Ultrabook

A Geekbench score of the Intel Core i7-1065G7 'Ice Lake' running on the HP Spectre x360 convertible laptop is now available and seems to indicate very strong single-core performance that can rival processors much higher TDP such as the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. Intel's 10nm could offer a significant advantage over AMD at least in the laptop segment with even more improved IPCs.

If you rely on NumPad and Arrow keys, then you've probably already discovered that these keys are almost always smaller than the main QWERTY keys on most laptops. The resulting experience is noticeably spongier, more cramped, and usually a pain to use when compared to a proper desktop keyboard. Large 17.3-inch laptops are especially guilty of these smaller keys despite having the space for full-size key caps.

The latest study from the cellular-data research body Opensignal reports that Verizon has the most widespread 4G services in the US (at 94.8% coverage). However, T-Mobile was associated with the best upload and download experiences on the same network. This new report also claims that all carriers included are improving in terms of these mobile download speeds.

Lenovo's newest high-end ThinkPad laptop, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme 2019, is now available in the USA. Prices for the Dell XPS 15 competitor start at $2,049 for the cheapest pre-configured model available – a hefty base-price, though it will likely fall considerably in the near future with the introduction of discounts & more configuration options.

The L3 memory integration was recently hinted by a series of 01.org test results checking for L3 cache hits/misses on an upcoming Snow Ridge ULV chip. Snow Ridge and Lakefield are both codenames for next gen Atom CPU families expected to launch in late 2019. These will integrate the new Foveros 3D packaging for hybrid architectures that combine desktop-grade cores with ULV ones.

You could say Tim Cook a highly effective CEO, or you could say he is a world champion penny pincher. Under Cook, Apple has found every way it can to save a few cents here and there to increase or preserve profit margins and the latest device to get the Tim Cook penny pinching treatment is the just refreshed MacBook Air.

With the 2019 generation of ThinkPad laptops, the PC manufacturer Lenovo has stopped offering any models with external, hot-swappable batteries. Instead, all ThinkPads feature a single internal battery now – a development that is now lamented by fans and a relatively well known Youtuber.

From July 15 to July 16, these already cheap Chuwi devices will be even cheaper from $111 to $399 as part of Amazon Prime Day. Chuwi is notable for offering very inexpensive laptops and tablets that tend to work best as secondary or backup PCs.

An HP facepalm. Of the four laptops we've tested so far with AMD's latest Zen+ CPU, the two HP models perform noticeably slower than the two Lenovo models because of better temperature and clock rate management on the latter systems according to our own findings.

Dell has been promoting its upcoming XPS 13 2-in-1 refresh on YouTube, lifting the lid on its new cooling system. While the company had previously announced that the convertible would feature vaper chamber and GORE cooling, the new video explains the use of the several slits adorning its bottom case. An innovative solution or an eyesore?

It hasn't been long that Dell's latest XPS 15 7590 flagship have arrived in the hands of consumers, but there already seem to be reports of uneven and unplayable performance when gaming due to thermal issues.

The latest market analysis indicates that the volume of eSIM-enabled device shipments reached 384 million last year. The resulting projections suggest that this figure will grow to about 2 billion over the next 6 years. Smartphones will account for the vast majority of the units in question.

We've already posted a few articles about Chuwi's LapBook plus, a $439 USD budget laptop that distinguishes itself with a 15.6-inch 4K HDR 100% SRGB display and unibody metal build. There's a reason why Chinese budget laptops are able to have high-spec panels in them suddenly, however, and it's related to OLED and Chinese subsidies.

Chuwi shows it's possible to offer a similar 4K UHD visual experience as a big name brand for a fraction of the price. You'll just have to sacrifice almost everything else along the way.

After being MIA for a couple of years, both the professional Portege X30 and Tecra X40 business laptops will be available once again in the U.S. later this year. Changes will be largely internal including to move to Whiskey Lake-U and Wi-Fi 6 to be more competitive in a market dominated by Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

VAIO has launched its latest ultraportable in its home market of Japan. The new SX12 is one of the lightest 12.5-inch Windows notebooks on the market weighing in at under two pounds, or just 888 grams.

You are going to start seeing articles and videos cleverly implying educated conclusions about Dell's recently released XPS 15 7590. Don't be fooled into thinking they are anything other than first-impressions.

The latest report projects that the power bank market will be worth US$29.5 billion in the next 5 years. It indicates that the growth in demand for devices such as smartphones drive this industry. In addition, it is possible that different forms of energy storage (such as hydrogen as opposed to lithium-ion batteries) may influence this market in the near future.

A feature that was once $1500+ in 2018 can now be had on a laptop just half the price. The Asus VivoBook S15 S532 offers two screens to boost productivity and multimedia playback while supporting specialized apps and hotkeys to enhance the user experience.

The US and Chinese presidents have met at the latest G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. As a result, a ceasefire in the trade war between the two nations has been called. Accordingly, it has been agreed that Huawei can conduct certain amounts of business with US companies again.

Google has reached out to SwiftKey users, informing them that the app’s normal ability to predict text while typing based on Gmail data will be suspended soon. This measure is to come into effect starting from July 15, 2019. Then again, this may not be necessary should the SwiftKey developers comply with Google’s latest privacy policies.

June 27 Update: Added comment in response to Razer's communications with NBC. We recently noted in our 2019 Razer Blade Pro review that its AC adapter hit the hottest temperature we've yet to measure on a gaming notebook, 67C. Based on historical evidence from Razer's 2017-2018 chargers melting or catching fire and the fact that the 2019 Razer Blade Pro's adapter is even hotter, I believe it may be prudent for the Singapore-based company to consider a recall — at least perhaps for adapters from their 2017-2018 Blade and Blade Pro systems.

Starting July 1st, Dell will be rolling out deals for its Inspiron, XPS, Alienware, Vostro, Precision, and G Series of PCs to piggy back on the success of Amazon Prime Day. Many of the price cuts are for older models in order to make room for the new models revealed at Computex 2019.

Calculator for Windows 10 was placed on the open-source repository GitHub some months ago. Now, the developer Jérôme Laban has released iOS, Android and WebAssembly ports via the Uno platform. Therefore, nearly anyone with any device can enjoy the versatile Fluent Design app.

The Sharkoon Gaming DAC Pro S is a new product to which any headset with a 3.5mm jack can connect. It also has a USB type A interface to link the same to a PC. This may confer an improvement on the audio coming through the DAC.

Microsoft looks set to bring a WoA Surface to market powered by Qualcomm’s specialized Snapdraon 8cx SoC. The device is said be going by the codename Excalibur internally and could feature on a version of the Surface Pro 7.

Back in January, Lenovo announced their newest generation of high end ThinkPad X1 laptops for a summer release. As promised back then, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga 2019 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2019 are now available.

CHUWI has announced that it will be adding the option to upgrade to 16GB of RAM as rewards to its Indiegogo campaign for the Minibook. These SKUs will have the same Intel m3-8100Y SoC as the UMPC's current higher-end version. The first 50 of these are to cost US$10 more than their 8GB counterparts.

We are reviewing the Lenovo ThinkPad T590 at the moment. Having just reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad T490, we used this opportunity to compare both in terms of design & size.

Microsoft is now selling a cheaper version of the Surface Book 2 15. The new model swaps the Core i7 CPU for a Core i5 and drops the dedicated GTX 1060 GPU. However, at $2000, the Core i5 Surface Book 2 15 is hardly a bargain considering the Core i7/GTX 1060 model is a mere $200 more.

There has been an update in regard to the release schedule for Dell’s new XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 convertible. It was originally expected to be made available on July 10, but it seems potential purchasers will have to wait a bit longer to get their hands on the upgraded device. The XPS 13 7390 should be released in late July or early August.

Asus has introduced refreshes of the Vivobook 14 and Vivobook 15 in the Indian market. Both the Vivobooks feature Intel Whiskey Lake processors and offer NVIDIA GeForce MX230/MX250 GPU options as well. A backlit keyboard and a Windows Hello-compliant fingerprint reader are also in the offing for a reasonable entry price.

It appears GPD has gone into marketing overdrive in preparation for its crowdfunding campaign for the GPD P2 Max pocket-sized laptop. The Chinese manufacturer is now calling the P2 Max the “world’s smallest Ultrabook” and is comparing it favorably with some of the industry’s major players. The company has also announced there will be a third variant that will come with a 1 TB SSD.

Semiconductors are commonly used in energy transfer for electronics and other related fields. The current state of the art are applications of gallium nitride or silicon carbide rather than conventional markets. The potential improvements and advancements to be gained from this transition could drive their market's worth to as much as US$3 billion by 2025.

Huntkey is known as a maker of power bricks and other similar accessories. However, it also makes other devices, monitors included. Its latest model is the X2471C, which is a 1080p, 144-hertz (Hz) 23.6-inch 1800R-curved panel. This model has a white housing, 2 HDMI ports and 1 Display Port.

The Dell XPS 15 7590 laptop is getting closer to finally being in the eager hands of expectant buyers. According to a recent tweet from XPS chief Frank Azor, shipments of the device should begin in the first week of July, although no exact timeline has yet been proffered. The new laptops should have a starting price of US$999.99.

Huawei's losses could be your gain if you're in the market for a high-end Ultrabook at low-end prices. For only two weeks, both the Core i5 MateBook 13 and Core i7/MX150 MateBook X Pro will each be $200 off.

The connectivity-equipment maker Cable Matters has released a new docking station that can expand a MacBook Pro's output by up to 2x 4K at 60Hz via HDMI. This Dual-Input USB-C accessory can also support 80W Power Delivery (PD) charging and read microSD/UHS-II SD cards. It is available at US$189.99 per docking station.

Huawei has indefinitely postponed the launch of its latest MateBooks confirming the rumors Notebookcheck exclusively reported on during Computex. At the time, we learnt that Huawei had cancelled an order for 16-inch notebook panels and the revelation that it has officially cancelled its launch plans for the CES Asia 2019 in Shanghai this week looks to be the outcome.

Apple's 2019 MacBook Pros integrate Intel's latest 8-core/16-thread Core i9 CPUs, which add 2 more cores over the 2018 version. Those additional cores should mean higher temperatures and lower clockspeeds compared to the previous generation, yet a recent series of tests by well-known YouTube Channel Linus Tech Tips found some very surprising results.