A report by the Office of the Auditor General has found that Auckland Council is now better placed to respond to the next natural disaster, compared to early 2023. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Windows and Android in one device A better “2-in-1” experience than the average 2-in-1 Decent PC performance with good build quality cons Expensive Attaching the screen feels a little clunky Very few ports A separate Windows laptop and Android tablet may be more convenient Our Verdict This machine combines a Windows laptop and Android tablet. It’s expensive, but there’s nothing else like it. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid Retailer Price Lenovo $3518 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid (Station & Tab) is truly a 2-in-1 laptop, combining a 14-inch Windows laptop and an Android tablet in one unusually interesting form factor. You can detach this laptop’s screen and use it as an Android tablet. Or you can press a button on the keyboard to instantly swap between Windows laptop and Android laptop modes. Yes, this really is two computers in one. You can even plug the base of the laptop (aka the Station) into an external monitor and use it separately from the screen while the screen (aka the Tab) functions as an independent Android tablet. Plus, Lenovo includes a stylus and an easel stand for this machine. There’s a lot going on here. I’m happy this machine exists – it feels like the type of product I’d see at a tech show like CES or IFA, where the hardware manufacturer would say it’s an experimental device that isn’t planned for a real release. But this is a real machine that Lenovo is selling today and that’s awesome, even if the $3,500 price point will be more than many people will want to spend. Further reading: Best laptops 2024: Premium, budget, gaming, 2-in-1s, and more Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Specs The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU. This is one of Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs. With Lunar Lake on the horizon, it’s important to note that this machine doesn’t have a fast enough NPU to get Copilot+ PC features, if that’s important to you. Lunar Lake-powered systems will also likely have much better battery life and performance – if you believe Intel’s promises. (We haven’t had a chance to benchmark them yet). You’re also getting 32GB of RAM along with Intel Arc graphics. It’s a reasonable setup, although people who want more powerful discrete graphics for gaming or content creation work will need to look elsewhere. I’ve included the specs of the base station – the Intel Windows PC — in the below list. The ThinkBook Plus G5 Tab has its own hardware: A Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, Qualcomm Adreno GPU, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. It also has its own 38.7 Watt-hour battery. CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H Memory: 32GB LPDDRX5 RAM Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc graphics Display: 2880×1800 OLED display with 60Hz refresh rate Storage: 1 TB SSD Webcam: 1080p webcam with physical shutter switch on the front, 13MP autofocus camera on the back Connectivity: 2x USB Type-C (Thunderbolt 4 / USB4), 1x combo audio jack Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Biometrics: IR camera for facial recognition, fingerprint reader (in the power button) Battery capacity: 75 Watt-hours for Station, 38.7 Watt-hours for Tab Dimensions: 0.63 x 12.3 x 9.2 inches combined (0.37 x 12.3 x 9.2 inches for Station and 0.26 x 12.3 x 8.8 inches for Tab) Weight: 3.87 pounds combined (2.14 pounds for Station and 1.73 pounds for Tab) MSRP: $3,518 as tested The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is a very cool machine. I’m glad Lenovo is creating interesting and unique experiences like this one and bringing them to market. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Design and build quality IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid has a smart design. It’s incredibly solid, made out of silver and gray aluminum with a very dense feeling. At 3.87 pounds, it’s heavier than the average “thin-and-light” 14-inch laptop. That’s no surprise, as this machine includes two separate computers. There’s much more weight in the screen than there is in an average laptop – that has to be the case, as the screen can function as an Android tablet when detached from the device. I’m a big fan of the design overall. The average 2-in-1 laptop simply has a hinge that can rotate 360 degrees. So sure, you can rotate it back, but then you’re using an incredibly heavy tablet and you feel the keyboard’s keys on the back of the tablet. With this machine, you just pop the display off: Rotate the screen so that it’s at a 90-degree angle relative to the keyboard, and then pull the screen up and away from the base station. The mechanism that attaches the screen to the base station of the laptop is incredibly solid, and the hinge works smoothly while it’s attached. The weight of the screen isn’t a problem for the hinge. This is a more solid hinge than you’ll find on the average laptop. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman Still, there’s a problem I have to highlight: The display-attaching process doesn’t quite feel like I think it should. When I received the laptop, I attached the screen to the base station by snapping it into place. The screen didn’t stay fully closed. Lenovo informed me that this was because the display wasn’t securely attached to the base station. To attach the display to the base station, I had to press down much harder than I expected until it snapped into place. The mechanism did seem to break in over time, becoming easier to attach — and with less force — than it was the first time I used it. But, weeks later on my review unit, I still had to press down separately on the right side of the screen and then on the left side to make each side snap securely into place. It’s not a huge problem once I got a feel for how to attach it, but ideally it would work more smoothly. That being said, I still prefer this detachable screen to a 2-in-1 experience that requires your fingers are resting on a keyboard on the back of a screen. Unlike other 2-in-1 machines like Microsoft’s Surface Pro, you’re also getting a full Android environment when the screen is detached. That’s a big deal – while I love Windows, we all know that Android is a more touch-optimized environment that has more touch-first tablet applications. The main issue with using this machine as an Android tablet is the screen size. That 14-inch 16:10 screen is great in laptop mode. However, in tablet mode, it’s unusually large and perhaps a little unwieldy. Lenovo also includes an easel-style stand for this machine along with an active pen, however. That’s a hint that this machine is more designed for content creation, even in tablet mode. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: How does the Android integration work? IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman You can detach the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid’s screen to have it function as an Android tablet. (You can’t use the screen as a separate Windows tablet, though: The Windows PC hardware is in the base of the laptop while the Android hardware is in the display). You can also use this machine as an Android laptop. The keyboard has a special function key where the Insert key is. Marked by a sticker that comes on the laptop, this key will swap between Windows mode and Android mode. It takes one or two seconds to swap between environments, like if you were flipping an internal KVM switch to switch between devices. I’ve never used a laptop that ran two operating systems at once and let me switch between them at the press of a key. It’s a neat idea. Lenovo also bundles software that lets you access the Android environment in a window on your Windows desktop. You’re able to run Android software in a window without emulation – it’s running right on the hardware in the display part of the machine. A Hybrid Center application included with the PC provides one place to set things up and learn how to use these hybrid features. The Windows PC and Android system have separate storage. To ease file transfers, Lenovo bundles Hybrid Folder software. Once you pair the Windows and Android sides of the laptop, changes you make to this folder – including files you add and remove – will by synced to the other machine. It can even sync wirelessly if the Gen 5 Hybrid’s screen is removed. It works pretty well, but it’s once again a reminder that this Hybrid machine is two separate computers: A Station and a Tab. For example, if you’re connecting to a Wi-Fi network, you’ll need to enter the network’s passphrase in both Windows and Android to use it in each environment. Settings like this don’t sync between each system. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Keyboard and trackpad IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The full-size keyboard on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid works well, both in Windows laptop mode and Android laptop mode. It’s a high-quality keyboard. I feel like I’ve used snappier laptop keyboards with crisper key action, but I had no problem sitting down at the laptop and accurately typing at a high speed. This machine’s trackpad also works well. It’s plenty large, the click action feels pleasantly clicky, and the surface is smooth to the touch. Palm rejection worked well while I was typing. It’s not quite as nice as new haptic touchpads found on machines like Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 7, but those aren’t widespread yet. Lenovo also includes a pen with this package. It works in both Android and Windows, and it can attach magnetically to the lid of the laptop. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Display and speakers IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid has a 14-inch 2880×1800 OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate. Naturally, this is a touch screen and the touch screen functions in both Windows and Android modes. The screen looks beautiful, which is no surprise for a 2.8K OLED display. However, some displays do have higher refresh rates than 60Hz. Though it’s a glossy display, it had enough brightness to work well outside on a sunny day. The Station and Tab have separate speaker systems here. In laptop mode, you’re getting the best speaker setup — no surprise there. This machine can output a surprising amount of volume while the audio remains clear, and it has decent bass for a 14-inch laptop, too. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Webcam, microphone, biometrics The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid has a 1080p webcam integrated into the Tab portion – the screen, in other words. It’s a solid webcam that produces a good picture. You also get access to the AI-powered Windows Studio Effects for features like background blur and faked eye contact in any application. There’s also a physical shutter switch above the webcam that blocks the webcam, which is always a nice privacy feature. This machine also has a dual-camera array on the back, just like a smartphone would. It’s a 13MP auto-focusing camera along with a 5MP wide camera with a flash. This feature doesn’t just work in Android – it’s also accessible in apps like the Camera app on Windows. It probably won’t replace your smartphone camera – modern high-end smartphones have cameras with more megapixels. But it’s nice to have and it’s the kind of feature included with tablets. The microphone sounds good and picked up my voice well even in an environment with a good amount of background noise. Between that and the webcam, this is a great machine for online meetings. The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid includes both an IR camera for facial recognition and a fingerprint reader. The fingerprint reader is part of the power button at the right side of the laptop. Both worked well — and the machine also offers facial recognition for signing into the Android tablet environment. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Connectivity IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The connectivity options on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid are somewhat minimal. You’re getting two USB Type-C ports – one on the left, and one on the right. You’ll use one of these ports to charge the laptop. You’re also getting a combo audio jack port on the left. That’s it. When the screen is detached from the base station and functioning as an Android tablet, you’ll get one USB Type-C port on the screen. This provides a way to charge the tablet and connect devices to it even while it’s not connected to the base station. There’s no way around it: Many people are going to want additional ports on a $3,500 laptop, including USB Type-A ports, microSD card slots, HDMI out ports, or even just more USB Type-C ports. This machine includes Wi-Fi 6E hardware, and it worked well. Wi-Fi 7 would be nice to see – especially at this price point – and it should be standard on future laptops that move beyond Intel’s Meteor Lake hardware. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Performance While the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid may include Android hardware, the PC hardware in the Station is no slouch. The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid performed well in day-to-day Windows PC productivity applications. We’d be shocked if it didn’t thanks to its capable Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, 32GB of RAM, and high-end-for-integrated-graphics Intel Arc graphics. As always, though we ran the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid through our standard benchmarks to see how it performs. Note that we focused on benchmarking the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid as a Windows laptop. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman First, we run PCMark 10 to get an idea of overall system performance. In this benchmark, the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid delivered a very respectable score of 7,398 and beat out other Intel Core Ultra 7 155H-powered systems. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a heavily multithreaded benchmark that focuses on overall CPU performance. It’s a quick benchmark, so cooling under extended workloads isn’t a factor. But, since it’s heavily multithreaded, CPUs with more cores have a huge advantage. With an average score of 5,181, the Gen 5 Hybrid falls behind some similar laptops here, including the HP Omen Transcend 14 gaming laptop, which is also a 14-inch laptop and has a similar CPU. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman We also run an encode with Handbrake. This is another heavily multithreaded benchmark, but it runs over an extended period. This demands the laptop’s cooling kick in, and many laptops will throttle and slow down under load. The ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid completed the encode process in 1,707 seconds, which is about 28 and a half minutes. That’s a rather low score compared to other laptops with the same CPU and suggests thermal throttling under load here. This machine likely isn’t the ideal workhorse system if you’re performing CPU-heavy tasks and need sustained high CPU performance. (On the other hand, the PCMark 10 score suggests it’s better than similar systems for general desktop productivity performance). IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman Next, we run a graphical benchmark. This isn’t a gaming laptop, but it’s still good to check how the GPU performs. We run 3Dmark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. With a score of 3,916, this machine falls behind because of its Intel Arc graphics. The chart here shows how much more performance you can expect if you go for discrete Nvidia graphics in a laptop. However, unless you’re playing games on this laptop or using professional applications that need a GPU, you won’t notice a difference and the Intel Arc graphics will do the job well. Overall, the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid delivers fine overall application performance on par with many other Intel Meteor Lake-powered laptops. It’s not the ideal gaming laptop thanks to its CPU. And, due to the thermal throttling, it’s not the ideal system for people who need to perform demanding CPU-heavy tasks for long periods of time. But the day-to-day desktop application performance is very solid, as the PCMark 10 score highlights. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Battery life The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid includes a 75 Watt-hour battery. In day-to-day desktop use, it delivered similar battery life to many other Intel Core Ultra 7 155H laptops I’ve used. Battery life was reasonable — although, like most Intel Meteor Lake-powered PCs I’ve used, it didn’t quite deliver “all-day battery life” when using basic productivity applications like Microsoft Word, OneNote, Slack, and Google Chrome. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat in the Movies & TV app on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled until the laptop suspends itself. We set the screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks. This is a best-case scenario for any laptop since local video playback is so efficient, and real battery life in day-to-day use is always going to be less than this. Also, this machine has an advantage in this benchmark because it has an OLED display, which means it uses less power to display the black bars beside the video during playback. The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid lasted for an average of 806 minutes in our battery life benchmark. That’s nearly 13 and a half hours. Of course, you won’t get that much battery life in real use. It’s worth noting that Lenovo says you’ll get better battery life when using the laptop as an Android laptop instead of a Windows laptop. So, when the battery is getting low, you could switch to an Android experience to prolong your usage. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid: Conclusion The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is a very cool machine. I’m glad Lenovo is creating interesting and unique experiences like this one and bringing them to market. (I was also impressed by the dual-screen Lenovo Yoga Book 9i laptop, which I reviewed earlier this year). The elephant in the room is the price. $3,518 is a lot of money for a laptop. For that much money, you could get both a capable Windows laptop and a high-quality Android tablet. You could use both devices at once. In fact, you’d probably spend less than $3,518 on that dual-device setup – even if you splurged. Many people looking at a machine like this one may prefer a 2-in-1 that runs Windows in both modes, like Microsoft’s Surface Pro. Other people may want a separate Windows laptop and Android tablet. Or, if you just want a laptop that runs Android apps, you may want to get a Chromebook. I wish the mechanism for attaching the display worked more smoothly and didn’t feel so clunky to use. But I got used to it, and some people are going to love this machine. There’s nothing else like this on the market. If you want a two-in-one Windows and Android experience like this one, there’s no substitute. Read...

The referral relates to comments Takuta Ferris made during last week`s general debate. Read...

The referral relates to comments Takuta Ferris made during last week`s general debate. Read...

Although Amazon is currently readying the troops for its Prime Big Deal Days event (aka October Prime Day), which officially begins October 8, we’re already seeing a number of early laptop deals. I’ve curated a list of the best laptop deals below. Why should you listen to my recommendations? Valid question! I oversee PCWorld’s laptop review program, so I handle everything from assignment to publication. I also carefully maintain our best laptop deals roundup on a day-to-day basis as well as our best laptops of 2024 roundup on a weekly basis. Since I spend a good amount of time every day searching the web for the best laptop deals, I’m pretty tuned in to popular trends and able to pluck the good deals from a sea of bad ones. To assemble the list below, I looked at everything from graphics and storage space to design and form factor. I also checked out Amazon’s pricing history with Camel Camel Camel. Don’t forget to check out our Prime Big Deal Days 2024 hub for more great deals in other tech categories. First published on Sept. 24, 2024. Last updated on Sept. 24, 2024. Best Prime Big Deal Days deals on budget and mid-range laptops HP Stream 14, includes 16GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron N4120 CPU, $309 ($90 off at Amazon) HP Envy 360, includes a convertible form factor and an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U CPU, $759.99 ($240 off at Amazon) Acer Swift Go 14, includes an OLED display and an Intel Core Ultra processor 155H, $799.99 ($200 off at Amazon) The HP Envy x360 is a great laptop with a powerful Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor and a versatile convertible form factor. It’s zippy enough for general browsing and productivity tasks, and the convertible form factor means you can fold the screen all the way back. Being able to use a laptop in different positions is useful if you’re a frequent traveler, especially when using the device in a cramped space like an airplane seat. The 15.6-inch 1080p display is also nice as it has touch capability. This is good news if you’re a regular doodler or note taker. Best Prime Big Deal Days deals on premium laptops Asus VivoBook S 16 OLED, includes an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU and a 3200×2000 OLED display, $999.99 ($100 off at Amazon) Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro, includes an OLED touchscreen and an Intel Core 7 Ultra CPU, $1,371.99 ($78 off at Amazon) Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, includes Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and a Snapdragon X Elite CPU, $1,604 ($95.99 off at Amazon) The above laptop deals are all fantastic, but there’s one that really stands out from the rest. For under a grand, you can pick up the Asus VivoBook S 16 OLED, which boasts a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU as well as a stunning 3200×2000 OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The CPU has 16 cores, 22 threads, and can run up to 5.1GHz. That means it should blitz right through day-to-day tasks and office work. The OLED display is ideal for entertainment or graphic design work, as this type of panel is capable of producing inky blacks and rich colors. The laptop itself also weighs just 3.31 pounds, which is perfect if you travel often. Best Prime Big Deal Days deals on high-end gaming laptops Asus TUF Gaming A15, includes a 1080p 144Hz refresh rate display and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $1,034.99 ($365 off at Amazon) MSI Katana 17, includes 32GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $1,259 ($140 off at Amazon) Asus ROG Strix G16, includes a 165Hz refresh rate display and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $1,282.76 ($117.23 off at Amazon) MSI Katana A17, includes a 240Hz refresh rate display and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, $1,699.99 ($300 off at Amazon) If you’re looking for a great gaming experience at a reasonable price point, the Asus TUF Gaming A15 is definitely worth checking out, as it’s a very well-rounded machine. Between the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, this laptop should fly through most games on the higher graphics settings. The 1080p display is also quite spacious at 15.6-inches and the 144Hz refresh rate should keep things looking nice and smooth in the heat of battle. It also comes with 1TB of SSD storage, which is a good amount of space if you’ve got a massive games library. Best early Prime Big Deals Day deals on gaming laptops under $1,000 HP Victus, includes an Intel Core i5-12450H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU, $589.99 ($110 off at Amazon) Gigabyte Aorus 15, includes a 360Hz refresh rate display, an Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, $979 ($120 off at Amazon) Acer Nitro 16, includes 1TB of SSD storage, an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $957.47 ($342.52 off at Amazon) Acer Nitro V 16, includes a 165Hz refresh rate display, a AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, $967.49 ($162.05 off at Amazon) The Gigabyte Aorus 15 deserves a call-out because of its wickedly fast 360Hz refresh rate display. That’s an incredibly high number, so this display should churn out silky-smooth visuals, which is important during more intensive matches. It also comes with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU and an Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, meaning it has enough juice to run most games on the Medium or High graphics settings, but you may want to dial those settings back on more modern titles. The display, measuring a roomy 15.6-inches, is pretty spacious with a resolution of 1920×1080. It’s not the highest resolution we’ve ever seen, but it’s perfectly fine for most games. More awesome Prime Big Deal Days 2024 tech deals Our PCWorld editors have curated best deal roundups across all the major tech categories: Best Amazon tech deals across PCWorld’s top categories Laptop deals: Best of Prime Day 2024 Monitor deals: Best of Prime Day 2024 SSD and storage deals: Best of Prime Day 2024 USB flash drive deals: Best of Prime Day 2024 Thunderbolt dock and USB-C hub deals: Best of Prime Day 2024 Office chairs and standing desks: Best of Prime Day 2024 Battery charger deals: Best of Prime Day 2024 Chromebook deals: Best of Prime Day 2024 Laptop deals FAQ 1. What kind of laptop should I get? Well, it depends on your needs and lifestyle. A 2-in-1, for example, is a good fit for someone who travels often. You can swing the screen back 360 degrees and use it in tablet mode for taking notes or you can prop it up like a tent for watching movies with others. If gaming is a top priority, then you’ll want to look into a laptop with powerful internal hardware and a display with a high refresh rate. For those of us who need a basic laptop for general web browsing, a low-powered Windows laptop should do you just fine. 2. How can I tell whether a laptop is a good Prime Day deal? I always use Camel Camel Camel, which is a pricing history platform. You can make a free account and the interface is pretty easy to navigate. Let’s use the Asus VivoBook 16 as an example. Plug the ASIN, which is the part of the URL that starts with the letter B (B0BT6NKLQR in this case), into the search bar and hit search. Once the result generates, scroll down and you’ll see a graph of its price history. You’ll see a big dip in the price this month, the lowest price it has ever been in fact. That’s a big drop from the end of March when it was as high as $741.16. 3. Do laptop brands matter? Not particularly when you’re hunting for deals, as long as you stick to household names. All of the big manufacturers like HP and Acer make perfectly capable machines and they all offer pretty steep discounts on their online retail storefronts. You may have a personal preference, though. Dell, for example, has great customer service and their website is easy to navigate. As for HP, their back-to-school guide is laid out in a really straightforward way. 4. How much memory do I need in a laptop? I always tell my friends and family to shoot for at least 8GB of RAM. Anything less than that and you may very well notice a slowdown. If you can go higher than 8GB, that’s great! The more RAM you have, the snappier your laptop will be, especially when it comes to general browsing or making spreadsheets. 16GB of RAM is better for productivity tasks and gaming, and 32GB of RAM is perfect for photo editors. Read...

Another update just rolled out to Windows 11 Insiders that brings new features like jump lists for apps pinned to the Start menu and the ability to share files from the Windows Search panel, reports Windows Latest. But the most intriguing part of the update is an improvement to File Explorer that adds a new Shared section to the Home folder, right next to the Recent and Favorite sections that are already there. This new Shared section of File Explorer integrates with your Microsoft account and showcases the files that have been shared with you across Microsoft’s other products, including OneDrive and Teams. Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro For enterprise and education accounts, the Shared section will also include files that have been shared within the organization. It will also work with Microsoft Entra ID, used by companies for managing access to internal resources for employees. Though still buggy, File Explorer’s new Shared feature could end up being quite useful if you’re part of a fast-moving team or organization with lots of files flying around. Having all those shared files from across many apps in one central location should make it far easier to find the exact documents or images you need. As of now, this feature is only available in the optional KB5043185 update that’s available to Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel. This update is expected to reach the general public in early October. Further reading: Should you become a Windows Insider? What you need to know before signing up Read...

The director-general of health has denied Tauranga an extension which would have allowed the city to delay water fluoridation. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating ProsExcellent contrast ratio and color gamutGood HDR brightnessSuperb motion clarity at 240HzSupports USB-C with 90 watts of Power DeliveryConsAggressive display curve is divisiveStand is too largeHigh MSRP compared to rivalsOur VerdictThe Acer Predator X34 is another solid OLED monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate for superb motion clarity, though its extreme curve will be divisive. Best Prices Today: Acer Predator X34 Retailer Price $1,199.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket There’s a new generation of 34-inch OLED ultrawides hitting store shelves. They upgrade the maximum refresh rate to 240Hz, making them competitive with the latest 27-inch and 32-inch OLED widescreens. Acer’s Predator X34 is part of this new breed, but it stands out from the crowd with an extremely aggressive curve that’s sure to appeal to som — and greatly annoy others. Acer Predator X34 specs and features The Acer Predator X34 has an LG WOLED panel with a refresh rate up to 240Hz. Refresh rate aside, the panel’s performance is very similar to earlier panels, but it still looks great. Display size: 34-inch ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3440×1440 Panel type: LG WOLED Refresh rate: Up to 240Hz Adaptive sync: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certified Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 watts of USB Power Delivery, 1x USB-B upstream, 3x USB-A 3.2 downstream, 1x USB-C 3.2 downstream, 3.5mm audio-out VESA mount: 100x100mm Speakers: 2x 5-watt speakers Price: $1,199.99 MSRP Acer tacks on useful extras including a USB-C port with up to 90 watts of USB Power Delivery and a pair of 5-watt speakers. However, the monitor’s listed MSRP of $1,199.99 is expensive, and it’s currently found on Amazon for over $1,000. That’s on the high end of pricing for a 34-inch ultrawide. Further reading: See our roundup of the best gaming monitors to learn about competing products. Acer Predator X34 design The Acer Predator X34 doesn’t make a strong impression right out of the box. It looks fine, but Acer hasn’t developed a cohesive design language that competes with brands like Alienware, Samsung, or LG. When placed next to those brands, the Predator monitor appears somewhat generic. It has sharp, aggressive lines that indicate its gaming-focused intent, but lacks distinctive flair. There’s no RGB-LED lighting, either, which is unusual for a gaming monitor above $1,000. One feature that immediately stands out is the monitor’s aggressive 800R curve. A lower number indicates a more pronounced curvature, and 800R is significantly more aggressive than most competing monitors, most of which have a 1500R or 1800R curve. This is a divisive design choice. An extreme curve can enhance immersion in certain genres of games, like first-person shooters or simulation titles, but may be distracting on the Windows desktop and in productivity apps. Personally, I’m not a fan of the curve. Foundry Foundry Foundry Acer ships the Predator X34 with an ergonomic stand that offers a good range of height, tilt, and swivel adjustment. The stand is sturdy, and I found its operation was smooth. However, like the recently reviewed MSI MPG 341CQPX, the Predator X34 uses a wide stand that takes up too much space on a desk. There’s no need for the stand to be this large, and I prefer a smaller, flatter, more compact design. Of course, it’s possible to use a third-party stand or monitor arm, as the monitor supports a 100x100mm VESA mount. Acer Predator X34 connectivity and menus The Acer Predator X34 comes equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, and one USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, providing a total of four video inputs. All these inputs are capable of handling the monitor’s maximum resolution and refresh rate. The USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode and offers up to 90 watts of USB power delivery. While this isn’t quite as high as the MSI MPG 341CQPX, which provides up to 98 watts, the extra eight watts are unlikely to make a noticeable difference in most cases. The USB-C port allows you to connect and charge a laptop or tablet that supports USB-C. Connecting over USB-C turns the monitor into a USB hub with two additional USB-A downstream ports and one USB-C downstream. If your PC lacks USB-C, you can instead access these ports with a USB-B upstream connection. The monitor also has a KVM switch. A 3.5mm audio-out jack rounds out the connectivity options. This is a good range of connectivity for a gaming monitor. The Acer Predator X34’s extreme curve can enhance immersion in certain genres of games, like first-person shooters or simulation titles… Foundry Foundry Foundry As usual, the monitor’s on-screen menu is controlled through a joystick located in the center of the bottom bezel. The joystick is responsive, and I found Acer’s menus easy to navigate. The font size in the menus could be larger, but good contrast helps with readability. The Predator X34 includes a typical array of image quality and gaming options, such as color calibration controls, an on-screen crosshair, and a dark stabilizer feature, which increases brightness in dark areas so you can see details hidden in shadows. You can also control the monitor’s settings through Acer’s Display Widget software, which is available for Windows. Many major monitor brands now offer similar software for controlling features directly in the operating system, and while Acer’s Display Widget may not be the most polished or attractive option, it gets the job done. The monitor also includes a uniform brightness mode. This reduces the maximum brightness of the panel but ensures consistency, preventing noticeable fluctuations in brightness when switching between bright and dark scenes in a game or between windows in light and dark modes. Audio is provided by a pair of 5-watt speakers. While they don’t sound amazing, they are louder and more capable than average. The speakers are fine for casual listening, such as podcasts or background music, but for gaming, you’ll still want to use a headset or external speakers for better sound quality. Acer Predator X34 SDR image quality The Acer Predator X34 has a LG WOLED panel with a maximum refresh rate of up to 240Hz at 3440×1440 resolution. It performs similarly to other LG WOLED panels, with strengths in brightness and contrast, but a color gamut that’s a bit more narrow than Samsung QD-OLED panels. Foundry Foundry Foundry SDR brightness is a traditional weak spot for OLED panels (whether it’s Samsung’s QD-OLED panel technology or LG’s WOLED). The Predator X34 is not an exception to this, but it does score towards the high end of what OLED panels deliver in SDR. The SDR brightness of 287 nits is inching close to 300 nits, and it makes the Predator X34 X usable in most rooms with light control. With that said, though, rooms with many large windows may still challenge the monitor’s brightness on a sunny day. Also, the monitor’s extreme curve can amplify glare at particular angles, so it’s wise not to place a lamp directly behind where you’ll view the monitor. Foundry Foundry Foundry The Predator X34, like other modern OLED monitors, has an effectively infinite contrast ratio. It can reach a perfect minimum luminance of zero nits, which means dark areas of the screen appear perfectly black. The contrast ratio greatly improves immersion and provides a rich, attractive image in a wide variety of content, from photos to Netflix and games. But, since all OLED panels can achieve this, the Predator X34 doesn’t have a noticeable advantage or disadvantage against its direct competitors. Foundry Foundry Foundry LG WOLED panels tend to have a strong color gamut, but not as strong as QD-OLED. The same is true for the Predator X34. It was able to display 96 percent of DCI-P3 and 89 percent of AdobeRGB. Though good, that’s less than the MSI MPG 341C, which has a QD-OLED panel that hit 98 percent of DCI-P3 and 95 percent of AdobeRGB. Gamers shouldn’t worry about this much, as the Predator X34 still looks vibrant and punchy. However, creators who want wide color support might prefer an alternative that can handle a wider color gamut. Foundry Foundry Foundry The Acer Predator X34 achieves a great result in color accuracy. Though it’s not the best we’ve seen, any result close to a color error of one is outstanding, and indicates a monitor accurate enough that even the most eagle-eyed viewers will have a hard time spotting any problems. I certainly couldn’t, and I found the monitor’s image to appear lifelike and realistic. I also measured a gamma curve of 2.3 and a default color temperature of 6400K at 50 percent of the monitor’s maximum SDR brightness. These figures slightly miss the preferred target of 2.2 and 6500K, and they mean the out-of-box image is a bit darker and warmer than preferred. It’s a minor difference, it’s similar to the error I’ve measured from other OLED monitors, and most people won’t notice it. The monitor also has options to help you calibrate gamma and color temperature to your preference. Sharpness is okay. OLED panels have an unusual subpixel layout as compared to older panel types, and this can cause pixelation in small fonts, as well as odd off-color artifacts across high-contrast edges. However, 1440p is still a reasonably crisp resolution, and these problems aren’t always noticeable. It tends to look sharper in movies and games than on the Windows desktop. Also keep in mind that 3440×1440 is the only resolution available from 34-inch OLED ultrawides right now, and all of Acer’s competitors share this issue.The Acer Predator X34 is a great SDR monitor, though not any better than past OLED monitors. That’s fine, because OLED monitors are among the most gorgeous, vivid, and saturated display panels ever sold. Brightness is their sole downside, but the SDR brightness on tap here is stronger than most OLED monitors, and should be enough so long as you’re not trying to use the Predator X34 X in a very bright, sunlit room. Acer Predator X34 HDR image quality The Acer Predator X34 X supports HDR and has VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. Based on my results, though, I’m a bit surprised it wasn’t able to achieve a higher level of certification, like True Black 600. Foundry Foundry Foundry I measured maximum sustained brightness of 709 nits in a 10 percent window, meaning 10 percent of the Acer Predator X34 was lit. That decreased quite a bit as more of the display was lit, which is typical for all OLED monitors. Still, a 10 percent window result of 709 nits is solid for an OLED display and towards the top of the pack. In general, the Acer Predator X34 looked good in HDR content. It delivered great brightness in highlights, like a flash of lightning, as well as convincing brightness in scenes with a mix of dark and bright elements. It will only look dim in uniformly bright scenes, like a snow-capped mountain. With that said, I have a couple nitpicks. First, the Acer Predator X34 doesn’t offer many HDR modes. HDR is on, or off. When it’s on, you also have the option to control HDR brightness. But that’s otherwise all you get. Most monitors have several HDR modes. Also, I didn’t find the Predator’s SDR tone mapping to be great when viewing SDR on the Windows desktop. Compared to other monitors I’ve tested recently, like the MSI MPG 341CQPX and Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP, the Predator seemed flat and dull when displaying SDR with HDR turned on. This is a common problem, but one some competitors have improved on. Still, the Acer Predator X34 provides solid HDR performance overall. Acer Predator X34 motion performance The Acer Predator X34 supports a refresh rate of up to 240Hz, which is arguably the monitor’s headline feature. There’s a handful of 34-inch OLED ultrawides with a refresh rate of 240Hz, like MSI’s MPG 341CQPX, but older models only support between 144Hz and 185Hz. And, yes, the Predator’s motion clarity is excellent. A higher refresh rate improves fluidity, reduces input lag, and reduces motion blur. OLED monitors also have fast pixel response times, which minimizes another source of blur. As a result, fine details are generally visible on the Acer Predator X34. Fast-scrolling test images from League of Legends and DOTA 2, for instance, show that character names and hitpoint bars are generally readable, though names can become hard to make out when they don’t contrast well with the background. Motion clarity isn’t as good as a 360Hz OLED, like the Alienware AW2725DF, but it’s great. Acer provides official support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. However, the monitor works with G-Sync, too, and was detected as a G-Sync-capable monitor when I connected it to a laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050. I would have liked to see official support, though: It gives shoppers peace of mind. Should you buy the Acer Predator X34? The Acer Predator X34 is a great OLED gaming monitor with impressive SDR image quality, good HDR image quality, and a 240Hz refresh rate that can deliver excellent motion clarity. It also provides a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and up to 90 watts of Power Delivery, so it’s easy to connect a laptop or tablet that supports USB-C. The monitor’s aggressive 800R curve will be divisive, however, since it’s a benefit in some situations but a distraction in others. Acer’s pricing is also rather high, with a listed MSRP of $1,199.99. That makes it hard to recommend over less expensive competition, like MSI’s MPG 341CQPX. But if you find it on sale at a more competitive price, or you want an aggressive curve, the Predator X34 will prove a good choice. Read...

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