Windows

Without an huge announcement, Lenovo has released two new ThinkPads. It is understandable that Lenovo did not kick up a fuss about these new laptops: The Lenovo ThinkPad L490 and ThinkPad L590 are mostly targeting companies and they do not have many new features compared with their predecessors.

The NVIDIA "Something super is coming..." video has been watched over 325,000 times in just over two weeks. Unfortunately, multiple sources have pointed towards the Super series being little more than a minor RTX 20 series refresh.

The world's first laptop PC with a proximity sensor makes Windows Hello even easier to use. The Dell-exclusive feature lets you initiate Windows Hello by simply walking in front of your laptop instead of needing to push a key to wake the system.

The latest Insider's Preview version of Windows 10 (Build 18912) has updated from 19H1 to 20H1. This preliminary OS fixes some bugs found in its predecessor, but may also be associated with some new ones. It also adds a new ability for Windows Narrator: the ability to read and relay the URLs behind click me-type links.

With the introduction of the Snapdragon 7cx, Qualcomm intends to offer a solid alternative for Intel's Core i3 Whiskey Lake CPUs, targeting budget laptops in the US$300-800 range. The new SoC would also offer doubled power efficiency thanks to its 7 nm fabrication process, which would translate into up to 15-20 hours of battery life.

Sound familiar, anyone? Just over a month ago Dell reported that addressing the removal of S3 sleep was next on its agenda for the XPS 15 9570. Disappointingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, the company has seemingly u-turned on this promise.

Dell has not yet eliminated the DPC latency issues that have been affecting the XPS 15 9570, but it has promised that they will not be present on its successor, the XPS 15 7590.

During Computex 2019 we had a chance to take a look at two new barebones from Clevo that may end up at resellers like Schenker or Eurocom. The Clevo NB60TA is a brand-new 16.1-inch Full HD multimedia laptop with a desktop CPU and a mobile GTX 1650, while the existing PB50RD is now also available with a new 4K OLED panel from Samsung.

It has been a long time coming, but a final version of the Smach Z will apparently be at E3 2019. The conference, hosted at the LA Convention Center between June 11 and 13, will be the first opportunity to see the much delayed handheld console in the flesh. The Smach Z is still available to pre-order with prices currently starting at US$629.10.

Sources within Microsoft indicate that the company has joined Asus, HP and Lenovo in creating a laptop/tablet hybrid device and has released teaser images to some staff. The new device will run on Microsoft’s competitor to Chrome and was leaked to coincide with Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference.

The latest Notebook 7 slim laptops from Samsung should go head to head with Huawei's MateBook models as value-oriented alternatives for Apple's MacBook Pro and Microsoft's Surface. The Notebook 7 lineup features configurations with gen 8 Intel CPUs, up to 16 GB of RAM, up to GeForce MX250 and GTX 1650 GPUs and thin bezel 1080p displays.

Some people might look at the death of Moore's Law, Intel's 10nm troubles, and Nvidia's highly resistible 2019 mobile-RTX lineup and think that the notebook business is in trouble. I think it might be the best thing that's happened to the industry in years.

The video-game industry could accrue as much as US$179.1 billion by 2024. This is in line with a new market-research report on the subject. This valuation may be driven by conventional platforms such as mobile devices, PCs and consoles; however, VR and AR are also likely to have an increasingly large influence on the space.

The newest generation of mobile workstations from Lenovo, the Lenovo ThinkPad P73 and ThinkPad P53, have leaked ahead of their official announcement. The smaller Lenovo ThinkPad P53 receives a lot of upgrades, including an OLED screen and a much faster Quadro GPU.

Today, (May 31, 2019) Creative unveils a new partnership with the Taiwanese PC-smiths Clevo. It will involve the integration of Super X-Fi technology into this manufacturer's notebooks in the future. Therefore, this platform will focus on headphone audio in Clevo machines.

A new online listing has revealed that One-Netbook is bringing a third version of the One Mix 3 to market this summer. The pricier model will feature a more powerful processor and a higher clocked GPU. It appears that the One Mix 3s will not come with the CPU that we previously thought it would though.

Microsoft's first European flagship store has been a long time coming. Announced almost 2 years ago, the Redmond-based company has finally published an opening date for its London store. Oh, and a lovely illustration of the storefront too.

In a recent Computex keynote, Microsoft presented its vision for a future Windows version that would include features like seamless updates, increased security, always-connected state via 5G, sustained performance, expanded cloud connectivity, A.I. integration, more form factors (including foldable devices), plus controls via pen, touch and eye tracking.

Nvidia Studio is an initiative by which laptops augment creator-level hardware with a new suite of software that boosts performance and reliability in tasks such as video editing or ray tracing-powered design. Studio also amounts to a new classification for notebooks that meet appropriate spec requirements. It has been presented at Computex with the help of some world-class artists.

War Thunder 1.89 "Imperial Navy" comes with a full naval tech tree for Japan, a first — premium, as usual — helicopter for the same nation, a few new ground vehicles — the long-awaited French Leclerc tank is one of them — and planes for most nations, two new locations, reworked clouds, and more.

Yesterday, Xiaomi's high-value sub-brand, Redmi, unveiled its first notebook. The RedmiBook 14 is a 14-inch notebook that offers a fine package for those looking for a sleek, well-designed laptop with excellent specifications and great bang for the buck.

Chuwi has announced the pricing of its upcoming MiniBook on Twitter, and it is lower than expected. Two versions of the 8.0-inch convertible mini laptop will arrive at launch, which will be available to order on Indiegogo from June 19.

MSI has announced a new entrant to its workstation lineup, the WP65. The WP65 mobile workstation is powered by a 9th gen Intel Core i7 processor and the just announced NVIDIA Quadro P620 graphics. The WP65 is certified by independent ISVs for workstation programs and from the looks of it, seems to be one of the more affordable workstation laptops.

Dell has finally taken wraps of the XPS 15 7590 at Computex 2019. The XPS 15 7590 is a relatively minor refresh to last year's XPS 15 9570 but users now have the option of choosing a 4K OLED display that covers 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. Other improvements include the expected upgrades to Intel 9th gen 45W Coffee Lake-H CPUs, NVIDIA GTX 1650 graphics, and a long awaited proper webcam placement.

Update: Prices and availability now online. The new look is not just sharper and sleeker, but also cooler with a special focus on improved ventilation and display quality. Expect both white and black color options at launch.

The upcoming 17.3-inch system will be just 0.2 inches thicker and 0.8 pounds heavier than the new Aero 15 with a different set of display options. Most core configurable options will be the same between them.

HP is set to release a new all-in-one (AIO) for 2019: a modular one. The Mini-in-One 24 Display looks like just another 1080p monitor. However, it has an enclosure at the back into which certain HP Mini desktops can be slotted. The Display can then use this PC's I/O as its own.

Asus has a lot of new high-powered hardware to show off at Computex this year. But what is all that without the display tech to match? The 240Hz ROG Strix Scar III and Hero III are on show at the conference, as are some of the OEM's even newer, faster notebook displays.

Redmi has announced that its first notebook, most likely to be a 14-inch thin & light model, will be released tomorrow (May 28, 2019). This event will also see the launch of the K20 series of smartphones. The larger device is thought to offer an IPS FHD display with up to 8GB of RAM.

At Computex 2019, Asus unveiled its ZenBook Duo lineup of notebooks featuring a secondary display called ScreenPad Plus. The ZenBook Pro Duo offers dual-4K touchscreeens for enhanced productivity and multitasking along with powerful Core i9/Core i7 CPU options and RTX 2060 graphics. Also on offer is the smaller ZenBook Duo featuring dual-FHD touchscreens and a GeForce MX250 GPU.

Lenovo and Qualcomm have announced 'Project Limitless', a collaborative effort to build 'Always On, Always Connected PCs' based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx 5G Compute Platform. Lenovo and Qualcomm demonstrated a near-final version of a laptop based on the Snapdragon 8cx that also bundles in the Snapdragon X55 5G modem. The first such notebooks are expected to be available sometime in early 2020.

Qualcomm demonstrated some of the advantages of the new 7W passively cooled Snapdragon 8cx over Intel's 15W Core i5-8250U by running a few benchmarks in PCMark 10 and 3DMark. The Snapdragon 8cx posted overall better scores than the 8250U in CPU and GPU tests along with significant improvements to battery life compared to the 8250U.

At the time that Huawei was placed on the US government's Entity List last week, Huawei is thought to have built enough supplied of key components to last up to 12 months. The report comes via the Nikkei Asian Review that says Huawei told suppliers that it wanted to build up a year's worth of inventory to help cushion the impact of the US-China trade war.

The news for Huawei seems to be getting worse by the day, as if that was even possible. In the latest blow to the company, the SD Association has blocked the ability for Huawei to offer phones or devices featuring SD or microSD card slot.

Due to their small footprint, the new Intel NUC 8 Mainstream-G mini PCs have a limited number of upgradeable components. These models integrate Intel's 15 W i7-8565U and i5-8265U quad-core CPUs, but the 8 GB of LPDDR3-1866 RAM and the Radeon RX 540X GPU are soldered. There are variants with Intel Optane Memory, SSD + HDD storage combos, plus kits that come without any storage or OS.

Although the deal does not cover the Steam or console versions of the game, those interested in taking RiME for a spin on their Windows PCs can grab it for free from the Epic Games Store. This offer will expire on May 30, when City of Brass will replace it as a new Epic Games Store freebie.

Controversial security researcher SandboxEscaper revealed three zero-day exploits that are still not patched in the latest May update for Windows 10. The researcher details how attackers can gain complete access of a Windows 10 system through flaws in the Windows Error Reporting service, the Windows Task Scheduler and Internet Explorer 11, and promised to unveil two more exploits soon.

Ever fancied having a small home server? Well now you can with the NODE Mini Server V2. Caution: soldering skills required.

Released for Windows in September 2014 and for macOS in February 2015, The Sims 4 received mixed reviews from both the press and the general public. Now, anyone can enjoy it for free thanks to Origin's generosity. Sadly, only the Windows and macOS variants of the game are part of this deal which will last until May 28.

All paths point to foldable. Samsung, Lenovo and now Dell? Frank Azor has had his say on the company's progress towards releasing a foldable laptop and the current pitfalls that trying to fit all that tech in a small form factor presents.

GPD has announced the pricing for its upcoming P2 Max via Twitter. The company will launch two versions of the 8.9-inch mini laptop, both of which will run Windows 10 and will feature a trackpad, a fingerprint sensor and a webcam.
GPD confirms specification change

The latest version of AIDA64 - v6.00 - has been released. It adds benchmarks for the Zen2-based Matisse processors. In addition, it now also has a SHA3-512 cryptographic hash benchmark.

Are you eagerly awaiting the next XPS 15? Well, Dell has confirmed yet more details about the upcoming laptop, including what CPUs it will feature along with its maximum RAM and SSD capacities.

Microsoft has just begun to roll out the feature update for Windows 10 with the version number 1903. The list of changes is quite long and includes the "reserved storage" feature, a new light desktop theme option, Windows Sandbox (it does exactly what the name says), the long-awaited unified Search box, and much more.