Windows

A series of exclusives, leaks, and rumours have recently pointed to some improvements in the compatibility and performance of Microsoft's xCloud game streaming. The PC client, touch support, and higher resolution would make it a strong GeForce Now and Stadia alternative.

With its Comet Lake octa-core processor and GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, the Aorus 15P XC is able to display all current games smoothly. The other aspects are promising too: 32 GB of RAM (dual channel mode), space for two NVMe SSDs, and a responsive display (FHD, IPS, 240 Hz).

According to a new report, ASUS plans to release a new series of mini-PCs based on Intel's Jasper Lake platform. ASUS is yet to officially unveil the PN41 series, but a retailer has listed the PN41 on its website, much like the PN51 that also leaked recently.

A South Korean news outlet suggests that Samsung and AMD's Radeon mobile GPU could debut alongside a laptop, instead of a smartphone. Samsung also plans on launching its first-ever laptop-grade SoC, the Exynos 2200, alongside it. The laptop in question could very likely be a Galaxy Book S successor.

Some of the 2021 ThinkPads have been redesigned by Lenovo. Not so the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 2 and T15 Gen 2: Both still use the same chassis as their predecessors. They are new on the inside though, as both will be offered with the newest Intel and AMD processors.

Lenovo has launched three new mobile workstations called the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 2, ThinkPad P14si Gen 2 and ThinkPad P15s Gen 2. They come with several enterprise-centric features such as an Nvidia (Quadro) T500 GPU, LTE connectivity, and a Smart Card Reader. ThinkPad P14si Gen 2 and P15s will be retail for US$1,389 in March 2021, and the ThinkPad P14si in May 2021 for US$1,169

Compact laptops with high CPU performance and business features represent a kind of niche on the laptop market. The Latitude 14 5411 combines these qualities, but it still has room for improvement.

In our review, the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 with the Tiger Lake CPU shows that Intel is getting back up on its feet. The decision to buy comes down to details, some of which speak against the AMD variant.

The latest full-year analysis of the PC market show that devices that run ChromeOS gained more and more market share during 2020 compared to those running macOS. Windows remained the market leader, although its share did fall compared to 2019. These changes might be related to the overwhelming demand for home-learning and -working solutions that marked the year just gone.

The BMAX X15 has a 15.6-inch display, an Intel Celeron N4120 processor and 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. The budget laptop has an M.2280 slot too, should you wish to add more storage. The BMAX X15 retails for under US$330 on AliExpress and Amazon.

Lenovo ThinkPads are among the laptops that defy the trend of all-metal cases. Usually, a mix of different high-performance plastics with magnesium and aluminum is used. Magnesium is also used in the Lenovo ThinkPad T15p, but surprisingly, Lenovo has made most of the case of this 2,000-Euro (~$2,424) laptop out of simple ABS plastic.

Some first alleged specs of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 laptops have been revealed. It seems buyers can expect to find an OLED screen in their new Galaxy Book Pro while there will be a choice of Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors. The Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360 will be Windows-based devices.

With the PICO-TGU4, AAEON has created a compact single-board computer based on Intel's Tiger Lake platform. The PICO-TGU4 also offers up to 32 GB of RAM and a good selection of I/O, including 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, despite its size.

Samsung and Microsoft's efforts to form a joint Android/Windows ecosystem to rival that of Apple's has reached a potentially critical stage. The OEMs are working to bring Quick Share (an AirDrop counterpart found on Galaxy-series smartphones) to PCs. Samsung's Free service is also to arrive on Windows 10 soon, as is a new app called "O".

The long-awaited dark theme for the Google Search webpage on Windows or macOS is reportedly now in A/B testing. This means some users may have already seen this update, which consists of an automatic color-scheme change in accordance with the system theme. This can help address preparing for the shock of that ever-present bright page that clashes with an otherwise eye-friendly UI.

LG introduced the latest, Tiger Lake-powered versions of its ultra-thin and light Gram laptops at CES 2021. Now, they have started to become available to order via the OEM's US website. The SKUs that can be purchased now are some of their 14-, 16- and 17-inch variants, with their new 2-in-1 siblings to follow in March 2021.

Apple was a loyal customer of Intel for 15 years, but the former has now pivoted to using in-house processors. Now Intel has looked re-ignite the old Mac vs PC debate in its latest adverts, where it claims Windows laptops are superior to Apple MacBooks for gamers and content creators.

Commell has added two high-performance single-board computers (SBCs) to its range, both based on an Intel Core i7-1185G7E. The company has designed the SBCs for those who want to build small embedded systems for professional use.

The Teclast F7 Air is a well-built MacBook 12 clone that suffers from weak hardware, short battery life, and a lackluster screen. If all you want is a beautiful laptop for less than $500, the F7 Air fits the bill. Just be prepared to test your patience.

Recently, one of the feet on our Surface Laptop 3 fell off. While Microsoft does not sell replacements on its web store, it offers them in all colours through another channel. For a small fee, you could give your Surface Laptop 3 a fresh set of feet, even outside of warranty.

The brand-new ThinkPad X1 Nano only tips the scale at little more than 900 grams. But it is not only the lightest ThinkPad, it is also the first model to return to 16:10 panels. However, Lenovo had to make some compromises to realize such a compact device, which is apparent by the limited number of ports and the reduced key travel.

The latest hotfix for Cyberpunk 2077 has arrived, hot on the heels of Hotfix 1.11. The latest hotfix fixes a critical vulnerability for Cyberpunk 2077 that could have been used to execute remote code on your PC.

The MSI Alpha 17 with an AMD CPU and GPU is worth a closer look for price-conscious laptop gamers. Not only is the price right but also the performance of the 17-inch gaming laptop.

Microsoft is moving to uninstall its Edge Legacy browser from Windows 10 PCs with April’s Windows 10 Update Tuesday release. For users that haven’t already updated to the new Chromium-based version of the Edge browser, the same update will automatically install it.

Lenovo announced that the Legion 5 Pro will be updated in 2021 with Ryzen 5000 silicon, RTX 30-series graphics and a 16:10 display. A Google-cached product specs reference let slip by the company ahead of its March release seems to confirm this, as well as how much RAM and storage space the machine can support.

Always the same basic model, always an upgrade to the newest CPU generation. The advantages the modern hardware has to offer are usually marginal for generic office notebooks.

The Summit E15 is supposed to make life difficult for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme and Dell XPS 15 top dogs. To do this, MSI uses the most current technology: Tiger Lake, Turing, USB 4.0, Thunderbolt 4, and PCI Express 4.

The ThinkPad X1 series has already been updated by Lenovo, but not the regular T & X series ThinkPad laptops. A listing at the TCO certification site reveals the first details about the upcoming ThinkPads: The X13 Gen 2 adopts the taller 16:10 aspect ratio, like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The bigger T series meanwhile continues to use wider 16:9 screens.

Stealth has unveiled its latest robust machine, which is also waterproof. The WPC-905 mini-PC runs silently too and comes in four processor configurations. The Stealth WPC-905 starts at US$3,195, which is extraordinarily expensive by mini-PC standards.

Simply called "iCloud Passwords," the new Google Chrome extension allows its users to use the same Safari passwords that they created on their Apple device with Chrome on Windows. Besides, iCloud Passwords also saves passwords created with Google Chrome on Windows to the iCloud Keychain for later use on Apple devices.

For those who often find themselves facing way too many tabs on their tab bar, Vivaldi 3.6 comes with a second one. In addition to two-level tab stacks, the latest update for this browser also includes split-screen view and tree-style view (via the Tab Tiling and Window Panel features).

With the Hi10 XR, Chuwi offers a convertible that supports pen input and a detachable keyboard. Its Celeron N4120 processor should keep things ticking over too, as should its 6 GB of RAM.

Chuwi has unveiled another laptop following the HeroBook Pro Plus release last week. The company has called its latest laptop the HeroBook Plus, which it equips with plenty of RAM and an outdated processor. The 15.6-inch laptop retails for US$439.

Shortly after the CES, a Lenovo manager has shared some interesting information in an interview. Especially interesting: In the future, Lenovo ThinkPad laptops will be equipped with better webcams.

With the W12, Pipo combines a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 chipset, up to 8 GB of RAM and a 37 Wh battery in a 2-in-1 form factor. The device has a high-resolution 3:2 display and up to 8 GB of RAM.

TOPTON has released a new mini-PC, and one that it has designed to impress with its high performance, despite its compact dimensions. The mini-PC comes with up to an AMD Ryzen 5 3400GE, but other processors are available. The device supports multiple SSDs, too.

Lenovo updates the inexpensive ThinkPad L series without a big announcement. Both the new Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 and ThinkPad L15 Gen 2 are optimized for enterprise customers. They keep the same design as their predecessors, but contain the new Intel Tiger Lake chips.

Dell does without the "slim", "super light", and "mobile" marketing phrases for the Latitude 15 5511, but it presents the business laptop as a practical work machine in return.

A lot of Intel’s hopes for 2021 are pinned on Tiger Lake-H. After all, Intel has to put something up against the Ryzen 5000 CPUs. The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 2 comes with only a Tiger Lake-UP3 chip. However, it can draw up to 35 watts of power for a significant period of time, showing the world what a Tiger Lake chip can achieve with such a high TDP.