 14 7415 convertibles come equipped with the Ryzen 5 5500U or Ryzen 7 5700U Lucienne Zen 2 APUs, 1080p 360-degree touchscreens, up to 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 2 TB of NVMe SSD storage + and SD card reader. Unfortunately, there is no discrete graphics option like on the Intel variants.

The US Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) has approved Samsung's patent for what is depicted as a "display device" that folds in half. It appears to be at least tablet-sized, and may thus be for the long-rumored Galaxy Tab Fold, or a very similar device. The document shows how Samsung intends to make a flexible display work on a larger scale.

Microsoft originally started to pitch the dual-display Surface Neo in late 2019; however, it ultimately failed to make it to its projected real-life launch. Now, a leaker has posted a video that purports to reveal the design of the erstwhile "foldable tablet". It appears to show a device that might indeed have been a larger Duo in real life.

Lenovo expands its ThinkPad X1-series with the X1 Titanium Yoga, an expensive business convertible. It is just 11.5 mm thin and also the thinnest ThinkPad so far, but you have to make compromises.

A Weibo account associated with Lenovo has released teasers for a new tablet called the Yoga Pad Pro - which might prove to be the Chinese variant of a slate to be called the Yoga Tab 13 in international markets. It is to be accompanied by another 11-inch tablet, as well as what might be a Yoga Duet 7i refresh.

Trimming down all that extra fat means cutting back on performance. Other characteristics like screen brightness, hinge rigidity, and chassis flexing could have been improved for stronger first impressions.

Microsoft, in an all-out offensive, released a new commercial comparing the Surface Pro 7 to the iPad Pro. While the commercial makes some good points, it omits some key comparisons important to many consumers and overall ignores the categorical differences between the two devices.