Windows

XDO Tech's Pantera Pico PC may be one of the best-known mini-PCs of recent days, thanks to its highly successful Kickstarter campaign. This crowdfunding drive has now closed, having raised "over 4800%" of its original its availability has shifted to InDemand on Indiegogo, starting at ~US$160 on this platform.

The new FastConnect chips from Qualcomm simultaneously harness two separate bands and can thus lower latency and jitter by a factor of four compared to Wi-Fi 6 solutions that only connect via a single band. This technology can benefit online gaming and live communication applications. It is currently offered on select devices from Acer and Lenovo powered by Windows 11.

Razer has refreshed the Blade 15 Advanced with more configurations. The company has cut the price of the Razer Book 13 by US$200 too, bringing the machine down to US$999.99 for the cheapest model. All new configurations ship with Windows 11, but Windows 10 also remains an option.

Asus has announced that the VivoBook 15 OLED (or K513 OLED) is now available to Indian customers. It comes with a choice of 2 11th-gen Intel processors and either SSD or dual HDD/SSD storage. Its premium selling-point of a display is the FHD Pantone-validated panel with which it originally launched.

Huawei introduced the MateBook 16 as its first-ever 16-inch 3:2 display laptop in May 2021. However, it has only been available on the Chinese market since then. Now, however, the up-to-Ryzen 7 5800H device is now officially coming to Europe soon.

Today (October 5, 2021), ADATA has made its latest 15.6-inch XPG XENIA-series laptop official. The 15 KC upgrades to an 11th-gen Intel processor and RTX 3000 graphics. Being an XPG, it gets first-party "high-performance" DDR4 RAM and SSD storage.

Insiders have noticed a few show-stopping bugs with Windows 11, which is now officially available for all eligible PCs. Users have noticed that virtualization-based security, which will be enabled by default in all OEM PCs, can have a drastic impact on frame rates in games. Also being observed is a File Explorer memory leak bug in which closing the Explorer windows does not release back the allocated memory.

Microsoft is preparing Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 for release on October 5 on Windows and macOS devices for business, personal and student customers. Office 2021 will inherit many of the existing components from Microsoft 365 subscription (formerly Office 365) and both will be updated with new features in time for Windows 11.

A new rumour from South Korea suggests that Microsoft and AMD are developing an Arm processor for laptops. It will use Cortex-X1 CPU cores, an AMD mRDNA2 GPU with 8CUs, and an Exynos 5G modem. The mystery SoC will be fabbed on TSMC's 5nm node.

The new Windows 11 roster includes three Xiaoxin Air 14 Plus SKUs and another three Xiaoxin Pro 14 SKUs with a mix of Intel Tiger Lake and AMD Ryzen 5000 U/H processors, plus a new Yoga 13s model that is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600U APU. All models are under $900, with the most affordable being the Xiaoxin Air 14 Plus Ryzen 5 5600U priced at $680, and the most expensive being the Xiaoxin Air 14 Plus Intel version with Nvidia MX450 dGPU priced at $850.

Sony has announced the WF-C500 as its latest affordable wireless earbuds. They feature many of the OEM's audio-enhancement properties and technologies, although active noise cancellation (ANC) is not among them. However, the new accessories do feature some official ingress-protection, fast-pairing and single-bud use.

The WH-XB910Ns are the latest wireless headphones from the audio giant Sony. They are also the newest accessories to bear the brand's EXTRA BASS trademark, rated for what it says on the tin. The new over-ears are also equipped with digital noise cancellation, 360 Reality Audio and voice assistant support.

Honor has made good on some earlier teasers with a launch for the new MagicBook 16 series, with an up-to-date Ryzen 7 platform and 144Hz displays. They have been joined with a less expected variant: the V 14. It will now join the first wave of laptops to ship with Windows 11, and will do so with a 2K display and Tiger Lake-H35 processors.

Lenovo has revealed its plans to launch five new laptops for the Chinese market on September 28. The notebooks will operate on Windows 11 and there will be a choice between AMD Ryzen and Intel Core processors for buyers. Four of the laptops are from the Xiaoxin line and there is also one SKU from the Yoga range.

The Surface Laptop Studio looks portly, with its recessed underside protruding from what would have been a thin 14.4-inch laptop. However, hands-on pictures have set the record straight by confirming that the Surface Laptop Studio is no thicker or taller than the Surface Book 3.

Brydge is a well-known name in third-party keyboard docks for high-end tablets. As such, one of its latest products is for the freshly-launched Surface Pro 8. Alternatively, the new Stone Pro TB4 is compatible with it and any other device with at least 1 Thunderbolt 4 port.

Microsoft has refreshed the Surface Go with a third-generation model. The Surface Go 3 is a Surface Go 2 in all but name though, unless you purchase the US$679.99 version with a Core i3-10100Y processor. The price quickly rises to nearly US$800 with a Type Cover and Surface Pen, however.

Microsoft has unveiled the Surface Pro 8, a much thinner and higher specification model than the Surface Pro 7. The Surface Pro 8 has a 13-inch display, a 120 Hz display, Thunderbolt 4 support and Tiger Lake processors.

The Surface Laptop Studio is Microsoft's most exciting device in years, with a radically different design and a 120 Hz display. The 14.4-inch machine includes Tiger Lake-H35 processors too, but most people must wait until 'early 2022' before they can order it.

The Nokia McLaren may have never launched, but someone is selling a prototype on eBay for US$899. The working prototype is fully functional and is an example of Nokia's revolutionary 3D touch hover system, which no smartphone has ever replicated.

The story of AMD CPUs in Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops is a story of inequality. AMD systems were disadvantaged from the beginning, particularly in the displays. Finally Lenovo has remedied this disparity, so there's not much missing anymore until all the features are the same.

Microsoft has re-released the PC Health Check app, allowing people to check if their machines meet Windows 11 requirements. It appears as though Microsoft has dropped the requirement to have a 9-inch or larger display though, opening the OS to smaller devices like the ONEXPLAYER and AYA NEO.

HP has revealed a new All-in-One Desktop PC, the HP Envy 34. Not only does the machine feature a 21:9 and 2,160p display, but it also has an Intel Core i9 desktop processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU. The Envy 34 inch All-in-One Desktop PC starts from US$1,999.

Lenovo has released a new teaser for a laptop it calls the Yoga 16s 2022. The OEM does not say much more about the device, besides to hint that it might be ideal for creators. However, it is apparent from its new trailer that it runs Windows 11 and has a slim and light, thin-bezel design.

GPD has started teasing its next compact laptop, the Pocket 3. The machine features some strange design decisions, including a trackpad that cuts into the keyboard area. The Pocket 3 will have a modular design, however.

Microsoft has announced that Office 2021 will be released at the same time as Windows 11, and not just for its latest operating system. Office 2021 will be available without needing to pay a monthly subscription, too.

According to a leak, Microsoft has settled on a US$799 starting price for the Surface Pro 8. Supposedly, a Chinese retailer has leaked numerous Surface Pro 8 details too, including a 13-inch display, a 120 Hz refresh rate and the presence of Thunderbolt 4 ports.

Microsoft is projected to have a third-gen Surface Go ready for launch. This putative 2-in-1 has now leaked again, with virtually complete specs and a full set of renders this time. They paint the device as a very iterative update with Intel Amber Lake processors, although it might be more portable than its predecessor.

Microsoft could be internally testing the Windows Subsystem for Android on a variety of x86 and ARM hardware as evidenced by new Geekbench entries. The ARM results show scores equivalent to that of a Snapdragon 865 while we see some performance regression on x86 hardware, which is likely using Intel's Bridge Technology. A listing of the Amazon Appstore Preview has also popped up on the Microsoft Store.

MSI has unveiled a limited version of the Creator Z16 in collaboration with Hiroshi Fujiwara. The Creator Z16 Hiroshi Fujiwara Limited Edition features an AUO AmLED display that delivers mini LED backlights, a peak 1,000 nit brightness and a 165 Hz refresh rate.

Microsoft has pushed a new change to Windows 11 with Insider Preview Build 22000.194, available to machines on the Beta channel. The change requires that all Virtual Machines require TPM 2.0 to function at all, bringing them in line with physical Windows 11 installations.

Microsoft has commenced rolling out its new passwordless accounts feature. Over the coming weeks, users will be able to sign in using its Authenticator app which also dramatically increases user account security.

Available for both desktop and mobile users, Vivaldi 4.2 includes a few interesting new features and improvements, such as the ability to translate text on a web page privately, URL sharing via QR codes, scrollable web panel buttons, Neeva as a new search option, all alongside the usual set of unseen tweaks and fixes.

Microsoft has released another Windows 11 Insider Preview Build as it works towards next year's stable update. Insider Preview Build 22458 contains more bugs than it does fixes and no real new features. There is no new build for Beta channel users today, either.

Honor has unveiled refreshed versions of the MagicBook 14 and MagicBook 15, two relatively inexpensive laptops. The MagicBook 14 and MagicBook 15 retain the designs of their predecessors but gain AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processors. Both machines come with 512 GB of storage and at least 8 GB of RAM.

Thanks to the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and the very powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, Lenovo's Legion 5 15 offers plenty of performance. Gamers will also appreciate the responsive 165 Hz display and multi-zone keyboard illumination, but there are no additional gaming features.

Microsoft has certified new Surface hardware with the FCC before its September 22 launch event. The company is expected to unveil everything from a new Surface Book to a new Surface Pro, along with a Surface Duo 2 for good measure.

Windows 11 will ship on October 5, but support is not forthcoming for Apple Silicon hardware. Instead, Microsoft treats Apple M1 devices as an 'unsupported scenario' both for Boot Camp and Parallels.

Microsoft's September 22 event is expected to be packed with new Surface hardware, from the Surface Book 4, to the Surface Duo 2 and the Surface Go 3. Reportedly, a new Surface Pro X and a Surface Pro 8 are arriving, too.

Instead of just equipping the GE 76 Raider 11UH with a new CPU, MSI has also introduced small innovations that aren't immediately noticeable.

With Windows 11's shipping date right around the corner, Microsoft has turned its attention to next year's update. The company still has time to push out another Windows 11 21H2 build though, even if it only addresses two bugs from last week's build.

Some of the new improvements include better CPU and RAM prioritisation for foreground apps that can also lead to expanded battery life on laptops, faster resume from sleep mode, reduced storage footprint with non-critical apps that can install on demand, DCH drivers that reduce the occurrence of crashes and 40% lighter updates.