Laptops News - Page 1

Apple is gearing up to release its next-gen M4-powered MacBook Pro laptops, with a new post on X suggesting we'll see new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros powered by the M4 processor later this year.

The only M4-powered product in Apple's growing arsenal is the new iPad Pro, but in a new post on X to subscribers, Ross Young from Display Supply Chain Consultants said his recent supply chain checks show there are new MacBook Pro laptops on the way. We're to expect a new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, both powered by Apple's latest M4 processor.

Young's new claims match with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reported in April that there was a "slim chance" we'd see M4-powered MacBook Pro laptops released in late 2024 but could get pushed into 2025. Young isn't a leaker. Instead, he's an analyst and covers the display supply chain, which is pointing to new M4-powered MacBook Pros being released later this year.

Qualcomm is leading the Copilot+ PC era by launching its new Snapdragon X-powered Copilot+ PCs, beginning Microsoft's big change into an AI-fueled future of Windows.

Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon X Elite processors earlier this year, where they'll compete directly against Apple, Intel, and AMD. The new Snapdragon X platform is the first fully Microsoft Copilot+ compliant platform, offering out-of-the-box support for the latest AI features, something that Intel and AMD won't have at launch with their next-gen Core Ultra 200V series "Lunar Lake" and AMD Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" processors.

Microsoft has announced that the first Copilot+ PCs will begin at $999, with a huge list of Copilot+ PC systems from the likes of Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Microsoft itself. Qualcomm is the first with Copilot+ PC systems powered by its new Snapdragon X processor, packing a new Arm-based Oryon CPU, upgraded Adrenop GPU, and more.

ASUS and its ROG (Republic of Gamers) team cooked up an impressive concept and prototype for its popular ROG Zephyrus line of gaming laptops - a full-color customizable e-ink layer on the lid. It's a brilliant concept because you can customize the image to fit it, and it will effectively print it out as an energy-efficient, high-quality image for your portable rig.

This builds on the impressive ROG AniMe Matrix array of programmable LED lights on current ROG Zephyrus G14 laptops. Even though it's only a concept, the ASUS team developed an Armoury Crate interface for the technology we could use during a visit to the company's HQ during Computex to check out its latest products.

After the initial wow factor wore off, we shared our initial concerns about the e-ink layer getting scratched or damaged, as it is situated on the top or lid of the laptop. ASUS took the feedback on board and advised that 'Project Dali,' as it's being called, was being shown at Computex to gauge interest and feedback.

You might be asking yourself a single-word question right now: Ceraluminum? The outer lid of the stylish and sleek new Copilot+ AI PC from ASUS, the Zenbook S16, is made from this exclusive new material that "blends the beauty and feel of ceramic with the strength of aluminum." And with a name like that, it also sounds like it was harvested from Pandora, the fictional planet from the Avatar movies. According to ASUS, Ceraluminum is extremely durable but with a more elegant look and feel.

Okay, with that out of the way, you're looking at an impressively specced 16-inch laptop. With a slim 1.1cm profile, it's thinner than the latest MacBook Pro while weighing only 1.5kg - which is impressive for a 16-inch device. ASUS has managed this by custom engineering a 3D vapor chamber cooling system that's just 0.1cm thick, with CNC machine-etched water and dustproof holes near the keyboard to maximize airflow.

The Zenbook S16 Copilot+ AI PC features the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, with a powerful 50 TOPS of AI performance NPU running at just 28W. Throw in up to 2TB of storage, up to 32GB of LPDDR5 memory, and a 3K 16:10 120 Hz panel, and it's as impressive under the hood as it is stylish.

ASUS has announced a new line-up of Copilot+ PCs that come in various form factors and all of them are Copilot+ certified.

Computex 2024 has officially begun with ASUS revealing its new line of Copilot+ PCs, with some of the new laptops being designed for gaming, creatives, and a little bit of both. At the top of ASUS's stack of Copilot+ gaming laptop is the Zephyrus G16, and for creatives is the Zenbook S 16. More specifically, ASUS has announced a new range of ProArt Copilot+ laptops that are designed for creatives - the ProArt P16, ProArt PX13 and ProArt PZ13.

The ProArt P16 clamshell laptop and ProArt PX13 come with an up to AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics. Additionally, each of these creative-focussed laptops come with an NPU capable of 50 TOPS of AI-driven performance, while the RTX 4070 is capable of delivering 321 TOPS for the more demanding AI tasks. The 16-inch ProArt P16 is just 14.9mm thin and weighs 1.85kg. The 13-inch ProArt PX13 is even lighter at 1.38kg, while the ProArt PZ13 is even lighter again at 0.85kg.

Computex 2024 has started and unsurprisingly it's inundated with artificial intelligence powered devices, particularly Copilot+ laptops.

ASUS has kicked off the technology trade show by showcasing its latest range of AI-powered TUF Gaming laptops, which will all be coming with AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor that ushers in a 50 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) - a piece of hardware dedicated to running AI-based tasks. The TUF Gaming line is designed to be a more affordable solution compared to ASUS's ROG line, which is why we are seeing cut-down version of the ROG Zephyrus G16.

The TUF Gaming laptops arrive in two variants the A16 and A14, with the A14 being the least powerful of the two. With that being said both of these laptops, while being able to carry out AI-based tasks through Windows Copilot+ are more than capable of running the latest games at considerable framerates.

Computex 2024 has kicked off with the artificial intelligence-powered boom and leading the charge is ASUS with its new Copilot+ laptops.

ASUS was kind enough to invite us to their headquarters in Taipei for a tour where they demoed their new ROG Zephyrus G16. The AI-powered laptop comes with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor and an Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with 50 TOPS of power. The NPU along with at least 16GB of RAM means the ROG Zephyrus G16 meets Microsoft's specification requirements for it be a Copilot+-certified PC.

Other specifications are as follows: ROG Nebula OLED panel with G-Sync, up to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU that has 321 TOPS of advanced AI performance, tri-fan technology, new fiber and mesh heat pipes and fans, and an ultra-thin chassis measuring just 1.49cm thick and weighing 1.85kg (16-inch model).

Apple is yet to enter the world of the foldable phone and there is little to suggest that it intends to change that any time soon. But Apple is indeed reportedly working on a foldable device of some sort and that's believed to be an all-screen laptop. We've seen reports of a potential 20-inch foldable device before, and now a new report by the usually well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that Apple is also testing a foldable laptop with an 18.8-inch display.

Ming-Chi Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple is still working on a 20.25-inch option with LG Display being the exclusive panel supplier. But the smaller model is also being considered with the two different foldable panels corresponding to the design of 14- to 15-inch and 13- to 14-inch laptops. What's more, he believes that Apple is aiming to have the displays ready for assembly towards the end of 2025 or early 2026 which means these laptops could go on sale in just a couple of years.

In a lengthy Medium post detailing Apple's plans, Kuo said that Apple is working to put the M4 family of chips into the new laptop. Apple is expected to launch new M4 machines later this year, but the bulk of the lineup - including new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs - won't go M4 until 2025. That would then leave Apple's M5 ready for a 2026 debut.

Microsoft recently unveiled a suite of new PCs integrated with its new artificial intelligence, Copilot+. The first batch of new PCs are coming in the form of AI laptops, and the ones available are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite SoC. It's expected Intel and AMD will release their own versions later this year.

The X Elite was recently put up against Apple's MacBook Air M3 by benchmarking and analysis company Signal64. Ryan Shrout, a former Intel employee and President & GM of Signal65 headed the report, which was commissioned by Microsoft. A common move by companies that want to legitimize the claims they are making about their products.

The report found the X Elite outperformed Apple's M3 silicon in a variety of different tests, with the X Elite-powered Surface Laptop surviving over 21 hours in a local video playback test, which is 15% longer than a MacBook Air M3 and twice as long as the Surface Pro 9. Notably, the X Elite did lose to the M3 silicon in single-core performance in both Cinebench and Geekbench by approximately 15%. However, in multi-core performance, the X Elite was found to be more than 30% faster than Apple's M3.

A new website is aiming to be the go-to resource for Windows on ARM gamers who are trying to suss out which games will run well on their Copilot+ PC.

If you've missed the fuss this week somehow, Copilot+ PC is Microsoft's new terminology for its AI PCs, only this category of devices requires a much more powerful NPU.

Indeed, the only chip that qualifies to power a Copilot+ PC right now is the Snapdragon X Elite, but it won't be long before NPUs with 45+ TOPS appear from Intel and AMD as well (Lunar Lake, Strix Point).