Laptops

Most laptops and Macbooks come with a webcam built in, but they can leave video-chatters somewhat wanting in terms of performance and image quality. Newcomer Opal Camera has addressed such things with a small-but-powerful model called the Tadpole.

More than a decade since the first low-powered but fuss-free, easy-to-use, inexpensive laptops running Chrome OS were launched, Google has now announced the Chromebook Plus program – a new performance-focused category with built-in AI.

The 16-inch version of the customizable, repairable and upgradeable laptop announced by California tech startup Framework back in March has now gone up for pre-order, with Ryzen silicon and Radeon graphics leading the component charge.

Seeking to free laptop users from small displays that limit functionality, Sightful has unveiled a laptop with no screen. Instead, AR glasses project a 100-inch virtual screen anywhere, transforming any space into a screen-filled portable office.

Back in early 2021, a Californian startup revealed plans to launch a 13-inch laptop that users could upgrade, repair and customize. Now the company is about to launch the Framework Laptop 16, which will allow users to upgrade discrete graphics.

As I know from painful experience, hauling a heavy brick of a laptop around on work assignments can be an energy zapping strain. Acer's Swift Edge model could help, launching as the lightest 16-inch OLED laptop in the world.

Back in early 2021, a Californian startup launched a 13.5-inch laptop designed for easy upgrade and repair by the user. The Framework Laptop has since been updated, and now the company has expanded the idea into Chromebook territory.

For the 2nd-gen ThinkBook Plus laptop, Lenovo added an E Ink outer display to complement the main screen. The company has also treated the latest model to an extra display, but this time the 8-inch screen is positioned to the right of the keyboard.

Foldable phones offer a mini tablet display experience in a device that can fit it a pocket. Lenovo brought the same flexibility to the laptop in 2020 with the ThinkPad X1 Fold, and now the bigger and better second generation has been revealed.

Consumer electronics giant Acer has released a new Chromebook that could have you turning a little green – not with envy, but in an eco-friendly sense. The Vero 514 makes use of recycled and recyclable materials, while also embracing repairability.

Getac has added two new additions to its family of rugged mobile workstations, both built to survive extreme operational conditions faced by defense personnel, in transport and logistics operations and field work in the energy industries.

In June 2020, Apple revealed that its computing products were about to follow iPhones and iPads and use its own bespoke system-on-chip. Now the company has revealed the M1's successor, and the first models to benefit from a marked performance boost.

Panasonic has supported the mobile workforce for a good many years with its line of Toughbook business laptops. Now the company has announced its most rugged laptop yet, the modular 14-inch Toughbook 40.

Californian computer hardware maker Corsair has launched its first gaming laptop, though the Voyager a1600 is also aimed at streamers and content creators and comes with a funky 10-key shortcut panel for Elgato Stream Deck software.

Laptops of yesteryear were never the easiest things to upgrade or repair yourself, but today's machines are even less so. The Framework Laptop is very much designed for user tweaking, and has now been upgraded to 12th Gen Intel Core processors.