Thunderbolt

The Apple MacBook Pro 13 is much more powerful and manages longer battery runtimes thanks to the new M1 processor. However, there are not many reasons why you should not just get the more affordable MacBook Air.

There are plenty of discounts for the Apple MacBook Air 2020 before Christmas. However, a closer look usually reveals that it is a discontinued model with an old Intel processor. We think you should avoid these SKUs, even though you can save some money.

LG is slated to launch its next-gen Gram laptop series in South Korea on December 16, 2020. A leak allegedly originating from the same country purports to spill details on the 16-inch SKU from this series. It points to an 11th-gen core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 65W charging and a price that might come as a surprise considering these specs.

The ThinkPad X1 Nano is a recently-released Lenovo laptop with a 16:10 aspect-ratio display and a weight of under 1 kilogram (kg). It has just been spotted on a German e-tail website in various configurations. They start at prices approximately translating to US$2300 on their new platform.

The Schenker Compact 17 offers powerful hardware, 32 GB of memory (dual-channel mode), a 4K display, and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. In addition, there's an extensive range of connections and the possibility to install up to three storage devices.

The Vision 15 from Schenker Technologies is the first laptop based on Intel's new NUC M15 reference notebook design. In addition to the excellent implementation of the Tiger Lake i7 CPU, the 15.6-inch multimedia laptop also offers a high-quality unibody case, Thunderbolt 4, a 1080p touchscreen as well as long battery runtimes.

Earlier, Eve Devices had hinted that its next product event would be for its long-hyped second-gen convertible PC, the V 2020. Now, the OEM has confirmed that this is the case. It has also teased the device with some specs and pre-order details.

Two months after announcement, the compact 16:10 ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 1 is finally orderable in the USA. As usual with Lenovo ThinkPads, pricing is higher than originally announced, as the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano is not discounted yet.

The compact Erazer Beast X10 brings all the latest computer games smoothly onto the 17.3-inch matte screen (Full HD, IPS, 144 Hz). The gaming laptop also scores points with 32 GB of RAM (dual-channel mode), room for two NVMe SSDs, and good battery life.

There is a possibility of Apple enabling eGPU support via Thunderbolt 3 in M1-powered Macs with a future update to macOS 11. At the moment, eGPUs seem to be recognized by macOS 11 Big Sur, but they don't seem to provide any hardware acceleration due to lack of driver support.

The new VISION 15 laptops will be available for pre-orders in early December for 1,499 Euro and up. Highlights include a thin and light case, 15.6-inch IPS FHD touchscreen, i7-1165G7 CPUs with Xe iGPUs, 16 GB of LPDDR4x-4266 RAM, PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage and 2x Thundebolt 4 connectors.

The Neo 17 brings all the current computer games smoothly to the responsive 17.3-inch screen (FHD, IPS, 240 Hz). The level of the hardware is right: a mechanical keyboard, 32 GB of working memory (dual-channel mode), an NVMe SSD (1 TB), and a Thunderbolt 3 connection are included.

We don't think it's a coincidence that initial processor benchmarks from Intel are always faster than what we actually see on retail units from OEMs. ULV CPUs are designed to run across a wide range of TDP levels meaning manufacturers often choose to run them at slower speeds even though the silicon is capable of much more.

The current Apple iMac offers a great 5K screen, a good looking aluminum case, and great speakers. However, the all-in-one struggles to utilize the full potential of the components. You should be careful with the boxes you tick when you buy an iMac.

Without any formal announcement, Lenovo releases two new ThinkPad laptops onto the market: The ThinkPad L13 Gen 2 and the convertible brother ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 2 are the first business models with Intel Tiger Lake. At the same time, they also are the first L series ThinkPad with Thunderbolt 4.

It may look like a Blade Stealth at first glance, but the Razer Book 13 is so much more. The new business laptop includes features not found on the Blade Stealth including HDMI, MicroSD, 16:10 display, and even per-key RGB lighting for a starting price of $1200 USD.

Dell charges almost 2000 Euros for the base model of the XPS 17 9700. You still get the great chassis and a very good FHD panel, but also a slow quad-core processor from Intel with an outdated iGPU.

Samsung's 15.6-inch convertible offers a compact case, very good battery life, and a very bright display with a brightness of up to 600 nits. Its touchscreen display (QLED, IPS, FHD) does not only support finger but also stylus input using the included S Pen.

With the Yoga Slim 7 14, Lenovo offers users the choice between AMD and Intel processors. We have tested both versions.

The all-in-one RGB-enabled docking station promises up to 3000 MB/s read and 2600 MB/s write rates all via Thunderbolt 3.

Acer is targeting mobile content creators with the Swift 3x. The Acer Swift 3x is powered by the latest Tiger Lake processors and features the Intel Xe Max dGPU, formerly known as DG1. The Swift 3x also sports a vibrant 14-inch FHD display with a 72% NTSC coverage and will be available from December starting from €899.

The new Travelmate models come in slimmer yet sturdier chassis made of an aluminum-magnesium mix. Upgrades include the latest Tiger Lake CPUs with Xe iGPUs, up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 1 TB NVMe SSD storage, a Thunderbolt 4 connector and a larger battery that can last up to 15 hours.

Previously known as DG1, Intel's Xe discrete GPUs may first launch with select Tiger Lake laptops. One of these could be the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ convertible that is advertised to be featuring the first Xe dGPU named Iris Xe Max. No official specs for this model as of yet besides the 4 GB GDDR5 VRAM, but we are hearing that it may feature a 96 EU G7 chip with higher clocks.

Intel's latest Celeron 6305 and 6305E processors have a number of up-to-date features and specs that may make devices based on them particularly worthy of consideration. There may have a lower base clock here compared to its immediate forebear, but it also supports double the cache, as well as faster memory and graphics. And, of course, Thunderbolt 4 is here in these newer models.

MSI has enhanced this series' strengths with the Creator 15. The Comet Lake update offers a decent performance increase while the UHD panel scores points with its high luminosity and vivid colors. Only the battery suffers from this high performance.

Through the Chinese site Baidu, we may have gotten the first pictures and spec-info on the next gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 and ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6. Both appear to be redesigned and are apparently featuring 16:10 screens.

As with the Lenovo ThinkPad X13, the performance increase gained through Comet Lake on the ThinkPad X13 Yoga is marginal compared to its predecessor. Therefore, Lenovo could have definitely saved itself the leap to the current Intel CPUs.

OWC has launched its first dock specifically aimed at PCs equipped with Thunderbolt 4 ports. It offers a further 3 USB type Cs with the same standard, as well as a 3.2 type A port. It is rated to support dual 4K displays or one 5 to 8K monitor, as well as a range of additional peripherals, storage media or devices to 1 state-of-the-art machine.

The new ZenBook Flip S left a good impression in our review, but there are still some aspects about the convertible, that Asus could improve.

Above all, Asus achieves a shorter battery life with the Zephyrus S15's upgrade to current hardware. Despite the better CPU performance, the overall performance hardly has any noticeable effect on gaming performance.