Convertible / 2-in-1

The 9.9 mm-thick convertible Chromebook houses serious specifications for its category that could easily pass as a high-end Ultrabook. It will even have a 1 MP webcam on the keyboard deck to better exploit the 2-in-1 form factor.

The 2020 model isn't a huge redesign, but it's not a minor one either. The minor tweaks to the CPU, keyboard, and webcam all add up to a slightly smaller package and a more powerful system when compared to the 2019 model. The unspecified Nvidia GPU is also intriguing.

At CES 2020, Acer is introducing new PCs in the ConceptD lineup aimed at creative pros. The ConceptD 7 Ezel is a convertible with the Ezel hinge featuring a 10th gen Intel H-series processor, NVIDIA RTX GPU, and up to 32 GB of RAM. There is also a ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro with a choice of Intel Xeon and NVIDIA Quadro RTX GPUs. Alongside the new convertibles, Acer has also announced the ConceptD 700 desktop workstation with modern looks and specs to match that include the Intel Xeon E and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000.

A new year and a new ThinkPad X1 lineup. Lenovo has given the X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga a Comet Lake U refresh, along with other treats for display and keyboard fans too. The X1 Carbon Gen 8 and X1 Yoga Gen 5 will be available worldwide from US$1,499 and US$1,599.

The QLED panel will provide OLED-like colors at a fraction of the price. Samsung is hoping that its aluminum-clad convertible will kick-start a generation of QLED laptops and tablets to better compete against the IPS and OLED laptops already in market.

Much like the XPS 9000 series, the new Latitude 9000 series will prioritize sleek and lightweight form factors aimed at business users as a direct response to the ultra-thin Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and HP Elite Dragonfly.

It may be $100 to $200 cheaper than the Surface Go, but the Microsoft tablet will likely last you a lot longer. Knock-offs or clones look great from a distance before you begin noticing the cut corners and lack of detail.

No, the latest Ice Lake-powered Spectre x360 13 does not weigh just 930 grams despite what the HP Customer Support Knowledge Base is affirming. Our own measurements show that the convertible is actually 33 percent heavier to be closer to the Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1.

This flagship convertible houses an active stylus, 12 GB of RAM, and a 14-inch 1080p touchscreen all wrapped in a rigid aluminum chassis.

The HP Spectre series consists of ultra-thin flagship laptops and convertibles to represent the best that the manufacturer has to offer for consumers. Nonetheless, all models thus far have been lacking in one particular area.

Low cost gaming with Ryzen APUs. AMD's Ryzen APUs set the bar high for the performance of integrated GPUs. Therefore, such Ryzen-based laptops can prove to be very interesting for users who not only use office and Internet applications but also occasionally want to play a game. We clarify the question of whether the integrated Vega GPUs offer enough performance for casual gamers.

The Chinese Surface Go clone will be live before the end of 2019 with extra hardware features not found on the Microsoft version. The UBook follows on the footsteps of the larger UBook Pro which was designed to be a Surface Pro clone.

The tech market analyst firm Daniel Research Group has reported that its latest study shows US PC shipments will exhibit an indifferent trend. On the other hand, newer form factors are thought to do better in this new forecast. This trend is thought to be related to the strength of the nation's economy over the next 4 years.

The refreshed Gram lineup includes a 17-inch model with a 16:10 2560 x 1600 IPS display, Thunderbolt 3, Wi-Fi 6, Iris Plus iGPUs and dual NVMe SSD options. LG also offers a 15-inch model together with a regular 14-incher and a convertible 14-incher that come with 16:9 1080p screens.

HP School Pack software will come pre-installed alongside dual cameras, a webcam privacy shutter, touchscreen pen support, Wi-Fi 6, and BIOS-level security features to protect students.

Qualcomm has announced that its next Snapdragon Tech Summit will take place from December 3 to 5, 2019 in Maui, Hawaii. This year, the company will showcase its growing 5G expertise, as well as other facets of its mobile device business such as the appropriate SoCs. Each of the event's keynotes will also be livestreamed from a dedicated site.

At a measured brightness of 868 nits on the center of the screen, the UBook Pro is nearly 90 percent brighter than even the Surface Pro 6. It's not everyday that a cheaper Chinese clone offers something better than the "proper" authentic version.

Microsoft has let it be known that checking for updates on Windows 10 PCs that run the stable-channel 1903 version may result in the ability to download its successor, 1909. This November 2019 replacement for that build can also now be accessed by business users and server maintainers.

HP is having something of a pre-Black Friday sales event in which US$100 or more is taken off many up-to-date PCs from the Envy, Spectre or Omen laptop series. Examples include the Omen 17t and 15T Spectre x360. This promotion also includes HP Chromebooks, Envy desktops and photo printers.

Microsoft’s Surface devices have justifiably won plaudits for their industrial designs, however their user repairability has been among the worst on the market. The new Surface 3 revealed a promising change of direction that has also carried over to the much thinner Surface Pro X, according to iFixit.

Qualcomm has announced the results for its fiscal year, which ended on September 29, 2019. Its revenues came in at US$24.3 billion, or 7% more year-on-year (YoY). The company also made a total of $4.8 billion in the last quarter of this year (4Q2019), although this is a 50% reduction compared to 3Q2019.

Google provides hardware that runs its own OS with automatic updates for a fixed period of time after their release. This software policy applies to a range of devices, from Chromebooks to Chromebits, the end-of-life (EOL) of which is known as Auto Update Expiration (or AUE). 140 of these products have had their AUEs amended by 6 months to a year each.

Microsoft has posted something for consumers to think about prior to their Black Friday shopping this year. It includes some details on its Surface deals for that period, including up to US$230 off the new Pro 7. There is also a link to the even earlier "X019" event, in which seasonal Xbox hardware promotions may be unveiled.

Aukey has unveiled its new Omni-Power series of accessories. The company claims that it integrates various state-of-the-art charging technologies, including a graphene skin, GaN and USB Power Delivery. This line includes new adapters, car chargers and power banks.

Samsung will launch the world's first QLED laptops early next year with the promise of 600-nit displays, Ice Lake, Wi-Fi 6, and GeForce MX graphics. LPDDR4x RAM will come soldered alongside an S Pen recess on the Galaxy Flex model.

The Lenovo IdeaPad C340-15IWL is equipped with a Core i5-8265U processor, a GeForce MX230 graphics core and dual-channel RAM. The IPS touchscreen display supports the Lenovo Active Pen 2.

Microsoft may have more plans than just running Windows 10X on dual-screen and foldable devices. In an official Microsoft webpage, since taken down, the company indicates that Windows 10X will also appear on laptops when it is released in 2020, or beyond.

Intel has released its new low-power solution in full today (October 24, 2019). It is an x86 microarchitecture associated with "significant" IPC enhancements compared to its predecessor. Tremont can also support an L2 cache of up to 4.5MB, as well as crypto acceleration that includes dual 128-bit AES units. It is pitched at IoT, server, client and connectivity applications.

LG has revealed that the G8X ThinQ will be released for sale in the United States on November 1, 2019. This phone is a variant of the OEM's 2019 flagship designed to work with the new Dual Screen accessory. Both devices also have US starting prices and the scope for promotional deals already.

Tremont is a collective name for Intel's next-gen SoCs developed for mobile, low-end and IoT devices. Currently, they are thought to have a microarchitecture based on a 10 nanometer (nm) process. The Linley Group now asserts that this will be confirmed or denied at its upcoming conference in Santa Clara, California.

Intel's Ice Lake platform performs convincing in the first reviews. With the Lenovo Yoga C940 convertible we recently reviewed another Ice Lake laptop, which directly competes with Dell's XPS 13 7390 2-in-1. In terms of battery life the Lenovo Yoga C940 is even better than the XPS.

The smaller 13.3-inch Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-1 Black Edition has also gotten the same Comet Lake-U treatment albeit with the Core i5-10210U processor instead. The CPU update directly addresses one of the main drawbacks of the Inspiron 2-in-1 series which was its lack of Thunderbolt 3 compatibility.

The high launch price of $1650 for the Core i7 XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 is now just ~$1200 after taxes, discounts, and gift cards. The Dell convertible is notable for being the first to ship with Intel's new Ice Lake Core i7-1065G7 CPU and also one of the few convertibles with a 16:10 display.

The Acer ConceptD 7 and 9 models have won at this year's Good Design awards. Unsurprisingly, this is due to their innovative, creator-focused form factors. Acer have also won 2 more of these honors for the Swift 7 and TravelMate P6 laptops.

The One Mix 3 Pro is One-netbook's latest ultra-mobile PC (UMPC), and the first that we have seen with an Intel Comet Lake-Y series processor. The 8.4-inch device also has 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD and weighs just 0.66 kg. The One Mix 3 Pro is available to pre-order now from Chinese retailer JD.com for 6,999 CNY (~US$979). One-netbook may bring the UMPC to other markets too.

Dell is currently offering two Inspiron laptops for less than US$200. Shoppers can pick up an AMD-powered Inspiron 11 3000 for US$179.99 or plump for the larger Intel-based Inspiron 14 3000 for just US$199.99. There’s also a terrific deal to be had on the Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1 laptop, which has seen its price reduced by 37%.

With some heavy tweaking and field-of-view reductions, Doom and Destiny 2: Shadowkeep can run at a locked 30 FPS in some scenarios. Still, we recommend at least a GeForce MX150 if you intend to play such intensive titles regularly.