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The Daily Roundup for 07.09.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Haswell-equipped 15-inch MacBook Pro appears in Geekbench report
It's hardly a matter of "if" -- it's simply a matter of "when." Now that Intel's Haswell CPU has found its way into the MacBook Air line, it's a given that Apple engineers are actively looking for ways to cram that very silicon into the rest of its laptop range. If a newly uncovered Geekbench report is to be believed, it looks as if the 15-inch MacBook Pro could be next in line. The report (pictured in full after the break) details a machine packing a 2.4GHz Core i7-4950HQ and 16GB of RAM, and while there's no discrete GPU shown, Primate Labs' John Poole has informed MacRumors that the benchmark may have simply missed it during testing. At any rate, the score itself isn't anything to write home about -- it's pretty much in line with the existing generation of MBPs -- but the real magic is apt to reside in the eventual battery life claims. If the next-generation Pro follows the Air, we'll see similar performance and nearly twice the longevity. Mission accomplished.
Lenovo reveals a Haswell-refreshed ThinkPad: the 14-inch, 1080p T440s
Lenovo's busy webmaster has put up a new product page, sans hoopla, for a Haswell-powered ThinkPad called the T440s. The "ultimate business Ultrabook" isn't fully detailed at this point, but there are a few other specs and options on show, including a 14-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display with claimed 180-degree viewing angles and optional multitouch, three USB 3.0 ports, a 720p webcam with dual noise-cancelling mics, NFC and a "Power Bridge" battery that can be swapped out without powering down. All that will be encased in 21mm-thick mil-spec body starting at around 3.5 pounds in weight. There's no word on exactly which processor and memory configurations will be offered, nor on the launch date ("coming soon") or all-important pricing -- for reference though, the similary-sized Ivy Bridge T431s we saw back at Expand started at around $950.
Maingear launches liquid-cooled Epic series with 4th-gen Intel Core-i7 CPUs
Liquid-cooled PCs are de rigueur for serious gamers, but Maingear knows there are plenty who'd rather crowbar headcrabs than fiddle with plumbing. To that end, the company's just buttressed its water-chilled desktop lineup with the Epic Series, consisting of the full-tower Force and mid-sized Rush models. Each pack a "BiTurbo" pump design that keeps things cool in the event of a single pump failure, along with the latest Intel 4th-generation Core i7 or AMD FX processors. As for graphics, you'll get four-way SLI NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan or Radeon HD 7970 GPUs if you opt for the Force model, while the Rush offers two-way GeForce GTX Titan SLI or dual Radeon HD 7990 graphics. There are also numerous memory, storage and static pressure fans using Corsair parts, and custom touches like lighting and Glasurit paint with an "automotive finish." Prices start at $3,259 for the Force and $3,059 for the Rush and go way up from there -- if that doesn't phase you, check the source for more.
Apple allegedly looking into MacBook Air WiFi issue, replacing machines
Over the last few days we've been hearing from several of our readers about WiFi instability on new Haswell-equipped MacBook Airs, which also happen to be Apple's first computers with 802.11ac. Despite those rare reports, the company's new laptops impressed us in our recent review with solid performance and incredible battery life. Today 9to5Mac learned that Apple is supposedly aware of the issue and working on a fix, while some customers have also reported getting their systems replaced. In the meantime, the company's apparently directed its Genius Bar employees to "capture" machines experiencing the problem -- i.e. return them to Cupertino for testing. We've contacted Apple for comment and will keep you posted if there's any official response.
Lenovo refreshes its IdeaPad laptops with Haswell and touch, designs unchanged
No, there's no new Yoga. You'll have to keep waiting on that. For now, Lenovo is undertaking a much more modest project: refreshing its existing notebooks with Haswell. First off, the current IdeaPad U310 Touch and U410 Touch are now the U330 and U430 Touch. Other than the difference in screen size (13 inches vs. 14), both will be configurable with up to Core i7 fourth-generation Core processors, along with optional SSDs and a max of 8GB of RAM. While the U330 will be offered with either 1,366 x 768 or 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, the U430 comes with a 1,600 x 900 screen (you can upgrade to 1080p there, too). Oh, and the 14-incher can be had with a 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 730M GPU. Both will be available in the third quarter, with the U330 priced at $799 and up and the U430 going for $899. Moving on, the Y410p is the new, 14-inch companion to the Y510, with up to a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and dual 2GB NVIDIA GeForce 750M GPUs arranged in an SLI configuration. Screen resolution is limited to either 1,366 x 768 or 1,600 x 900, however. That's available now on Lenovo.com starting at $799. Finishing up with the entry-level S series, we've got the 11.6-inch S210 Touch, the 14-inch S400 Touch and the 15.6-inch S500 Touch. One thing to keep in mind is that both of these have Ivy Bridge processors instead of Haswell, as it was an easy way for Lenovo to keep the cost down. Other than that, you're looking at Core i3 or i5 processors, up to 8GB of RAM, touchscreens with 1,366 x 768 resolution and hopefully some decent battery life (the batteries are so big here they create a hump around the hinge area). Additionally, the S400 and S500 will have optional discrete graphics, with AMD in the S400 and NVIDIA in the S500. Look for those in Q3, with pricing as follows: $429 for the S220, $449 for the S400 and $579 for the S500. Anyhow, since the designs here haven't changed, we didn't give these laptops the full hands-on treatment, but we did include some spec summaries in the gallery below, if you're partial to bulleted lists.
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus and ATIV Book 9 Lite hands-on (video)
Samsung's long since decided to rebrand its Series 9 series as ATIV Book 9, but it's only now that it's got some new Ultrabooks to show off. While the ATIV Book 7 unfortunately jumped the Haswell gun, the higher-end ATIV Book 9 Plus is happy to benefit from those impressive battery savings we've already seen from Intel's next-generation chips. In fact, Samsung is promising 12 hours of usage -- and that's despite the Plus model arriving with an eye-watering 13.3-inch, 3,200 x 1,800 QHD+ display. In addition, there's up to 256GB SSD storage and 8GB of RAM, two USB 3.0 ports and mini-VGA and micro-HDMI sockets. The screen is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass and, alongside adding touch functionality since the previous Series 9 Ultrabook, Samsung has crafted a new hinge for its latest flagship, offering two stop-points. Moving the screen through to a standard 105- to 110-degree pitch, the screen strongly resists. Better still, there's really not that much give as we tapped our way through Windows 8. However, give it more of a sustained push, and the screen bends down to a flat 180-degree position, making it easier to show the screen around a table. It's joined by the humbler Book 9 Lite, with a lower (though unspecified) price. Powered by an unnamed 1.4GHz quad-core processor and housing up to a 256GB SSD drive, it promises a cold-boot time of eight seconds, or two seconds from sleep. It's the same size screen (13.3 inches) as the Plus model, but resolution drops down to 1,366 x 768 -- a noticeable difference when you observe the two side by side. Turn them off, however, and the interiors of the two machines are so similar that even the most hardened Samsung exec might be fooled (excepting for that Intel sticker on the high-end model). On the outside, though, the systems remain noticeably different. The Book 9 Plus gets a moody, matte finish to its aluminum unibody, while the Book 9 Lite has a glossy plastic surface. The cheaper Lite model reminds us of the finish on Samsung's Galaxy smartphone series, but it'd be great to see Samsung bring this other, cooler finish to more products. Both Ultrabooks are expected to land in the US (and elsewhere) in time for back-to-school season. Check out the gallery below, and follow past the break for more impressions. %Gallery-191827%
Samsung intros ATIV Book 9 Plus flagship Ultrabook, ATIV Book 9 Lite
We haven't heard much about Samsung's Series 9 Ultrabooks for a while, barring a resolution bump late last year. Today, though, the company announced the follow-on to that product. Two follow-on products, actually. The company just introduced the ATIV Book 9 Plus, a 13-inch flagship laptop that appears to be the direct replacement to the old Series 9. In addition, the company announced the ATIV Book 9 Lite, another 13-inch ultraportable that doesn't quite rise to the level of flagship status. Starting with the Plus, it steps up to Haswell processors (Core i5 and i7), as well as a 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen. Sammy also made improvements to the old Series 9's backlit keyboard and trackpad. (Think: the sort of excellent touchpad found on the recent ATIV Book 7). The new display, meanwhile, is coated in Gorilla Glass and has a 72 percent color gamut. The Plus offers two hinge positions -- one at about 105 degrees and another all the way down to 180 degrees. Additionally, the company's opted for OCR bonding this time around, which should offer an improved touch experience, say company reps. With the touchscreen, the weight is up to 1.39kg (3.06 pounds) -- definitely not the lightest 13-inch touchscreen Ultrabook we've seen, but still plenty portable. As for battery life, you're looking at 12 hours, according to Samsung. And given the performance of some other Haswell machines we've already had a chance to test, we're inclined to believe it. Meanwhile, the ATIV Book 9 Lite has up to 256GB of solid-state storage and an unnamed quad-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz (it's an AMD chip, we hear). As a slightly lower-end device, it has a 1,366 x 768 display, and also comes in a more playful gamut of colors, including white, red and the usual black. Battery life is rated at 8.5 hours, compared with 12 for the Plus. Likewise, you get 4GB of RAM, versus eight gigs on the flagship model. Also, it will be available in both touch and non-touch versions, with the non-touch model weighing in at 1.44kg (3.17 pounds) and the touch one tipping the scales at 1.58kg (3.48 pounds). The Book 9 Plus and Lite will launch globally in Q3, but in the meantime we've got a hands-on post on ready for your perusal.%Gallery-191947% Mat Smith contributed to this report.
Intel leak reveals 8-core Haswell-E series desktop CPU for late 2014
Now that Haswell's available in consumer-grade laptops, it's time to look at what's next on Intel's to-do list. A leaked slide-deck is claiming that Haswell-E, the enthusiast version of the chip, is coming in the second half of 2014. The documents also promise that Intel will axe the 4-core base model in favor of 6-and-8-core editions of the CPU, which can pack up to 20MB of L3 cache. At the same time, the company is likely to release the Wellsburg motherboard chipset, which can support DDR4 RAM with a clock speed of up to 2,133MHz. If it's all to be believed, then we have one word of advice to the overclocking community -- best start stocking up on liquid nitrogen.
MacBook Air review (13-inch, mid-2013)
We can't lie: we were hoping for a Retina MacBook Air last year when Apple rolled out the thinner, faster MacBook Pros with their pixel-packed displays and optical drive-free chassis. The Air, sadly, got left out of that particular party, but when we reviewed it we found a perfectly fine machine. This year, then, would surely be the year of major updates to Apple's venerable thin-and-light machine? As it turns out, no, it wouldn't be. From the outside, the mid-2013 MacBook Air refresh is again a very minor one indeed, with no new display and (virtually) no exterior modifications. On the inside, though, bigger changes are afoot. New, faster SSDs and a selection of power-sipping Haswell CPUs from Intel have created a device that's all but identical to its predecessor yet is, in many ways, vastly improved. Is this wedge-like, 13-inch paradox worth your $1,099, and can it really live up to Apple's promised 12-hour battery life? Let's find out.%Gallery-190960%
2013 MacBook Air benchmarks from AnandTech
The new MacBook Air went on sale this week, and customers want to know how this year's Haswell models compare to last year's Ivy Bridge units. Yesterday, Engadget benchmarked the new MacBook Air looking primarily at the SSD drive performance and now AnandTech has published its own report that includes CPU performance. The 2013 MacBook Air has a Core i5 CPU with a lower base clock speed than the comparable 2012 MacBook Air, but it has the same max turbo speed of 2.6GHz. Though the Haswell architecture improves the battery life in the 2013 MacBook Air, the CPU performance is generally the same between the two models. SSD drive performance in the new MacBook Air is boosted significantly by the adoption of PCIe-based SSDs. Hardware specs show that the PCIe 2.0 x2 interface is capable of 1 GB/s in each direction, and AnandTech recorded a respectable peak sequential read/write performance of almost 800 MB/s. There are a lot of other goodies in the AnandTech article for hardware fans to geek out on, so head on over and check it out.
Apple refreshes the MacBook Air with Haswell CPUs, longer battery life, new models available today from $999
Each June, just like clockwork, Apple refreshes its MacBook Air line -- sometimes with a new design, and always with brand new processors. Well, today is June 10th, and it's the start of WWDC, which means it's time to bring out the 2013 models. The company just unveiled the new 11- and 13-inch Airs, both of which step up to Haswell CPUs and 802.11ac WiFi, and also promise significantly longer battery life. In particular, the 11-inch model claims nine hours of runtime, up from five, while the 13-incher is said to last 12 hours (up from seven). As for processing performance, you get fourth-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, along with Intel HD 5000 graphics, which should translate to 40 percent faster graphics, according to Apple. The one thing we can't glean from Apple's brief tease at WWDC is whether these new models boast higher-res screens than the previous-generation models. (We feel like Apple would make that clear if that were the case, no?) On the plus side, both models now come standard with 128GB SSDs (as opposed to 64 gigs on the 11-inch model). They're available today, with the 11-inch version still priced from $999, and the 13-incher starting at $1,099. Update: The Apple Store is once again live, which means we've had a chance to look at the product page for the new MacBook Air. As we suspected, the screen resolution has not changed.%Gallery-190871% Follow all of our WWDC 2013 coverage at our event hub.
The Daily Roundup for 06.07.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The Daily Roundup for 06.06.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
HP plans a fanless Intel Haswell tablet for later this year
Now we've covered the first wave of Haswell-powered PCs and laptops, how about something to whet your appetite for later this year? While investigating Intel's fanless tablet reference design, HP told us that its own iteration -- one that was apparently also on stage during Intel's Computex events -- will be coming soon. While the tablet (or hybrid) wasn't being shown publicly at the event, an official announcement is coming later this year. We thought we wouldn't get to see a fanless Intel Core portable until Haswell's successor, Broadwell (and its even smaller 14nm chips) started doing the rounds in a few years, but some clever hardware design could mean we see space-hogging, power-consuming fans dropped a little early.
Gigabyte unveils Intel 4th-gen gaming laptops with NVIDIA 765M, 770M graphics
After an eventful Computex 2013, Gigabyte has fired its final PR salvo: the launch of the P27K and P25W gaming laptops. The latter is a 15.6-inch, 1080P successor to the P2542G, but ups the ante with a 4th-gen Intel Core i7 quad-core CPU, NVIDIA GTX 770M 3GB graphics, up to 24GB RAM, space for up to two 256GB mSATA SSDs and 1TB of RAID 0 HDD storage, a backlit keyboard, Blu-ray RW drive and that oh-so-gamer case design that tips the scales at 6.6 pounds. Meanwhile, the P27K has a larger 17-inch, 1080P display but otherwise identical specs -- other than NVIDIA 765M 2GB graphics, space for a single 256GB SSD, seven pound heft and Sound Blaster tech instead of the P25W's Dolby Home Theater sound. The 15.6-inch P25W will arrive late June for $1,300 to $1,800 depending on memory configuration, and the 17.3-inch P27K will come a month later for the same price. That sum should let you game and still, you know, eat -- check the PR after the break for more.
The Daily Roundup for 06.05.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Review roundup: Intel Haswell vs. AMD Richland on the desktop
See that slide above? When we first clapped eyes on it we couldn't help but wonder if Intel had finally managed to turn the tables on AMD, at least in terms of integrated desktop graphics. After all, running BioShock Infinite at 1080p is no easy task and Intel's claimed frame rate of 35 fps is actually 4 fps higher than what AMD claims for its flagship Richland processor in a similar test. But, as ever, things are more complicated than that. For a start, this particular marketing slide represents a very niche version of Haswell with a BGA socket, rather than the Core i7-4770K that a regular upgrader might purchase. Secondly, it's hardly fair to stack a Haswell chip that costs more than $300 up against an AMD APU that comes for $150. What we need are independent tests that allow us to weigh more factors, and fortunately, those are exactly the sorts of reviews we'll be rounding up after the break.
Maingear's Pulse 14 laptop: Haswell and a GeForce GTX 760M starting at $1,299
Haswell-infused devices have been stepping out from behind curtains for the past few days, and now Maingear's ready to unveil its latest gaming notebook with Intel's fresh silicon: the Pulse 14. Each configuration of the rig comes decked out with a quad-core Core i7 processor clocked at 2.2GHz, a GeForce GTX 760M graphics card with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, 2.1-channel speakers and a 14-inch, 1,600x900 resolution display. As for connectivity, an SD card slot, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet and three USB 3.0 ports all come standard with the machine. Extracting $1,299 from your wallet will net you a respectable 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 500GB hybrid drive. Ponying up $1,399 will nab you a 1TB HDD with a 32GB caching SSD, while shelling out $1,699 brings in 16GB of RAM and two 128GB solid state drives in Raid 0 backed by a 1TB hard drive. Take a gander at the laptop in the bordering gallery or hit the break for more details in the press release.%Gallery-190358%
Lenovo's IdeaPad Y510p high-perf laptop: Haswell Core i7, NVIDIA 750M, $989
What's Lenovo been hiding up its sleeve? Apparently, it's the IdeaPad Y510p. The company has recently started selling the 15.6-inch multimedia laptop via New Egg and its website without prior announcement. A follow-up to the Y500, the Y510p is powered by Intel's new Haswell Core i7 2.4GHz quad-core processor and is equipped with NVIDIA's 750M GPU. Lenovo claims a 5-hour battery life, which doesn't sound too implausible given what we recently squeezed out of MSI's Core i7 gamer. There's no official word on thickness, but readers at the Notebook Review forum reported that it has a slightly thinner profile. The company has also replaced its predecessor's glossy screen with a full HD matte, anti-glare display. Prices for the IdeaPad Y510p start at $989 after applying an e-coupon, but if you're willing to shell out more cash, you can double its 8GB RAM, add another graphics card, supplement its 1TB HDD with a 24GB SSD, and install a Blu-ray-slash-DVD-RW optical drive. If you're looking for something smaller (yet more expensive), then check out Sony's VAIO Pro 13.
