All articles tagged with #laptops
Netbooks emerged around 2007 as cheap, ultra-portable devices for internet access, but by 2013 major makers like Acer and Asus stopped producing them as smartphones and tablets—especially the iPad—captured user demand; netbooks were underpowered (often around 1GB RAM and Atom CPUs), could not compete with modern laptops, and the line between netbooks and notebooks blurred, prompting a pivot to notebooks and tablets.
The article argues that four brands—HP (EliteBook) for business laptops, Apple (MacBook Pro/Air) for durable productivity, Acer (Nitro) for budget gaming, and Razer (Blade) for high-performance gaming—can compete with Lenovo’s ThinkPad and Legion lines, offering strong longevity, robust warranties, and good value through sales and updates.
Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale ends Sunday night, with 41 last-minute deals across laptops, tablets, phones, TVs, audio and appliances. Tom's Guide highlights picks like the HP OmniBook 3 and a Dell 2K laptop for around $599, the 11-inch iPad (A16) for $399 and the MacBook Neo with a $25 Starbucks gift card, Pixel 11 from $99, Galaxy A17 5G, Pixel 10a, and Nintendo Switch 2 at $449, plus major TV and audio discounts. In-store deals are available today until sold out, with new price drops announced earlier in the week. Affiliate links may apply.
HP’s OmniBook 3 16 (16-inch, Snapdragon X) costs around $520 and comes with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, delivering solid day-to-day performance and excellent battery life for the price. Its screen, speakers, and keyboard are merely decent, but the overall value is strong enough that the reviewer would pick it over pricier rivals for budget-conscious buyers.
Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale is live through Aug. 23 with deep discounts across Apple devices, TVs, laptops, audio gear, LEGO sets, and Pokémon cards. Highlights include unlocked iPhone Air 256GB for $839.99, Hisense 65-inch U6 Pro Mini LED TV for $598.99, Asus Zenbook A14 for $999.99, Shark Matrix Plus robot vacuum for $349.99, and Marshall Stanmore III speaker for $199.99. My Best Buy Plus/Total members earn 10% back in rewards; in-store on Aug. 22 shoppers can snag $100 gift cards for $60 (while supplies last), with another wave of deals dropping on Aug. 21. The sale is billed as the season’s biggest until Labor Day.
Intel reportedly plans to bring its Big Last Level Cache (bLLC) to next-gen Nova Lake desktop CPUs, a move that mirrors AMD’s 3D V-cache strategy and could boost gaming laptop performance with desktop-like memory bandwidth, while mobile variants (Raptor Lake-HX, Razor Lake) may also adopt the tech; rumors suggest a Ryzen 7 9800X3D for laptops could appear at CES 2027, though higher performance likely comes with higher cost.
HP's Googlebook leak confirms Google's Continue On cross‑device continuity feature, a Handoff-style tool for Googlebooks. The teaser image shows Gmail in a two‑pane layout and a Chrome icon with a phone badge, hinting at cross‑device browsing and other supported workflows. Google is expected to unveil its first Googlebook devices next month with HP among the launch partners, though hardware details remain scarce and the leaked image may be distorted.
Five highly-rated laptops are on deep discount at Best Buy this August (30%+ off): HP OmniBook X Flip (14" 2-in-1) $699.99; Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (14", Ryzen 9, RTX 5060, 1TB) $1,599.99; Samsung Galaxy Book6 (16", Core Ultra 7, 16GB, 512GB) $799.99; HP OmniBook 3 (16", Core Ultra 5, 8GB, 512GB) $479.99; Asus Zenbook A14 (14", OLED 2K, Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB, 512GB) $699.99. The round-up covers 2-in-1s, ultrabooks, and gaming laptops with Copilot+ AI features on select models, and notes that prices can fluctuate during back-to-school season.
Google is hosting a September 15 in-person launch in New York City to officially reveal its Googlebooks premium laptops, potentially naming the Android-based OS (previously leaked as Aluminium OS) and giving media hands-on time with devices from Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, Dell, and HP.
Best Buy’s 60th Anniversary Sale runs August 17–23, offering substantial discounts on TVs, laptops, headphones, and more in-store and online. You don’t need a membership to shop, but joining the free My Best Buy program adds perks like free shipping, while paid tiers unlock faster shipping, exclusive prices, extended return windows, and early access. Highlights include a mix of big-ticket tech and in-person exclusives on August 22, with notable deals on items like MacBook Neo notebooks, OmniBook X Flip laptops, monitors, iPads, Apple accessories, and a wide range of TVs and audio gear.
Acer’s China Go Air config adds 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, a 14-inch 120Hz display, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports for about CNY 5,499 (~$815), positioning it as a higher-RAM, better-connected rival to Apple's MacBook Neo (which starts at $699 with 8GB/256GB and $799 for 512GB). The Go Air also offers a larger 70Wh battery, while the Neo features a higher-density display; global availability for this Go Air setup hasn’t been announced.
The article compares the base models of the MacBook Air and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition, finding the Air at $1,299 generally offers stronger price-to-performance (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) and a brighter mini‑LED display, while the ThinkPad at $2,249 provides more RAM (32GB), more ports, and an optional 2.8K OLED 120Hz screen. In benchmarks, the MacBook Air outperforms the ThinkPad, and battery life is competitive (Air ~18 hours video; ThinkPad up to ~19 hours on LCD or ~13 hours with OLED). The verdict: the MacBook Air is the better ultralight value for most buyers, but the ThinkPad remains the choice for Windows users who want more RAM, diverse ports, and OLED options.
Engadget’s latest review roundup covers Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra (a premium foldable that doesn’t fully justify its price), Dell XPS 13 (2026) underperforming in its base configuration, Samsung QS90H soundbar with built-in woofers and Convertible Fit, Insta360 X6 360 action camera as a solid upgrade, and Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition showing Lenovo’s progress but at a high price.
Prices are up due to a RAM and storage crunch, but you can still get solid college laptops by prioritizing 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage and choosing a recent Apple silicon or Windows 10/11/12-era machine. Be wary of 8GB RAM on Windows, though it can work on macOS in budget Macs. The guide suggests a range of options: MacBook Neo (budget 8GB/256GB), MacBook Air with M5 (16GB/512GB), Asus Zenbook A14 (16GB/512GB, OLED), Acer Aspire 14 AI (16GB/512GB), HP OmniBook 3 16 (Snapdragon X), Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 refurb (16GB/512GB), Asus Chromebook Plus CX34, and Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514. If you can stretch, the Air remains the best balance of build quality and performance for four years, with refurbished/models often offering strong value; plan for continued price pressure into next year and consider refurbished or newer models to future-proof your purchase.
A head-to-head shows several gaming laptops outperform the Xbox Series X at 1440p, thanks to RTX 4060–5080 GPUs and DLSS 4.5; the five laptops—MSI Thin 15, Acer Nitro V 16, Lenovo LOQ 15, Maingear Super 16, and Maingear Ultima 18—offer higher frame rates, better displays, and more upgradeability, illustrating that mid-range and high-end laptops can beat the console on price-to-performance while remaining portable, though laptop GPUs are power-limited compared to desktop cards.