Acer today expanded its line of Chromebook Plus laptops with the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-4H/T), providing users with a performance-minded, compact and durable model that enables them to do more with the AI-powered capabilities of ChromeOS. "The new Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-4H/T) delivers the sought-after combination of a portable design, 14-inch Full HD display and performance-minded technology that lets users get the most out of exciting capabilities offered with Chromebook Plus," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, Acer Inc. "Students, businesses, families, and individuals need to be more productive, connected and empowered than ever, and can achieve this using Acer Chromebook Plus devices."

The new Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is the latest addition to Acer's lineup of Chromebook Plus laptops that offer enhanced Chromebook performance and experiences, emphasizing better hardware designs with upgraded displays and cameras paired with powerful productivity, creativity, and multimedia capabilities. Like all Acer Chromebook Plus laptops, users have the power to do more with the new Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-4H/T). Powered by an Intel Core i3-N305 processor and an ample 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 provides 2x the speed, memory, and storage, giving responsive performance and efficient multitasking, whether running built-in AI-powered apps like Google Docs and Photos, watching favorite shows in full HD on a 1080p display, or movie-making with LumaFusion. Plus, the processor ensures all-day enjoyment with up to 11 hours of usage on the fast-charging battery.

After two years of decline, the worldwide traditional PC market returned to growth during the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24) with 59.8 million shipments, growing 1.5% year over year, according to preliminary results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. Growth was largely achieved due to easy year-over-year comparisons as the market declined 28.7% during the first quarter of 2023, which was the lowest point in PC history. In addition, global PC shipments finally returned to pre-pandemic levels as 1Q24 volumes rivaled those seen in 1Q19 when 60.5 million units were shipped.

With inflation numbers trending down, PC shipments have begun to recover in most regions, leading to growth in the Americas as well as Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). However, the deflationary pressures in China directly impacted the global PC market. As the largest consumer of desktop PCs, weak demand in China led to yet another quarter of declines for global desktop shipments, which already faced pressure from notebooks as the preferred form factor.

LG Electronics USA (LG) today announced pricing and availability of its 2024 premium lineup of laptops - the LG gram Pro and LG gram Pro 2-in-1. The 16- and 17-inch LG gram Pro models retail for $2399 (16Z90SP-A.ADB9U1) and $2499 (17Z90SP-E.ADB9U1) respectively while the CES 2024 Innovation Award-winning 16-inch gram Pro 2-in-1 (16T90SP-K.ADB9U1) retails for $2099. For a limited time, customers shopping on LG.com can pre-order the 16- and 17-inch LG gram Pro and 16-inch LG gram Pro 2-in-1.

Throughout the duration of the pre-order period from February 21, 2024, to March 10, 2024, customers will be able to purchase the 32 GB-RAM/2 TB-SSD LG gram Pro laptop for the price of a 16 GB-RAM/1 TB-SSD model of the same screen size. They'll also receive an LG gram +view IPS portable monitor (16MR70.ASDU) and expedited shipping at no additional cost. All standard terms of purchase apply.

Colorful is now exclusively a GeForce RTX graphics card vendor, but it had a brief stint with AMD Radeon under the separate Colorfire brand. This brand is reportedly making it back, but not for graphics cards. Colorful isn't just selling graphics cards and motherboards, but also has a growing line of gaming notebooks. Apparently, the Colorfire brand will denote notebooks powered by AMD Ryzen mobile processors. The discrete GPUs are still GeForce RTX 40-series. The news emerged from a regulatory filing by Colorful's notebook ODM, Clevo, which is a well known notebook manufacturer for several brands. The filings speak of the Colorfire MEOW R15 24, and the MEOW R16 24, which presumably feature 15-inch 16:9 and 16-inch 16:10 displays, respectively.

Both the Colorfire notebooks are powered by AMD Ryzen 8040 series "Hawk Point" mobile processors with full Ryzen AI enablement, while their discrete graphics options include GeForce RTX 4060 series and RTX 4070 series Laptop GPUs. The listings also mention at 180 W power supply for the MEOW R15 24; and a 230 W one for the MEOW R16 24, which seems to tally well with a combination of a Ryzen 8040HS series 45 W-class processor, and a GeForce RTX 4060/4070 series GPU with configured total graphics power in the 130 W to 160 W range.

NVIDIA has released a new GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 551.46 that should fix stuttering issues in some scenarios. According to the release notes, the new hotfix driver fixes micro-stuttering in some games when vertical sync is enabled, as well as stuttering when scrolling in web browser. It also fixes stuttering issues on Advanced Optimus Notebooks when running Red Dead Redemption 2 under Vulkan API, and stability issues in Immortals of Aveum under extended gameplay.

The new GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 551.46 is based on the latest GeForce WHQL driver, version 551.23. You can download the new GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 551.46 over at NVIDIA's support page.

ASUS today announced the launch of its latest BR1204, CR, and CZ series laptops at Bett UK 2024, marking the third consecutive year of ASUS Education launches at the Bett Show and demonstrating its dedication to educational technology innovation. The flagship BR1204 is engineered to withstand the daily challenges of classroom activity, meeting the highest standards of durability. Accompanying the BR series are the CR and CZ Chromebook series (CR1204, CR1104, CZ1204, CZ1104), which bring unparalleled versatility and mobility to hybrid-learning environments.

Together, these series champion the ASUS commitment to reliability, user-centric design and safety, both online and offline - with easy-to-service designs that ensure IT administrators can maintain devices with minimal effort, enhancing the efficiency of education technology. With the comprehensive ASUS lineup for education, both teachers and students are equipped to excel in the digital age.

Acer unleashes a series of powerhouse gaming laptops, headlined by the refreshed models of the Predator Helios 18 and Predator Helios 16. Acer also announced the new Predator Helios Neo 18 gaming laptop and major updates to the Predator Helios Neo 16, all outfitted with the latest Intel Core 14th gen processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop GPUs with DLSS 3.5 technology and NVIDIA Advanced Optimus. NVIDIA RTX Laptop GPUs are packed with specialized AI Tensor Cores enabling unmatched AI performance and accelerations in creative apps, ultra-efficient productivity, blistering fast gaming, and more. The Predator laptops feature Microsoft's Copilot in Windows 11 and a dedicated Copilot key for quick access to AI-powered task assistance. They also come with one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, giving gamers access to hundreds of high-quality PC games.

Gamers seeking a competitive edge will be thrilled with the Predator Helios 18 and Predator Helios 16 laptops as they come with options for captivating Mini LED panels, MagKey 3.0 swappable mechanical switch for shorter key travel and response time, and lightning-fast network speeds with Wi-Fi 7 compatibility.

Acer expanded its Swift family of thin and light laptops with new Intel Core Ultra processors featuring Intel's first neural processing unit (NPU) and integrated AI acceleration capabilities. Now even more performance-minded, capable, and intuitive for content creation, schoolwork, productivity, and play, the new Swift laptops' powerful processing and AI-supported features further the laptop's usability.

"After unveiling our first Intel Core Ultra laptops last month, we're debuting even more products in our Swift line to help a wider range of customers take advantage of premium laptop experiences and AI-supported technology for more exciting and effective PC use," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer. "Plus, these laptops feature impressive updates that help customers do more - and do them even better."

Acer today announced new models of the AI-ready Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-72) powered by Intel Core Ultra processors that feature Intel Arc graphics processing unit (GPU) and Intel AI Boost, its new integrated neural processing unit (NPU), to deliver efficient computing performance of AI workloads and immersive experiences on the thin-and-light laptop. Students, professionals, and creators can leverage the Swift Go 14's array of AI features such as Acer PurifiedVoice and Acer PurifiedView for videoconferencing and customization tools on the OLED laptop. Accomplishing tasks and workflows are also made easier on the Swift laptop with Microsoft's Copilot in Windows 11.

"Our new Swift Go 14 goes beyond its stylish design and high-resolution display, delivering the latest suite of collaboration technology to support a wide variety of functions and lifestyles," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, Acer Inc. "The Swift Go 14 is one of the first devices in the market to be outfitted with Intel Core Ultra processors, paving the way to enhance support of generative AI tasks on more Acer devices moving forward."

AMD today launched its first client processors that feature the compact "Zen 4c" CPU cores, with the Ryzen 5 7545U and Ryzen 3 7440U mobile processors for thin-and-light notebooks. The "Zen 4c" CPU core is a compacted version of the "Zen 4" core without the subtraction of any hardware components, but rather a high density arrangement of them on the 4 nm silicon. A "Zen 4c" core is around 35% smaller in area on the die than a regular "Zen 4" core. Since none of its components is removed, the core features an identical IPC (single thread performance) to "Zen 4," as well as an identical ISA (instruction set). "Zen 4c" also supports SMT or 2 threads per core. The trade-off here is that "Zen 4c" cores are generally clocked lower than "Zen 4" cores, as they can operate at lower core voltages. This doesn't, however, make the "Zen 4c" comparable to an E-core by Intel's definition, these cores are still part of the same CPU clock speed band as the "Zen 4" cores, at least in the processors that's being launched today.

The Ryzen 5 7545U and Ryzen 3 7440U mobile processors formally debut the new 4 nm "Phoenix 2" monolithic silicon. This chip is AMD's first hybrid processor, in that it has a mixture of two regular "Zen 4" cores, and four compact "Zen 4c" cores. The six cores share an impressive 16 MB of L3 cache. All six cores feature 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache. There is no complex hardware-based scheduler involved, but a software based solution that's deployed by AMD's Chipset Software, which tells the Windows scheduler to see the "Zen 4" cores as UEFI CPPC "preferred cores," and prioritize traffic to them, as they can hold on to higher boost frequency bins. The "Phoenix 2" silicon inherits much of the on-die power-management feature-set from the "Phoenix" and "Rembrandt" chips, and so are capable of a high degree of power savings with underutilized CPU cores and iGPU compute units.

Acer today launched the company's first Chromebook Plus laptops, the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and Acer Chromebook Plus 514, debuting with Google's Chromebook Plus initiative that offers a new tier of Chromebook performance, emphasizing better hardware designs with upgraded displays and cameras, and paired with new productivity, creativity, and multimedia capabilities.

The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and Acer Chromebook Plus 514 both have the hardware and technology features customers need to stay productive, entertained and connected. These new models are powered by modern high-performance processors, and high-resolution IPS displays and 1080p crystal clear cameras flanked by narrow bezels to keep the focus on the vibrant visuals.

Silicon Motion's product manager, Liu Yaoren, has predicted that the first notebook models to feature PCIe 5.0 SSD storage will hit retail around late 2024. This information was disclosed during the company's key note presentation at 2023's Flash Memory Summit Conference and Exhibition, but only picked up on by media outlets in recent days. The American-Taiwanese company showcased their SM2508 controller on the showroom floor—this is advertised as their answer to Phison's E26. The upcoming Silicon Motion-designed controller "promises to deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 14 GB/s. Random performance is rated at 2.5 million IOPS read and 2.4 million IOPS write." NAND flash speeds of up to 3600 MT/s provide some future proofing.

ITHome has reported on further technical details released by Huirong Technology/Silicon Motion—their flagship SM2508 IC also uses the more advanced TSMC 6 nm process technology, (and) has a built-in dual-core Cortex R8 processor." The memory controller's operational TDP is rated at around 3.5 W—the firm believes that their product shows the "ultimate potential of PCIe Gen 5 performance" with ultra-low power consumption, although no thermal figures were disclosed to attendees. MSI premiered its PCIe Gen 5 SSD compatible laptop series earlier this year, but aftermarket parts with sizable heatsinks are proving to be a tricky fit.

ASUS today announced BR1402 series, the world's first 2-in-1 ruggedized 14-inch laptops aimed at K-12 education—and designed for the need of modern students and hybrid learning. Available in both traditional clamshell form (BR1402C) and a convertible design that flips 360° to become a versatile multitouch tablet (BR1402F), the all-new BR1402-series laptops are built to military-grade standards and packed with clever protective features to help students through their learning journey.

BR1402 series are also loaded with essentials for the demands of hybrid study, enabling education to flow seamlessly from the classroom into the home and beyond. To empower a full day's study, these laptops include up to 10-hour battery life, full-function USB-C, up to WiFi 6 for speedy connectivity and a modular design to ensure easy maintenance and upgrades.

SCHENKER's premium ultrabook series VISION upgrades to Intel's Core i7-13700H and also receives a graphics card update. Aside from the VISION 16 Pro with a GeForce RTX 4070 or 4060, the VISION 16 is only available with an Intel Iris Xe GPU. On the other hand, the VISION 14 with a 99 Wh battery and 3K display offers a choice between a model with Iris Xe and GeForce RTX 3050 Refresh. Thus, the slim laptops are among the lightest and thinnest ultrabooks in their respective performance or equipment classes. Nevertheless, the model series is defined by good connectivity as well as plugged-in RAM and SSDs. All laptops are available in black or silver.

Schenker Technologies updates the 16-inch premium ultrabook SCHENKER VISION 16 Pro in the model version M23 (Mid 2023) to the latest level of technology - with a fast Intel Core i7-13700H featuring 6 performance and 8 efficiency cores as well as an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or 4060 as freely configurable options, each with a GPU performance of up to 95 watts (70 watts plus 25 watts Dynamic Boost 2.0).

Today, after nearly three years of development, Sightful unveiled Spacetop : the World's First Augmented Reality (AR) Laptop. Created by a team of more than 60 spatial computing experts, including veterans from Apple, Microsoft, and Magic Leap, Spacetop represents the next generation in personal computing and the first application of Augmented Reality that seamlessly fits into users' daily lives. With customized hardware and a proprietary spatial environment, Spacetop leverages AR to remove the physical constraints of standard laptops. The result is a first-of-its-kind product that allows users to carry with them a massive, private, virtual workspace designed and customized by the user to be their most creative self, no matter where they are—all in a familiar laptop form factor.

"Two worlds sit at a crossroads: Laptops are the centerpiece of our daily working lives, but the technology has not evolved with the modern, work from anywhere, privacy matters, 'road warrior' mentality. Meanwhile, Augmented Reality is full of potential and promise, but is yet to find its daily use case," said Tamir Berliner, CEO and co-founder of Sightful. "We are at the perfect moment for a significant paradigm shift in a device we all know and love, and Spacetop Early Access is the first step in that journey."

TrendForce research reveals that global notebook shipments reached 33.9 million units in 1Q23—a 13% QoQ and 39% YoY decline. This drop is primarily attributed to the continued impact of economic headwinds on consumer market confidence, which has hindered notebook channels as they destock. As a result, notebook brands have reduced ODM orders in an attempt to regulate inventory pressure, with this pressure on notebooks and their components expecting to be eased in 2Q23 as channels increase demand MoM. TrendForce predicts this will drive 2Q23 notebook shipments to 37.63 million units, an 11% QoQ increase but a 17.7% YoY decline.

Business markets face pressure, demand for niche products gradually growing
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point, from 4.75% to 5%—the highest it's been since the eve of the 2007 financial crisis—in response to weak market demand and a continuous decline in corporate revenue. In the face of high financing and borrowing costs, businesses are strictly controlling financial expenditures, delaying procurement plans, and reducing manpower, all of which, impact the shipment volume of commercial models.

Dynabook Americas, Inc., formerly Toshiba PC Company, has announced that it has refreshed its ultralight Portégé X40L-K and performance-rich 14-inch Tecra A40-K and 15-inch Tecra A50-K laptops to include the new hybrid-architecture 13th Gen Intel Core P-Series 28 W processors. All three laptops also include Windows 11 Pro standard for an enhanced productivity and intuitive computing experience.

"Next generation computing solutions capable of exceeding the demands of modern businesses and individuals is vital to Dynabook's success," said James Robbins, general manager, Dynabook Americas, Inc. "The addition of the 13th Gen Intel Core processors with our own mobile innovations allows Dynabook to deliver uncompromising, premium mobile computing solutions that seamlessly integrate into any business or learning environment. The immense power these three new laptops deliver demonstrates Dynabook's unrelenting commitment to producing the market's best professional-grade computing solutions."

Acer today launched four new Chromebooks to meet the needs of students, teachers and administrators, including its first Acer Chromebook Vero model designed specifically for the education market. These new models provide the latest in durability, performance, and features, making them a powerful tool for helping educators deliver better learning outcomes.

"As a leading provider of Chromebooks for the K12 education market, Acer knows what students and teachers need to keep the focus on learning - and these new Acer Chromebooks deliver what's needed and more," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. "Our new Chromebooks provide advances in all the areas that have helped establish them as an essential tool for learning: student-focused durability features, reliable performance and advanced connectivity options to support school technology initiatives."

At CES, LG announced its new Gram Style notebooks with OLED displays and news out of Korea now suggests that the 14 and 16-inch notebooks will sport OLED displays from LG's main competitor, Samsung. This might not be entirely surprising, as there's a limited number of laptop sized OLED panel manufacturers and it seems like LG would rather go with a local, Korean option, rather than using a Japanese or Chinese panel in its upcoming notebooks.

The report by the Elec suggests that the LG Gram Style notebooks will use Samsung's rigid OLED panels based on a standard glass substrate. This is also the type of panel that most other notebook manufacturers are using today, as it's the most cost effective type of OLED panels, regardless of manufacturer. LG Display doesn't currently manufacture this type of OLED panels, even though it apparently could do so, using its flexible OLED production lines, albeit at a higher cost. The irony in the situation is still hard to miss though, as the two companies are fierce competitors in many of their core businesses.

The AORUS brand of GIGABYTE originated with gaming notebooks. At the 2023 International CES, AORUS presented a large number of gaming notebooks covering various market-segments, powered by the latest-generation 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" mobile processors, and GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" Laptop GPUs. The AORUS 17X (17-inch) and AORUS 15X (15-inch) are the company's key performance gaming notebooks. Both come with 1440p Fast IPS 240 Hz displays, and rock an Intel Core i7-13700HX 8P+8E processor. The company didn't specify the GPU model in use, but we expect options to range from the RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, all the way up to the RTX 4090 Laptop GPU. 16 GB dual-channel DDR5-4800 memory, and 1 TB Gen 4 NVMe SSDs make for the rest of the specs.

GIGABYTE has a special treat for creators on the move, with the AERO 16 OLED (16-inch) and AERO 14 OLED (14-inch). As their names suggest, they feature OLED displays. These come with 16:10 aspect-ratio displays. The 14-inch model rocks a 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution, and the 16-inch one does 3840 x 2400 pixels. Both displays are Samsung AMOLED sourced, and Pantone validated for a very wide color gamut. The 14-inch model is powered by a Core i7-13700HX 8P+8E processor and 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory; while the 16-inch model rocks a Core i9-13900H 6P+8E processor with 32 GB of DDR5-4800 memory. Both come with a variety of RTX 40-series Laptop GPU options, and 1 TB of Gen 4 NVMe storage.

Acer today debuts the first models in its new Acer Swift Go line, adding to the award-winning Swift family of notebooks designed for today's mobile professionals, creators, and students. In addition, the new Acer Swift X 14 and Acer Swift 14 were launched with new modern designs, the latest performance technologies, and all the tools to help users stay productive and connected on the go. The Swift Go, Swift X 14 and Swift 14 models highlight new ultraportable designs that are incredibly sleek and stylish. Incorporating well-considered features such as angular edges and structural lines result in a more refined look for these notebooks, appealing to highly mobile customers seeking a more confident look and feel.

The Acer Swift laptop line has also been a recipient of numerous accolades in recent years, with the Swift Edge being named a CES 2023 Innovation Awards honoree. "Our new Swift laptops kick off 2023 with all-new designs that are elevated, modern, and offer a striking visual appeal," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer. "The new Swift laptops do not only look good but house an impressive array of the latest technologies and features including OLED and high-resolution displays, long-lasting batteries and new 13th Gen Intel Coreprocessors that deliver first-class performance."

Global shipments of traditional PCs, including desktops, notebooks, and workstations, declined 5.1% in the first quarter of 2022 (1Q22) but exceeded earlier forecasts, according to preliminary results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. The PC market is coming off two years of double-digit growth, so while the first quarter decline is a change in this momentum, it doesn't mean the industry is in a downward spiral. Despite ongoing supply chain and logistical challenges, vendors still shipped 80.5 million PCs during the quarter. The 1Q22 volume marks the seventh consecutive quarter where global shipments surpassed 80 million, a feat not seen since 2012.

"The focus shouldn't be on the year-over-year decline in PC volumes because that was to be expected. The focus should be on the PC industry managing to ship more than 80 million PCs at a time when logistics and supply chain are still a mess, accompanied by numerous geopolitical and pandemic-related challenges," said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "We have witnessed some slowdown in both the education and consumer markets, but all indicators show demand for commercial PCs remains very strong. We also believe that the consumer market will pick up again in the near future. The result of 1Q22 was PC shipment volumes that were near record levels for a first quarter."

MSI, a world leader in gaming hardware and innovative business solutions, announces today new Business and Productivity laptops for the Summit, Prestige, and Modern Series with 12th Gen Intel Core Processor. MSI revamps the whole business and productivity product line to maximized anyone who needs productivity

The Intel Evo platform certification was awarded to the Summit and Prestige series for their lightweight design, rapid response, and long-lasting battery life. Discrete graphics, powered by NVIDIA, fuel the Summit and Prestige series to help people express their passion and help business professionals reach their goals. The Summit Flip models also feature a seamless 360° 2-in-1 design utilizing the touch screen capability to swap into a tablet mode. And for the Modern series, popular French illustrator Lorraine Sorlet collaborated on four visual designs revitalizing the series with a more "modern" look. The robust lineup has a Business or Productivity laptop for everyone.

Due to the pandemic, laptops shipments reached a record high of 240 million units in 2021, according to TrendForce's investigations. However, the market has been abuzz recently and, as the global population of the fully vaccinated has exceeded 50%, relevant demand driven by the pandemic is expected to gradually weaken. Shipment volume will decrease by 3.3% year-on-year, revised down slightly to 238 million units. Chromebooks will account for approximately 12.3% of shipment volume, though it accounted for approximately 15.2% in 2021. The momentum of shipments has slowed down significantly which indicates that demand derived from the economic effect of remote working and teaching has subsided.

Driven by forces such as the pandemic, geopolitics, and the digital transformation of everyday life, there has been a shortage of global foundry production capacity for nearly two years and shortages have been especially severe for mature 1Xnm~180nm nodes, according to TrendForce's investigations. Although all foundries are furiously increasing capital expenditures to expand capacity, unrealized future expansion does not ease existing supply issues. In addition, the uneven distribution of supply chain resources that has exacerbated the shortage of parts and components has yet to be definitively alleviated. Circumstances as a whole will continue affecting shipments of related whole devices. Only the PC category is expected to emerge largely unscathed in 1Q22.

Moving into 1Q22, TrendForce states, due to the limited increase in production capacity, the market's supply situation is expected to be approximately the same as in 4Q21. However, some end products have entered their traditional off-season cycle and the slowdown in demand momentum is expected to alleviate the immediate pressure on OEMs and ODMs regarding supply chain stocking.