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If you’re looking for both a powerful and compact business laptop for mobile use in the price range between 1,000 and 1,500 Euros (~$1,213 and ~$1,819), you might like the MSI Prestige 14 Evo. The A11M-005 model that we tested, which costs just under 1,300 Euros (~$1,577), offers a modern quad-core chip from Intel’s Tiger Lake generation with the Core i7-1185G7. This is supported by 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512 GB M.2 SSD. The display is a matte Full HD IPS panel with a slim bezel design. The device was developed in close cooperation with Intel (Evo platform).

The competitors of the Prestige 14 Evo include other 14-inch business devices without a dGPU such as the Asus ZenBook 14 UX425EA (Core i7-1165G7), the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7-14ARE (Ryzen 7 4800U), the HP EliteBook 845 G7 (Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U), and the Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ (Ryzen 7 4700U). All the aforementioned laptops appear in the tables as comparison devices.

Case

At first glance, the 14 Evo looks very much like the “conventional” Prestige 14, but a closer look and touch reveal a few differences. In this way, not only does the 14 Evo have a somewhat more stable touchpad but also a different keyboard layout as well as a finer key labeling. MSI has also tweaked the port configuration and distribution (Thunderbolt 4 instead of Thunderbolt 3, card reader relocated, 1 USB port less).

Otherwise, the case has the same characteristics. The large metal surfaces makes the chassis look very high-quality, although the build quality could be a bit better (the transition between the top and bottom cover is a bit rough). Stability is decent for such a compact device, although the surfaces bend noticeably at times in some places under strong pressure. However, this shortcoming is hardly bothersome in everyday use.

Speaking of compact: With a footprint of 31.9 x 21.5 cm and an overall height of just 1.6 cm, the 14-incher doesn’t take up much space on a desk or in a bag. The low weight (only 1.2 kg) also contributes to the transport suitability. Further plus points are awarded for the stylish design. The Prestige 14 Evo looks good in any environment.

Connectivity

Ports

In terms of ports, MSI follows the “Apple trend” and equips the 14 Evo with only a handful of ports. In addition to two modern Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side that are also used to charge the laptop, the 14-incher also has a USB 2.0 Type-A port, a microSD slot, and a 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones and microphones on the right side. Buyers will have to do without an RJ45 port as well as a Kensington lock slot and dedicated video outputs. External monitors are connected to the Thunderbolt ports via a DisplayPort/HDMI to USB-C adapter and the respective cable.

Communication

Intel’s AX201 chip was responsible for wireless communication in our test device. The Wi-Fi 6 model supports the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax WLAN standards as well as Bluetooth 5.1. The 14 Evo mastered the speed test with our reference router, the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 (distance of 1 m), with a very good 1,110 Mb/s for sending and 1,260 Mb/s for receiving data; this places it in second and third place, respectively, in the competition.

Webcam

While the webcam quality is rather unimportant for multimedia and gaming devices, it has a certain relevance in the business sector. MSI still needs to improve considerably in this respect. According to our measurements, neither color reproduction nor image sharpness are convincing (see photos).

Accessories

The delivery scope is limited to the usual information booklets and the power adapter (65-watt model). The latter is surprisingly small and handy at around 6.5 x 6.5 x 3 cm, which is good for transport.

Maintenance

When it comes to maintenance, we were left with mixed feelings. Although the cross-head screws on the case’s bottom can be removed quite quickly, the bottom cover can only be pried out of its anchoring with a flat tool (e.g. a spatula) and a good amount of muscle power. Buyers can expect a very tidy layout inside the case: The M.2 slot and the wireless module are located right next to the large battery. The cooling system consists of a fan and two heat pipes. If you’re looking for RAM slots in the pictures below, you will, unfortunately, be disappointed. The entire memory is soldered to the motherboard and thus can’t be replaced or expanded – a pity.

Warranty

The warranty covers 24 months. It is a classic pickup-and-return service.

Input devices

Keyboard

MSI uses a chiclet model as keyboard; apart from a few exceptions, it’s comfortably generous in terms of key size. However, buyers will have to make do without a number pad due to the limited space. The typing experience proves to be quite good when it comes to pressure point and stroke. In terms of volume, the keyboard is in the midfield, so it’s neither quiet nor particularly loud.

We couldn’t quite get used to the layout. For a German device, the key layout is – as we’ve seen in many other MSI models – very unconventional (single-line Enter, shifted ><| key, …). Due to the deviations from the standard, a certain familiarization period is required. We were most annoyed by the very narrow and closely spaced Fn/Ctrl keys. In addition, the 14 Evo offers a white keyboard backlight for nighttime use or use in poor light. It offers several adjustment stages.

Touchpad

The touchpad is very large for a 14-inch device. Although the height of around 6.5 cm is moderate, the width of almost 14 cm deserves recognition and makes it easier to cover longer distances with the mouse pointer. The multi-touch support worked flawlessly in the test. Thanks to the smooth surface, content can be comfortably zoomed and scrolled with two fingers. MSI has also integrated a fingerprint scanner into the upper left corner of the touchpad.

Display

As mentioned at the beginning, the image reproduction is handled by a matte IPS panel with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, which is just right for the laptop’s format.

While the black level (0.18 cd/m²) and contrast (over 1,600:1) are convincing, brightness falls short of expectations and possibilities. An average of 277 cd/m² is primarily suitable for indoor use and not for outdoor sessions – annoying in view of the device’s mobile nature. With the exception of the Acer Swift 3, all rivals manage around 400 cd/m².

In terms of color reproduction, the 14 Evo places itself in the middle of the test field. With a Delta E 2000 value of 2.95 (ColorChecker @Calman), the display is still just within the ideal range. The color space is no cause for criticism either: 93% coverage of sRGB and 71% of AdobeRGB should satisfy most buyers. In addition, the viewing-angle stability is good as is typical for IPS panels.

However, the 14-inch display is hardly suitable for gaming. With response times of 33 ms (black-to-white) and 60 ms (gray-to-gray), respectively, the panel transitions quite slowly.

Test conditions

In the preinstalled MSI Center, you have the option to modify various software and hardware aspects. The most interesting is the User Scenario menu, which contains four profiles. Unless otherwise mentioned, all our measurements were performed in the Balanced mode, which is automatically enabled after setup.

Performance

To justify the price of over 1,000 Euros (~$1,214) and to ensure high mobility, MSI resorts to powerful energy-saving components. The brand-new Tiger Lake CPU should be mentioned in particular here; it features the surprisingly fast Iris Xe Graphics G7 as we’ll see in more detail in a moment. 16 GB of RAM should also be sufficient for several years for most business customers. The 512 GB SSD can theoretically be replaced with a larger model.

Processor

The Core i7-1185G7 is an ideal companion for users who value both performance and battery life. The 28-watt model offers 12 MB of L3 cache as well as four cores, and it can process up to eight threads in parallel via Hyper-Threading. One of the biggest improvements compared to the predecessor Comet Lake architecture is the reduced manufacturing process. In order to catch up to some extent with AMD’s 7 nm technology, Intel has finally stopped using a 14 nm process and has at least switched to 10 nm instead.

The quad-core processor’s base clock speed is 3.0 GHz, and up to 4.8 GHz is possible via Turbo Boost, which is quite a lot for a power-saving CPU. We tested how the processor behaves under load with our Cinebench Loop.

This revealed two things. Firstly: While the Silent mode throttles performance significantly, the High Performance mode found in the MSI Center hardly brings any advantages. Secondly: The Core i7-1185G7 can roughly match the Ryzen 7 4700U (8C/8T), but the Intel chip doesn’t stand a chance against the Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U and the Ryzen 7 4800U (8C/16T each), which are often found in similarly expensive laptops – at least not in multithread applications.

System performance

Thanks to the NVMe SSD in particular, the Prestige 14 Evo boasts a very good system performance. 4,894 points in PCMark 10 could also come from a multimedia or gaming laptop. From a subjective standpoint, the operating system (Windows 10 Home 64-bit) responds quickly too, be it loading times, transfers, installations or boot processes.

DPC latencies

Although the 14 Evo has the lowest latency rates in the test field, it’s not necessarily suitable for real-time audio and video-editing according to the LatencyMon tool.

Storage

MSI doesn’t make any compromises when it comes to the installed storage device. The 512 GB drive from Phison partly leaves the Samsung and Intel SSDs of the competitors behind in the CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD benchmarks.

Graphics card

The Xe Graphics G7 GPU that’s integrated into the processor is responsible for graphics calculations. The DirectX 12 capable chip has 96 execution units and clocks at 400 to 1,350 MHz.

As the graphics benchmarks prove, performance is surprisingly good for an iGPU and especially for Intel standards. Both in 3DMark 11 and in the current 3DMark, the 14 Evo comes out on top of the comparison field. AMD’s Vega 7 is outperformed by at least 20% in each case (maximum lead: Almost 90%), and a Vega 8 performs at least 10% slower. Even the Asus ZenBook 14, which is also equipped with an Iris Xe G7, has to admit some defeat.

We tested whether the graphics performance remains constant over prolonged periods of time with the role-playing game The Witcher 3 for a good 60 minutes (Full HD, maximum details). No frame-rate drops could be observed here.

Gaming performance

Although the 14 Evo would definitely be gaming-capable, the 14-incher is definitely not a gaming platform. For one thing, performance is often only sufficient for minimum settings and 1280×720 pixels in modern games. On the other hand, many games generally don’t run smoothly – probably due to driver problems. We had to deal with crashes (Cyberpunk 2077, Horizon Zero Dawn, Dirt 5, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Call of Duty Cold War) and/or massive graphics errors (Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Watch Dogs Legion) in some cases. On the other hand, older or less demanding games, such as Dota 2 and Fifa 21, can be enjoyed with good visuals and at the native resolution.

Emissions

Noise emissions

Although the 14 Evo gets louder than its rivals under load, the noise level in 3D mode is acceptable at 39 to 43 dB(A). The case fan is completely silent in idle usage – apart from intermittent spikes. However, the device is never completely silent. In this way, our test device exhibited a quite prominent coil whine. Depending on your sense of hearing and your personal perception, this noise can become annoying.

Temperature

The 14 Evo also surpasses the comparison field in terms of heat development. The highest graphics performance also leads to the highest temperatures in 3D mode. In view of a maximum bottom temperature of 61 °C (~142 °F), the 14-inch laptop shouldn’t necessarily be placed on the lap under full load. A maximum of 54 °C (~129 °F) in our The Witcher 3 test is also quite a lot. However, most users will probably only rarely put their business laptop under such load. The case surfaces stay fairly cool under normal conditions. We couldn’t measure more than 30 °C (~86 °F) on the chassis in idle usage.

Speakers

Unfortunately, the sound quality doesn’t live up to the purchase price. According to our audio analysis, the bass and the mids are particularly lacking. The maximum volume of 75 dB is also modest. The competing ZenBook 14 performs better almost across all frequency ranges and can be turned up higher (up to 87 dB). To enjoy media content, headphones or external speakers should be plugged into the 14 Evo.

Energy management

Energy consumption

Even though the competition needs a bit less power, we would describe energy consumption as decent. 5 to 11 watts in idle usage speak for good battery life. Under load, our measuring device displayed between 39 and 65 watts.

Battery life

The battery capacity of 52 Wh is in the range of the competition, which has 48 to 67 Wh. The 14 Evo’s runtime is more than solid in practical scenarios. In our Wi-Fi test with reduced display brightness (approx. 150 cd/m²), the 14-incher shut down after about 7.5 hours. However, the comparison devices do even better: They achieve between 10 and 13 hours in the WLAN test. Only in an ideal case (low load and low brightness) is it possible to squeeze more than 10 hours out from the MSI laptop’s battery.

Verdict

With the Tiger Lake generation, Intel is trying to close the performance gap to AMD, which was long overdue.

However, the plan has only been partially successful. While graphics performance makes a big leap forward in the case of the Core i7-1185G7 (Iris Xe Graphics G7), the relationship between the processor performance and the cost is still better with AMD. In the corresponding price range, the main competitor already offers octa-core processors with 16 threads instead of quad-core ones with eight threads, which rewards certain applications with a significantly higher performance. In addition, the AMD models are more energy-efficient (lower heat development, higher battery life).

Otherwise, MSI has focused more on the mobility aspect than on the professional aspect. The port range and maintenance/upgrade options (soldered RAM) fall victim to the compact and light case. The quality of the webcam and the speakers could also be criticized. In return, the Prestige 14 Evo scores points with a stylish design and a large touchpad, among other things.

Price and availability

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is currently available in the A11M-005 configuration (i7-1185G7, Iris Xe, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB SSD) for around 1,300 Euros (~$1,580) at Notebooksbilliger.de and Amazon.de, among others.

Leaks for Intel’s upcoming Core i5-11400 and Core i9-11900K Rocket Lake CPUs are starting to show up, including a few benchmarks. APISAK Tweeted two new benchmarks, one showcasing the i9-11900K running on an RTX 2080 Ti in an Ashes of the Singularity run, and a SiSoftware benchmark result has appeared for the Core i5-11400.

In the Ashes of the Singularity run, the Intel Core i9-11900K, with a base clock of 3.5ghz, scored 6400 points in the benchmark, with an average CPU frame rate of 64 fps. This score seems incredibly low for Intel’s next-gen flagship. For perspective, you can find plenty of Core i7-9700K results with the same settings and GPU with nearly double the frame rates. Presumably, this means the 11900K is an engineering sample and isn’t running beyond its base clock. But at least we now know that 11900K samples are in the testing phase, implying that Intel’s Rocket Lake chips should be getting close to launch.

For the Core i5-11400, we now know this chip rocks six cores and 12 threads, plus a base clock of 2.6GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 4.4Ghz, not bad for what should be Intel’s lowest-end Core i5 model. The benchmark used is SiSoftware’s Multi-Media workload, and the 11400 came with a score of 646.07Mpix/s.

Intel’s Rocket Lake processors will be built on the upcoming Cypress Cove core architecture, which is simply Intel’s 10nm Sunny cove cores backported to the 14nm node. So yes, for one final time (we hope), Intel is sticking with its 14nm process. But, Intel seems to be focusing entirely on IPC performance this time around, with the i9-11900K only having eight cores and 16 threads, a strange occurrence when the Core i9-10900K came with ten cores and 20 threads. 

The Core i5 series still has six cores and hyperthreading which is the same as the 10th gen Core i5s. That said, it remains a mystery if the Rocket Lake Core i7s will retain hyperthreading or not, with the 11900K going back down to eight cores. Either way, perhaps Intel can regain enough per-core performance to make up for the core deficit compared to AMD’s Zen 2 and Zen 3 CPUs.

Lenovo launched the X1 Nano as a new kind of 13-inch ThinkPad with an ultra-low weight and up to i7 Tiger Lake silicon. It has just appeared via a new sales avenue in Germany: CampusPoint, an online store ostensibly aimed at students.

Nevertheless, its listings might give consumers in other European countries an idea of how much they might have to pay should they want one of these ultrabooks when they arrive on their own markets.

The site has 4 SKUs of the Nano available, all of which have matte 2K IPS displays. Their base model here has the Intel Core i5-1130G7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD. Their specs rise to encompass the i7-1160G7 CPU, a maximum of 1TB of storage and 4G/LTE support.

They start at €1899 (~US$2300) for the starting i5/512GB SSD model, or €2029 (~$2458) for a version of the same with mobile data. €2149 (~$2603) gets the buyer a non-4G/LTE ThinkPad X1 Nano with the i7, whereas €2249 (~$2725) nets the top-end i7/1TB/SIM card-enabled variant. All of these options also have IR webcams and Windows 10 Pro.

Just as expected, Lenovo announced its K12 series in China and to no surprise the two are just rebranded Motorola phones for the Chinese market. The K12 is identical to the Moto E7 Plus while the K12 Pro is simply a rebadged Moto G9 Power which was announced in Europe last month.

The Lenovo K12 comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ LCD with a waterdrop notch for its 8MP selfie cam. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 460 chipset paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage.

You get a 48MP primary camera next to a 2MP depth sensor. The battery comes in at 5,000 mAh while the software side is covered by Android 10.

Pricing for the Lenovo K12 is set at CNY 799 ($122) though initial sales get it down to CNY 699 ($107).

The K12 Pro comes with a 6.8-inch LCD with the same HD+ resolution and a punch-hole cutout in the left corner for its 16MP selfie shooter. There’s a 64MP primary module around the back alongside two 2MP sensors for macro shots and depth data. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 662 alongside 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. There’s a massive 6,000 mAh battery here too which can be topped up at 20W speeds.

The K12 Pro retails for CNY 999 ($153) though the first wave of sales gets it down to CNY 899 ($137).

Cyberpunk 2077 is launching soon, but that hasn’t stopped one person from already messing with the game on an Aya Neo gaming tablet equipped with a Ryzen 5 4500U with Vega integrated graphics. Shockingly the gamer is able to play Cyberpunk at an 800P resolution at 30 FPS at the lowest settings. Sure it’s not the prettiest experience and its way below the minimum Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements, but the fact that it runs is amazing in and of itself.

The Aya Neo is a gaming tablet made in China that is very similar in form factor to a Nintendo Switch — but unlike a Switch, it runs on Windows 10 with a Ryzen 5 4500U APU, 16GB of LPDDR4X running at 4266Mhz, a 512GB NVMe SSD, a 1280×800 IPS screen and a 47W hr battery.

While the spec sheet isn’t great for playing PC games, the fact that this tablet has enough horsepower to run the latest PC titles shows how good it is. Tablets have almost always been limited to mobile games due to their small sizes, so this is a huge win for the Aya Neo and the gaming-tablet market overall. 

Unfortunately, if you want to buy this tablet in the States, you cannot at this time. The device is only being sold to Chinese markets, but the creator is tempted to start an Indiegogo campaign to see if the device will be worth selling overseas. So there is hope for international buyers.

The Dell 32-inch Curved 4K S3221QS (catchy, I know) is a versatile monitor, enough for a variety of use cases including gaming. Yet it probably won’t blow you away for any one of them. It’s a great choice if you want something that can give you solid experiences across the board, but if your aim is high quality, high refresh gaming then it might not be the right fit for you.

First off, I was immediately surprised by how heavy the Dell S3221QS is. Most of the weight is in the stand, which feels great. Despite a relatively small footprint, the monitor stands solidly with practically no wobble, even if you try to give it one. It is a bit limited in motion: You can’t swivel it to portrait mode, and while it angles a fair way up you’re mostly out of luck when it comes to tilting downwards. 

Thankfully the viewing angles are really quite good so none of this was a real problem for me. Sometimes curved monitors don’t feel right unless you find the perfect position, but the S3221QS seems to avoid that and comes through clear from most angles. 

I also haven’t had any difficulty with reflections thanks to the matte screen, and the thin side bezels are a nice touch. The curve also adds a nice sense of encompassing immersion, which is great for movies and atmospheric games, especially on the large 32-inch screen. It also has quite rich blacks and decent contrast, which can look impressively beautiful, especially with 4K content.

When it comes to gaming, the S3221QS is a bit hit and miss. That’s largely because the max refresh rate is only 60Hz. Obviously, if you’re choosing to buy a 60hz monitor that’s a decision you’ve already made, and it’s an admirable goal for anything but the best graphics cards today anyways. But as someone who’s coming from a higher refresh rate, I definitely noticed the drop. The FreeSync variable refresh rate did seem to help as I didn’t notice any real tearing at least. 

The Dell is quite good as far as a 60Hz monitor goes, but if gaming is your main use then I’d usually recommend going for something with a higher refresh rate, even if you lose the 4K resolution.

FPS Games especially are a bit more jagged and aiming can feel sluggish on a slower panel, especially when you’re used to a higher rate. Little things like stuttering when moving the camera quickly, even during RPGs can be a bit jarring too. It just lacks the smoothness, and you’d expect it to. It’s not a fault of this monitor specifically, though, just something to be aware of with 60Hz in general. You will notice the lower framerate if you’ve come to expect anything better. If not, play ball because, again, the depth and clarity of image do make up a lot of ground if you’re more after the fidelity side of things.

The panel itself, while rich and having really good contrast, is side lit, and noticeably so at times. At first I was having trouble with flickering sides during some games on dark screens. Disabling HDR in the windows settings did help, and I didn’t see any flickering while playing console games at least through the monitor. However, there were still occasions where I noticed it from the corner of my eye, though it remains fairly minimal.

If it’s work rather than play you’re after, the S3221QS won’t let you down. The 32-inch curved screen is pretty huge, especially when you’re up close. There’s more than enough room to have multiple tasks on the go. I’m not used to working on a curved screen so it’s a bit odd. Things on the edges feel very close to you and it gives you a level of focus that you’ll either love or hate. There’s something about feeling literally engulfed with a monitor while you’re working. It’s great for immersive experiences but can be a little intimidating for things like word documents and tables.

It’s one of those things that’s perfectly fine once you get used to it. Then going back to a regular monitor feels weird. All those aspects that started off feeling too close suddenly feel too far away. Things look flat, because they are. I wouldn’t say either was inherently better than the other, but the viewing angles on the S3221QS are good enough that it works well from all distances. So as far as curved monitors for work go, it’s a solid choice so long as you don’t mind only landscape positioning.

There’s definitely a lot to like about the S3221QS. The solid build and versatility make it a great choice as a jack of all trades monitor. It can swing nicely from work to play, and video content looks especially good. It’s just not the right choice if your main purpose is gaming and you want a high refresh rate, but again, it was never going to be. 

Overall, the S3221QS is a solid choice for an all-rounder with a curved screen. It looks great with the rich 4K display and saves some cash on forking out the big bucks for a high refresh rate monitor, if that’s not your thing.

Almost half a decade since news first leaked about Google’s Fuchsia OS, the company has announced that it is expanding the Fuchsia open source community and opening it up to contributions from the public.

Google’s Fuchsia OS is a bit of an enigma, and the company rarely talks about it, despite its code living on GitHub since 2016. 

It’s an open secret that Fuchsia is Google’s long-term project to create a general-purpose operating system, built from the kernel up, but this is the first time the company is engaging with it in the public.

Proper open source

Google has been sharing its work on Fuchsia in the public repositories for several years now. 

With the new announcement, it has added in all the missing ingredients to turn the project into a full-fledged open source effort. 

“Starting today, we are expanding Fuchsia‘s open source model to make it easier for the public to engage with the project,” shares Google in a blog post.

Specifically, Google has now made the operating system’s bug tracker available to the public and there are mailing lists through which developers can receive alerts about various updates. The company has also outlined the process to become a member to submit patches or a committer with full write access. 

For developers only

Fuchsia also now has a governance model through which Google explains how strategic decisions in the project are made. 

Importantly, the project now has a publicly accessible technical roadmap for anyone to track its progress.

The OS is far from being in a usable state, though if you are interested in working on it, Google has also put out a detailed guide to help you setup a Fuchsia emulator on your Mac or Linux computer.

Now that Google is willing to engage with the public on Fuchsia, we’re hoping the company also shares more details about where the OS fits in its portfolio and how it plans to use it going forward.

Chuwi is back with a new slim and light 13.3-incher that weighs just under 1 Kg (2.2 lbs) and is only 11.9 mm thick (under 0.5 inches). The Chinese company is notorious for including rather outdated specs for most of its products to keep production costs as low as possible, and the LarkBook clearly proves this point. At least you do not need to sell a kidney to afford this fancy piece of hardware as the estimated AliExpress price is around $450.

Speaking of outdated specs, the LarkBook is powered by a quad-core / quad-thread Intel Celeron N4100 ULV CPU with 6 W TDP, which is still decent for office work, while the UHD Graphics 600 iGPU can handle 4K decoding and output. You also get 8 GB of LPDDR4x of RAM and a 256 GB SSD that can be upgraded. The Wi-Fi 5 + Bluetooth 4.2 support feels dated too, and the included battery is quite small, limited to 34.8 Wh capacity, but at least it features fast charging.

There are, however, some pretty good features included with this model, as well. For instance, the stylish chassis is made of light aluminum and magnesium alloy and has a premium finish. The 13.3-inch IPS screen features FHD resolution, slim bezels and has 220 nits peak luminance. Interestingly enough, Chuwi offers quad DTS speakers and dual-array mics, which are usually featured on more expensive laptops. Port selection includes 1x USB-A 3.1 Gen 1, 1x USB-A 2.0 and a USB-C 3.1 with DisplayPort and charging capabilities, plus a headphone jack and a microSD card reader.

The new LarkBook will be available for purchase on AliExpress starting December 15 and customers can now sign up for a $50 discount, lowering the final price to only $394.99.

The Galaxy A51 is arguably more important than the S20 — it’s the affordable phone you’re more likely to buy, the phone that caters to a wide audience instead of enthusiasts. And Samsung apparently knows it. Well-known leaker OnLeaks has shared renders of what he says is the Galaxy A52 5G, and it looks like Samsung isn’t in a rush to reinvent one of its best-selling designs.

The images suggest the Galaxy A52 will hew very closely to the template Samsung established with the A51. You’ll still get a 6.5-inch display with a hole-punch selfie camera, an under-the-screen fingerprint reader, and a quad rear camera array. The largest outward change may be the look of those rear cameras, which visually resemble what you see on the Note 20 family.

Specs weren’t mentioned, although it’s safe to presume Samsung will use faster Snapdragon and Exynos processors and make other iterative performance upgrades.

This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. If the rumor is accurate, Samsung would keep the 3.5mm headphone jack on the Galaxy A52 and the plain-but-durable “glasstic” back. If you have no complaints about the A51, its sequel might please you.

There’s no mention of a release date or price for the Galaxy A52. Given the reportedly conservative design, though, we wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung ships the new model relatively quickly at a price similar to the $499 of the A51. That could make it a compelling option if the Galaxy S20 FE and the upcoming Galaxy S21 are beyond what you’re willing to spend.

AirPods Max feature incredible high-fidelity audio, Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio

Cupertino, California — Apple today announced AirPods Max, innovative wireless headphones that bring the magic of AirPods to an over-ear design with high-fidelity sound. AirPods Max combine a custom acoustic design, H1 chips, and advanced software to power computational audio for a breakthrough listening experience with Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio. AirPods Max come in five gorgeous colors, including space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink, and are available to order starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, December 15.

“AirPods are the most popular headphones in the world, beloved for their effortless setup, incredible sound quality, and iconic design. With AirPods Max, we are bringing that magical AirPods experience to a stunning over-ear design with high-fidelity audio,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The custom acoustic design, combined with powerful H1 chips, and advanced software enable AirPods Max to use computational audio to wirelessly deliver the ultimate personal listening experience.”

Custom Acoustic Design

From the canopy to the ear cushions, every part of AirPods Max is carefully crafted to provide exceptional acoustic performance for each user. The breathable knit mesh canopy, spanning the headband, is made to distribute weight and reduce on-head pressure. The stainless steel headband frame provides strength, flexibility, and comfort for a wide variety of head shapes and sizes. Telescoping headband arms smoothly extend and stay in place to maintain the desired fit.

Each ear cup attaches to the headband through a revolutionary mechanism that balances and distributes ear cup pressure, and allows it to independently pivot and rotate to fit the unique contours of a user’s head. Each ear cushion uses acoustically engineered memory foam to create an effective seal — a critical factor in delivering immersive sound. The Digital Crown, inspired by Apple Watch, offers precise volume control and the ability to play or pause audio, skip tracks, answer or end phone calls, and activate Siri.

Breakthrough Listening Experience

AirPods Max feature a 40-mm Apple-designed dynamic driver that provides rich, deep bass, accurate mid-ranges, and crisp, clean high-frequency extension so every note can be heard. A unique dual neodymium ring magnet motor allows AirPods Max to maintain total harmonic distortion of less than 1 percent across the entire audible range, even at maximum volume.1 Equipped with an Apple-designed H1 chip in each ear cup, a custom acoustic design, and advanced software, AirPods Max use computational audio to deliver the highest quality listening experience possible. Utilizing each of the chips’ 10 audio cores — capable of 9 billion operations per second — computational audio powers a breakthrough listening experience that includes Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio.

Adaptive EQ: AirPods Max use Adaptive EQ to adjust the sound to the fit and seal of the ear cushions by measuring the sound signal delivered to a user and adjusting the low and mid-frequencies in real time — bringing rich audio that captures every detail.

Active Noise Cancellation: AirPods Max deliver immersive sound through Active Noise Cancellation so users can focus on what they are listening to. Each ear cup features three outward-facing microphones to detect environmental noise, while one microphone inside the ear cup monitors the sound reaching the listener’s ear. Using computational audio, noise cancellation continuously adapts to the headphone fit and movement in real time.

Transparency Mode: With AirPods Max, users can switch to Transparency mode to simultaneously listen to music while hearing the environment around them — ensuring everything, including a user’s own voice, sounds natural while audio plays perfectly. Switching between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode can be done with a single press using the noise control button. 

Spatial Audio: AirPods Max use spatial audio with dynamic head tracking to place sounds virtually anywhere in a space — delivering an immersive, theaterlike experience for content recorded in 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos. Using the gyroscope and accelerometer in AirPods Max and iPhone or iPad, spatial audio tracks the motion of a user’s head as well as the device, compares the motion data, then remaps the sound field so it stays anchored to the device, even as the user’s head moves.

The Magic of AirPods

AirPods Max join the existing AirPods family in delivering unparalleled wireless audio, whether a customer is listening to music, making phone calls, enjoying TV shows and movies, playing games, or interacting with Siri. The magical setup experience customers love with today’s AirPods and AirPods Pro extends to AirPods Max with one-tap setup, followed by automatic pairing with all the devices signed in to a user’s iCloud account, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

AirPods Max automatically detect when they are on a user’s head using the optical and position sensors. Once in place, AirPods Max play audio and can pause once removed or when the user simply lifts one ear cup. With AirPods Max, voice calls and Siri commands are crisp and clear due to beam-forming microphones that block out ambient noise and focus on the user’s voice.

Battery and Performance

AirPods Max feature great battery life with up to 20 hours of high-fidelity audio, talk time, or movie playback with Active Noise Cancellation and spatial audio enabled.2

AirPods Max come with a soft, slim Smart Case that puts AirPods Max in an ultralow power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use.

Additional Features

Automatic switching allows users to seamlessly move sound between iPhone, iPad, and Mac. When playing music on Mac, users can easily take a call on iPhone and AirPods Max will automatically switch over.

Audio Sharing makes it possible to easily share an audio stream between two sets of AirPods on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV 4K. Simply bring AirPods Max near the device and connect with a single tap.3

Siri capabilities include the ability to play music, make phone calls, control the volume, get directions, and more. Siri can also read incoming messages as they arrive with Announce Messages with Siri.

Pricing and Availability

AirPods Max are available to order starting today for $549 (US) from apple.com and in the Apple Store app in the US and more than 25 other countries and regions. AirPods Max will begin shipping on Tuesday, December 15.

AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later.

AirPods start at $159 (US) and AirPods Pro are available for $249 (US).

Customers can add personal engraving to AirPods Max, AirPods Pro, and AirPods for free on apple.com and in the Apple Store app.

Customers are able to find the same great shopping and support services at apple.com/shop, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store locations. Customers can get shopping help from Apple Specialists, choose monthly financing options, get special carrier offers for iPhone, trade in eligible devices, and get Support services and no-contact delivery or Apple Store pickup options. Customers are encouraged to check apple.com/retail for more information on the health and safety measures in place, and the services available, at their local store.

Pickup options include in-store, curbside, or Express storefront, and vary by store. Same-day delivery may also be available. Customers can check apple.com/retail for services available at their local store.

With Apple Card, customers in the US get 3 percent Daily Cash back when they buy directly from Apple and have the option to choose Apple Card Monthly Installments so they can pay over time, interest-free.