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Lenovo’s Ideapad Flex 3 Chromebook is one of the tiniest Chromebooks I’ve ever used. It’s also one of the cheapest, retailing for just $349.99.
Any laptop that costs that little is going to have some serious drawbacks — and the Flex 3 certainly does. On the other hand, if you’re the sort of shopper who’s willing to set those aside, this little IdeaPad also has a number of pleasant surprises up its sleeve. There are even a few areas (in particular, the battery life) where it gives significantly more expensive devices a run for their money.
I’ll start with the pleasant surprises. The Flex 3 offers a more modern port selection than I’d expect at its price point — there are two USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1 ports and two USB 3.1 Type-A Gen 1 ports (one on each side, which is really handy for charging and connecting accessories), as well as a microSD reader, an audio combo jack, and a lock slot. There’s a 720p webcam that works decently well if you’re not in low light. And the touchpad is surprisingly sturdy — I often find that touchpads in this price range feel plasticky. The Flex even comes with a Google Security H1 chip, which encrypts sensitive on-device data.
There are two features that really impressed me (in addition to the battery life, which I’ll discuss later on). First, I can’t stop talking about the keyboard. It’s great, with tons of travel and a satisfying click. The keys have a slightly rough texture that really grew on me. I got one of the highest scores I’ve ever gotten on my usual typing test, with almost no errors. The only note is that it lacks backlighting, a feature you’ll find on more expensive devices like Acer’s Chromebook Spin 713 (our current top Chromebook pick) and Lenovo’s Flex 5 Chromebook.
Second, audio. The balance and volume that these 2W stereo speakers deliver are on par with those of any number of more expensive Chromebooks. They easily beat the Spin 713, which sounds tinny and thin. There are caveats, of course: There’s very little bass, percussion is weak, I heard a bit of distortion at max volume, and you’ll want an external speaker for any crowded setting. But the Flex is great for video conferences and regular music-listening, and certainly beats what I’ve heard from all kinds of Windows laptops that are over $1,000.
Now, for the major drawbacks. First, this thing is a clunker. It’s not too heavy, at 2.65 pounds, but it’s 0.7 inches thick, and it’s not too far from the size of many modern 13-inch laptops despite having just an 11-inch screen. My main turnoff, though, is the bezels. Good lord, the bezels are enormous. When I’m using the Flex 3, I feel like I’m looking at a small window of screen floating in an abyss of black. It looks like a device you’d have bought in 2014.
I do like some things about the chassis, though. It doesn’t feel at all flimsy, with an aluminum cover and a non-plasticky finish. The display and keyboard are free of flex (despite the laptop’s name). And the 360 hinge is sturdy, with very little wobble.
Speaking of the display, though: That’s the second major drawback here. It’s cramped — I often use two windows side-by-side and I’ve been squinting at tiny text in order to make that work on the Flex 3. Moreover, it’s dim (maxing out at 250 nits), kicks back a ton of glare even indoors, and is quite low-resolution (1366 x 768). I’m gonna be real: It’s pixel-y to look at. I’ve been using the Flex 3 as my primary driver for a week, and while I will miss the keyboard and audio when I send it back, I can’t wait never to have to look at this terrible screen again.
That’s the lowdown on the chassis — let’s look inside. This Ideapad Flex 3 Chromebook configuration is powered by Intel’s dual-core Celeron N4020. That’s the bottom of the barrel as Intel processors go, and it comes with just 4GB of memory (LPDDR4-2400, soldered) and 64GB of eMMC 5.1 storage.
On a Windows machine, these specs would be a hard pass. But Chrome OS is a lighter load, and I can vouch that the Flex 3’s screen is a bigger limit on multitasking than its horsepower is. I was able to use the laptop for a substantial workload, jumping between dozens of Chrome tabs and some apps, but the experience was cramped enough that I wouldn’t recommend it.
Scrolling got a bit sluggish when I tried to work on top of a Spotify or YouTube stream, and the transitions between laptop and tablet mode were a bit slower than I would’ve liked. The only task where I ran into real trouble, though, was sorting through a batch of shots in Google Photos (with a couple other apps running on the side). The Flex 3 did get the job done, but it was quite slow. The one Zoom meeting I tried (on top of some other tabs I needed) was also a bad experience — audio randomly cut out a couple times, and video was stuttery throughout.
Overall, this device is best if you’re looking to do basic office or school tasks, and don’t think you’ll need to have more than a few things open at a time. (And in case this doesn’t go without saying, you’ll want to stay far away from this thing if you plan on doing anything fancy with Linux.)
The flipside of the weak processor is that the Flex 3 has excellent battery life. I averaged eight hours and 45 minutes to a charge with brightness at 50 percent — and I was pushing the thing harder than most people probably will be, as noted above. You can expect that this thing will last all day, and certainly longer than many more powerful Chromebooks. The 45W charger is acceptably quick, juicing the device up to 60 percent in 52 minutes.
The Flex 3 runs Chrome OS, which means it can run Android apps natively. Some of these have improved since the last time I used this operating system — Messenger is now functional and no longer a complete disaster that bricks the machine, for example. But most of the services I use daily (Slack, Twitter, Gmail, Reddit, etc.) are just better experiences in a browser, so I didn’t use the dedicated app functionality all that often. There’s also still a double-notification problem — every time I got a Slack message, I got a notification both from the Slack Android app and my browser.
The Flex 3 also supports Chrome OS’s tablet mode, which has gotten quite good. It supports Android-esque gesture controls, which should help flatten the learning curve for new Chromebook users (though they were a bit sluggish on this device).
Deciding whether to buy a $350 Chromebook comes down to understanding what the big drawbacks are. In this case, there are two: The screen is cramped, and the processor is weak. So the question to ask is: Given those caveats, can you get your stuff done?
If you’re just using this device to pay bills, email people, and run some YouTube videos, I would say you can. It’ll be a little cramped, but you can. And if you can stomach that, the Flex 3 does deliver some great benefits in other areas, from the great keyboard and convenient ports to the outstanding battery life and respectable audio. In these categories, it rivals or surpasses our top Chromebook pick (the Spin 713). If you’re okay with its flaws, you’ll find that the Flex 3 offers quite a bit for its budget price.
Two newly leaked images suggest that AMD considered building an extreme flagship for its Big Navi family featuring a liquid cooling system and called Radeon RX 6900 XTX. The Navi 21 GPUs already rank near the top of the best graphics cards, and also place high on our GPU benchmarks hierarchy. Adding liquid cooling to the mix, similar to what’s been done in the past with the RX Vega 64 Liquid, R9 Fury X and R9 295X2, would allow AMD to reach higher clocks and performance.
A member of the Chiphell forums published two pictures claiming to be the reference design of AMD’s Radeon RX 6900 XTX graphics card. The images were then republished by a Weibo user. The images show a board with a large heatsink with the letter “R” on its shroud, hiding a waterblock underneath.
The shroud also has red accents and the ‘Radeon’ inscription on its side, which is very similar to those on the reference Radeon RX 6800 XT and Radeon 6900 XT graphics cards.
But unlike the 6900 XT, the so-called Radeon RX 6900 XTX does not have a backplate (not that it is particularly surprising for a pre-release product). The board also appears to come with a 120mm radiator and one fan.
While AMD has not yet released a Radeon RX 6900 XTX product, it has worked to deliver the ultimate version of the 6900 XT with 5,120 stream processors and very high clocks. AMD Recently started supplying partners with its “unlocked and unleashed” Navi 21 XTXH silicon that can boost all the way to 2.73 GHz on Sapphire’s Toxic Radeon RX 6900 XT Extreme Edition, and to about 2.50 GHz on AIBs by ASRock and PowerColor (up from 2.25 GHz recommended by AMD).
Assuming AMD did play around with a RX 6900 XTX card, it’d be interesting to know how far it was willing to push the GPU. Some of the extreme cooling systems designed by AMD’s partners seem more capable than its liquid cooler at first glance.
In general, while the Radeon RX 6900 XTX speaks the same design language as AMD’s reference Radeon RX 6800 and 6900-series graphics cards, it’s unclear if the card in the images was meant to be a commercial product, a sample for game developers, or a one-off prototype.
AMD is not new to liquid cooling. The company offered the Radeon R9 Fury X and Radeon Vega 64 Liquid Cooling boards with a closed-loop liquid cooling system. Ultimately, the company moved to a triple-fan cooler with a large heatsink as a more practical cooling solution.
World’s Fastest Radeon RX 6900 XT Graphics Cards
Sapphire Toxic Radeon RX 6900 XT EE
PowerColor Liquid Devil Ultimate RX 6900 XT
ASRock RX 6900 XT OC Formula
Radeon RX 6900 XT
Base
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2,125 MHz
1825 MHz
Game
2,375 MHz
2,305 MHz
2,165MHz
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Boost
2,500 MHz
2,375 MHz
2,295 MHz
2250 MHz
Performance Game
2,525 MHz
2,480 MHz
2,365 MHz
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Performance Boost
2,730 MHz
2,525 MHz
2,475 MHz
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Cooling System
Hybrid
Custom LCS
Triple-fan
Triple-fan
While we still don’t have hard proof of a 6900 XTX under consideration or in the works, it would make sense for AMD to allow its partners to release extreme specced Radeon RX 6900 XT SKUs that could push the Navi 21 silicon even further, especially with rumors of Nvidia planning to announce a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti in the near future.
Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 3090 nearly always outperforms AMD’s Radeon RX 6900 XT, but a heavily factory-overclocked Navi 21 XTXH can successfully compete against a slightly cut-down GA102 that carries ‘only’ 12GB of memory. Whether either card will be available for purchase at reasonable prices this year is another matter entirely.
G.SKILL is well known for its system memory and SSDs and has recently expanded into the peripheral market with gaming-oriented keyboards, mice, headsets, and more. It goes without saying that the company is well respected by the enthusiast community due in part to their high-quality memory. Regardless of whether it is their value lineup or Trident Z kits, the company’s entire portfolio of memory is well regarded. With a solid foundation to build from and a solid plan for expansion, which includes the recently announced ENKI series of liquid coolers, G.SKILL will continue to be a dominant force in the DIY PC market.
In today’s review, I put the G.SKILL ENKI 360 AIO through a battery of tests, comparing it to numerous high-end cooling solutions to see just what it’s capable of. While it does have an ARGB-illuminated pump, G.SKILL opted for black fans, giving the cooler a more subdued appearance. The company has also focused on the cooler’s performance by using a denser aluminium radiator for more surface area with fans that balance static pressure and airflow. That said, let’s take a closer look at what the G.SKILL ENKI 360 has to offer.
Nvidia has reportedly set a launch date for its GeForce RTX 3080 Ti as well as a launch timeframe for its GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics cards. According to HKEPC the products are expected to be unveiled in late May and early June. But as this is just a rumor a healthy dose of scepticism is required until we get official details from Nvidia.
It is claimed that Nvidia intends to release its GeForce RTX 3080 Ti on May 25, 2021, according to an HKEPC report that cites sources with knowledge of the matter. The GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is rumored to launch sometime in early June. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the new boards will be available at launch.
There is no second source to corroborate the report and since the information is strictly unofficial, it may be inaccurate. Again, take it with a grain of salt.
Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is rumored to be based on the company’s GA102 graphics processor with 10,240 CUDA cores. The card is said to feature a 384-bit memory interface and carry 12GB of GDDR6X memory. The price of the unit is expected to be $999 or $1,099, but performance of the product will be very close to Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3090 that carries a $1,499 price tag.
The GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is expected to be powered by Nvidia’s GA104 GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores and a 256-bit interface that will be used for 8GB of 19Gbps GDDR6X memory. At present it is unclear how significantly the ‘Titanium’ RTX 3070 Ti will outperform the regular RTX 3070 model, but higher memory bandwidth will certainly provide an improvement in high resolutions. MSRP of the product is also unclear, but presumably it should land between the 3070 and 3080.
Not that any GPU launched this year will stay in stock for any reasonable amount of time.
Astell & Kern, highly decorated maker of premium portable high-resolution audio devices, has just introduced the SE180 portable music player. It is the third model in the company’s A&futura series following the inaugural A&futura SE100 and SE200, both of which gained What Hi-Fi? Awards in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
For 2021 however, Astell & Kern is trying something new: the SE180 is its first player to feature interchangeable DAC modules.
Expanding on the multi-DAC innovation first introduced with the SE200, music fans can now customise the sound with different audio-flavoured DACs to find the sonics that best suit their ears.
Furthermore, A&K says the A&futura SE180 is the company’s most advanced player yet. It is the first model to boast the firm’s new Teraton Alpha Sound Solution technology, promising improved audio, an enhanced user interface and advanced connectivity.
The South Korean digital audio specialist says the new user interface is “more consistent with an Android smartphone experience”. There’s also AK File Drop for easier wireless file transfers, BT Sink function for simpler connection of the SE180 to an external Bluetooth device, and, of course, that innovative interchangeable DAC design to boast a new level of audio flexibility for the user.
By physically separating the main body from the all-in-one module, A&K claims that any power and radio frequency noise generated by the main unit is completely blocked. The DAC module should slot easily into place from the top of the player and features a pioneering double-locking mechanism that promises to securely connect each component.
But you don’t have to buy a separate digital-to-analogue converter to get the new SE180 up and running. The A&futura SE180 arrives with a default 8-channel module, the SEM1 ESS ES9038PRO. And it’s no slouch – audio file support is comprehensive, with the SEM1 DAC capable of playing up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and native DSD256 files.
Want to start customising and upgrading though? The SEM2 Asahi Kasei AK4497EQ Dual DAC will be the first optional module available at launch, with the ability to play files up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and native DSD512.
Both modules support 2.5mm, 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphones connections for accommodating a greater variety of headphones and in-ears, while there is support for MQA playback via downloaded MQA audio files and Tidal.
A&K says the next DAC module will be released later in the year, with another model following in the first half of 2022.
Otherwise, the The A&futura SE180 features a Full HD 5-inch screen, the smooth, aluminium casework and rotary volume dial we’ve come to expect from Astell & Kern devices, plus a 256GB on-board memory that can be expanded up to 1TB via a microSD card slot.
The Astell & Kern A&futura SE180 with the SEM1 ESS ES9038PRO DAC module is priced £1399 ($1499, €1599) and will be available from May. The optional Astell&Kern SEM2 DAC (Asahi Kasei AK4497EQ Dual DAC Module) is priced £319 ($349, €379) and will also be available from May.
MORE:
Read all our Astell & Kern reviews
See our pick of the best portable MP3 players 2021: from budget to hi-res music players
Check out the best DACs 2021: USB, portable and desktop DACs
The Samsung Z Flip 3 foldable smartphone will be greatly improved. With larger cover display, a 120Hz flexible screen, a triple camera and stereo speakers.
After the introduction of the Galaxy S21 series in mid-January this year, we now have to wait for the successor to the Galaxy Z Flip. This clamshell smartphone was announced simultaneously with the S20 series. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is expected to be released in the summer of 2021. As time goes by, more and more details are known about the new folding phone from Samsung. In this publication, we take a closer look at the expected specifications and improvements over its predecessor.
To start with the name, it remains unknown for the time being under which name the successor to the Z Flip will be marketed. LetsGoDigital has recently learned from several sources that Samsung does not opt for the model name Galaxy Z Flip 2, but for Galaxy Z Flip 3. This is in line with previous rumors on the internet.
This allows the company to align the names of the Z Fold and Z Flip devices. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is also expected in the second half of the year – both foldable phones will probably be announced simultaneously. The Z Flip 5G, which was introduced a few months after the 4G model, can then go down in history as the “Z Flip 2”.
Samsung Z Flip 3 foldable smartphone
Based on all the information already available about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, in-house graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli, aka Snoreyn, has created a series of digital product images showing the possible design of Samsung’s new clamshell smartphone.
The most important changes from its predecessor are the larger cover display and the triple camera. The hinge will also be renewed and the bezels will be further reduced. Over time, several media have reported about these improvements, Samsung was also awarded a patent for such a Galaxy Z Flip design with triple camera at the end of 2020.
This patent does not stand alone, however, because recently – on March 11, 2021 – Samsung Electronics was awarded a patent for a “Foldable electronic device and control method therof”. It is a clamshell phone, comparable to the Galaxy Z Flip. This time, however, Samsung has integrated a significantly larger cover display. Giuseppe’s renders are based on this patent.
In addition, Samsung seems to want to pay extra attention to the thickness of the device. Making the device thinner improves portability. However, there is also a downside, because the frame becomes so narrow that operating the physical buttons also becomes more difficult, Samsung describes in the in-depth documentation. The South Korean manufacturer has come up with the following solution.
Samsung seems to want to significantly increase the touch-sensitive area around the buttons, making it easier to use the buttons – regardless of whether you’re using the phone open or closed.
The physical buttons are placed on one frame part. In the folded position, Samsung wants to enlarge the touch area exactly opposite the buttons, so that the user does not have to work very accurately during operation. Even in the unfolded position, this enlarged touch area remains usable – as illustrated in the image above.
The question remains whether this technology will already be applied to the Z Flip 3. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see what Samsung’s spearheads are for future folding models.
In any case, Samsung seems to intend to revise the smartphone frame. Last week, LetsGoDigital discovered that Samsung has registered a trademark for the name ‘Armor Frame‘, which seems to indicate that the Z Flip 3 and / or the Z Fold 3 will feature a renewed and sturdier frame – which may also be thinner and lighter.
This does not seem to be the only point on which Samsung wants to improve sustainability. SamMobile recently announced that Samsung will provide its upcoming foldable smartphones with an IP rating for the first time. In other words, the Z Flip 3 is likely to be dust and water resistant. It is still unknown whether it is an IP68 rating. The folding devices may not be completely waterproof, but only splash-proof. Last year, Samsung was already awarded a patent for a waterproof Galaxy Fold.
Larger cover display, new hinge and smaller bezels
There is still some uncertainty about the size of the cover screen. Many hope for a screen size similar to that of the Motorola Razr – as Samsung has also patented several times. However, according to the latest information, the cover display is becoming significantly smaller than hoped and expected. It would be a 1.83-inch display.
“The Z Flip 2 will have a 6.7-inch main display and a 1.83-inch cover display,” display analyst Ross Young reported on Twitter earlier this month. Shortly before, Chun reported on the same social media platform that the new Z Flip will feature a 1.9″ cover display and a 6.8″ main screen.
Although the cover screen appears to be significantly larger than the current 1.1 ”display, a 1.83” display is still quite limited. For comparison, the Motorola Razr features a 2.7-inch front display. You can undoubtedly use the cover screen to see the time, answer calls and view incoming notifications. For other things you will probably be forced to open the device, after which a 6.7-inch screen unfolds.
The 6.7” format corresponds in size to the flexible screen of the current Z Flip. Nevertheless, Samsung seems to make some changes to the main screen. Some time ago Ice Universe reported via Weibo that the refresh rate will be increased to 120 Hertz. This is also the case with the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which makes it very likely that this information is correct.
Samsung also intends to reduce the bezels. In addition, the new model would be marketed more cheaply. However, no price indication was issued – we will get back to this later.
Rumors have been circulating for some time that Samsung will also renew the hinge. Based on the design of the current Flip, this also seems to be necessary to be able to reduce the bezels, and thus to align the design more with regular smartphone models in 2021. Perhaps the renewed hinge will also make it possible to close the device completely – without a gap, where dust and dirt can accumulate.
Samsung will probably also make the hinge available in different colors. For example, with the Z Fold 2 you can choose from four color variants: silver, gold, blue and red. These special editions are only available via Samsung’s website. For the time being, this personalization option is not available for the Z Flip, but it is in line with expectations that Samsung will also make additional color variants available for the Z Flip 3 exclusively through its website.
Speaking of colors, the Samsung Z Flip 3 is expected to be released in four colors at launch: black, beige, green and violet purple. These are the colors that we have reflected in the product renders. The beige and green variant are completely new, the black and purple colorways are also available for the original Z Flip – presumably Samsung will add a little twist to this and link it to a new name. In addition, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is expected to appear in the same new colors: beige and green – besides a black variant.
Hardware & Software
Naturally, Samsung will also install a new chipset. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset will probably be placed under the hood. Presumably two memory variants will be made available this time: 128GB and 256GB.
Its predecessor was only available with 256GB of memory. By also offering a 128GB variant, Samsung can lower the entry-level price to make the foldable smartphone accessible to a wider audience. Samsung is expected to release both a Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G and 4G model.
Naturally, the new Galaxy Z-series smartphone will run on the Android operating system. Android 11, in combination with the One UI 3.5 interface. This is an updated user interface compared to the One UI 3.1, with which the S21 series debuted.
Renewed camera
Much remains unclear about the camera. Various patents have shown that Samsung is considering implementing a triple camera. Thus, the camera system would also be more in line with that of regular smartphones. The Z Flip has a 12 megapixel wide angle and a 12 megapixel ultra wide angle camera. A telephoto zoom camera may be added.
In addition, an extra camera is available when you use the device in open position. Handy for taking selfies or making a video call. The punch-hole camera will most likely also be retained in the new model. Presumably the same 10 megapixel image sensor is used – which is also used in the S21 / S21 +. As an alternative, Samsung could also opt for a dual punch-hole camera – the manufacturer recently filed a patent for this.
Another point Samsung is likely to improve is audio quality. The Samsung Z Flip 3 will probably be equipped with a stereo speaker, which would be a good step forward. Its predecessor was equipped with a single speaker – which is very minimal for a high-end phone. It seems that this is about to change with the new generation.
Battery and charging options
With regard to the battery, last year Samsung opted for a dual battery with a total capacity of 3,300 mAh. Two recent certifications from Safety Korea and Dekra Certification have shown that the Z Flip 3 also comes with two batteries, with the total battery capacity remaining unchanged. It concerns a 2,300 mAh battery (EB-BF711ABY) and a smaller 903 mAh battery (EB-BF712ABY).
It is expected that the larger battery will be placed in the bottom half of the device, the smaller battery will be integrated in the top part to drive the cover display. Many hoped that Samsung would increase the battery capacity, as the battery performance of the Z Flip was rated as “poor” in many expert reviews. However, increasing the battery capacity would also contribute to making the device thicker, it seems that Samsung is simply not willing to make this concession.
Regarding the charging options, just like its predecessor, the Z Flip 3 is expected to be able to be charged wired and wirelessly. Reverse wireless charging will also be supported. The smartphone can probably be charged faster than its predecessor, with a max. charging power of 25W – instead of 15W. Wireless charging will likely be supported up to 15W.
Price & Availability
Samsung will most likely host a Galaxy Unpacked event in July. During that event the Z Flip 3 5G will be introduced – one year after the introduction of the Z Flip 5G. Pre-order will likely start directly after the event. The clamshell phone will then be released approx. two weeks later, on a Friday.
There are increasing signs that the Z Fold 3 will be announced simultaneously with the Galaxy Z Flip 3. Around the same period, the Galaxy S21 FE is also expected, as the cheapest member of the S21 line-up. Unfortunately a Galaxy Note 21 is no longer expected this year.
With the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung is targeting a different audience than with the Z Fold. The prices of both folding devices also differ considerably. Samsung is expected to maintain this differentiation. The Z Flip will remain the cheap model, meant for those who want a compact device. While the Z Fold is aimed at people who want to work extra productively, on an extra large screen.
While the Z Flip 3 will feature the same powerful chipset and latest software as the Z Fold 3, Samsung will most likely make concessions in terms of camera, memory and battery.
Last year, the Galaxy Z Flip got a suggested retail price of € 1500. The Z Flip 5G, introduced a few months later, went on sale for the same price. Although it is still unclear what the Z Flip 3 will cost exactly, several sources have indicated that the new model will be marketed more cheaply than its predecessor. This may result in a starting price of approx € 1350 – This would close the gap between regular and foldable smartphones. However, there is one more possibility …
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Lite
In the meantime, the thought has arisen on the internet that Samsung is working on an extra cheap model. A kind of “Galaxy Z Flip 3 Lite”, which may be marketed as “Galaxy Z Flip 3 FE”.
However, it remains unknown whether this device will be introduced at the same time. Details about this model are still very scarce, which suggests that this model will not be released until a later date. Perhaps the chip shortage, caused by the corona crisis, is the cause of this.
Initially, it was thought that a Galaxy Z Fold 3 Lite is also in development, but this model seems to have been canceled. Instead, Samsung first wants to release a cheap version of the Z Flip. The clamshell is of course about € 500 cheaper than the Z Fold variant. By releasing a Lite model of this device, Samsung can make the foldable smartphone accessible to a wider audience. Moreover, the competition is not standing still either…
Alternative choices for Samsung foldable smartphones
Last year, the Motorola Razr was the main competitor of the Z Flip. However, more and more Chinese manufacturers are now also preparing for the introduction of one or more foldable phones.
Earlier this year, the Huawei Mate X2 was announced for the Chinese market, last month the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold was also released. Both are competitors to the Z Fold. In all likelihood, Oppo and Vivo will soon be added to the list.
Chances are that it will not stay with one model, Xiaomi seems to want to release three foldable models this year, including a clamshell phone. A clamshell model is also expected from Oppo this year.
All in all, Samsung cannot afford to sit back, the South Korean manufacturer is in the lead and will certainly try to maintain this position in the future. Therefore, we are already looking forward to the Galaxy Unpacked 2021 Summer event!
Here you can take a look at the patent documentation of the Samsung Z Flip including additional images.
Note to editors :The product images in this publication are created by in-house graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli (aka Snoreyn). The presented concept renders are for illustrative purposes only. The images are copyright protected. Feel free to use the pictures on your own website, please be so respectful to include a source link into your publication.
VideoCardz has shared a photograph of what appears to be Nvidia’s GA102-225-A1 die, which is reportedly going into the forthcoming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card. To put the icing on the cake, the publication also released a screenshot of the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti’s mining performance in Ethereum.
Given the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti’s position in Nvidia’s Ampere product stack, it shouldn’t come as a surpise that it would leverage the GA102 silicon, the same one that powers the GeForce RTX 3090 and GeForce RTX 3080. However, there’s a twist. The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti would reportedly employ the GA102-225-A1 die that features Nvidia’s Ethereum mining limiter. This falls in line with the ongoing rumor that Nvidia is giving its Ampere silicon an overhaul to cripple mining performance.
As far as specifications go, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is still rumored to feature 80 Streaming Multiprocessors (SM), amounting to 10,240 CUDA cores, 320 Tensor cores and 80 RT cores. Today’s leak also exposes the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti’s clock speeds, which seems to have a 1,365 MHz base clock and 1,665 MHz boost clock.
On the memory side, the graphics card is expected to run with 12GB of GDDR6X memory at 19 Gbps. If that’s the case, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti will likely utilize a 384-bit memory interface and can pump out a memory bandwidth up to 912.4 GBps.
If the mining limiter didn’t exist, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti would deliver an Ethereum hash rate up to 118.9 MH/s, and would ultimately be one of the best mining GPUs on the market. For comparison, the GeForce RTX 3080 offers around 95 MH/s, while the GeForce RTX 3090 has the potential to offer a hash rate between 120 to 125 MH/s.
The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti’s Ethereum performance aligns with what we expected. Of course, there were a few optimizations behind the scenes. For example, the user had reduced the graphics card’s TDP to 278W and overclocked the memory from the rumored 19 Gbps to 21.4 Gbps.
However, consumers shouldn’t have to worried about cryptocurrency miners when the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti launches. The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti pictured may be a qualification sample (QS) that dates prior to the introduction of the anti-mining limiter. This is evident as the driver itself didn’t recognize the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or it would have sliced the mining performance in half easily.
While the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti shouldn’t be on miners’ radars, consumers will still have to fend off scalpers. It’s feasible that Nvidia will unleash the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti in May as shipments are allegedly on the way to U.S. retailers. Previously, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti was rumored to retail for $999, however, a new leak suggests a MSRP of $1,099.
AMD has released its new Ryzen CPU Performance Guide for software developers that provides a set of tips and tools how to properly optimize programs for AMD’s processors. While the new version of the guide is tailored primarily for the latest Zen 3 microarchitecture as well as Ryzen 5000-series CPUs, this new set of tools can also increase performance of systems running previous-generation AMD processors.
All CPU vendors work closely with software developers to ensure that programs can take advantage of the latest technologies and capabilities of their hardware. Identifying performance bottlenecks, CPU under-utilization, thread contention, cross-core thread migration, etc that prevent hardware from delivering its best, can significantly boost performance on all types of processors no matter which microarchitecture they are based on.
AMD’s Ryzen CPU Performance Guide provides software developers with not only the necessary tools useful for performance boosting or identifying possible bottlenecks, but also valuable tips about memory usage, testing, compiling, debugging, and profiling. Many of AMD’s recommendations are general, so following them can increase performance not only on the latest AMD Zen 3-powered systems, but even on Intel-based PCs.
With a Zen 3-focused CPU Performance Guide released, it is reasonable to expect software developers to better optimize their programs for AMD’s latest processors. When to expect widespread availability of Zen 3-optimized apps depends on many factors. For obvious reasons, it is easier to optimize smaller projects with fewer bottlenecks and generally lower performance requirements. Meanwhile, performance-hungry applications usually get the greatest benefits from optimizations.
Weeks after Nvidia introduced its GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card, rumors started to emerge about the company’s alleged plans to unveil a ‘Ti’ version of the product shortly from then. We are now over half of a year away from the RTX 3080 launch and, according to recent apparent leaks, it looks like the still-unannounced GeForce RTX 3080 Ti could finally ready for production. Meanwhile, it will not replace the ‘vanilla’ GeForce RTX 3080, but will rather complement it.
Traditionally, Nvidia’s ‘Titanium’ graphics cards have offered an attractive balance between price and performance. The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti promises to be no exception as the board will carry a GA102 GPU with 10,240 CUDA cores that will use a 384-bit memory interface to connect 12GB of GDDR6X memory, according to ITHome website that cites sources close to makers of graphics cards.
A graphics card with such a GPU configuration will offer performance that will be considerably higher than that of the GeForce RTX 3080 (which has 8,704 CUDA cores) and just slightly lower than that of the GeForce RTX 3090 (which features 10,496 CUDA cores) in workloads that do not require 24GB of onboard memory.
When it comes to pricing, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is not expected to be cheap. The product is expected to cost ¥7999 in China, which is presumably a recommended price with a 13% VAT ($1090 without VAT). At around $1,099 in the U.S., the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti will be considerably more affordable than the GeForce RTX 3090, yet it will still be much more expensive than the GeForce RTX 3080 (which is still impossible to get at its MSRP).
There are several reasons why modern GeForce RTX graphics cards are so expensive these days. First, there are shortages of components and GPUs amid very high demand. Second, thousands of graphics boards are bought for mining well before they reach retail, which reduces an already-constrained supply.
Nvidia cannot increase GPU or card production overnight, but it can make the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti considerably less attractive for miners. Igor’s Lab reports that the new GA102-202/GA102-302 GPUs will have all-new device and firmware IDs. The new boards will only be supported by newer drivers that will significantly reduce mining performance of these cards and will render them useless to miners. How significantly this is going to affect their real-world price is something that remains to be seen, but at least it will not make much sense to buy a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti for mining.
Nvidia does not make comments about unannounced products. Furthermore, specifications released unofficially should be taken with a grain of salt. Right now, Nvidia reportedly plans to release its GeForce RTX 3080 Ti sometimes in May, so we may find out more then.
AMD yet has to reveal its new breed of graphics processors for notebooks that will use the company’s latest RDNA2 architecture, but the launch may be just around the corner. The company’s latest Adrenalin driver version 21.4.1 already supports the as-yet unannounced Radeon RX 6600M GPU.
AMD has already introduced its enthusiast-grade Navi 21 processor that powers its Radeon RX 6800/6900-series products as well as the mainstream Navi 22 GPU that is used for its Radeon RX 6700-series graphics cards for desktops. Meanwhile, hardware enthusiasts have found out that the company’s latest driver also contains references to the Navi 23, which is expected to be used for the Radeon RX 6600M (and probably non-M version too), reports VideoCardz.
The fact that the driver already supports the Radeon RX 6600M indicates that a product launch is imminent. Specifications of the GPU are unknown, but it is likely that the Navi 23 will feature a 32MB Infinity Cache as well as a 128-bit memory interface (as the Navi 22 features a 192-bit bus) and therefore will come equipped with 4GB or 8GB of memory. Unfortunately, we do not know how many stream processors the Radeon RX 6600M will have, but since it is already supported by the drivers, we are going to find this out soon enough.
What is surprising is that AMD’s latest drivers also contain references to the Navi 24, according to @Komachi_Ensaka. As the name suggests, this GPU should sit below the Navi 23 and therefore be aimed at entry-level PCs that for some reasons need something slightly better than integrated graphics. OEMs tend to install such graphics solutions into inexpensive systems to attract budget-conscious buyers.
Since AMD has not yet officially introduced its Radeon RX 6600M, Navi 23, and Navi 24, there’s no official word on their specifications, capabilities, or launch timeframes. All we know is that the first members of the Radeon RX 6000M-series should be launched in Q2 2021.
Google has announced some new features coming to Chromebooks, including the company’s Live Captions feature that will be added to Chrome on “most” Chrome OS devices in the coming weeks. Once Live Captions are available, users can flip them on in the accessibility settings to get captions for any media with audio right inside their browser. The feature rolled out to Chrome on Windows, Mac, and Linux in March.
Google is also beefing up the Chrome OS Launcher, which lets you search for files and apps, with some new capabilities, allowing you make simple calculations and check the weather, the definition of a word, and stock prices.
The search giant is also adding a new Diagnostics app to Chrome OS that lets you check the status of and run tests on your computer’s battery, CPU, and memory. That means that if your battery isn’t holding a charge for as long as you think it should, you can run a battery discharge test in the Diagnostics app to see if something’s wrong.
The new launcher capabilities and the Diagnostics app weren’t available for a colleague of mine running Chrome OS, so they might not be rolled out widely just yet. We’ve asked Google for details about the rollout and will update if we hear back.
AMD Ryzen 5000 Mobile Memory Scaling (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Today we’ll dive in deep on the best memory settings for your Ryzen mobile laptop. Sequels don’t always live up to the originals, and that’s true even in the processor world. In AMD’s case, however, it’s the complete opposite. The Zen microarchitecture has unquestionably become an important building block for the chipmaker, and AMD has consistently delivered impressive gen-over-gen performance uplifts with every new Zen iteration.
Zen 3, the most recent installment in the Zen family, isn’t a microarchitecture to be underestimated, either. Ushering in major IPC upgrades up to 19%, Zen 3 processors have cemented their position on our current list of Best CPUs. The same Zen 3 prowess has made its way to the mobile market, and the latest Ryzen 5000 Mobile (Cezanne) chips power some of the most powerful laptops on the market today.
Memory doesn’t always receive the attention that it deserves, but it should. Memory has proven to play a meaningful role with the previous Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) processors. Ryzen 5000 retains a similar memory subsystem that supports DDR4-3200 or LPDDR4X-4266 memory. Some laptops fall into the first category as they provide conventional SO-DIMM memory slots to house the corresponding memory modules. Laptops in the second category come with memory chips permanently soldered to the motherboard, so expansion is out of the question. Hybrid designs feature the best of both worlds — both soldered memory and usually one empty SO-DIMM memory slot.
Unlike we see in desktop PCs, memory tuning still has a long way to go on Ryzen 5000 laptops. The memory options are permanently locked away, so there isn’t any liberty for users to play with memory timings. Furthermore, Ryzen 5000 laptops are constricted to SO-DIMM memory kits rated for 1.2V. However, our sources have whispered to us that Cezanne may finally change the panorama for tweakers. AMD is reportedly contemplating the possibility of opening memory tuning on Ryzen 5000 laptops and the ability to use SO-DIMM memory kits up to 1.35V. There is also talk of a full recovery mechanism similar to modern motherboards where it restores the device to factory default settings. That means that, in the event of an overclocking failure, you won’t have to worry about bricking your laptop.
XMG Core 15 (2021)
Hopping on to AMD’s Zen 3 train, XMG has brought the company’s emblematic Core 15 gaming laptop up to speed in terms of hardware. The XMG Core 15 (2021) retains the strong genes of a portable gaming and productivity workhouse. The new E21 iteration employs the best of what AMD and Nvidia currently have to offer and arrives with other upgrades, such as the 1920×1080 240 Hz or 2560×1440 165 Hz IPS panels.
Coming as no surprise, the XMG Core 15 (2021) leverages the new Ryzen 7 5800H, which is the direct successor to last generation’s Ryzen 7 4800H. Landing with eight Zen 3 cores with simultaneous multithreading (SMT), the Ryzen 5 5600H offers base and boost clock speeds up to 3.2 GHz and 4.4 GHz, respectively. With two SO-DIMM DDR4 memory slots, the Ryzen 7 5800H supports up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 memory.
The Ryzen 7 5800H brings with it eight Vega Compute Units (CUs) clocked at 2,000 MHz. The iGPU is great for everyday tasks and helps with battery life, but the supplementary GeForce RTX 3060 (Ampere) does all the heavy lifting when it comes to demanding graphical workloads. The Core 15 (2021) uses the 115W variant with an extra 15W headroom for Dynamic Boost 2.0. Specification-wise, the GeForce RTX 3060 wields 3,584 CUDA cores and 6GB of 14 Gbps GDDR6 memory to handle the most demanding triple-A titles.
G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4 SO-DIMM
When it comes to SO-DIMM memory, G.Skill’s Ripjaws lineup offers a wide variety of memory kits for consumers to choose from. G.Skill, who’s a repeating vendor on our list of Best RAM, sells its Ripjaws SO-DIMM memory as a standalone memory module as well as in dual-and quad-channel packages.
In the dual-channel presentations, the memory kits come in a capacity of 16GB (2x8GB), 32GB (2x16GB) and 64GB (2x32GB). The available memory frequencies range from DDR4-2133 to DDR4-3200. G.Skill backs its Ripjaws memory kits with a limited lifetime warranty, so they offer both performance and security for your investment.
Memory Scaling
Before we get into the RAM benchmarks, we observed a very peculiar behaviour with Ryzen 5000. Apparently, only memory that’s specifically clocked at DDR4-2933 and above runs at the 1T command rate (CR). It’s important to point this out because DDR4-2933 and DDR4-3200 will have a slight edge over the other memory frequencies since the lower-frequency memory kits were stuck at 2T. The behaviour seems weird since memory runs at 1T on the Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) platform regardless of the frequency.
We’ve reached out to an XMG representative regarding the issue. The official word is that the timing behaviour at memory speeds below DDR4-3200 is normal for AMD Cezanne (according to information from AMD). We also confirmed that the Memory SPD feature seems to be locked for Thaiphoon Burner and CPU-Z tools due to security consideration. No further details were given.
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For reference, DDR4-2133 is JEDEC’s baseline specification for DDR4 memory, while DDR4-3200 is the official supported memory frequency on Ryzen 5000. If we just look at the geometric mean, there was a 4.8% performance difference between the two settings. We used a mixed bag of workloads that both are and aren’t responsive to memory frequency, so it evens out. Be aware that individual performance gains could be higher, according to the specific workload.
In Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro, DDR4-3200 delivered up to 6.8% and 4.7% higher performance, respectively, over DDR4-2133. HandBrake was also sensitive to fast memory. DDR4-3200 reduced x264 and x265 conversion times by up to 5.22% and 5%, respectively.
7-Zip compression workloads benefitted the most from DDR4-3200 memory. It offered 19% better performance than DDR4-2133. However, DDR4-3200 wasn’t the absolute winner in every race, though. In the Corona 1.3 benchmark, for instance, DDR4-3200, DDR4-2933, and DDR4-2666 performed equally well.
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For our gaming tests, we used the native 1920×1080 (1080p) resolution for the XMG Core 15 (2021). We used the High preset in our games because the setting allowed a balance between image fidelity and performance. If you game at lower image settings, the performance boosts should be even higher because the graphics card becomes less of a bottleneck.
Overall, DDR4-3200 provided a 4.3% improvement in frame rates over DDR4-2133 across our suite of seven titles. There were a few games where DDR4-3200 presented a notable boost in performance: DDR4-3200 finished with 6% higher frame rates in Wolfenstein: Youngblood, 6.8% in Watch Dogs: Legion, and up to 15.2% in Far Cry Dawn.
Single-Rank vs. Dual-Rank
It’s easy to identify if a SO-DIMM memory module is single-rank or dual-rank before purchase. Without going into the technical specifics, memory modules that are 16GB generally adhere to a dual-rank design. We say generally because some vendors are currently commercializing 16GB single-rank memory modules. Nevertheless, we recommend that you consult with the specification sheet to corroborate the design.
Ryzen 5000 laptops that come equipped with two SO-DIMM memory slots bless users with the potential to add up to four total memory ranks. This requires two dual-rank memory modules, meaning 32GB (2x16GB) is the minimum amount of memory needed to maximize the number of memory ranks.
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When you increase the number of memory ranks, you also increase the total memory capacity in the process. Therefore, it’s important to bear in mind that some workloads profit more from the increased density than others, which results in higher performance.
If we look at the single SO-DIMM configurations, the 16GB (dual-rank) memory module improved performance by 9.6% over the 8GB (single-rank) memory module. The margin jumped to 10.6% with the 32GB (dual-rank) memory module. However, if we compare the 16GB memory module to the 32GB one, we only recorded a 0.9% difference. Going to 32GB doesn’t improve performance, but it helps if you’re a heavy multitasker.
We saw similar behavior with the dual-channel setups, although the performance margins weren’t as significant as the single SO-DIMM scenario. Four memory ranks (2x16GB) were only 3.3% better than two memory ranks (2x8GB). Meanwhile, the difference between the 2x16GB and 2x32GB configurations was still negligible.
The biggest takeaway is that running memory in a dual-channel configuration outweighed a single memory module even if the total number of memory ranks were equal. For instance, you achieve two memory ranks by using a single 16GB memory module or a pair of 8GB memory modules. Nevertheless, the latter option supplied 7.7% higher performance.
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A single 16GB memory module offered 7.4% higher frame rates than an 8GB memory module. The performance delta between the 16GB and 32GB memory modules was less than 2%, though. We noticed similar performance margins with the dual-channel configurations. The 2x16GB setup only outshined the 2x8GB and 2x32GB setups by 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively.
Dual-channel operation continued to play a significant role in gaming. The 2x8GB memory kit pumped out 7.3% higher frame rates than the single 16GB memory module, despite both having the same number of memory ranks.
Our Key Takeaways
DDR4-3200 is essentially the gold standard for Ryzen 5000 mobile processors. If money is tight, DDR4-2666 is the halfway point on the performance ladder. In either case, aim for the lowest timings possible. In the meantime, we’re stuck with SO-DIMM memory kits that don’t require XMP activation or 1.35V. However, this may change in the future if AMD opens memory tuning on Ryzen 5000 laptops.
Whenever possible, fill both SO-DIMM memory slots in your Ryzen laptop to take advantage of the performance boost from dual-channel operation. With equivalent memory ranks, you lose as much as 7.7% performance when running a single memory module as opposed to a dual-channel SO-DIMM memory kit. If your laptop only came with just one memory module and there’s an empty SO-DIMM slot, consider adding another memory module for a nice performance uplift.
Populating all four memory ranks is the ultimate configuration for application and gaming performance. The cheapest path to get to four memory ranks is a 32GB (2x16GB) memory kit, preferably DDR4-3200 if you want to maximize performance. For budget-conscious users, a 16GB (2×8) memory kit should suffice while allowing you to take advantage of dual-channel technology as well.
The Asus ZenBook 13 UM325SA packs some of the best value we’ve seen in an ultraportable yet, outperforming much more expensive Intel options thanks to new Ryzen 5000U chips.
For
+ Strong and cheap
+ OLED display
+ Surprisingly good audio
Against
– Need a dongle for a headphone jack
– Touch-based numpad feels gimmicky
The Asus ZenBook line usually tends to be a series of plain, mid-range ultraportables that hit respectable performance for strong value. The ZenBook 13 UM325SA ($749 to start, $999 as tested), is also somewhat unassuming and still maintains strong value, but its performance is anything but mid-range.
That’s thanks to its new Ryzen 5000U processor options, which bring the power of AMD’s latest CPU line to ultraportables and into competition with Intel’s 11th Gen “Tiger Lake” processors. The result is a stunningly strong computer that’s priced well below Intel and Apple alternatives, yet usually outperforms the former while coming within spitting range of the latter.
Asus ZenBook 13 Specs
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5800U
Graphics
AMD Integrated Radeon Vega Graphics
Memory
16GB DDR4-3733 MHz
Storage
1TB M.2 SSD
Display
13.3 inch, 1920 x 1080, OLED
Networking
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Ports
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x microSD card reader
Camera
720p, IR
Battery
67Wh
Power Adapter
65W
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro
Dimensions(WxDxH)
11.97 x 7.99 x 0.55 inches
Weight
2.5 pounds
Price Range
$750 – $1000
Design of Asus ZenBook 13
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The Zenbook 13 is still a thin, light and minimally decorated machine that looks neither ostentatious nor exciting. Fitting that, color options include a blackish gray and a lighter, more metallic silver — the one we tested was gray.
The laptop’s lid is probably its most heavily decorated part, with a reflective, silvery Asus logo sitting off-center towards the laptop’s charging port side. A slight radial texture surrounds and emanates from the logo, although a glossy surface means it’s often covered by fingerprints. There’s also a small “Zenbook Series” logo on the laptop’s outer hinge.
Opening the laptop reveals a focus on functionality, as there’s not too much going on here visually aside from the chiclet-style keyboard and large touchpad. The keyboard does sit inside a sloping tray, which is nice, but what’s more noticeable is that opening the laptop’s lid also lifts the keyboard off your desk at up to a three-degree angle for easier typing.
The left side of the laptops houses two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports and one HDMI 2.1 connection. The right side similarly has just a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port and a microSD card reader. The big missing port is a 3.5 mm audio jack; you get a USB Type-C dongle in the box for that. You also get a USB Type-A dongle for RJ-45 Ethernet. Those adapters cut into the device’s portability. For instance, plugging in both dongles as well as the charger will use up all of your ports.
The Zenbook 13 is on the smaller and lighter side when it comes to portability. At 11.97 x 7.99 x 0.55 inches and 2.5 pounds, it edges out similarly specced competitors on most measurements. The 13 inch MacBook Pro with an M1 chip is 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches and 3 pounds, while the HP Spectre x360 14 is 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inches and 2.95 pounds. The Dell XPS 13 9310 comes the closest to giving the ZenBook decent competition on size, hitting 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches and 2.8 pounds.
Productivity Performance of Asus ZenBook 13
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The ZenBook 13 UM325SA is our first time looking at a Ryzen 5000U series chip, which brings AMD’s latest CPU generation to the ultraportable market. While our Ryzen 7 5800U ZenBook 13 configuration with 16GB of RAM and 1TB M.2 SSD didn’t quite beat Apple’s new M1 chip, it generally outperformed Intel Tiger Lake ultraportables like the i7-1165G7 HP Spectre x360 14 and XPS 13 9310. The Ryzen 7 5800U has eight cores and 16 threads, while Intel’s U-series Tiger Lake processors go up to four cores and eight threads.
In Geekbench 5, which is a synthetic benchmark that attempts to capture general performance, the Asus ZenBook 13 hit 6,956 points in multi-core tests and 1,451 points in single-core tests. That’s above the 5,925 multi-core/1,316 single-core scores earned by the MacBook Pro with an M1 processor running Geekbench via Rosetta 2 emulation. The M1 running a native Geekbench test performed much higher, although native M1 Geekbench isn’t exactly comparable to what we ran on the ZenBook. The ZenBook also generally beats our Tiger Lake competition. For instance, the HP Spectre x360 14 earned 4,904 multi-core/1,462 single-core scores and the Dell XPS 13 9310 earned 5,319 multi-core/1,521 single-core scores. Those single-core scores are closer to our ZenBook’s output, but the laptops fall far enough behind on multi-core to outweigh that benefit in most cases.
The ZenBook 13 led the pack in file transfer speeds. When transferring 25GB of files, the ZenBook 13 did so at a rate of 1,068.21 MBps, while the XPS 13 9310 followed behind at a rate of 806.2 MBps. The MacBook Pro M1 hit a rate of 727.04 MBps, and the Spectre x360 14 trailed behind with a score of 533.61 MBps.
The ZenBook 13 and MacBook Pro M1 were significantly faster than our Tiger Lake machines in our Handbrake video-editing benchmark, which tracks how long it takes a device to transcode a video from 4K to FHD. The ZenBook 13 completed this task in 9:18 and the MacBook Pro M1 did it in 7:44. Meanwhile, the Spectre x360 14 and XPS 13 9310 were much slower with scores of 18:05 and 18:22, respectively.
We also ran our ZenBook 13 through Cinebench R23 for 20 runs in a row to stress test how well it operates under an extended load. The average score among these tests was 7,966.40, and the CPU ran at an average clock speed of 2.43 GHz and average temperature of 66.72 Celsius (152.1 Fahrenheit).
Display on Asus ZenBook 13
Aside from a new Ryzen 5000U chip, the ZenBook 13 UM325SA also packs a new 1920 x 1080
OLED
display. That’s an improvement over 2020’s
Tiger Lake model
, which had an
IPS
-level screen.
I tested this display by watching The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and was impressed by the color and brightness, but a little disappointed by the screen’s viewing angles and reflectivity. While the red on Falcon’s outfit popped and shadows and other blacks were deep, I found that the image tended to wash out when looking at the screen from over 45 degrees away horizontally. Vertical angles were more generous, but the issue with horizontal angles persisted regardless of whether I watched in a high or low-light environment. I also found that even in low light environments, reflectivity was an issue, as I could frequently see my outline on the screen. Still, this didn’t outweigh the excellent color and brightness for me.
Our testing backed up my experience, with the ZenBook 13’s color only being beaten by the HP Spectre x360 14, which also had an OLED screen when we tested it. The ZenBook’s DCI-P3 color rating was 96.5%, while the Spectre’s was 139.7%. The MacBook Pro M1 had a much lower 78.3% DCI-P3 color rating, while the Dell XPS 13 9310 followed behind with a 69.4% DCI-P3 color rating.
The ZenBook was closer to the bottom of the pack in terms of brightness, though given that all of our competitors were also packing bright screens, this isn’t really a mark of low quality. It had 375 nits of average brightness, which is above the Spectre’s 339 nits, but below the MacBook Pro M1’s 435 nits score. The XPS 13 led the pack with a score of 469 nits, but any of the screens are still plenty bright.
Keyboard and Touchpad on Asus ZenBook 13
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The ZenBook 13 UM325SA boasts a chiclet membrane keyboard that’s not too different from what you’ll find on most other ultraportables, but is nonetheless comfortable to use thanks to a slight angle and a cushiony feeling on keypresses.
The Zenbook’s lid is designed to lift its keyboard off your desk at up to a three-degree angle when opened, and while it doesn’t sound like much, that slight elevation helps for both comfort and typing accuracy. I wasn’t any faster than my typical 75 words-per-minute when typing on this keyboard, but I did find myself making fewer typos and my fingers didn’t feel as strained.
That comfort comes from keypresses that feel satisfyingly soft and pillowy, as well as wide keycaps that keep your fingers from feeling cramped or getting lost.
What’s perhaps more interesting than the keyboard is the touchpad, which is a generous 5.1 x 2.5 inches. It uses precision drivers and is perfectly smooth yet has enough friction for precise input, plus it tracks multi-touch gestures without issue. But that’s not what makes it interesting. What stands out here is the toggle-able touchscreen numpad built into it.
By holding the touchpad’s top-right corner for about a second, a numpad overlay will appear on the touchpad. You can still move your mouse cursor as usual in this mode, but you’ll also be able to tap on the overlay to input numbers as well as simple arithmetic commands like addition, subtraction and multiplication. Further, by swiping the touchpad’s top-left corner, your laptop will automatically open the calculator app.
This isn’t our first time seeing these features on a ZenBook, but they still remain novel here. The idea is to make up for the keyboard’s lack of a number pad, but unfortunately, this solution leaves much to be desired. The simplest issue is that touch input is unreliable and often requires users to self-correct by looking at what they’re touching. It also tends to lack comfort due to a lack of tactile feedback. Those two problems take away the major strengths tenkeys tend to have over number rows, but they’re not the only issue here.
While the numpad shortcut works well enough, the swipe to either bring up or dismiss the calculator can be finicky, and it’s not too unusual for it to not register a few times before working. It’s also unusual from a user experience perspective that the calculator shortcut uses a different input method than the numpad, and that the logo indicating where to swipe bears no resemblance to a calculator, but instead looks more like a social media share button.
While you can safely ignore the touch-based numpad without losing any utility over competitors, it doesn’t add much convenience to the device and comes across like a gimmick. At the very least, it does result in a larger touchpad than usual.
Audio on Asus ZenBook 13
The Asus ZenBook 13 UM325S comes with bottom-firing Harman Kardon speakers. And despite the ultrabook’s small size, they work well for both bass and volume.
I tested the ZenBook’s speakers by listening to Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, and they got loud enough at max volume to fill my whole 2-bedroom apartment, even through doors. Bass was also plenty present, capturing both the song’s drum beats and low synth without losing too much information. I couldn’t exactly feel it in my chest, but I also didn’t feel like part of the song was getting cut or drastically losing its impact, which is impressive on a laptop this size.
Unfortunately, the compromise here is that high notes did tend to get a little tinny as the volume got louder. While I had a decent listening experience at volumes lower than 60%, the distortion became noticeable and eventually annoying as I got higher than that level.
There’s also DTS audio software on board that lets you swap between different presets for music, movies and games, and lets you access a custom mode to boost certain parts of your audio like treble and bass. This mostly tended to affect sound mixing rather than quality, but helped me keep my general system volume down, which reduced tinniness to a minimum.
Upgradeability of Asus ZenBook 13
The ZenBook line has a history of being difficult to upgrade, and that’s the case here as well. That’s because some of the screws you’d need to remove to open up the device are hidden under the laptop’s feet. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get these feet back on after removal, so we skipped opening up the laptop for this review.
When we reached out to Asus, we were told that the ZenBook 13 UM325SA uses soldered RAM, though you can access and swap out the M.2 SSD if you wish.
However, given that you might end up having to replace your laptop’s feet in the process, we’d suggest being careful about your configuration choices before buying.
Battery Life of Asus ZenBook 13
The ZenBook 13 UM325SA enjoyed a long 13 hours and 36 minute battery life in our benchmark, which continuously streams video, browses the web and runs OpenGL tests over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. That put it well above the HP Spectre x360 14’s 7:14 score and the Dell XPS 13 9310’s 11:07, with only the MacBook Pro M1 beating it. That laptop lasted for 16:32.
Heat on Asus ZenBook 13
We took the ZenBook’s temperature after 15 minutes of YouTube videos, and found that the touchpad registered 73.4 degrees Celsius (164.12 Fahrenheit), the center of the keyboard between the G and H keys hit 83.3 degrees Celsius (181.94 Fahrenheit) and the laptop’s underside was mostly 84.7 degrees Celsius (184.46 Fahrenheit).
That said, the underside as a whole has a lot of surface area, and its rear-center (just in front of its underside vent) did hit 94.6 degrees Celsius (202.28 Fahrenheit).
Webcam on Asus ZenBook 13
The ZenBook 13 UM325SA has a single 720p webcam with IR capability for Windows Hello. While it has strong color accuracy, I found that photos I took with it suffered from low quality and a lot of artifacting. It also didn’t adjust well to heavy or low light.
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The colors were natural, but it still almost feels as if I have a filter on. I’d be nervous taking an important work call on this device.
Software and Warranty of Asus ZenBook 13
The Asus ZenBook 13 UM325SA comes with minimal utility software, excluding the extended McAfee total protection trial that’s turned on by default when you get the system. We uninstalled this fairly early on, as some antivirus programs can lower benchmark performance.
Aside from that, you have DTS audio processing for swapping between different presets that tune the speakers for music, movies or gaming. You also have AMD Radeon software, where you can adjust your PC’s power mode, view usage stats for different components and launch games.
Most of Asus’ utility software limited to the MyAsus app, which lets you run diagnostics, troubleshoot, perform updates and the like, all from one place.
There’s also typical Windows pack-ins like Spotify, the weather app, and Microsoft Solitaire Collection.
Configurations of Asus ZenBook 13
We reviewed the ZenBook 13 UM325SA with a Ryzen 7 5800U processor, integrated Radeon Vega graphics, a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 OLED display, 16GB of LPDDR4X-3733 memory and a 1TB M.2 SSD. That’s the top configuration for the AMD version of this laptop.
Official pricing info is still a little undefined at the moment, though we’ve been told that the price range for this line of Zenbooks is $750 – $1000. We’d assume that our laptop would come in closer to the top of that range. CPU options for this laptop include the Ryzen 5 5500U, the Ryzen 5 5600U, the Ryzen 7 5700U and the Ryzen 7 5800U. Some of those CPUs are split between the UM325UA and UM325SA models, though there isn’t much difference on these devices other than that CPU selection.
You can also choose to lower your RAM and SSD capacities for a cheaper price, although Asus hasn’t given us details on available options as of publishing.
Bottom Line
AMD’s Ryzen processors have, as of late, had a reputation for strong productivity performance and value, and those features stand out in how the latest Asus ZenBook 13 leverages the new Ryzen 5800U chip. Despite costing a maximum of $1,000 at its highest configuration, it easily stands above Intel Tiger Lake competitors that reach as high as $1,600, all while touting a gorgeous OLED display.
In our productivity tests, the only ultraportable that beat the ZenBook 13 was the M1-equipped MacBook Pro 13, which we tested in an $1,899 configuration (and starts at $1,299). Yet despite costing slightly more than half of that price tag, the ZenBook was still in the MacBook’s general range, and never once lost to an Intel competitor.
Granted, some of those Intel competitors have special features. The HP Spectre x360 14 is a convertible, and the Dell XPS 13 has a premium design and a 1920 x 1200 resolution. But they also perform worse while costing more, and even though this ZenBook is still largely plain when it comes to bonuses, it does have a beautiful new OLED display.
There are a few quibbles here and there, like the slim port selection or the near-useless touch-based numpad. But overall, this device is the definition of punching above your weight class.
Twitter user InstLatX64 has discovered a mysterious AMD 4700S processor that’s evidently part of an AMD 4700S Desktop Kit. It’s plausible that the developer kit is the same one that Microsoft was utilizing to develop one of its Xbox consoles.
Although not officially a member of the Ryzen family, we suspect that the AMD 4700S probably takes after the Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) mobile APUs. If that’s the case, the AMD 4700S should be employing AMD’s Zen 2 cores, meaning this could be an engineering sample of the processor that powers the Xbox Series X or Series S.
The Xbox Series X and Series S utilize a custom octa-core AMD Zen 2 processor. Other than the clock speeds, no official name was given to the chip. The one inside the Series X features a 3.8 GHz clock speed and 3.6 GHz clock with SMT, while the variant for the Series S is clocked at 3.6 GHz with a 3.4 GHz SMT clock.
A Geekbench 5 submission (via Leakbench), which dates back to March 29, shows the AMD 4700S with an eight-core, 16-thread configuration and 8MB of L3 cache. The obscure processor’s specifications coincide with mobile Renoir for sure. The AMD 4700S seemingly sports a 3.6 GHz base clock and 4 GHz boost clock. The desktop kit reportedly comes equipped with 16GB of memory as well.
The AMD 4700S scored 998 points and 8,589 points in the single-and multi-core benchmarks, respectively. For comparison, the Ryzen 9 4900HS, which is the Ryzen 4000 flagship, averaged 1,083 points in the single-core test and 6,994 points in the multi-core test. While the Ryzen 9 4900HS delivered up to 8.5% higher single-core performance, the AMD 4700S offered up to 22.8% higher multi-core performance.
What’s even stranger is that AMD recently released the firmware and corresponding drivers for the AMD 4700S Desktop Kit. There are drivers for the chipset, onboard audio and the Ethernet port. Digging a bit into the firmware, we found mentions of Cardinal, which could be the internal codename that AMD is using for this particular desktop kit. The files are dated yesterday (April 19), so they are very fresh.
Developer kits aren’t typically available to the general public. However, Finnish retailer Tulostintavaratalo has listed the AMD 4700S 8-Core Desktop Kit on its online store for €263.71 (~$317.38) with a delivery time spanning from 14 to 30 working days. While the AMD 4700S remains a mystery, it does appear that AMD is selling it in the retail channels.
(Pocket-lint) – Apple has revealed its new iMac – available in a single 24-inch size, it brings Apple’s own M1 processors to the iMac lineup as well as a new, thin-bezel design and seven colour finishes.
Here we’re pitching it alongside the 2020 27-inch model featuring Intel processors. We’re expecting this version to be replaced by a new-style, Apple M1-powered model in due course, perhaps with a 32-inch size – certainly, it’s set to be bigger than the 27-inch size we believe. That model will probably have an upgraded Apple Silicon processor, maybe the M2.
The old 2019 21.5-inch iMac model seems to still be available, but we suspect Apple will just be selling off old stock.
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Design
2020 iMac: Familiar aluminium design with a black display surround
2021 iMac: New thinner design, seven different colour finishes
The iMac 2021 takes the iMac design up a level. It’s still very recognisable as an iMac and has the same ‘strip’ under the display, but is significantly thinner, without the bulge around the stand. There are also much thinner bezels with a white surround instead of black.
Crucially the 2021 iMac is now available in seven different colour finishes, however, not all are available to all buyers. There are two different models with very small differences. Primarily this is in the graphics, which we’ll come onto shortly, and two additional USB-C ports on the higher-end model. But whereas the ‘two ports’ model is available in four finishes, the more expensive ‘four ports’ model is available in all seven.
The 2019/2020 iMac retains the familiar aluminium design with a black display surround.
Apple
Displays
2020 iMac: 5K 27-inch display
2021 iMac: 24-inch 4.5K display
The older 2020 iMac features a 5K 27-inch display which has been in use for several years – as we’ve said above we expect it to be replaced by a larger model at some point soon, perhaps 32-inches. The new 2021 iMac introduces a 24-inch 4.5K display with smaller bezels than the 27-inch.
The 2019 21.5-inch iMac still appears to be available, though expect it to go end-of-life soon.
Apple
Processor and graphics
2020 iMac: Various Core i5/i7 options topped out by 3.6Ghz 10-core Core i9-10900K, AMD Radeon Pro graphics
2021 iMac: 8-core Apple M1 processor with 7 or 8 core graphics
The 2020 iMac is available with Intel’s 10th Generation Core i processors (Comet Lake) in 6- and 8-core variants of the Core i5 and i7. You can also upgrade to the range-topping 3.6Ghz 10-core Core i9-10900K that’ll Turbo Boost to 5GHz. We had this in our review model and as you’d expect, it absolutely flies.
For the 2021 iMac, both two-port and four-port models have an 8-core Apple M1 processor under the hood. The graphics are where things differ slightly, with 7 or 8 core graphics respectively. The graphics options on the 2020 Intel iMac are varied, with several AMD Radeon Pro options, maxxing out at the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16GB of GDDR6 memory.
Storage and peripherals
2020 iMac: dual USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, four USB-A ports and an SD card slot
2021 iMac: Dual Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, extra pair of USB-C ports on four-port model
All iMacs come with a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, 2021 iMac available with Touch ID version of Magic Keyboard
The two-port 2021 iMac gives you dual Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, while the four-port version gives you two additional USB-C ports.
There are stacks of storage options on the 2020 Intel iMacs and you can specify up to a huge 8TB of storage, On the 2021 M1 iMacs though, things are a little more limited – we know the M1 chip is currently limited to 2TB of storage, and you can specify this on the four-port version. On the two-port version you can only get up to 1TB of storage.
The 2020 Intel iMac has two dual USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, four USB-A ports and an SD card slot. So the USB-A and SD slots are gone on the 2021 version. The headphone jack moves from the rear on the 2020 model to the side on the 2021 iMac and the Ethernet port moves to the power brick (yes really), as part of the magnetically attached power cable.
All iMacs come with a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, but the high-end four-port 2021 iMac has a special Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. You can also upgrade the standard Magic Keyboard on the two-port version to the Touch ID model.
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Verdict
The 2021 24-inch iMac is a clear step forward, but while it clearly supercedes the 2019 21.5-inch iMac, it’s not a complete replacement for the 2020 27-inch model. That’s because of the storage, processor and graphics options available on that model – and the power of the high end Core i7 and Core i9 options.
We expect there to be a new larger iMac this year to replace the 27-inch model as well, probably with a new M2 processor.
Writing by Dan Grabham.
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