Laptops

Google has now confirmed what we reported this spring: ChromeOS is done in 2034. The company says it’s committed to its 10-year-support promise, but for those Chromebooks that can’t be turned into Googlebooks, it might have to get creative.

We’d been told the 15-inch laptop would start at $1,299, but preorders just opened for a much friendlier $1,149.99. It’s the biggest of the first five Googlebooks, with an Intel Core Ultra 5 325 processor inside, 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage, and an HDMI port. It ships from October 4th.

Googlebooks will be available at retailers later this week, but you might not need to buy a new device to get Google’s latest laptop OS. “Many of our newest Chromebook devices will be eligible to transition over to Googlebook OS,” says Google in a support note targeted at Chromebook enterprise and education customers. Google hasn’t shared migration paths or device eligibility yet, but it’s encouraging to see the search giant sticking to what it announced earlier this year.

Googling “Googlebooks” doesn’t pull up any info about Google’s upcoming laptops. It’s an entire page of links, and even an AI overview, about Google Books — a search index of actual books. Not ideal for potential customers looking for information on new products launching soon.

As I mention in my Googlebook hands-on piece, Google’s new laptop OS has clever ideas about how an Android-based laptop and an Android phone interact. It’s worth checking out in motion, like in our short video that went up today.

MediaTek is announcing its new Dimensity CX C10 Max processor. It’s an Arm-based chip built on TSMC’s 3nm process, with an 8-core CPU, 11-core GPU, and an NPU capable of up to 55 TOPS. This will be MediaTek’s Googlebook chip, as it’s designed for thin-and-light laptops like the five initial Googlebooks that were just announced.

Framework announced the single-key module last year, but now says it can no longer turn it into a “sellable product.” The company says the module’s costs were too high and even the “expert DIYers and electronics tinkerers” in its developer program struggled with assembling it.

The XPS 13 now costs $699 for a base configuration with just 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That price used to get you a configuration with 512GB of storage, but Dell’s now charging $799 for that one. It matches the pricing for Apple’s MacBook Neo, which also got a price hike earlier this year.

Lenovo’s Project Swan has a screen that literally unrolls. The prototype could use better speakers and some weight balancing, but I love watching it in motion!

Remember Frore and its fan-replacing AirJet cooling tech? Sure looks like Lenovo is taking it seriously!

Sometimes, one purchase more than makes up for the annual cost of a Costco membership. HP’s OmniBook 3 is a good example of that. It has a Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 1200p OLED screen, and through September 6th it costs just $449.99 ($200 off) at Costco. Seems like a capable Arm-based machine for the price that’s great for entertainment, too.

HP is adding to the impending deluge of RTX Spark computers due in October with the OmniBook X 14, OmniBook Ultra 16, and the small form factor OmniDesk. My colleague Dom saw the Ultra among other Nvidia-powered laptops at IFA, but we still don’t know any prices.

Only one of them switched on, and apparently it wasn’t even meant to, so I’ve got no deep performance insights about the first laptops powered by Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip. But Dell, Lenovo, MSI, Asus, HP, and Microsoft are all on board with hardware already — hopefully we’ll get the details on them all before too long.

I am largely uninterested in Android tablets these days — and yet! This just-announced Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus Gen 2 surprised me in person. Magnetically snaps right onto this “OneStep” keyboard frame, surprisingly excellent typing with 1.5mm key travel, firm non-slip leatherette base. Doesn’t open one-handed, though, and I’d like it better with a carry handle.

The Oukitel RG14-P includes an integrated solar panel that supports 10W charging, which can recharge the battery to 50 percent within approximately six hours “under optimal sunlight conditions.” There’s no price, but it’s expected to launch in November with a 14th gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB expandable storage, and optionally, a built-in camping light.

Acer, which has owned the historic PC brand since 2008, has resurrected it in a line of cheap, cheerful, and exceedingly colorful hardware, ranging from a 14-inch laptop to a portable food steamer. It all goes on sale in Q4 this year, though for now it’s only hitting the market in Europe.

Samsung announced a new Galaxy Book6 laptop at IFA. It’s a 14-inch notebook with Intel Wildcat Lake processors, starting with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. And it’ll start at $799.

Acer is announcing the Vero 16: a 16-inch laptop with tool-free internal access. The battery and SSD are user-replaceable, and the hinge and ports are also removable. Acer also says the processor can be upgraded for “at least two generations.”