Convertible / 2-in-1

By analyzing the latest Shield Experience software, the XDA Developers team has discovered that a new desktop-mode software feature is in the works alongside what appears to be a new hardware product. Codenamed "mystique," this device could be a 2-in-1 convertible that would compete with the Microsoft Surface Book and other similar pieces of hardware.

XPS chief Frank Azor has been fielding some questions on Twitter in regard to the Dell XPS 15 and its expected OLED panel update. The executive effusively responded “yes” to one question about whether it was coming but had less positive answers for other inquiries. Unfortunately, there is still no fixed timeframe for the OLED option.

The Asus 'ROG Mothership' GZ700GX was first announced earlier this year at CES and was aimed at offering flexibility and enhanced cooling compared to traditional clamshell gaming notebooks. Now, the GZ700GX is available with factory-overclocked versions of the 9th gen Intel Core i9-9980HK CPU and NVIDIA RTX 2080 GPU both of which are cooled by liquid metal and a total of four heatsinks. The ROG 'Mothership' is all set to be available worldwide starting Q2 2019.

Chuwi could be launching an 8-inch mini-computer that comes with a choice of Intel Gemini Lake processors in the not too distant future. The device, which is currently known as the iLife NG08, may be rebranded as the Chuwi MiniBook for market release. The little laptop features a Full HD touchscreen, 4 to 8 GB RAM, and it even has an integrated fingerprint scanner.

One-Notebook's unique pocket-size convertible lineup is getting updated with the OneMix 2S Platinum edition, which pack a faster Intel Core i7-8500Y CPU coupled with 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and 512 GB of NVMe SSD storage. The new device has a QWERTY keyboard with fingerprint scanner for increased proficiency, plus a rotating touchscreen that allows users to switch to tablet mode.

While mostly just a minor refresh, security buffs and business users will appreciate the new camera slider and updated hardware-level anti-virus and recovery features.

The upgrades for the new Spin 3 14-inch convertibles include an almost complete Intel Whiskey Lake CPU lineup ranging from the Pentium Gold 5405U to the Core i7-8565U, plus discrete graphics solutions up to the new GeForce MX230 GPUs. Standard RAM capacity is 8 GB, but users can add up to 24 GB, and the new notebooks come with up to 512 GB NVMe + up to 1 TB HDD storage combos.

The future of Microsoft PCs such as the Surface Pro may yet be Qualcomm-based. A new report on the development of Windows on ARM includes references to several prototypes from this line with Snapdragon processors rather than those from Intel. Therefore, this prospect may now be more feasible than ever.

A revised Huawei Matebook E for 2019 has been on show in China, and it has revealed a surprising new component: A Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 SoC. The convertible computer comes with a 12-inch display and offers similar hardware specifications to 2018’s Matebook E, although that particular device was powered by a processor from Intel.

The VAIO A12 is the latest convertible laptop from the Japanese OEM. The A12 offers a bevy of ports and decent specifications, but the high price (€2300/£2000) may be prohibitive to many consumers. The VAIO A12 is available in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Sharp has thrown its hat into the foldable-device ring by displaying its own device built around a flexible OLED panel. This screen will apparently measure 6.18-inches and have a 1440 x 3040 resolution when part of a finished product. Interestingly, it takes a clamshell form-factor and folding action, which is also associated with no companies besides Motorola at this point.

A recent post made on Dell’s blog has revealed that the manufacturer has started to incorporate AMD’s Picasso range of mobile APUs into its Inspiron lineup. The Inspiron 15 5000 (5585) with a second-generation Ryzen CPU is now available to select on Dell’s online configurator, with shoppers being able to choose from three processor options.

The base model of the Microsoft Surface Book 2 has just received an additional choice among its configuration options. Microsoft has given potential purchasers the opportunity to have the device fitted with a quad-core 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor. Previously, shoppers had to make do with the dual-core i5-7300U CPU.

The direct successor of the original Chromebook Flip by Asus, namely the Chromebook Flip C434, was unveiled back in January, at the CES 2019 trade show in Las Vegas. Now, this Chrome OS convertible is finally available for purchase directly from Asus at US$569.99 (Intel Core m3-8100Y inside, with i5 and i7 variants to follow).

The new hinge system for convertible laptops was presented by Compal at this year's IF World Design Guide competition and it could soon be implemented in HP and Dell models. Thanks to a special locking mechanism, the touchscreen can be placed to the right of the keyboard, improving workflow for content creators that need access to keyboard shortcuts.

The 2019 Pavilion x360 15 in particular will be nearly 14 percent thinner (.94-inch to .81-inch) and 15 percent lighter (5.1 lbs to 4.3 lbs) than the 2017 Pavilion x360 15. A fingerprint reader, which has become standard on costlier models, will now be an option for the Pavilion laptops.

Google looks to be cutting back on its computing hardware efforts reports Business Insider. According to the report, dozens of engineers and program managers working on the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate have been told to seek other roles within the Alphabet parent company.

Eve-Tech has just had another flash sale for its Eve V device, with potential customers likely enticed by discounts ranging from US$300 all the way to US$600 for the i7-7Y75 variant. However, there seems to be a growing number of disgruntled buyers venting their frustration online over the company’s extreme tardiness in regard to shipping the crowdfunded convertible.

The upcoming mainstream Lenovo IdeaPad C340 family will be one of the first to offer Zen+ Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, and Ryzen 7 processor options that were initially unveiled at CES 2019. The AMD options should be comparable to Intel Whiskey Lake-U for at least $50 USD less when the Lenovo convertible launches next month.

Aside from the larger ThinkPads of the T series, Lenovo has announced two compact models of the X series as well. The Thinkpad X390 has a bigger display with a much smaller screen bezel than its predecessor, while the ThinkPad X390 Yoga has been redesigned with a much thinner chassis.

Lenovo could be joining Dell in offering Intel Ice Lake laptops as soon as June this year. Leaked datasheets for the ThinkPad X1 Yoga and ThinkPad X1 Carbon detail the inclusion of Core i5 and Core i7 Ice Lake processor options. The new models are slimmer and the transition to Ice Lake is expected to bring significant benefits to both compute and graphics performance.

Acer has released a report in which it puts its January 2019 revenues at about US$540 million. These figures have decreased by 23.7% compared to December 2018 and by 1.3% compared to January 2018. The company has cited the ongoing effects of the SoC shortage in explaining these changes.

Vivo's IQOO sub-brand is rumored to be dedicated to premium foldable devices. The leaked renders posted on Weibo show a outwards-folding device with very thin bezels. The unfolded state will get a display with a ratio close to 1:1, while the folded state will practically turn the device into a smartphone with front and rear screens.

The bestselling Dell XPS laptop manages to be faster, tougher, brighter, and more feature-packed than the new competing Asus ZenBook 15 without running any louder or shorter. In return, the Asus laptop is much lighter and even a bit smaller, but its advantages don't go much deeper.

Get a 17-inch gaming laptop with GTX 1060 graphics for $920 USD and more from now until the end of next week. The sale spans multiple retail outlets including Newegg, Office Depot, Staples, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target.

Microsoft has announced in a blog post that the Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, and Surface Studio 2 devices are now launching in 20 more markets worldwide. The tech giant also revealed that its Surface Headphones will be coming to eight new markets starting in March, including Canada, New Zealand, and Germany.

Frank Azor, the man in charge of the XPS series at Dell, has confirmed that there will not be a 32 GB variant of the XPS 15 9575 convertible. The executive recently tweeted the news that now seems to be the final nail in the coffin for this once expected device. The Dell XPS 15 9575 has been praised for its impressive build quality, bright display, and powerful performance.

The new Dell Inspiron 17 7786 can run 20 percent faster than the last generation Inspiron 17 7773 for the first 10 to 20 minutes before clock rates begin to dip dramatically. At that point, CPU performance stabilizes at 10 percent slower than the older Core i7-8550U CPU. This "delayed" throttling behavior is uncommon on many laptops.

Chinese PC maker Chuwi has launched its cheap Surface alternative on Kickstarter. Early birds can get a 25 percent discount on the Chuwi Ubook bringing the entry price for the Core m3 8GB model down to just US$349.

Pine64, the organization behind the Pine A64 SBC and Pinebook, is planning to release a new Linux-based laptop and a new tablet. Dubbed the Pinebook Pro and PineTab, respectively, the two devices aim to offer an open-source computing experience at a low price. The Pinebook Pro is priced at US $199 while the PineTab is priced at US $79.

These inexpensive and versatile subnotebooks will start as low as $250 USD with options for 1080p and 64 GB eMMC storage. Dual-band Intel 9560 wireless comes and USB Type-C charging will come standard similar to many mainstream Ultrabooks.

It's not a coincidence that the OLED XPS 15, Razer Blade 15, HP Spectre x360 15, and Lenovo Yoga C730 are all launching within 1 to 2 months of each other. These 15.6-inch laptops will likely source their 4K UHD OLED panels from the same provider.

Acer has introduced two new devices to its considerable line-up: the Chromebook 512 and the Chromebook Spin 512. The 12-inch laptops have been specifically designed with education in mind, and they both feature Intel processors and have displays with 3:2 aspect ratios. The Chromebook 512 comes in touch and non-touch options, while the Spin convertible comes with a dockable stylus.

The Core i5 configuration is hundreds of dollars cheaper than the Core i7 option and yet it performs faster in multi-threaded workloads. We highly recommend skipping over the i7 upgrade in favor of other options such as Sure View, WAN, or the brighter Outdoor Mode backlight.

The latest 11.6-inch Chromebook models from HP get a more rugged feel with rubber trims, Gorilla Glass and spill-resistant keyboards. In order to keep the prices at an affordable level for students, HP included Intel's Celeron N4000 / 4100 CPUs, up to 8 GB LPDDR4-2400 RAM and up to 64 GB eMMC storage.

Based on our experience with the $1000 Lenovo Yoga C630 powered by a Snapdragon 850, software reliability is still a huge hit or miss on Windows 10 Pro. Qualcomm's grand plans for Windows on Snapdragon is off to a slow and rough start.

Laptop OEMs like Emdoor are looking to get around the Intel 14 nm CPU shortage by adding AMD-powered lineups. Thus, for 2019, Emdoor will first release some entry-level SR218 models powered by the older Stoney Ridge CPUs. Later on, when the Zen 2 CPUs get released, Emdoor will also launch a more advance AP618 lineup powered by Athlon, Raven Ridge and the new Picasso CPUs.

Although most DPC latency-related complaints we heard so far from Dell XPS users involved the XPS 15 9570, it looks like the XPS 15 9575 convertible is also plagued by such problems. Frank Azor has recently confirmed that Dell is working on a fix for this problem and that he will keep everyone updated on the progress.