Tag: Laptops

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Apple is reportedly working on an OLED MacBook Air

Apple is reportedly considering adding OLED displays to its MacBook Air lineup, according to a recent report from Korean tech website The Elec This would be a major shift for the MacBook Air, as none of Apple’s MacBook laptops feature OLED panels. All current MacBooks, including the Pro and Air models, feature a Liquid Retina displays based on LCD technology.

According to the publication, LG Display is currently developing OLED panels for Apple’s 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablets, but it does not have the capacity to develop OLED panels that could be used in a laptop screen. As a replacement, Apple has reportedly turned to Samsung to produce OLED panels for its MacBook Air.

There is no release date yet for the OLED MacBook Air, according to The Elec. It’s also unclear whether the OLED MacBook Air will even be released or if it’s just a test for Samsung’s production capabilities.

Other notable industry analysts have also said that Apple is working on an OLED MacBook. For example, display analyst Ross Young said that Apple would release an OLED display sometime in 2024, and the rumour was backed-up by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

OLED panels would allow Apple’s laptops to be thinner, lighter, and have better battery life. OLED displays also permit “more diverse form factor design options,” according to Kuo.

Apple’s MacBooks are already known for their superb displays, and the addition of OLED tech could take them to the next level. It remains to be seen when or if Apple will launch an OLED MacBook Air, but with multiple reports indicating that the company is exploring the technology, it seems likely that we’ll see OLED displays on Apple’s laptops sooner rather than later.

Source: The Elec, @mingchikuo Via: DigitalTrends

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Smartphones don’t come with chargers – laptops shouldn’t either

Yes, I said it. Laptop makers should stop including chargers with their laptops.

I fully expect this will be an unpopular opinion. After all, people are still upset that many smartphones no longer come with chargers in the box. And to an extent, I agree — it sucks to open up a brand new piece of tech and not be able to charge it if you don’t have a charger! But I’ve also lived on the other side, and there’s a glorious freedom to not getting a charger too.

First off, I am admittedly in a very niche group. As someone who reviews laptops for a living, I am blessed (or cursed, depending on your perspective) with the ability to switch laptops on a somewhat regular basis — certainly more often than anyone should switch laptops. On one hand, this puts me in the unique position of having way too many laptop chargers. On the other, I also think it gives me some insight into the world of laptop charging.

Over the last year or so, I’ve noticed two significant changes in the laptop world. First, the laptops I test almost exclusively use USB-C ports for charging. Even when they offer a different primary charging method, USB-C charging is still present. For example, Microsoft’s Surface devices offer the Surface Connect port but can also charge off USB-C. Similarly, Apple brought MagSafe back to MacBooks, but USB-C charging is still an option. In fact, I can’t think of a single laptop I’ve used in the last two years that hasn’t supported USB-C charging.

The other thing I’ve noticed? A rapid proliferation of USB-C chargers that rival the ones you get with a laptop. Since August 2022, I’ve tested a handful of charging accessories made by Ugreen, and they’ve been great for charging laptops. They were so good, I started leaving chargers that came with the laptops I was reviewing in the box. But more than that, I really appreciated not having to swap cables around whenever I started reviewing a new laptop. I set my desk up with a Ugreen dock so I could plug one cable into whatever laptop I was testing to charge it and also give access to my monitor as a secondary display.

Take control of your charging

Again, I recognize that I’m in a unique position compared to the average laptop user, but I think some of my experience can be extrapolated to larger trends. If you’re buying a laptop now or in the next few years, chances are it will charge via a USB-C port. And if you’ve already got a reliable USB-C charger for charging a laptop, do you really need another?

To be fair, there will also be plenty of people with laptops that don’t have USB-C chargers. Being forced to buy a new charger because your new device doesn’t come with one sucks. I won’t deny that. As with smartphones, I think companies should offer something to cater to people who might have an old charger that won’t work with their new device, like a charger trade-in program or a credit towards a charger if you don’t have one. Whether I think companies should do that or not, I doubt many will. But hey, if you have to buy a charger, might as well buy a good one that will outlast your laptop.

There are other benefits to not getting a charger, though how much any of these matter will vary from person to person. For one, less electronic waste (e-waste) by reducing the number of redundant chargers. As a knock-on effect, you’d reduce the amount of packaging too. For another, more consumer control over their gadgets and accessories. Oh, and if you forget your laptop charger at home, chances are someone can spot you if everyone’s rocking USB-C chargers.

All that said, there will still be some scenarios where it might be necessary to include a charger. Gaming laptops are one example that comes to mind since many have greater power demands than the average laptop (hence the massive bricks attached to most gaming laptop chargers).

Ultimately, most laptops already use one type of charger. Let’s commit to it and stop wasting time, money and resources on giving people the same charger they already have.

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Lenovo unveils new Legion and LOQ gaming laptops

Lenovo unveiled several new gaming laptops and PCs meant to capture several price points. There are new machines under Lenovo’s Legion branding, as well as new LOQ (pronounced ‘lock’) devices that bring the Legion look and feel to entry-level pricing.

On the Legion side, Lenovo unveiled the Legion Slim 7i and 7 Gen 8 (pictured above), and the Slim 5i and 5 Gen 8. The Legion Slim 7 series offers up to 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H or AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPUs coupled with up to 32GB of RAM and up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU.

The Slim 7 series sports 16-inch 16:10 Lenovo ‘PureSight’ displays with WQXGA 240Hz VRR and 500 nits brightness. Alternatively, customers can get a 3.2K 165Hz VRR display with 430 nits of brightness. The laptops also feature Lenovo’s ColdFront 5.0 thermal system to keep cool under heavy load, boosted by Lenovo’s onboard ‘LA AI’ chip to dynamically tune thermal performance.

Lenovo Legion Slim 5i

Meanwhile, the Slim 5 series has similar offerings but with slightly lower specs. There’s the 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H or AMD Ryzen 9 7840HS chips, GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, up to 32GB of RAM (expandable to 64GB aftermarket) and more. ColdFront 5.0 and the LA AI chip are also available.

The Legion Slim 7i starts at $1,769.99 USD (about $2,422.76 CAD) and the Legion Slim 5i will start at $1,349.99 USD (about $1,849.99 CAD). Both will be available starting April 2023. Meanwhile, the Slim 7 starts at $1,769.99 USD (about $2,425.24 CAD) and the Slim 5 starts at $1,199.99 USD (about $1,644.11 CAD). Both will be available starting in May 2023.

LOQing up the low end

Lenovo LOQ 16

As for LOQ, there are the 16i and 16a, 15i and 15a, and the LOQ Tower 17i. The LOQ laptops come in 15- or 16-inch screen sizes and offer 13th Gen Intel Core or AMD Ryzne 7000 series CPUs, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU and up to 16GB of RAM.

Displays offer up to 350 nits of brightness and 165Hz refresh rates with VRR and G-Sync support. Lenovo’s LA AI chip also makes an appearance to help tune performance.

Lenovo LOQ 15

Moreover, the LOQ laptops offer accessible RAM and PCIe slots for future expansion down the line.

The LOQ Tower 17i boasts up to the 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 CPU and up to the latest Nvidia RTX 40-series GPUs, expandable memory up to 32GB, and more.

Lenovo LOQ Tower 17i

  • LOQ 16i starts at $1,149.99 USD (about $1,574.91 CAD) with expected availability starting May 2023
  • LOQ 16a starts at $959.99 USD (about $1,315.19 CAD) with expected availability starting June 2023
  • LOQ 15i starts at $899.99 USD (about $1,232.81 CAD) with expected availability starting April 2023
  • LOQ 15a starts at $899.99 USD (about $1,232.81 CAD) with expected availability starting May 2023

Images credit: Lenovo

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Samsung takes on Apple’s MacBook with new Galaxy Book 3 series

Alongside its new smartphones, Samsung also showed off new laptops at its Unpacked event in San Francisco, California.

The new laptops include the Galaxy Book 3 Pro in 14- and 16-inch sizes, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, and the Book 3 Ultra. The Book 3 Pro are traditional clamshell-style laptops, while the Book 3 Pro 360 sports a 16-inch touchscreen and a 2-in-1 convertible form factor. The Book 3 Ultra is an all-new addition to the lineup offering top-of-the-line specs.

All Book 3 laptops sport 13th Gen Intel processors, with the Book 3 Pro and Pro 360 sporting Core i5 or i7 chips, up to 32GB of RAM, Iris Xe graphics, up to 1TB of SSD storage, and more. Meanwhile, the Book 3 Ultra sports either a Core i7 or Core i9 chip, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 or 4070 graphics, up to 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD storage and a larger battery.

All three laptops offer 3K (2880 x 1800 pixel resolution) AMOLED displays with a 16:10 aspect ratio, 500 nits of peak brightness (HDR) and up to 120Hz refresh rate. The Book 3 Pro 360 display measures in at 16-inches, while the regular Pro can have 14- or 16-inch options. The laptops also offer two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port, a USB 3.2 Type-A port, and a microSD card slot. Both laptops sport 5G Sub6, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.1, while the Pro 360 ships with an S Pen in-box.

Samsung also highlighted its universal charger that works with all Galaxy devices, though it’s worth noting the charger is just a USB-C charger.

Moreover, Samsung heavily pushed its cross-platform connectivity features, like Samsung Multi Control for controlling your Galaxy phones or tablets with the Book 3’s keyboard and trackpad, as well as easy copy/paste or drag-and-drop between Galaxy devices. These join existing features like Phone Link for easy hot-spotting and more with Windows laptops.

The laptops run Windows 11 and come in ‘Graphite’ (all three) or ‘Beige’ (just the Book 3 Pro and Pro 360). Stay tuned for more details about the Book 3 series’ Canadian availability and pricing.

For more on Samsung’s Galaxy S23 line, check out our hands-on with the new smartphones and all of our Unpacked 2023 content here.

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LG’s 2023 17-inch Grams feature Nvidia’s RTX3050 GPU

LG has announced the latest in its line of 17-inch ultralight Gram laptops. The new 2023 variant will be available for purchase on February 1st on LG’s website and select retailers starting at $1,999 USD (roughly $2,660 CAD).

LG announced the new laptops at CES in early January. The laptops are expected to support variable refresh rates to conserve battery, alongside Dolby Atmos for surround sound-like audio. Further, the laptops feature Intel’s 13th-Gen processors, while last year’s Gram 17s offered 12th-Gen Intel chips.

LG is calling the new 17-inch LG Grams the “LG Gram Pro,” however, the laptop is labelled as “LG Gram 17” on LG’s website.

The website has two models listed, including one with 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD for $1,999.99 USD (about $2,660 CAD) and the other with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD for $2,299.99 USD (approximately $3,060 CAD). Both laptops feature Nvidia’s RTX3050 GPU for gaming on the go on the ultra light-weight laptop (3.2 pounds/1.45KG). Both laptops feature a variable refresh rate of 31Hz to up to 144Hz that automatically shifts depending on what you’re doing on the laptop.

Both laptops feature a 90Wh battery, compared to last year’s Gram’s 80Wh battery. It also offers multiple ports, including two Thunderbolt 4, two USB 3.2, one HDMI, one headphone jack, and a Micro-SD Card Slot.

Follow the links to learn more about the 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD LG Grams. It’s currently unknown if and when the laptops will arrive in Canada. LG’s Canadian website features no mention of the laptops.

Image credit: LG

Source: LG Via: The Verge

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Former Twitter employees sitting on abandoned company laptops: report

Several former Twitter employees are sitting on valuable hardware, like company laptops, that Twitter has seemingly abandoned.

As detailed by Wired, while Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk scrambles to make the company profitable to pay back some $13 billion USD (roughly $17.35 billion CAD) owed to lenders for financing his takeover, some more obvious ways to make a quick buck appear abandoned. Namely, after Musk rapidly laid off significant chunks of Twitter staff, the company has put little effort into collecting company hardware.

One software engineer fired in November told Wired that he hadn’t heard anything about returning a company-issued Apple MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip. The laptop was sitting in the engineer’s closet, digitally locked by Twitter after the engineer was fired. Wired notes that refurbished versions of the laptop can fetch around $1,000 (about $1,334.49 CAD). While the M1 Pro variant is no longer listed on Apple’s website, the base-level MacBook Pro with M2 Pro chip retails for $2,599 in Canada.

While some of the ex-Twitter employees are content to let their useless hardware sit in a closet, others are worried it could cause problems down the line. For example, some former employees who spoke with Wired were still owed severance and were worried having the laptops could lead to delays in their compensation or even legal problems. In chat groups of former employees, some discussed trying to crack their laptop’s lock code or wiping and resetting the device.

Meanwhile, some former employees were able to send their devices back, while others got generic emails from the company asking them to fill out a ‘Twitter Device Collection Survey.’ Wired says most of the employees it spoke with hadn’t received the email.

Wired obtained a copy of the survey, which mentions authentication tokens, corporate credit cards, company-issued smartphones and laptop chargers as items that can be returned. The form also noted that monitors, keyboards, mice, display cables and stands don’t need to be collected. It doesn’t clarify what former employees should do with laptops.

The survey also asks for an address to send a shipping box for ex-Twitter people to load up with returnable equipment, noting the box would arrive within 30 days of filling it out. There’s an option for dropping equipment off at some of Twitter’s offices.

However, Wired says that, generally, ex-employees aren’t rushing to return the equipment, with one telling the publication that “Elon can wait.”

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Wired

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Lenovo is all about dual displays at CES 2023

Lenovo unveiled a ton of new products at CES 2023 (19 total if you don’t count variations of the same laptop with different CPUs). Since, dear reader, I care about your time as well as mine, I decided to focus on the coolest products, including several laptops with two screens, the ‘Magic Bay,’ and a few other fun releases. Lenovo also showed off the Microsoft Kinect-like Project Chronos, which you can learn more about here.

First up is the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Twist, a new take on the 2-in-1 laptop form factor that offers a 360-degree hinge — like previous iterations. However, the Twist offers a twistable hinge as well, allowing users to flip the display around. Moreover, the laptop’s lid features two screens — a 13-inch OLED panel on one side, and a 12-inch colour e-ink screen on the other.

While I can’t speak to the practicality of having two displays, at least the ThinkBook Plus Twist is trying something new. It’s certainly more intriguing than a traditional clamshell (admittedly, I am a staunch proponent of the traditional clamshell). And unlike many things at CES, you might actually be able to buy the ThinkBook Plus Twist in the future — at least, in the U.S. Lenovo says it expects the Plus Twist to be available starting in June 2023 for $1,649 USD (about $2,239.78).

Wireless add-ons and docks

Lenovo’s Magic Bay webcam attachment.

Alongside the twist, Lenovo showed off an interesting new accessory for some laptops: the ‘Magic Bay.’ Available on laptops like the ThinkBook 16p Gen 4, the Magic Bay allows users to wireless connect additional modules to add new or improve on existing functionality. There’s a 4K webcam add-on for better video calls, or users can opt for the Magic Bay Light to get better lighting for their video calls. There’s also a Magic Bay LTE attachment for getting cellular on your laptop. These attachments connect wirelessly view magnets and pogo pins to the top of the laptop’s display.

Speaking of wireless, Lenovo also unveiled a ThinkBook Wireless Dock. While it unfortunately only supports the Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2 for now, it actually seems like a neat solution. Lenovo describes it as “put-and-play,” an upgrade to plug-and-play. The Wireless Dock works exactly as you’d expect — it’s a large pad that users can place their laptops on. The dock offers connectivity for additional monitors and up to 65W charging (there’s also a 10W wireless charger for your smartphone).

More dual displays

Lenovo showed off the absolutely insane Yoga Book 9i, which is basically a clamshell laptop except with a whole second display where the keyboard should be. Some of the product renders showing off the ways to use the Yoga Book 9i can only be described as deranged, but I’m also very intrigued by the idea of being able to carry around multiple displays in one convenient package. The Book 9i will cost $2,099.99 USD (roughly $2,852.34 CAD) and will be available starting June 2023.

Moving away from laptops, I want to highlight the Lenovo Tab Extreme and Lenovo Smart Paper. The Tab Extreme is Lenovo’s latest take on an Android tablet, but rather than a cheap mid-range option ideal for entertainment, the Tab Extreme seems aimed to take on the iPad Pro. While I have no illusions about whether the Tab Extreme will succeed in that regard, it does offer some interesting specs: a 3K Oled display with 120Hz refresh rate powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Octa-core CPU, JBL 4-channel speakers with spatial audio and more. There’s also a fancy keyboard accessory for it that is basically Lenovo’s take on Apple’s ridiculously expensive Magic Keyboard.

The Smart Paper, on the other hand, is a 10.3-inch e-ink tablet designed for writing and drawing with “virtually no lag.” The Smart Paper is, for all intents and purposes, a Kindle Scribe. However, I think these e-ink notepads are really interesting concepts — whether it could replace my trusty notebook remains to be seen.

Both the Tab Extreme and Smart Paper are expected to be available “later in 2023.” The Tab Extreme will start at $1,199.99 USD (about $1,629.90 CAD) while the Smart Paper will start at $399.99 (roughly $543.29 CAD).

You can find all of our coverage from CES 2023 here.

Image credit: Lenovo

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Lenovo unveils several laptops ahead of CES 2023

Ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the new year, Lenovo has rolled out a ton of product announcements. The announcements include no less than six (six!) laptops, a desktop, a tablet, and a few monitors. And we’re likely to get more announcements from Lenovo related to CES come January.

Since we’ve got so many products to go over, let’s just dive in.

Laptops

First up, we’ve got the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5/5i, IdeaPad Slim 5/5i, and IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook. The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 and 5i (pictured in the header image) come in 14- and 16-inch sizes in either ‘Artic Grey’ or ‘Frost Blue.’ Unfortunately, only the 16-inch Pro 5i will be available in North America. It offers “up to the latest Intel Processor” and “up to an Nvidia GeForce Next-Gen Laptop,” although Lenovo didn’t specify which CPUs and GPUs would actually be available.

Other IdeaPad Pro 5i features include a 25 percent larger touchpad, expandable SSD storage, up to 120Hz refresh rate, and a QHD+ resolution. The IdeaPad Pro 5i that will be available in North America will start at $1,499.99 USD (roughly $2,049.08 CAD) and will be available starting in May 2023.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i

There’s also the IdeaPad Slim 5 and 5i Gen 8 in 14- and 16-inch variants (only the 16-inch models will be available in North America). The IdeaPad Slim’s OLED display offers up to a 2.5k resolution with 400 nits of brightness. Moreover, the Slim 5i sports up to the latest Intel Core processor, while the Slim 5 offers upto the latest AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. They come in three colours — ‘Violet,’ ‘Cloud Grey,’ and ‘Abyss Blue.’

The IdeaPad Slim 5i will start at $749.99 USD (about $1,024.53 CAD) and the Slim 5 will start at $649.99 USD (approximately $887.93 CAD). Both will be available in May 2023.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i

Finally, the IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook offers a 360-degree hinge for 2-in-1 use. Lenovo says the Flex 3i’s battery lasts up to 12 hours on a charge and it runs on the latest N-series Intel CPU. The Flex 3i will start at $349.99 USD (about $478.11) when it becomes available in May 2023.

Alongside the consumer laptops, Lenovo showed several ThinkPad laptops aimed more at businesses. There’s the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8, and ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3. The X1 laptops are built on Intel’s Evo platform and offer the latest generation of up to Intel Core i7 CPUs and up to 64GB of RAM. All three will be available in April 2023 starting at:

  • ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 – $1,729 USD (about $2,361.92 CAD)
  • ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 – $1,859 USD (roughly $2,539.51 CAD)
  • ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 – $1,649 USD (approximately $2,252.63 CAD)

Desktop and tablets

Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i

The desktop unveiled by Lenovo is the IdeaCentre Mini 5i, a tiny, Mac mini-style PC. It sports a built-in power supply unit and a chassis that Lenovo says can be easily opened, allowing users to access the dual-vortex cooling fan and memory chip. It’s got the latest Intel Core CPU, two DDR4 memory chips, up to 1TB of SSD storage, Wi-Fi 6 support, and more.

The IdeaCentre Mini will start at $649.99 USD (roughly $887.93 CAD) and will be available starting Q2 2023.

Lenovo Tab M9

Lenovo also showed off its Tab M9 tablet running Android 12. Sporting a MediaTek Helio G80 Octa-Core CPU, 128GB of storage and a 9-inch ID display, the Tab M9 looks like a decent option for watching Netflix and playing games. It will cost $139.99 USD (about $191.23 CAD) and is expected to be available starting in Q2 2023.

Monitors

Lenovo’s P49w-30 is a one wide boy

Lenovo listed several monitors, but the only one really worth writing about was the wild ThinkVision P49w-30. It’s a 49-inch ultrawide display with up to 13 ports, two of which support Thunderbolt 4 with up to 100W of power delivery and that can be used to daisy chain other Thunderbolt 4 monitors (if you even have room for one after placing this behemoth on your desk).

Lenovo expects the P49w-30 to be available starting in June 2023 for $1,699.99 USD (about $2,322.29 CAD)

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Lenovo Canada Boxing Week deals include big savings on laptops

Lenovo Canada has rolled out its Boxing Week deals, offering steep discounts on several products. We’ve listed some highlights below:

You can check out more Lenovo deals here.

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Apple reportedly delays M2 MacBook Pro and Mac mini until 2023

It seems earlier rumours indicating Apple could launch its M2-powered MacBook Pro and Mac mini in November might be incorrect. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has reworked its plans and will drop its refreshed Mac lineup in the new year.

Gurman says that Apple’s M2 Pro and Max-powered chips will make their way to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in early 2023, replacing the current M1 chips featured in the laptop line. It’s possible we could finally see this laptop refresh at Apple’s March event. Beyond the addition of the M2 chip, not much else is expected to change about Apple’s high-end laptop.

In his Power On newsletter, Gurman also mentions that a refreshed M2-powered Mac mini is coming in 2023. What’s unclear is whether Apple’s cheese grater-like Mac Pro will be refreshed at the same time as the rest of Apple’s Mac lineup. The tech giant still needs to refresh its 24-inch iMac, too.

Apple most recently brought its M2 chip to the iPad Pro (2022). The MacBook Air (2022) and the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2022) also feature the M2 chip.