College studies have changed a lot since I was there, but in some ways, it’s remained the same. Because sure, there are now local AI tools to help with your studies. However, whether it was in the early 2010s for me or 2026 for you: RAM is always the key bottleneck.

And that’s been put to the test in the current pricing crisis we find ourselves in, which gave birth to the MacBook Neo, and subsequently all the budget Windows laptop competitors. Out of all of them that’s launched, the £799 Asus Zenbook 14 is one I’m particularly excited about throwing in my rucksack!

That’s because this is a fantastic frame — definitely feels cheaper than its more expensive brother the Zenbook A14, but quite the looker and solid ergonomics. Plus the OLED screen is a real difference maker from the competition, and that Snapdragon X chip ensures zippy single-core speeds for opening apps fast.

However, it’s worth noting that the model I was given comes packed with 16GB RAM (priced at £1,199 at the time of writing). For running Windows 11 and your broader study load — a bunch of Chrome tabs, a Spotify playlist and AnythingLLM, this is enough. However, I wanted to go deeper, so I went into the bios and restricted RAM usage of Windows to 8GB.

Put simply, it’s ok-ish, but clearly only for the basics at this level. Windows 11 eats memory in a different way to macOS, and you can really feel it in some sluggish app opens and especially when you’re trying to do the classic 20+ Chrome tab study session, or the time taken to get a response from a local chatbot about your ingested coursework.

None of this is to say this is a bad laptop. Asus has taken one of my favorite Zenbooks and made it cheap — this is a great system with solid entry-level performance that outstrips the Neo, and good battery life to boot. But there’s definitely a mistaken identity in what it is and who it’s for.

That £799 model is strong for a very specific kind of studier: the ones who are focused solely on essay writing with a little bit of web research.

Until Microsoft starts optimizing memory usage (which is coming), it’s going to be tricky. No, I’d point you more towards that 16GB option as the sound investment here for not just your studies but your extracurriculars too like creating projects on CapCut or some super casual gaming on the side.

Oh and P.S. This will be launching in the U.S. We just don't know when and for how much!

Asus Zenbook 14: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? This is a budget Windows laptop — made to compete with the MacBook Neo.
• Who is it for? This is an entry-level system for the kinds of students with casual workloads.
• What does it cost? Pricing starts at £799, but the option I snagged is £1,199. No pricing has been announced for U.S., but expect it to be similar (starting from $799).
• What do we like? I’m a big fan of the design — looks premium and feels durable with solid ergonomics. And with enough memory, Snapdragon X is a good performer that slow-sips battery life.
• What don’t we like? Windows 11 is a RAM hog, which makes an 8GB capacity tricky to recommend to students.

Asus Zenbook 14: Specs

Asus Zenbook 14: The ups

So I spoke to a few students at my local university, to figure out (and replicate a various course load demands). In case you’re curious, these were history, science and media studies. The Zenbook A14 kept up with a lot more of it than I expected.

More premium than the price

For all the beef I had with the Zenbook A14 and A16 earlier this year, one thing I loved about them is the lightweight, durable design and great-feeling ergonomics. And while this Zenbook 14 doesn’t quite have that same premium-feeling ceraluminum surface, it takes enough of the A-series’ essence to be a well-built system.

It’s lightweight, feels durable enough to stash in a backpack, and comes with a nice-feeling keyboard for rapid note taking or essay writing, alongside a sizable touchpad with good click ability. Oh, and shout-out to the color finishes — I love this blue option.

Ports-wise, you’ve got everything you’d need for your standard array of accessories, and while the screen side of the clamshell can flex a bit (like the A-series laptops), the keyboard deck has very minimal flex when pushing down on it. All-in-all, this felt like a system that could keep up with the demands of college.

Good for the eyes and ears

I’ve tested a fair few of these MacBook Neo alternatives, and one place they all fall down is that college dorm job of being the central focal point of both working by day and chilling out by night. That means a good screen and speakers are a must — something that’s nice on the eyes and can fill a room with sound.

The speakers on the Zenbook 14 are surprisingly loud with zero noticeable distortion (thanks to Snapdragon Sound), which meant I could keep a room of my friends entertained with my Spotify playlist (which descended quickly into finding Vine compilations to reminisce about being young).

And let’s not forget about that 1080p OLED, which has a decent level of sharpness, a good level of brightness and mightily impressive color reproduction. Great for your work, and great for binge watching by night.

Decent performance and strong battery life

All this talk of Intel Wildcat Lake has almost made people forget about Snapdragon X — a stellar budget-end chipset that is quite the formidable foe to the A18 Pro in the Neo with better multicore processing to crunch tasks and zippy speeds across media encoding and app opens.

What this means in practice is fast program opens, decently quick hot-swapping between different apps and browser tabs, and even a little bit of light photo editing in Photoshop or CapCut edits.

It’s also strong in AI processing too when you go for the 16GB model. There’s a lot of tools out there for keeping on top of your study materials in a convenient way that enhances your learning, and with the headroom of RAM, these run zippy enough.

Finally, the battery life demands of being on campus means you can spend a lot of time away from any outlets. All-day usage is necessary, and in my battery life testing, it’s clear this will keep up with your demands.

Asus Zenbook 14: The downs

But as I got into the more intensive coursework demos here with that reduced memory profile to the 8GB baseline, I realized that the macOS and the MacBook Neo has a serious leg-up on the competition. And there’s one reason why.

Windows 11 is the problem

Yes, I said it. Microsoft is improving Windows 11 over time, but the key thing of memory utilization is still an issue that can cripple performance of that Snapdragon X chip when you try to do too much.

On 8GB, for example, I found myself being able to play a Spotify playlist, have a Google Docs tab for an essay and a few other tabs with research notes. The moment I hit the seventh tab, I started to feel a little stuttering. And then the moment I opened up AnythingLLM, it all froze up working through the tasks one by one.

It’s a sticky situation, which makes the 16GB the only real option if you’re wanting to stretch your legs a little more than the bare essentials.

Pricing can get out of hand fast

And if you do, things can spiral fast pricing-wise because of the memory crisis going on right now. That jump to 16GB with additional SSD storage is a £400 uplift, and going further causes more problems.

This is entering M5 MacBook Air territory, which becomes an issue. When you go up against the ultrabook king, you best not miss, and those pros from before come with some flaws that prove fatal.

For example, the MacBook Air (and Neo for that matter) are aluminum builds, whereas the Zenbook feels a little cheaper in the hand. The MacBook Air benefits from seriously fast Apple Silicon, but Snapdragon X can’t keep up.

The math stops mathing at a particular point.

Asus Zenbook 14: Verdict

So I find the Zenbook 14 is ideal for a very particular kind of student in very particular courses.

If you’re working in essay-centric/coursework-heavy fields with some light local AI use like transcribing lectures and processing notes, you’ll find enough here for what you need to do.

But if you’re a serious studier with multiple tabs and various apps, this is going to be an issue. I can’t deny this is a great laptop for most learners and beyond, and a breath of value fresh air (provided you only need the baseline model).

And if you fit in that category, this is a seriously good looker and good worker that comes in gorgeous color finishes.

macOS Tahoe was one of the worst updates I’ve used in years. Not since Windows Vista have I seen so many design and usability mistakes—unusual for Apple, of all companies. Long known for its reputation in design and thinking about the user first, 2025’s Tahoe update for the best Macs felt like a huge misstep. But macOS Golden Gate feels like a redemption for Tahoe’s mistakes.

I’ve owned a Mac since 2005, when the computers transitioned from PowerPC processors to Intel processors. For several years, I’ve owned an M1 Pro MacBook Pro, and it’s one of the best laptops I’ve ever owned. From its keyboard to the display, everything felt like a home run after years of strange hardware design choices, like the butterfly keyboard.

But as we get close to the iPhone 18 Pro and the rumored iPhone Ultra/Duo foldable, I’m also looking forward to finally updating my Mac to macOS Golden Gate, the newest update that fixes almost all of Tahoe’s mistakes. However, its other design changes have me wondering what comes next for the Mac. So, with rumors of a touchscreen Mac allegedly called the MacBook Ultra, here’s why I’m very tempted to upgrade when Golden Gate officially launches.

Golden Gate redeems macOS

After trying the macOS Golden Gate public beta over the summer, I was struck by how good Liquid Glass finally looks on my Mac. Tahoe showcased the new design in all the wrong ways—from bizarre layers that separated columns within windows to mismatched window sizes. In Golden Gate, that’s nonexistent, with everything looking sharp and far easier on the eye when you’re working with multiple apps on one screen.

It’s restored my faith that Apple has clearly realized what a mistake Tahoe was in its design, and whilst I’ll be upgrading my current MacBook Pro to Golden Gate once it’s out, it also feels like it’s laying the foundation for the MacBook Ultra.

For anyone unaware, this rumored Mac seems to be the opposite of the MacBook Neo. Instead of being an entry point, the MacBook Ultra seems aimed at those who want the ultimate portable Mac at a high price. Alleged features include an OLED touchscreen, a first for the Mac to accept touch input, as well as coming with M6 Pro or Ultra chips that give even better performance and battery life.

Apple silicon has been a huge leap for the Mac. It’s hard to think back to a time when an Intel MacBook Pro could barely manage 4 hours under heavy load, or struggle with games like BioShock Infinite that were then 3 years old since their PC release. Now, even in 2026, my M1 Pro MacBook Pro can still play games like Resident Evil 4 Remake and others with ease, and I rarely hear the fan whirl. So thinking about what a 5-year leap could do for my Mac gaming, alongside everything else, has me excited.

These rumored features, combined with macOS Golden Gate, make me consider the Ultra as my next Mac, since it replaces two devices in one go.

The Ultra could also be an iPad replacement

I’ve been a fan of the iPad since its 2010 debut, and whilst recent software updates, especially iPadOS 26, have made Apple’s tablet far more productive, its locked ecosystem has always made me go back to the Mac.

But there are moments when a touch-screen can work well, such as editing videos for TikTok via LumaFusion, or reading comics from my childhood. It’s why I can see these two examples, and many others, working well on a touchscreen Mac, without macOS leaving the mouse behind.

Golden Gate clearly hints towards a touchscreen Mac—from being able to slide down to refresh in Safari and Mail, to every button designed as if they’re meant to be touched by a finger. Even Siri AI lets users send an email, record a voice note, take a selfie, and more with their voice or via the Siri app. The newest macOS update looks set to be ready for the MacBook Ultra.

Outlook

When an ultra-high-end Mac seems like it will improve on what my M1 MacBook Pro offers, while replacing the use cases I’ve had for my iPad Pro for several years, it feels like the natural next step for me and how I work. Even for Mac gaming, with ways to play Windows games via Crossover or decompilations like Donkey Kong 64 or GoldenEye, the extra power thanks to the M6 architecture will be a huge step up from what I’ve been using since 2021.

So while many will be excited to own an iPhone Ultra or an iPhone 18 Pro model, I’m more excited to use the MacBook Ultra. From the much-improved macOS Golden Gate update to the OLED touchscreen, it feels like the MacBook Ultra could be one of the best Macs to use for at least another five years. If that happens, then I'll have to say goodbye to my M1 MacBook Pro.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple MacBook Ultra may run on some of the same chips as MacBook Pro
• Apple just announced the new Mac Studio with M5 Ultra
• Best laptops of IFA 2026: Wild colors, ultrathin designs and rollable displays

Labor Day is not only the unofficial end of summer, but it's also an excellent time to upgrade your laptop or desktop. Now that Dell's Labor Day Sale is live, I'm spotting a handful of laptop deals on our favorite gaming rigs, monitors, and more.

If you're looking for a last-minute back to school laptop, my colleague and Tom's Guide senior computing writer Tony Polanco says you can't go wrong with the new XPS 13 for $699. (Note: Students can get it for $599, which is cheaper than the competing $699 MacBook Neo).

The base XPS 13 packs a 13.4-inch 2.5K (2560 x 1600) 120Hz touch display, Core 5-320 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. If you can, I recommend upgrading the RAM to 16GB for $899 total ($799 for students). But either way, you're getting an excellent machine for the price.

I'm also a big fan of the Alienware 16 Aurora w/ RTX 5050 for $1,099. That entry-level RTX 5050 should offer enough power for casual PC gamers. It's accompanied by a 16-inch WQXGA 120Hz display, Core 7-240H CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

Below I've rounded up my favorite Dell Labor Day sales. For more discounts and recommendations, check out our Labor Day sales guide and our Dell coupon codes page.

Quick Links

• shop the entire Dell sale
• Monitors: deals from $94
• Laptops: deals from $599
• Desktops: deals from $699
• Alienware: deals from $1,099
• Alienware 32" Gaming Monitor: was $299 now $249
• Dell 16: was $1,099 now $939
• Alienware 16 Aurora w/ RTX 5050: was $1,999 now $1,099
• Dell 14 Plus: was $1,579 now $1,399

Louis' Top Picks

Laptops

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Monitors

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For eight grueling months leading up to the end of last year, engineers from Microsoft and Nvidia worked side by side from the silicon bootstrap level upward. And the goal? Making Windows 11 play nice with an unprecedented architectural shift: an Arm-based CPU sharing massive unified memory with a desktop-class Nvidia RTX GPU.

And then, the first RTX Spark machine finally booted. The red LED lit up, and as Microsoft's Principal Product Manager, Peter Dawoud, recalls it: “half of Santa Clara was jumping.” This was a huge undertaking, but now the real work begins: fine-tuning everything.

RTX Spark isn’t just another laptop sticker; it pushed Microsoft to fundamentally overhaul five foundational subsystems inside Windows 11 to bridge the gap between low-power Arm efficiency, top-tier AAA gaming, and local agentic AI.

I spoke to Dawoud about the software underpinning Team Green’s hardware because, as he said, “Windows kind of had to get all these subsystems right all at the same time, so that you can enjoy an RTX Spark device and take the most advantage out of it.”

A Prism Emulator overhaul

Take it from someone who has watched the many attempts to run Windows on ARM chips (and covered the Snapdragon X Elite launch): emulation has always had an Achilles’ heel when it comes to gaming: micro-stuttering and frame pacing.

“When you're playing video games, it's not just about your average FPS. 1% lows, stuttering is really critical, and your CPU actually plays a very big role in stuttering control,” Dawoud explained.

While average frame rates look acceptable, CPU timing can get erratic when you try to emulate a game and play it at the same time, which can make fast-paced gaming feel jerky. When somebody buys an Nvidia laptop in October, the chances are likely that they will want to play games on it — it’s an RTX GPU after all.

So work needed to be done, and Microsoft has overhauled the Prism emulation layer for RTX Spark’s pipelines. By shoring up how tasks are assigned to each of the CPU’s threads, frame rates are much more stable in my testing, and the improvement over past versions is night and day.

UI polish & the agentic future

If you’re going to make what I believe could be a MacBook Pro killer, you need to make sure the UI is ready for power users as well as casual users. And the mission in Dawoud’s mind to do this is clear: “make the OS kind of get out of the way, for you to do the work that you want to do.”

Microsoft is cleaning up Windows 11 for this kind of user: native taskbar customization, customizable notifications, killing unwanted widgets, and remembering displays you connect to—to preserve specific screen layout settings.

Then we turn our attention to the “reinvent the PC” part of the RTX Spark, which comes down to local agentic AI. I saw a demo of Hermes Agent connected to a user’s Google account that acted like his personal chief of staff: setting an agenda for the day, drafting email responses in Gmail, and updating a project tracker in Google Docs. And it all happened on-device without a single bit of cloud AI.

But without guardrails, this could get scary. “Having an agent that you can't control is probably the thing you don't want,” he stated. So the answer is Microsoft Extension Containers (MXC) — isolated sandboxes for your local models to act across your desktop securely without sensitive system control leaking.

Killing OEM bloatware

It’s always been a dream of mine to have a laptop that doesn’t come packed with OEM-specific power management software or an antivirus scanner. While this may not fix the latter, it goes a long way toward killing the need for the former.

Dawoud emphasized the need to eliminate the clunky tug-of-war between Windows and external software. Currently, there are several ways to tweak power management across different apps, but RTX Spark uses the open-source Modern Power and Thermal Framework—letting Windows natively control all thermal and power tuning.

“Users, when they want to set the best performance, they can do it in Windows, and they'll know that the OEM's tuning for best performance has now been set,” he said. “They don't need to go to another app and be like, 'Okay, is that app saying good performance and Windows is saying good performance at the same time?'”

This also helps these laptops maintain the same performance on and off the charger.

The UMA secret

On paper, a Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) sounds great — a big pool for both the CPU and monstrous GPU to dip into at leisure, and take however much (or little) they need. But in reality, CPUs and GPUs digest memory completely differently.

CPUs crave small memory chunks (4-kilobyte pages) to distribute tasks across their many cores. They take a pizza, pull all the ingredients off of it, and share them around. GPUs, however, take that entire pizza, fold it in half, and eat it taco-style. They need massive blocks (up to 2-megabyte pages) to plow through parallel 3D rendering or AI tasks.

“RTX Spark has a very powerful GPU, so making sure that we give it as much memory as possible when it needs it, but also give it the right page sizes, is really critical,” Dawoud commented.

So Microsoft's fix is to add variable page sizing directly to the memory manager. This is a bit complex, but it means Windows can dynamically read the pages of data flowing through and send them to the right places—the 2MB to the GPU and 4KB to the CPU simultaneously.

“Optimizing that is the way you can weaponize the entire stack to get the most performance out of it,” He emphasized.

Taming Nvidia’s custom CPU cores

Unlike Qualcomm’s standardized Snapdragon X chips, Nvidia’s 18- and 20-core Grace CPUs use a proprietary cluster arrangement of performance and efficiency cores to maximize speed while delivering all-day battery life.

Dawoud explained that Nvidia's core configuration is entirely unique, and “previous Arm cores that have run on Windows are not like that.”

Now, historically, supporting an exotic CPU layout required rewriting the entire kernel underpinning Windows — a risky move for sure. But Windows 11 has a new profiling stack that can tune itself dynamically on the fly, meaning the scheduler that throws tasks everywhere can adapt to Nvidia’s unique chip here without breaking legacy compatibility.

The PC has finally grown up

The 14-year partnership between Microsoft and Nvidia finally feels like it is paying off. Dawoud pointed out that this wasn't a sudden alliance — the journey started over a decade ago with the Tegra-powered Surface RT.

But this specific launch represents a fundamental shift in how the two giants collaborate. By letting Microsoft engineers rebuild the OS from the silicon bootstrap level upward, RTX Spark gave Windows the foundation it needed to finally make Arm-based PC gaming a reality.

Microsoft and Nvidia haven’t just bolted a GPU onto an Arm processor; they’ve rewritten the rulebook beneath the surface. This is a huge moment for both companies, and if Windows on Arm succeeds where previous attempts faltered, it will all be traced back to that one moment Microsoft spent eight agonizing months building the foundation to make it feel effortless.

More from Tom's Guide

• I held the Asus ProArt P14 next to my MacBook Pro 14 — and Apple should be genuinely terrified of Nvidia’s RTX Spark
• I tested Acer's wild Project DualPlay Mini — and it's a gaming handheld and laptop in one gadget
• I wanted to hate Nvidia’s DLSS 5 ‘AI filter’ — but the real DLSS 5 is photorealistic black magic

So while NBA 2K27 is officially the first game to launch with Nvidia’s newly launched DLSS 5, you’ve probably already seen it pop up in hundreds of more games than that. And I’ll say it again just like I said it before — in photorealistic games, it’s fantastic. But If you venture out of that into anything more stylized, it’s going to look weird.

That’s why it makes the world of sense in 2K27, but during my hands-on testing with my Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (armed with an RTX 5070 Ti), I noticed something bizarre. The moment I entered a menu or triggered a replay, it suddenly felt like it was trudging through molasses.

I dug into the raw telemetry data to figure out what was going on, and what I found completely changed my understanding of Nvidia’s “3D-guided neural rendering.” That intensive new graphics pipeline of DLSS 5 may indeed be a graphical revolution — but on my humble laptop (and lower end desktops), I get the sense Frame Generation is a requirement to make it playable.

The laptop I’m playing on

I’m seeing a lot of people test it on massive desktop rigs. I’ll of course get round to doing this when I’m not on my honeymoon (my wife will kill me if I started benchmarking DLSS 5 in Cancun), but first I wanted to show you some numbers on something that isn’t really being covered here — my Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop.

Nvidia’s been talking about how the model running this mode of neural rendering has been made super efficient over the past few months. In fact, when it first debuted, it ran on a separate RTX 5090 desktop GPU; whereas now, it’s able to run on a single card with the game.

So let’s give it a go in a notebook with a lower power level running through those graphics.

By the numbers

To figure out why the game was suddenly stuttering, I ran the telemetry on three different game states with DLSS 5 turned on and off. And as you can see, while the gameplay numbers are very close matching, elsewhere, the difference is pretty significant.

In fact, this kind of lines up with PC Gamer’s report of a 50-60% drop in performance. So what’s going on here? Let’s talk about it.

The heavy cost of the transformer

So why does turning off the new tech triple frame rate in menus and replays? Because DLSS 5 is not just an upscale filter. It is a highly complex transformer model that interacts with the on-screen geometry and injects neural rendering.

Speaking to Nvidia, it’s clear that this AI pipeline is a heavy one, and the answer to why you don’t see that same impact in gameplay is a simple one: Frame Generation.

During live gameplay, I engaged the 6x Frame Generation multiplier to take that slower neurally rendered base and fill the gaps. However, developers typically disable frame gen during static menus, UI-heavy pause screens or camera-cut replays.

You can see how much this first iteration of DLSS 5 is sweating the system by looking at a couple of factors in the gameplay. Yes, the framerate is barely touched, but the 1% Lows takes a dip and the latency is upped quite drastically, as well as the GPU utilization spiking.

In a controller-centric game like NBA 2K27, that’s not necessarily a noticeable hit, but I can imagine that when this in its current form is moved to games that require faster inputs with a keyboard and mouse, it could become more apparent.

Take away the prop of frame generation in menus, and you see the DLSS 5 penalty more realistically on an RTX 5070 Ti laptop GPU.

But it looks incredible

Like I said in my first impressions, when faced with photorealistic graphics, DLSS 5 is undeniably impressive. There is one very specific takeaway when I looked at these “before and after” pairs of screen captures: the core game look is preserved impressively.

DLSS 5 does a flawless job of preserving the game’s visual integrity. The shots of Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama show off the micro-details on the skin and the way the sweat catches the harsh stadium lighting. The upscaler isn’t adding any aggressive smoothing or plastic-looking artifacts — it’s remarkably lifelike.

Then there’s the fabric and material textures. Brunson’s Knicks jersey and the fabric of the couch in the cutscene get an upgrade to show off the stitching more with high-resolution clarity, and without any noticeable AI-induced blurring.

The lighting reacts to on-screen characters more realistically, there isn’t any noticeable AI “fizzing” or ghosting around finer textures like hair — something upscalers have had problems with in the past.

Is this a frame-generated future?

DLSS 5 integration proved to me that the uncanny valley is dead, but it also proves that native frame rates are on their way out with it.

Nvidia themselves keep saying that Moore’s law is dead, and getting crafty with AI is what will bridge that generational gap. That threshold has been crossed — photorealism is getting too heavy for high-end silicon to render natively.

And DLSS 5 proves that future of photorealism isn’t just about rendering better pixels; it’s about accepting that a good chunk of the frames you see on your screen aren’t technically going to be “real” at all.

We’ve been coming to this moment in the PC gaming space for a while now, and it’s also happening on consoles too.

And personally, I have no problem with it if it looks this good — provided it’s used the right way (such as in photorealistic games).

More from Tom's Guide

• Best of IFA 2026: We found the 26 top new gadgets
• I held the Asus ProArt P14 next to my MacBook Pro 14 — and Apple should be genuinely terrified of Nvidia’s RTX Spark
• I tested Acer's wild Project DualPlay Mini — and it's a gaming handheld and laptop in one gadget

Despite how hard I try, I always end up bringing too many gadgets when I travel. With a transforming device like Lenovo’s new Project Swan, though, those days may be done for good.

Alongside one of the best laptops, I often pack a portable monitor for those times when I need extra screen real estate. This setup has served me well in the past, but between chargers, power banks, and cables, my tech bag gets unwieldy fast. In fact, on my last trip to Taiwan for Computex, my carry-on ended up weighing more than my checked bag.

At IFA 2026, Lenovo unveiled two new concept laptops. While Project AeroBlade was remarkably thin and light, Project Swan transforms from a compact 14-inch laptop into a 17-inch workstation with the push of a button. We saw a similar horizontal expansion mechanic with the company’s Legion Pro Rollable concept back at CES, but that machine was built strictly for gaming.

Now, Lenovo is taking that same core idea — using a streamlined motor array — and tailoring it to a business laptop. Here is everything you need to know about Project Swan, and why it could mark the end of portable monitors (if you’re willing to pay up, of course).

Wider but not unwieldy

With its screen retracted, Project Swan looks like a standard, highly portable 14-inch notebook weighing about 3.5 pounds. While that’s slightly on the heavy side for a 14-inch laptop, keep in mind that this is a concept — and having it in your bag means leaving a secondary display at home.

The idea is to give mobile power users a workspace that expands only when required. You can comfortably use the 14-inch screen on a cramped airplane tray table, then expand the display once you get to your hotel desk or a coffee shop.

While full internal specs haven't been released yet, the physical layout includes two side-mounted USB-C ports and a headphone jack. A rear USB-C port handles charging, flanked by a tiny LED status indicator. Despite housing a rolling screen assembly, the chassis stays surprisingly trim at 17.9mm (0.7 inches).

As with the AeroBlade concept, you get Lenovo’s signature keyboard with generous key travel, paired with a spacious trackpad. Toggling between retracted and expanded modes is effortless: just tap the Insert key, and the laptop’s motors handle the rest.

Fully extended, the display rolls out into a wider 16:9 layout. That extra horizontal space is built for running two full apps side-by-side. As someone who writes with dual windows open, even on a 16-inch MacBook Pro, that added horizontal space would make an immediate difference.

The second screen's swan song?

I still catch myself wishing Project Swan rolled out even further. As someone who uses an ultrawide monitor at home, stretching out to a full 21:9 aspect ratio to fit two uncompressed, full-sized browser windows side-by-side would be the dream.

Even as a 16:9 expansion, having a single laptop that stretches on demand feels like the ideal solution for business travelers who hate setting up an external monitor. I’ve tried solving this issue with display glasses connected to a mini PC, but even a pair of the best smart glasses can lead to eye fatigue over a long workday.

Although Project Swan is technically a concept right now, I wouldn't be surprised to see a retail version hit the market relatively soon. Unlike companies that showcase flashy concepts never meant for production, Lenovo actually ships them. Case in point: their vertical rollable concept at CES eventually made its way to store shelves as the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable.

If Project Swan makes the jump to a retail product, it will undoubtedly carry a steep price tag. But for business travelers who want maximum screen real estate without pulling extra gear out of their bag at airport security, it might be worth every penny.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best of IFA 2026: We found the 26 top new gadgets
• This tiny AI box could save me from upgrading my perfectly good laptop
• Best laptops of IFA 2026: Wild colors, ultrathin designs and rollable displays

There's been a sudden surge of AI agents that can help you perform tasks on your PC, even while you're away. You've probably heard about tools like OpenClaw, which can run autonomously on your behalf. But one of the problems with running these kinds of agents locally is that they often require plenty of hardware resources to function properly.

I'm not someone who changes laptops every year. I still use a MacBook Air M3 from 2023, and I'll probably continue using it until it gives up on me, which hopefully won't be for another five to seven years. But that also means my laptop isn't necessarily built for running powerful local AI agents, and upgrading my entire computer just for that doesn't make much sense.

Well, for people like me, Violoop might have an interesting solution. The company has just showcased its new hardware AI agent at IFA 2026, and unlike software agents that run directly on your laptop, use its resources, and potentially drain more battery, Violoop is a separate device that connects to your computer and handles much of the AI processing itself.

Similar to software-based agents, Violoop is screen-aware. It can understand what's happening on your display and help perform tasks based on that context. For example, if someone asks you to send them an address, Violoop can pull up the relevant information and fill it in for you. If you're looking at a long PDF that you don't have time to read, you can ask it to summarize the document instead.

The idea is that the device gradually understands you better the more you use it. Violoop builds what the company calls a continuous memory graph, which learns about your workflows, preferences, and patterns over time so the agent has more context when you're asking it to do something.

Of course, having an AI constantly looking at what's on your screen and building a memory around what you do immediately raises some privacy questions. Violoop says it has taken a local-first approach here. Screen data is processed directly on the device and, according to the company, is never transmitted to the cloud.

Inside, there's an 8-billion-parameter local AI model with 26 TOPS of on-device AI performance handling these tasks. When Violoop does need to use the cloud, the company says it sends "only the information necessary" to complete the task, while your screen itself is never streamed.

There's also a dedicated STM32H563 security processor for handling approvals around sensitive tasks. The company says you'll be able to connect your preferred AI services, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others.

The hardware itself is also pretty interesting. There's a small display on the front showing things like the time and what the AI agent is currently doing. The whole thing almost looks like a tiny old-school computer monitor sitting next to your laptop, which I actually quite like.

One thing worth noting is that Violoop isn't powered directly through your laptop's USB-C port. It requires its own external power source. Around the back, you'll find three connections: USB-C, HDMI, and a dedicated power input.

There's also a physical button on top that acts as a hardware-level approval key. When the agent wants to perform a sensitive action or something that involves multiple steps, you can physically press the button to approve it rather than letting the AI simply go ahead on its own.

Perhaps the most interesting part for me is that Violoop isn't tied to one operating system. The company says it works with both Windows and macOS, and setup is supposed to be largely plug-and-play. At least, that's what Violoop tells me.

Violoop is launching on Kickstarter on September 15, 2026, with an introductory price of $399. The company expects to begin shipping in mid-October, after which the device is expected to be more widely available for $799.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best laptops of IFA 2026: Wild colors, ultrathin designs and rollable displays
• I tried Acer's new 7-inch gaming handheld at IFA 2026 — this might be the sweet spot
• I used Dell's latest MacBook Neo rival — and I'm not complaining about having another one

The new Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop is largely a refresh of last year’s model, but it includes the one feature I wanted: a glare-free OLED panel. Toss in the latest Intel and Nvidia components, along with the otherworldly design, and you have one of the best gaming laptops on the market.

As with 2025’s Alienware 16 Area-51, this gaming laptop has serious flair, thanks to the Liquid Teal finish on the anodized aluminum chassis, which gives it a dark, iridescent sheen that shifts colors under different lighting conditions. The Gorilla Glass window on the bottom lets you see the internal components, while the RGB lighting enhances the laptop’s otherworldly appearance.

You can configure the Alienware 16 Area-51 (from $2,529, $3829 as tested) with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus Arrow Lake Refresh CPU, an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and 12TB of SSD storage. My review unit, with its RTX 5080, Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, and 32GB of RAM, had no issue handling even the most demanding PC games.

The star of the show is the new OLED panel, which provides rich contrast between dark and light elements. The anti-glare does rob the display of some of its luster, but the bright HDR and vibrant colors make up for that. You won’t complain much given how beautiful games look on this 16-inch 240Hz display.

While this laptop is still too bulky for my liking and has worse battery life than the previous model, this is undeniably a powerful gaming laptop with a fetching design like no other. If you have the cash for this beast, you won’t be disappointed. Find out more in my full review of the Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026).

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026) review: Cheat sheet

• What was it? The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a high-end gaming laptop.
• Who is it for? The Alienware 16 Area-51 is for hardcore gamers who want a machine that can easily play graphically demanding modern games and look good doing it.
• What does it cost? The Alienware 16 Area-51 starts at $2,529 on Dell’s website at the time of writing. This configuration has an Intel Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus CPU, an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage.
• What do we like? We like the futuristic design, killer performance, and stunning OLED panel.
• What don’t we like? We don’t like the laptop’s bulkiness and poor(er) battery life.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026) review: Specs

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026) review: The ups

The Alienware 16 Area-51 finally features an OLED panel while retaining the best aspects of its predecessor, including the eye-catching design, monstrous performance, and mesmerizing RGB lighting.

Futuristic design

Alienware didn’t change the design here, which is good, since this is still one of the most distinctive gaming laptops on the market. The rounded corners, Liquid Teal finish and RGB lighting on the keyboard deck make you feel like you’re using a laptop from the future. The smooth, sturdy aluminum chassis also feels good to touch and hold.

The model I reviewed came with a Cherry MX ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard. Thanks to that, I had a great experience typing, as the keys are clicky and have a short travel distance. The touchpad is still relatively small, but it didn’t ruin my flow. I also like that the spacious keyboard deck gave my hands plenty of room to move.

You’ll find the lion’s share of the laptop’s ports on the back, with the 3.5mm headphone jack and an SD card slot located on the left-hand side. There’s a good selection of ports, including three USB-A, two USB-C, and an HDMI port. It’s not always easy to connect and reconnect peripherals when the laptop’s lid is open, but if you always keep everything connected, then it shouldn’t be an issue.

Powerful gaming performance

The Alienware 16 Area-51 I reviewed is purpose-built for high-end gaming performance, thanks to powerful components such as its Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 laptop GPU, and 32GB of RAM. If you want to play games at native resolution with high graphics settings, you won’t be disappointed.

At native resolution and default graphics settings, with frame generation disabled and the laptop’s performance mode enabled, I got Cyberpunk 2077 to generally run at around 110 frames per second. This includes both walking and driving. Frame rates dipped into the low 90s in some of the denser downtown areas, but it’s hard to complain about a game running at 90 fps.

Using a game’s built-in benchmarking tool, we saw impressive results when we tested the laptop in our lab. At native resolution and maximum graphical settings, with the laptop’s performance mode disabled, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at 38 fps—certainly lower than when I ran it with performance mode on and at default graphics settings. Other titles, such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Doom: The Dark Ages, ran much better under these same conditions.

The Alienware 16 Area-51 also fared well against competing laptops with better specs. This includes the Razer Blade 16, which has a more powerful RTX 5090 GPU, and the Asus Zephyrus G16, which has the same CPU and GPU but double the RAM.

Even with frame-boosting DLSS disabled, you can still enjoy extremely high frame rates with performance mode enabled and medium-to-high graphics settings. You’ll get fantastic performance out of the box thanks to the Alienware 16’s powerful components.

Vivid OLED display

This is the big update for the Alienware 16 Area-51, and it’s a welcome one, as the lack of an OLED panel on last year’s model was one of its few setbacks. Now, games look as glorious as they perform, making the overall experience even better.

A game like Cyberpunk 2077 literally shines on this 16-inch OLED panel. The contrast between dark and light elements helps the colorful neon signs and holograms really pop out during the in-game night cycle. The scorching sun during the day is also impressive, with dark shadows contrasting nicely against the daylight.

The model I reviewed has an anti-glare screen that effectively reduces glare from light sources. While that’s a plus, it can also make the overall image look less vibrant than on a glossy screen. This is a minor setback, and one I can overlook since I’d rather have an anti-glare screen than not.

How did the Alienware 16’s display perform in our lab tests? As you can see above, it has strong color reproduction (sRGB and DCI-P3) and solid color accuracy (Delta-E). Hues are somewhat oversaturated, which benefits games like Cyberpunk 2077. SDR and HDR brightness are also good for an OLED panel.

Games run buttery smooth thanks to the fast 240Hz refresh rate. I didn’t encounter any stuttering or flickering during testing. The response time is now 0.2ms, which is much lower than last year’s model’s 3ms. Granted, you likely won’t notice a major difference unless you’re a competitive gamer, but the lower response time will benefit you regardless.

Fun RGB lighting

Like last year’s model, this Alienware 16 laptop has some seriously impressive RGB lighting. And I don’t say that lightly since I’m not typically an RGB fan. But the way it’s implemented here complements this laptop’s unique design.

The Gorilla Glass bottom allows the RGB lighting to cast an underglow. And this same lighting also spills out through the top of the keyboard deck. As before, I haven’t seen other gaming laptops match this effect.

Naturally, you can customize the lighting effects however you prefer via the Alienware Commander Center app. The app is easy to use if you just want to use presets, but it’s also very granular for more in-depth fine-tuning.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026) review: The downs

Though the Alienware 16 Area-51 has a lot going for it, it has some noticeable drawbacks.

Poor battery life

I never expect gaming laptops to have stellar battery life, as they’re usually lacking in that area. The Alienware 16 Area-51 is no different, except that it actually runs out of juice faster than last year’s model.

In our testing, Alienware’s gaming laptop lasted an hour and two minutes on the PCMark 10 gaming benchmark and three and a half hours while surfing the internet. That’s about an hour less on both tests than before, which is a bummer.

You’re likely going to keep the laptop plugged in for better performance, so battery life won’t be an issue in that instance. However, if you plan to use this laptop on the go, don’t expect it to last as long as you’d need it to.

Cumbersome to carry

There’s no denying that the Alienware 16 Area-51 is an attractive laptop thanks to its unique design. Unfortunately, the main downside is that at 14.37 x 11.41 x 1.12 inches and 7.92 pounds, it’s not exactly portable. Yes, you can take it with you, and it will fit in a standard backpack, but you’ll feel it.

I typically take the laptops I’m reviewing home, but because of this notebook’s weight, I kept it at the office throughout the entire testing process. I also kept it in one of our lab rooms because even carrying it around the office isn’t pleasant.

Granted, the laptop’s weight won’t be an issue if you’re not going to travel with it and mainly plan to have it as your primary at-home computer. But if you want to take it on the road, then I suggest you build some muscle first.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026) review: Verdict

While the Alienware 16 Area-51 is mostly a refresh of the previous model, the inclusion of an OLED panel is a significant addition that makes an already fantastic gaming laptop even better. Thanks to that, it’s hard not to recommend this laptop to anyone willing to spend top dollar for a high-end gaming experience.

Alternatives like the Razer Blade 16 and Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 are solid choices if the Alienware’s design is too outlandish, though you’ll still pay a similar price for both. So given that, why not go for a gaming laptop with a truly unique design?

As with its predecessor, the Alienware 16 Area-51 comes with my highest recommendation. Forgive the cliché, but it truly is out of this world.

Alongside massive TVs, home robots, and all sorts of futuristic tech, PC makers came out in a big way for IFA 2026 — and for good reason. With Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chips on the horizon and local AI ramping up fast, we saw tons of fresh silicon and hardware in Berlin this year.

What we didn’t expect was for them to be so colorful, thin, and experimental. From budget-friendly laptops in every shade imaginable to designs so impossibly slim they’d make Steve Jobs jealous, and even the return of the netbook in a totally new form factor, this year’s show was an absolute blast for computing.

Here are our 7 favorite laptops from IFA 2026, including models landing before the holidays and wild concepts that show us where PCs are heading next.

Best laptops of IFA 2026: The ones you can buy soon

Lenovo Yoga Flip 9n 2-in-1

If you’re an artist who needs a powerful machine to work on, the Lenovo Yoga Flip 9n 2-in-1 is the convertible laptop to watch. Packing an Nvidia RTX Spark chip for handling AI workloads on-device, and the ability to draw on its OLED screen or haptic touchpad, this is one seriously versatile notebook for busy doodlers on the go. And for work, it even packs a full keyboard and plenty of ports.

We don’t yet have a price or release date, but the Yoga Flip 9n 2-in-1 could be the perfect fit for creatives.

Tony Polanco

Dell 14S

Dell’s adding another MacBook Neo competitor to its lineage after the stellar XPS 13, and this one's aimed more at the college student/those just entering the world of work. The Dell 14S has gone through a huge upgrade since the last time I heard that name last year!

Instead of a cheap plastic build, we’re now to an all-aluminum build in a selection of fresh colors. The keyboard feels great on it, you’ve got display options starting from a 2K resolution all the way to 2.8K OLED, and the pricing will be “complementary” to the XPS 13 — Dell’s words not mine.

Take from that what you will…but also…$699 is my prediction.

Jason England

Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe

The Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe aims to be the next MacBook Neo killer, and it certainly has a decent shot at dethroning Apple’s affordable laptop. Lenovo’s machine features a sturdy metal chassis available in seven unique colors to match your personality. It also packs a wide range of ports — more than the MacBook Neo and Dell XPS 13 — and even swappable keycaps.

Configurable with AMD, Snapdragon, and eventually Intel CPUs, the IdeaPad Vibe, with its expected $699 asking price, is hard to ignore.

Tony Polanco

Acer Swift Blade 14

Yes, I know there’s the Acer Vero 16, and it’s modularity/repairability chops. All great and nice. But I’m here for the laptops that blew my tiny mind, and the 799g Swift Blade did indeed blow my mind, because it’s insanely lightweight.

You get a full-blown OLED display, decent build quality Intel Core Series 3 chipsets and the RAM and storage you need in something that’s lighter than two cans of soup. It’s really quite the shocking piece of kit to hold in your hands.

Jason England

Best laptops of IFA 2026: The prototypes

Lenovo Project Aeroblade

Lenovo’s Project AeroBlade gives off serious MacBook Air vibes thanks to its ultraportable design. At under 10mm thick and just 1.83 pounds, it feels like a screen with a keyboard attached. It achieves this with a fanless design. Instead, four tiny Frore AirJet modules use silent ultrasonic vibrations to cool an Intel Lunar Lake chip without sacrificing sustained performance. You still get OLED, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7, and Lenovo’s excellent keyboard in a magnesium-aluminum shell.

It’s only a concept for now, but if this ships, it could be a game-changer for thin-and-light laptops.

Tony Polanco

Lenovo Project Swan

Lenovo didn’t want its Legion Pro Rollable gaming laptop to have all the fun when it comes to horizontally expanding screens, so this year at IFA, it unveiled a more business-friendly solution using upgraded tech.

Project Swan starts out as a small and compact 14-inch productivity laptop but with the push of a button, its screen extends out on either side to become a 17-inch display. That way, instead of bringing a portable monitor with you on your next business trip, you can just pack one device.

Just like Lenovo’s incredibly light laptop, Project Swan is only a concept for now but as we saw a few years ago with the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable, this design could find its way into a product you can actually buy sooner than you’d think.

Anthony Spadafora

Acer Project DualPlay Mini

Now I know the initial thoughts here. “This is a gaming handheld, wtf are you thinking!?” Well, actually, this is a netbook…you can’t see it yet but when you open the handheld like a clamshell and flip the display, you’ve got that QWERTY keyboard inside.

As someone who has missed using something like my Asus Eee PC in the mid 2000s, this was a serious trip back in time to a better time. And when you think about the versatility of it, not only does this mean “work by day, play by night,” but it also means wider gameplay accessibility. Have you ever played an RTS with a controller? …that’s what I thought!

Jason England

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John Ternus has finally taken over as CEO of Apple, and his term could kickstart a wave of new and redefined Apple devices. It all starts next week with the "Surprise and Shine" iPhone event.

However, that's just the beginning, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman just released a massive report that highlights 41 devices that could be released in the next three years and beyond.

That includes new devices like the foldable iPhone Ultra and Apple's first foray into smart glasses.

Later 2026 and Early 2027

Most every device meant to launch in the next six months should arrive during one of two events: the September 9 iPhone soiree and an announcement in October or early November.

Mostly, the difference here is that new MacBooks are usually announced in mid-fall, usually with a new chipset.

The key devices to be aware of in the next few months include Apple's first foldable iPhone Ultra and the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models, all of which are expected to launch next week. There's also the first iPad mini with an OLED screen and the rumored HomePad with a screen, which should be Apple's next steps into smart home devices.

There's also the rumored MacBook Ultra, a high-end version of Apple's Pro laptop with a touch display and OLED panel. Personally, I'm interested in the refreshed Apple TV 4K with a faster chip and more Siri features. Though that has been rumored for years now and has yet to actually be released.

• iPhone Ultra
• iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
• Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4
• AirPods 5
• Apple TV 4K set-top box
• HomePod mini
• HomePad
• iPad mini with OLED screen
• M6 iMac refresh
• M6 14-inch MacBook Pro refresh
• MacBook Ultra

In development for 2027

Next year is when we could start seeing some truly updated designs for Apple's products from the all-glass iPhone 20 to redesigned Apple Watches and even more smart home products.

Some devices will be a simple chip refresh, like the M6 MacBook Air or the A19 Pro MacBook Neo, which proved so popular the first go-round that Apple couldn't keep it in stock.

A slew of iPads, from a refreshed iPad 12 to an iPad Air OLED are also expected next year.

iPhones will get weird next year starting in the spring where Apple splits the launch of the iPhone 18 series. We should see the vanilla iPhone 18, alongside the iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2.

In the back half of the year, the 20th anniversary iPhone could feature one of the largest design changes in years. The biggest is a curvy all-glass wraparound design that seamlessly covers the entire phone. An analyst claimed this design was canceled in August, but Mark Gurman pushed back, saying that it's still on track. There are more potential changes, but the glass look will be immediately noticeable.

We were expecting to see camera-laden AirPods this year after leaked code and videos appeared, but Gurman claims these have been delayed until 2027. The cameras would enable Siri AI to "see" the world around you and respond to queries. People are voicing privacy concerns already, but presumably the cameras would not record photos or video.

Finally, Tim Cook was allegedly obsessed with Apple Glasses, but it's not clear if Ternus shares that same excitement. Apple's take on the form should arrive next year and be similar to the Meta Ray-Ban allowing you to take calls, pictures and videos but lacking a display. Rumors had slated the glasses for 2028 but a summer report claimed Apple was rethinking its roadmap after Vision head Paul Meade left for OpenAI.

• M6 MacBook Air
• A19 Pro MacBook Neo
• Entry-level iPad refresh
• iPad Air OLED
• iPad Pro
• New Apple Pencils.
• iPhone 18 and 18e
• iPhone Air 2
• M7 14-inch MacBook Pro
• AirPods with cameras
• In-home security sensor and system.
• Apple Glasses
• iPhone 20 (XX)
• iPhone Ultra 2
• Redesigned Apple Watches
• M7 Pro and M7 Max MacBooks

2028, 2029 and beyond

The next batch of potential Apple devices could be released any time between 2028 and 2030. Some are chip and OLED updates, but a couple are new devices that we haven't seen from Apple before.

The HomePod on a robot arm was rumored two years ago and apparently will actually debut in the next couple of years. Per Gurman, this version will have a 9-inch display and advanced AI features.

Before the rumor mill settled on the foldable iPhone, Apple's first foldable device was actually supposed to be a giant foldable 18-inch iPad or MacBook. Apparently, this is still in the works and could launch in 2028. Gurman claims manufacturing issues pushed a potential launch back.

Apple allegedly wants to release its own AR glasses à la the Meta Ray-Ban Display. The glasses would superimpose data on your real-world view. There's no specific release year for these, but they could arrive before 2030.

Apple is apparently working on an AI pendant as well. The Apple version would work with your iPhone and use AI and the camera for tasks.

• HomePad with a robot arm
• M7 Max and M7 Ultra Mac Studio
• Apple Vision Pro revamp
• AI Pendant
• Larger foldable iPhone
• Foldable iPad
• MacBook Air OLED
• Higher-end iMac OLED
• Augmented reality glasses

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple HomePad rumored release date, price and all the latest leaks
• iPhone Ultra price rumors — here's how much you can expect to pay for Apple’s first foldable
• Nvidia’s RTX Spark N1X launches this October: My price predictions for the potential MacBook Pro killer

As I keep saying, there’s a big two-device compromise problem. I love my 14-inch MacBook Pro for its rigidity, battery life, silent thermals, great ergonomics, and raw performance for my prosumer workload. But macOS locks me out of native PC gaming (mostly), so I need another machine to do that.

So when Nvidia’s RTX Spark was announced, I saw the possibility of a future daily driver pull into view — the everything machine I’d always wanted. And then when I held the Asus ProArt P14 in my right hand and the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro in my left, it became clear I’d found my top pick of Team Green’s roster.

That’s because Asus didn’t just build a competitor; they pretty obviously reverse-engineered the MacBook Pro’s footprint and low-profile industrial aesthetic. It was going to take a lot to get me to switch from my Apple lifestyle, but coming as close to the Apple feel as possible is a helpful start, to say the least!

So for the first time, a Windows machine has the silicon architecture to challenge Apple Silicon, and Asus is packing it into a machine that rolls tanks onto the MacBook Pro’s turf.

Design and build: spotting the physical differences

Stacking them directly, you can see how much Asus took inspiration from Apple, as the ProArt P14 matches the MacBook Pro 14 almost millimeter for millimeter. But there are subtle differences.

First is the finish. Apple’s anodized aluminum has a smoother, more metallic texture, whereas Asus’ stealthy matte charcoal coating has a much more interesting texture under your fingers.

And second is the weight balance. Holding them both one-handed, the Pro definitely feels denser, but the distribution feels better balanced. Whereas in the ProArt P14, it’s lighter but more heavily weighted toward thermal management at the back of the system (more on that later).

Ports-wise, both are effectively set up for creators with full-size HDMI, high-speed USB-C, a headphone jack, and a full-size SD card slot. But the ProArt flex here comes with the legacy USB-A port on the right flank — a minor detail that saves you from carrying dongles.

Screen showdown: 2.8K OLED vs Liquid Retina XDR

So when it comes to picking between these screens, I know the default is to say “OLED is better,” but there are levels to this.

Because yes, the infinite contrast, instant pixel response times for gaming, zero blooming, and no camera notch give the ProArt P14 an advantage. It’s a gorgeous display — this is Asus’ bread and butter after all, as colors melt off the screen.

But the MacBook Pro (I’m assuming, as we won’t know until full testing — this is just based on what’s always happened before) will likely have a higher sustained peak brightness for outdoor work.

Really, it comes down to what you’re going to do with it. For gaming and color-accurate video grading in indoor/studio settings, the OLED wins on pure punch. However, for working out and about in bright coffee shops, Apple’s Mini-LED will probably retain the top spot.

The tactile friction point: Key feel and trackpad

The MacBook Pro has always been one of my favorites ergonomically speaking —packing shallow but snappy scissor keyboard switches set in a well. It feels familiar, reliable, and fatigue-free, but it does lack the travel for deep gaming presses.

Meanwhile, the ProArt P14’s keys have a deeper dish, a little more key travel, and a softer landing underneath. The added depth creates a more satisfying impact, and the WASD stability for gaming feels a little better. But the slight added mushiness may come back to haunt me if I type all day.

Then there’s the trackpads. Now don’t get me wrong, the ProArt’s physical trackpad is massive and smooth, with a nice tactility to the physical click. But Apple’s Force Touch haptics are basically witchcraft, with an identical click anywhere on the glass and zero chance of any mechanical dead zones.

Under the hood

Currently, I’m on an M5 MacBook Pro, but you can spec it up to M5 Pro or M5 Max with unified memory shared between CPU and GPU cores. The end result is lightning-fast performance across all your tasks that has always been one step ahead of the competition from Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD.

And now, the ProArt P14 is taking on Apple with the RTX Spark N1X platform — marrying an Arm-based Nvidia Grace CPU with a dedicated Blackwell RTX GPU, backed up by up to 128GB of unified memory.

In terms of how much you can spec it, ProArt P14 configurations start from that baseline N1X with fewer cores and 24GB of memory, so the versatility of configs means you can run the full gamut against the MacBook Pro.

Apple’s machine falls down in modern AAA PC gaming backlogs — some of it works through Metal compatibility, but most will be left to crippling emulation or cloud streaming.

But with N1X’s CUDA cores, the ProArt P14 can run 1440p games at 100 FPS, complete with DLSS support and anti-cheat compatibility. Beyond that, I expect they’ll be pretty evenly matched in creator performance and AI. Differences there will come down to the software optimization for the silicon.

The potential dealbreakers

I’m just going to summarize some quick things that may become the thorn in the ProArt P14’s side once we get one in the labs to fully test.

• The fan noise: When I tested the ProArt P14 for gaming, it was the loudest RTX Spark laptop in the room. The MacBook Pro stays near-silent during everyday tasks, and hopefully the P14 is the same — but it’s clear that an insane amount of Nvidia silicon requires aggressive airflow.
• Battery endurance: Nvidia is claiming “all-day” battery life and the same performance both on and off the charger. During my testing, I can confirm the latter, but we don’t know about the former yet! If it can achieve that 12-14+ hours of mixed real-world productivity, Apple loses its biggest single advantage.
• The price: The MacBook Pro starts at $1,999. To get the equivalent amount of memory (24GB), that price goes up to $2,199. This is the big question mark for N1X laptops, and hopefully they’ll be competitive on cost.

Early verdict

This is a way-too-early verdict, as I’m piecing together the few times I’ve had to test the ProArt P14 and its potential against months of MacBook Pro use. But I’ll give it a stab.

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Laptops are in a pretty unique place in 2026. On one end, we have companies pushing performance to the absolute maximum, with new flagship laptops soon to be powered by chips like Nvidia's RTX Spark. On the other hand, we have brands going directly after Apple's MacBook Neo, pushing prices lower while still trying to deliver as much value as possible.

Dell is jumping on the latter bandwagon at IFA 2026 with its new Dell 14S. The company already has the XPS 13, which sits as its more premium MacBook Neo competitor, but the Dell 14S is targeting a slightly different buyer.

Dell tells me this laptop will sit one tier below the XPS 13, aimed primarily at pre-college and high school students who want something sturdy and capable without spending too much money.

On first inspection, the Dell 14S feels extremely similar to the more expensive XPS 13 in the hand. You get an all-aluminum build that feels premium, and unlike some other thin-and-light laptops I've tried here at IFA, there isn't much flex in the keyboard deck when you press down hard. The display lid doesn't feel flimsy either.

It's certainly not the lightest laptop I've used at IFA this year, but I'll happily take some extra weight when the trade-off is a machine that feels this solid.

I also really like what Dell is doing with the colors. Similar to Apple with the MacBook Neo, Dell isn't sticking with the usual dark finishes. The 14S comes in four much more playful colors: Linen (beige-silver), Dusty Rose (pink), Washed Denim (light blue), and Velvet Green.

Washed Denim (the one on the top in the image below) is easily my favorite of the bunch, although all four look much better in person than their names might suggest.

And despite being positioned below the XPS 13, Dell isn't cutting too much when it comes to performance either. The Dell 14S will be available with Intel's Core Series 3 "Wildcat Lake" processors, with options including Core 5 and Core 7 chips.

Other internal hardware includes up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. Those aren't exactly flagship specifications, but they're pretty much what you'd expect given the price range Dell is targeting and with the ongoing RAMageddon. The port selection is also surprisingly good. You get two USB-C ports, but Dell has also included a full-sized HDMI port, something you don't even get on the more expensive XPS 13.

In terms of display options, you're getting two options. The higher-end model comes with a 2.8K panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the other configuration drops down to a 2K display running at 60Hz.

The biggest question right now is the price. Dell hasn't announced U.S. pricing yet, but the company tells me the 14S will sit below the XPS 13 in its lineup. Considering the XPS 13 starts at around $699, I wouldn't be surprised if the Dell 14S lands somewhere around the $599 to $649 mark.

And if Dell can actually hit that price, I think the 14S could be a very interesting MacBook Neo competitor. There's no exact launch date for now, but Dell tells me that the 14S will launch in the U.S. sometime this fall, with pricing to be announced closer to availability.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tore apart Acer’s £1,599 Vero 16 with my bare hands — Framework finally has a lethal rival
• We benchmarked the MacBook Neo vs budget Windows laptops — here's the truth
• I tested 6 RTX Spark laptops for gaming — and the winner completely shocked me

Labor Day weekend is almost here and if you're looking for laptop deals, Dell has plenty of them. Whether you're shopping for a new back to school laptop or a powerful rig for your gaming sessions, I'm rounding up the biggest bargains on the machines we recommend.

If you're on a budget and need a basic machine for work, school, or streaming, you can't go wrong with the new XPS 13 for $699. (Note: Students can get it for $599, which is cheaper than the competing $699 MacBook Neo). The base XPS 13 packs a 13.4-inch 2.5K (2560 x 1600) 120Hz touch display, Core 5-320 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Personally, I recommend upgrading the RAM to 16GB for $899 total ($799 for students).

I'm also a big fan of the Alienware 16 Aurora w/ RTX 5050 for $1,099. That entry-level RTX 5050 should offer enough power for casual PC gamers. It's accompanied by a 16-inch WQXGA 120Hz display, Core 7-240H CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

Below I've rounded up my favorite Dell Labor Day sales. For more discounts and recommendations, check out our Labor Day sales guide and our Dell coupon codes page.

Quick Links

• shop the entire Dell sale
• Monitors: deals from $94
• Laptops: deals from $599
• Desktops: deals from $699
• Alienware: deals from $1,099
• Alienware 32" Gaming Monitor: was $299 now $219
• Alienware 16 Aurora w/ RTX 5050: was $1,999 now $1,099
• Dell 16 Plus: was $1,299 now $1,199
• Dell 14 Plus: was $1,579 now $1,399

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The Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 wants to be the ultimate convertible laptop for creative work. Announced during IFA 2026, Lenovo’s upcoming 2-in-1 packs an Nvidia RTX Spark chip for demanding workflows and features dual-surface pen input for increased flexibility. The OLED display and ability to handle AI work on-device are other highlights.

I got to see the Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 at a Lenovo IFA event and left with a strong first impression. Though I wasn’t able to get a taste of what RTX Spark is capable of, I was impressed by the slender 2-in-1 design and the ability to write or sketch directly on the touchpad. If you’re an artist, this seems like a great machine to bring your creations to life.

We don't yet have pricing for it, but the Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 seems like a convertible to watch out for. Here's why you should keep it on your radar.

Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 hands-on: Specs

Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 hands-on: Design and display

As its name suggests, the Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 is a convertible laptop with a 360-degree hinge that lets you switch between Laptop, Tablet, Tent, Stand, and Canvas modes.

The last mode is particularly interesting because it’s slightly angled rather than completely flat, making writing and drawing easier. Basically, the Yoga 9n can transform to suit your needs.

Measuring 14.17 × 9.57 × 0.69 inches and weighing 4.28 pounds, the Yoga 9n 2-in-1 is relatively large and bulky, which can make using it as a tablet cumbersome.

However, if you set it on a table or your lap, its weight shouldn’t be an issue. In my experience, the aluminum frame feels sturdy, and the 360 hinge makes it easy to open the laptop to your preferred mode.

There are a decent number of ports here to support your peripherals. This includes an HDMI port, two USB-A ports, a pair of USB4/USB-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a single SD card slot. I especially appreciate the inclusion of USB-A ports for legacy devices.

Since this is a 16-inch laptop, it has a spacious keyboard deck—one that even includes a full number pad. The membrane keys have a nice bounce and a short travel distance. The touchpad, or the Force Pad as Lenovo calls it, is not only large but also supports drawing with the Yoga Pen Gen 2. I wrote and doodled on it and found it smooth and responsive.

I didn’t get to test the speakers, but the six-speaker Dolby Atmos audio system has two tweeters built into the rotating soundbar, keeping them front-firing in every mode. There’s also a pair of woofers to round out the audio. Lenovo says that intelligent noise suppression and spatial audio will support meetings, livestreams, presentations, and more.

The 16-inch PureSight Pro OLED display (as Lenovo calls it) promises “creator-grade color accuracy,” according to the company. To my eyes, the 2.8K resolution panel looked sharp and vivid. The 120Hz refresh rate ensures that everything from pen input and animation previews to gaming and more moves smoothly.

Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 hands-on: Performance

I won’t be able to discuss the Yoga 9n 2-in-1’s performance until we’ve run it through our lab tests. Given how Lenovo is positioning this as a creator-focused machine and its use of Nvidia’s promising RTX Spark chip, I expect excellent overall performance.

The RTX Spark features a custom CPU, a Blackwell GPU, and unified RAM all on one chip. This allows the entire processor to share information faster than with separate, dedicated components.

Thanks to this efficiency, there’s also the promise of all-day battery life. The RTX Spark chip on the Yoga 9n will have up to 64GB of unified memory.

With the RTX Spark platform, Nvidia is working with Microsoft to shift personal computing on Windows from a passive tool to something proactive.

To that end, Nvidia’s chip can accelerate creative and AI tools such as Adobe Premiere Pro and local models like FLUX. Your mileage may vary depending on how much you rely on AI for work, but if you need to run it locally, you have that option.

Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 hands-on: Outlook

The Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 promises to be a versatile convertible for creatives and a powerful OLED laptop for those of us who aren’t artistically inclined.

I’ll need more time with it before rendering judgment, but based on what I saw, this is a notebook worth keeping an eye on. Hopefully, the Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 won’t cost too much when it eventually launches.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested Acer’s wild flip-and-swivel handheld — why Project DualPlay Mini is the ultimate netbook love letter
• I wanted to hate Nvidia’s DLSS 5 ‘AI filter’ — but the real DLSS 5 is photorealistic black magic
• I tested 6 RTX Spark laptops for gaming — and the winner completely shocked me

The MacBook Neo had better watch out, because the Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe is coming. Starting at $699, this laptop comes in multiple colors and is designed for folks who want a reliable everyday notebook at a reasonable price. Lenovo also says the Vibe won’t skimp on performance or battery life.

I briefly went hands-on with the IdeaPad Vibe at a Lenovo IFA event and was impressed by what I saw. Not only is it colorful, but it also feels good to hold thanks to its sturdy yet lightweight design. It’s the kind of laptop I’d like to take on the road since it has such a thin and light profile. The promise of configurations with AMD, Snapdragon X, and eventually Intel CPUs is also exciting.

Here’s what I think of the Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe.

Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe: Specs

Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe: Price and availability

You won’t have to wait long for the Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe to arrive.

14- and 15-inch models with AMD start shipping in October with an expected starting price of $699. Models with Qualcomm Snapdragon X begin shipping in November with the same expected $699 starting price. Models with Intel chips will be available at a later date.

Given IdeaPad Vibe’s expected $699 price and holiday launch window, it’s clear Lenovo is positioning its laptop as a MacBook Neo and Dell XPS 13 competitor.

Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe: Design & display

If you want a colorful laptop, the IdeaPad Vibe has you covered. Lenovo partnered with the Pantone Institute to create a range of color options for its affordable laptop.

The available colors include Dreamy Violet, Spicy Gold, Zen Green, Chill Blue, Radiant Coral, Moody Blue, and Lowkey Green. These naturalistic colors won’t seem out of place wherever you’re using the Vibe.

The IdeaPad Vibe’s metal chassis complements the colors well and gives it a premium feel. As with the new Dell XPS 13, it’s nice to see budget-friendly Windows laptops that aren’t made of cheap plastic. The 14-inch model measures 12.35 × 87.59 × 0.59 inches and weighs 2.87 pounds, making it extremely portable and unobtrusive.

Unlike many thin and light laptops, the IdeaPad Vibe has a wide array of ports. On the right side, you’ll find a pair of USB-A ports, while on the left, there’s an HDMI port, two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and a MicroSD card reader. Port-wise, Lenovo’s laptop beats the XPS 13 and MacBook Neo.

The 14-inch model will have up to a 1920 x 1200-pixel OLED panel, while the 15-inch variant will sport up to a 2.1K OLED panel, with the latter offering a touch option. We’ll need to get the laptop into our testing lab to see what its display can do, but Lenovo says it’s rated for 100% DCI-P3 coverage. To my eyes, the display appeared sufficiently bright and colorful.

Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe: Performance & battery life

Based on its components, the IdeaPad Vibe should be sufficiently powerful for everyday work. And since this is a Copilot+ PC, expect it to handle some on-device AI workloads as well.

Configurations with AMD Ryzen AI will launch first, followed by Snapdragon X models in November and Intel variants at a later date. You’ll be able to configure the laptop with up to 32GB of RAM for AMD models and up to 24GB for Snapdragon X. Both can be configured with up to 1TB of storage. Interestingly enough, both RAM and SSD are upgradeable.

All machines in the Idea line will include Lenovo Qira, the company’s personal AI experience that provides contextual assistance across supported PCs, mobile devices, tablets, and even wearables. This feature wasn’t available for testing during my briefing, so I’m curious to see whether it provides useful assistance or becomes another feature you forget exists.

Lenovo says the IdeaPad Vibe has “all-day” battery life. Given that laptops we’ve tested with Snapdragon X and AMD Ryzen AI can last anywhere from 10 to 20 hours, I’m eager to see how long these laptops will last in real-world use.

Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe: Outlook

The Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe seems like a serious MacBook Neo rival, thanks to its array of colors, budget-friendly starting price, and the promise of all-day battery life and solid everyday performance. And if Lenovo Qira delivers helpful on-device AI, this could make the Vibe even more appealing.

The MacBook Neo was a warning shot, and it's good to see companies like Lenovo respond with their own affordable laptop that promises a similarly premium design, vivid display, and strong performance. We'll have to wait and see, but right now, I'm pretty excited about the IdeaPad Vibe.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested Acer’s wild flip-and-swivel handheld — why Project DualPlay Mini is the ultimate netbook love letter
• I wanted to hate Nvidia’s DLSS 5 ‘AI filter’ — but the real DLSS 5 is photorealistic black magic
• I tested 6 RTX Spark laptops for gaming — and the winner completely shocked me

I still remember watching Steve Jobs pull the first-ever MacBook Air out of a manila envelope like it was yesterday. In the years since, the best laptops have gotten even thinner and lighter. But when I first held Lenovo’s new Project AeroBlade concept laptop at IFA 2026, I felt just like I imagined Jobs did with the original MacBook Air.

At just under 830 grams (1.83 pounds), this is a seriously light 14-inch laptop. What’s more, it’s also incredibly thin at just under 10mm thick to boot. The most surprising thing, though, is the new, completely fanless cooling solution Lenovo implemented under the hood, with help from Frore Systems.

Now keep in mind, this is just a concept device that isn’t being mass-produced yet. However, if Lenovo’s past concepts that turned into real products are any indication, we could soon see a wave of incredibly thin and light ThinkBooks and even ThinkPads that can finally rival Apple’s MacBook Air.

Here’s everything you need to know about Lenovo’s Project AeroBlade and why I could easily see it being my go-to laptop for both work and travel.

From ThinkBook to ThinBook

With Project AeroBlade closed, it’s clear we’re dealing with something completely different than your standard ThinkBook. In fact, while the front edge tapers down to being almost pencil-thin, you can see that Lenovo had to make the back of the device larger just to house its ports. Speaking of which, there are two USB-C ports on the back left.

To get Project AeroBlade this thin, Lenovo had to completely redesign its cooling. Instead of traditional fan-based cooling, the device uses a solid-state active cooling architecture developed by Frore Systems called AirJet, which uses ultrasonic vibrations to dissipate heat.

What makes this new cooling solution stand out is that, with it under the hood, Lenovo didn’t have to sacrifice sustained performance to make this laptop extremely thin. Other benefits include reduced noise, dust intake, and mechanical complexity. The last of which is one reason I think we might see Project AeroBlade’s tech find its way into a laptop you can actually buy sooner than you would with other concepts.

On the right side, you get another USB-C port, plus a power button that looks like it has an integrated fingerprint sensor and a toggle switch. At first, I couldn’t figure out what that toggle was for, but after Lenovo’s IFA 2026 keynote, I went hands-on with Project AeroBlade a second time.

Lenovo often includes privacy shutters on its webcams and for good reason. However, this concept device is too thin for one, so instead of putting it next to the webcam, it’s on the side. Given how easy it is to smudge your laptop’s screen or push it back when toggling the privacy filter on or off, I actually prefer having it on the side.

Despite its incredibly thin design, you get the same sturdy keyboard with excellent travel that Lenovo’s known for, along with a large trackpad. Surprisingly, the ThinkBook logo is stamped on the bottom right corner of Project AeroBlade.

While Lenovo’s ThinkPads — like the X1 Carbon — are known for being very thin and light, its ThinkBooks are more affordable and practical workhorses. This could signal a brand new direction for the line, or we could see Project AeroBlade’s tech make its way into a ThinkPad first; only time will tell.

Finally, the bottom of the device has no exhaust vents because it’s completely fanless. Based on the AirJet system and motherboard I saw next to the laptop, it looks like any heat is dissipated out of the back of the device.

Phone, wallet, keys… AeroBlade

Let’s face it, there are times when you just don’t want to bring your laptop with you to avoid adding extra weight and bulk to your backpack. With Project AeroBlade, though, I don’t think I’d ever leave my laptop at home.

While it’s technically heavier than one of the best tablets, it felt a lot lighter in hand, especially with the screen open. I know there are times I’d bring a tablet instead of a laptop, but here, that little bit of extra weight would absolutely be worth it to have a keyboard and a full computer on my person at all times.

We’ll see if and when Project AeroBlade becomes an actual laptop you can buy, but given Lenovo’s quick turnaround with its concept devices, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being one of the highlights of CES 2027, complete with a price tag and a launch date.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I shopped the Lenovo back to school sale: here's the 12 items I'd buy right now from just $22
• I tested this circular mini PC for a month — and it’s the Mac mini Windows alternative I’ve been waiting for

For years, creatives and gamers have had to deal with the two-device compromise: you buy an M-series MacBook Pro for the seamless productivity and all-day battery life, and keep the power-hungry Windows gaming rig at home.

I’ve tested RTX Spark a few times now, and I believe it’s the end of that compromise. And at IFA 2026, Team Green has confirmed that the RTX Spark N1X is coming this October.

Nvidia is aggressively targeting Apple’s throat. By shifting to the Arm-based Grace CPU paired with Blackwell graphics, as you’d see in its RTX 50-series GPUs, and massive pools of memory, Nvidia is finally bringing the Apple Silicon paradigm to Windows — without sacrificing PC gaming.

Impressive power in a 14mm chassis

This isn’t the first foray with Windows on Arm that we’ve seen. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite continues to deliver strong performance and power efficiency. But RTX Spark goes at things a different way by chucking a massive GPU at the silicon.

In my time testing, that leads to super-powered prosumer productivity performance (especially with the software integrations across Blender and Adobe’s creative suite), stellar gaming performance and enough fuel for Nvidia’s mission to “reinvent the PC” with local agentic AI. And for that power efficiency side of things, it manages to keep the same performance both on and off the charger!

Up until this point, we’d only known about the top-of-the-line N1X chip. Now we know about the baseline option (also called N1X…this could get a little confusing).

Obviously it’s worth noting that with the lower power consumption of a laptop, even though it does have a massive amount of cores, you won’t get the same level of performance as a desktop-class GPU. Just fun for comparison's sake, you know?

The form factors

We already know about eight laptops launching with RTX Spark N1X. You can see where I rank them all in a tiered list I did a couple of months ago. Basically, to match the premium specs of that chip, you’re getting premium shells that tick all the boxes needed to take on a MacBook Pro — metallic bodies, gorgeous displays (OLED or mini LED), solid ergonomics and plenty of I/O.

There are also a couple of mini PCs from Asus and MSI launching with the chip inside, and here at IFA, we’re getting word on two new systems coming to the party in October too:

• Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1: Another convertible RTX Spark system has arrived to take on MSI’s Prestige Flip N16. The chassis is just 14mm thin.
• Acer SFF RTX Spark: A small form factor desktop that would look pretty perfect under my living room TV as well as my desk.

So that’s the next advantage over the MacBook — variety of designs.

The friction point: Predicting the price

While Nvidia was eager to show off the specs, it was noticeably silent on the price. Well, I’m gonna do some bac-of-the-napkin math here to fill this gap and make a prediction. Based on components and the direct competition with Apple, it’s obvious that these machines are going to carry a heavy premium.

• The baseline prediction: The lower-tier configuration (18-core CPU, 5,120 CUDA cores, 24GB RAM) will likely start around the $1,999 to $2,499 range — pricing it directly against the base MacBook Pro models.
• The agentic premium: If you want that maxed out configuration with 128GB of unified memory to run massive local AI models, expect a jaw-dropping price tag. Given that a maxed-out MacBook Pro easily pushes past the $4,500 mark, an equivalent N1X will likely land in the $4,000 to $5,000+ range.

Bookmark this and remind me in the comments if I get this wrong!

The early verdict

Way back at Computex 2026, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made it clear that he wants to reinvent the PC with RTX Spark. This is all fair and good, but I believe the real showcase of N1X here is not the local AI computation. That part is impressive, but it’s still up for debate on whether people will actually use their computers in this way.

The real game-changer here (to me at least) is the fundamental architectural shift that bridges the gap between serious productivity and high-end gaming — complete with all-day battery life (providing it does match up to Nvidia’s claims of course).

It’s the MacBook Pro that actually has games to play on, and if everything plays out the way I’m anticipating (and there’s no nasty surprises on the performance front), then Apple is finally going to have genuine, uncompromised competition.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wanted to hate Nvidia’s DLSS 5 ‘AI filter’ — but the real DLSS 5 is photorealistic black magic
• I tested 6 RTX Spark laptops for gaming — and the winner completely shocked me
• Tom’s Guide Computing Awards 2026: 22 game-changing laptops, desktops and peripherals

Laptop prices are absurd right now. The RAM crisis has caused manufacturers to raise prices and retailers in turn are passing the bill onto consumers. That's not to say all laptop deals are bad, but it's become harder than ever to find a good machine at a reasonable price.

Fortunately, Labor Day laptop sales are here and I'm vetting every laptop sale to bring you the best deals ahead of Labor Day. Whether you're looking for a late back to school bargain or hoping to score a new MacBook Air on the cheap, I'm highlighting the deals I'd spend my money on. For more discounts and personal recommendations, make sure to check out our Labor Day sales guide and the Tom's Guide Savings Squad hub.

Quick Links

• Laptop sale: from $179 @ Amazon
• Best Buy: deals from $139
• HP: laptops from $199 @ HP
• Dell sale: from $699 @ Dell
• Acer Aspire Go: was $699 now $499 @ Best Buy
• MacBook Neo: was $699 now $689 @ Amazon
• HP OmniBook X Flip OLED: was $1,329 now $699 @ Best Buy
• XPS 13 (2026): for $699 @ Dell
• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x: was $1,199 now $749 @ Lenovo

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I've always been a fan of tech that manages to blend slimness and a lightweight design into a form factor that's still equally useful (partly why I daily drive an iPhone Air). And Acer's new Swift Blade 14 at IFA 2026 takes that idea almost to the extreme.

The Swift Blade 14 isn't just another MacBook Neo competitor or one of the new Nvidia RTX Spark-powered laptops we've seen here in Berlin. The whole point of this laptop is much simpler: Acer has managed to make a proper 14-inch laptop that weighs just under 800 grams (1.7lbs).

The Swift Blade 14 looks like pretty much any other thin-and-light laptop at first. It has a slim profile and a catchy design, available in two great-looking colors, namely Marshmallow White and Marshmallow Blue. But then you actually pick it up, and that's when the laptop catches you by surprise. At just 799 grams, it feels almost weightless in the hand.

For reference, that's less than the combined weight of a 13-inch iPad Pro with Apple's Magic Keyboard attached, which really puts into perspective just how light this thing is.

Of course, getting the weight this low means Acer has had to make some compromises. The chassis initially feels almost plastic-like in the hand, although Acer is actually using a combination of ultra-light carbon fiber and magnesium-aluminum alloy to keep the weight down.

The keyboard and trackpad are where I noticed the compromises more. The trackpad itself is plenty large, but neither it nor the keyboard has the tactile feel you'd expect from a more premium laptop.

The keyboard deck also flexes noticeably if you press down on it harder than usual. Thankfully, the display lid itself doesn't feel particularly flimsy, which surprised me considering just how little the entire machine weighs.

Acer hasn't completely sacrificed the specs to achieve that weight either. The Swift Blade 14 is powered by Intel's Core Series 3 processors, with configurations going up to the Core 7 350. You also get a gorgeous 14-inch 3K OLED display with great color reproduction and what appeared to be an anti-reflective coating on top.

Acer tells me there will also be an IPS LCD variant with a 60Hz refresh rate, which will presumably sit at the lower end of the pricing spectrum. Other internals include 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. There's also a 50Wh battery underneath, which isn't massive by any means, but should be enough for regular day-to-day use on the go.

The port selection isn't bad for something this thin either. There are USB-C ports on both sides, including two on the left, while the right side also houses a 3.5mm headphone jack. One little addition I particularly like is the physical camera switch on the side, letting you completely disable the webcam with just a flip.

Acer hasn't announced U.S. pricing or availability for the Swift Blade 14 just yet. The company says the laptop will be available in Europe toward the end of this year, but there's currently no word on whether it'll eventually make its way to the U.S.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tore apart Acer’s £1,599 Vero 16 with my bare hands — Framework finally has a lethal rival
• Tom’s Guide Computing Awards 2026: 22 game-changing laptops, desktops and peripherals
• I ditched my MacBook Pro for the Dell XPS 13 — here's why I returned to Windows

Acer Vero laptops used to mean chunky textured PCR plastic laptops that wore their recycled pedigree like an itchy hemp sweater.

Now, the new Vero 16 flips the script: it’s a sleek, powder-coated, low-carbon aluminum chassis housing a 16-inch 3K OLED display and the beefy Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chipset — albeit with a steep £1,599 starting price (U.S. pricing not confirmed yet).

But here’s the killer app. Acer isn’t just offering user-replaceable SSDs and batteries. They’ve gone all out with a tool-free bottom latch, detachable external hinges, removable I/O ports and a commitment to support two generations of Intel processor upgrades.

Acer basically took Framework’s modular repairability crusade and baked it into a mainstream 3.4-pound (1.56kg) chassis. So I had to try it myself — is it a justified DIY dream machine, or is it an overpriced “green tax” that regular buyers will ignore in favor of traditional ultrabooks?

Look mom, no tools (mostly)

So let’s jump straight to the main selling point here. These are just pre-production models, and it took me a second to figure out the latch, as well as the correct way to pull off the back. But once I got it, it’s a total cinch.

Everything is laid out in a way that’s easy to understand, with a battery connector that’s easy to get to, and the M.2 SSD slot being super simple to access. The latch and back feel strong too!

The I/O can be taken off with two screws (complete with the modular daughterboards too) so ports can be switched. Acer doesn't have plans to offer different port configurations (point to Framework on that one), but with an SD card slot, Thunderbolt 4, USB-A and HDMI 2.1 already there, you’ve already got the essentials that can be swiftly repaired.

Then there’s the two-generation processor upgrade. This is a swappable CPU on the motherboard (like Framework), so big win for reducing waste! This and the I/O are things that Acer told me would be done by them, but with right to repair becoming a thing, I really wouldn’t be surprised if the company started to offer the parts and the guides to do so in the future.

Not forgetting the ‘nice laptop’ part of the puzzle

It took Framework a few tries to get its modularity dream packed into something sleek and well-built. Acer’s managed to just about nail it on the first try.

The solvent-free powder-coated finish feels great to the touch, while that aluminum/PCR blend with military-tested durability has a nice rigidity to it…mostly. There is a bit of keyboard deck flex when you push down, but nothing terrifying to write home about.

Then there’s that display. Eco-laptops often ship with dim, low-refresh 60Hz panels to save battery. The Vero 16 stuffs a 2800 x 1800 pixel 120Hz OLED with HDR, and it’s a real sight to behold in person with a flash flood of color.

Then let’s not forget about the internals, which you can spec up to the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and 32GB of RAM. This will absolutely sing in prosumer and gaming performance.

The verdict: Is repairability worth this much?

This is the biggest question here. At £1,599 (launching in Q1 2027), the Vero 16 will be going head-to-head with the MacBook Airs and Dell XPSes of the world.

There are some things that Framework does better, such as being able to switch out more of the internal components and give you more things to repair yourself. But when it comes to mainstream laptop makers, modularity and upgradeability like this is quite the breakthrough.

Because yes, you’re paying an upfront premium, but if the CPU upgrade support and tool-free repairability prevent you from buying a new laptop in three years, it might be the smartest laptop investment you can make.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested 6 RTX Spark laptops for gaming — and the winner completely shocked me
• Tom’s Guide Computing Awards 2026: 22 game-changing laptops, desktops and peripherals
• I tested the $1,299 ROG Xbox Ally X20 — with that OLED display, the $300 price hike is surprisingly palatable

For years, my ultimate computing friction point has been the two-device compromise: I buy a thin and light MacBook for productivity, and keep a massive gaming rig at home for play. But after going hands-on with six Nvidia RTX Spark laptops launching later this year, I can confidently say that era is over.

Put simply, this is shaping up to be a game-changer. Packing 6,144 CUDA cores into thin and light notebooks like these, it’s bridging the gap between serious productivity and high-end gaming. And crucially, game developers are already jumping on board to support it — ensuring vital anti-cheat software compatibility is ready to go.

But packing a powerful GPU into a sleek chassis doesn’t automatically make it a great gaming machine. Other factors are just as vital like how the keyboard feels, how loud the fans are and display quality.

I spent extensive time playing on six different models, and here’s my definitive RTX Spark gaming tier list, ranked from worst to best.

A dream for gamers

Before I get there, though, this isn’t my first rodeo with Spark. I did get to try the chip out at Computex this year (on my Birthday of all days). And since that was a much earlier version of what I saw here at Gamescom, here are some general updates:

• More laptops, more fun: At Computex, only the Surface Laptop Ultra was turned on and usable. However, this time around they were all active and usable.
• Backing up their claims: Nvidia is touting 1440p gaming at over 100 FPS. Of course, with no visible FPS counter, I can’t confirm that specifically, but to the eye, all the games were running significantly over 60 FPS — settings at a range of medium to high (depending on the title) and DLSS turned on.
• So many developers on board: Turns out if you’re Nvidia, you have a fair bit of influence to get publishers on board. Windows on Arm is getting a shot in the arm thanks to anti-cheat support and a massive number of studios jumping on board to work on Arm-native versions of their games.
• Emulation looks much better: The fact Pragmata was even running through the Windows Prism emulation layer to make it play nice on an Arm chip was quite the achievement at Computex. But there definitely was a little bit of fuzziness to the gameplay looking back. Now, with four games including 007 First Light all emulated, they’re all crystal clear and playing great with no discernible latency.

Put simply, things have definitely moved on since June, and anything with that RTX Spark sticker on the body is going to be a mighty tasty machine to get, come this fall. That being said, I’m here to talk about how some of these specific laptops fare for gaming on a build level — not a chip level.

RTX Spark laptop (for gaming) tier list: Specs

C-tier: A laptop wearing a suit

Now don’t get me wrong, the Dell XPS 16 is an undeniably good-looking laptop that will easily elicit an “oh that’s a cool thing” reaction when you pull it out in a meeting. The utilitarian body is sleek and that Tandem OLED display is super vivid.

But is this a safe space? Because that keyboard is problematic for gaming to put it mildly. It’s a flat chiclet board with zero gaps between the keys. Doom: The Dark Ages exposed the gaming flaws of a keyboard like this, as the lack of key definition had me panickedly looking down mid-battle to ensure I was on the WASD.

Like I said earlier this year, with a little time you can get used to this for productivity. But for gaming, it's not quite there.

B-Tier: Productivity first, gaming second

These two are quite a bit better for gaming on an ergonomic level, but aren’t all the way there compared to some superior tactility further up this list.

First up is the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: packing a delicious 15-inch mini-LED PixelSense Ultra touchscreen display with 3:2 aspect ratio. That taller screen may be more productivity-focused, but it’s gonna be great for RTS games too.

But again, the keyboard falters here slightly. Not that it’s bad, it’s a great-feeling tactile set of keys for productivity for sure. But for gaming, the dish of each key is far too subtle and the sharpness of those edges do cut into your wrists. So it firmly sits in the “it’s okay” category for gameplay.

Slightly better for play is my original personal favorite from Computex — the Asus ProArt P14. Basically, Asus understood the assignment and gave me a Windows equivalent of a MacBook Pro in its design and ergonomics. The keyboard’s better here for demanding gameplay too, and that 3K OLED display is mesmerizing.

But what do you get when you cram this much power into a small body? Loud fans to get all the heat out. To my ears at least, this was the loudest laptop in the testing room. It’s a great hybrid machine, but make sure you get a good gaming headset to drown out that fan noise.

A-Tier: Great all-rounders

Now we’re moving closer to the elite if gaming is a priority for your RTX Spark machine. The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9n boasts a great premium design with another vivid OLED display.

For gameplay, there are very few genuine downsides here — capped off by Lenovo’s trademark excellent keyboard ergonomics. The only reason it’s here in the A-tier is because one company has pulled a blinder with its board (more on that in a moment).

Then there’s the MSI Prestige N16 Flip AI+. Yes, the keyboard is a little too heavy on the RGB lighting for my personal taste, but it feels good to tap away on, the OLED screen is a lovely flash flood of color, and it’s a 2-in-1 form factor that allows for tent mode gaming with a controller. That’s something none of these other options can do.

S-Tier: The unexpected champion

Which leaves one: the HP OmniBook Ultra 16. When I first saw this laptop at Computex, it looked like a decidedly “just fine” device. I expected it to just be another laptop more suited to work over play. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

There’s of course a crispy and gorgeous OLED panel here that moves fluidly, but that’s not the real champion feature here. That belongs to the keyboard, which elevated this machine to the top of the list. It’s a chiclet board, but the well defined keys and travel make it feel almost mechanical-like. It feels fantastic during gameplay, and with slick stylings to the chassis, it’s the ultimate stealth gaming laptop.

Plenty to look forward to

The RTX Spark lineup proves that the days of compromising between a sleek daily driver and a capable gaming machine are finally coming to a close. These six distinct options will hit the market soon, and while I can scrutinize them from a gaming perspective, they’re meant for so much more.

As CEO Jensen Huang said himself when I got the chance to talk to him: “we’re focused on reinventing the PC.” There’s going to be something for everyone in this range. So I have to ask — if you’ve got the budget for one of these notebooks, which one would you spend your money on?

More from Tom's Guide

• Tom’s Guide Computing Awards 2026: 22 game-changing laptops, desktops and peripherals
• As a PC snob, I wanted to catch GTA 6 making console compromises. Instead, I’m in awe of the trickery
• I tested NVIDIA’s new DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction — it finally fixes path tracing’s biggest flaw, but here’s the reality check

Labor Day weekend is officially here and if you have any purchases you need to make — now would be the time make them. Labor Day sales are happening across various retailers and whereas most of this summer was filled with price increases, now is when your wallet can find some relief.

For example, Amazon recently increased the price of its Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle devices. You can offset that price increase with Amazon's current device sale. Oddly, Amazon isn't promoting the sale on its sale page, but here you'll see the entire Echo and Echo Show lineup is on sale from $69.

Meanwhile, back to school season is coming to an end and if you're still shopping for a laptop, I recommend the 2026 Dell XPS 13 for $699 at Dell. My colleague and senior computing writer Tony Polanco gave it a glowing review. Additionally, if you're a student you can get it for $599 after verifying your student status at Dell.

Below are all of my favorite Labor Day sales to shop this Labor Day weekend. For more deals, make sure to check out our ultimate back to school guide and Tom's Guide Savings Squad homepage.

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• Amazon: up to 45% off Keurig, Samsung, Garmin
• Walmart: back to school deals from $4
• T-Mobile: Pixel 11 or iPhone 17 for free w/ unlimited
• REI: up to 50% off end of summer clearance
• Lululemon: finds from $14 @ Lululemon
• Skechers shoes/apparel: from $24 @ Amazon
• Tribit StormBox Micro 3: was $65 now $59 @ Amazon
• TCL NXTPAPER 14: was $469 now $349 @ Amazon
• Samsung tablets: deals from $419 @ Best Buy
• Dell XPS 13: $699 @ Dell

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Chromebooks are compact and affordable laptops built for Web-based tasks. Compared to a traditional laptop, Chromebooks may appear underpowered, but that's because Chromebooks aren't meant for hardcore gaming or 4K video editing. They run on Google's ChromeOS and are designed for people who work with cloud-based apps like Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides.

Here at Tom's Guide we've tested many Chromebooks and only a few have made it to our best Chromebooks guide. Now that back to school season is coming to an end, I've spotted an excellent Chromebook sale you shouldn't miss.

For a limited time, Best Buy is hosting a huge sale on Chromebooks with up to 50% off options from popular brands like Acer, Lenovo, HP and more. Below I've picked my favorite deals in Best Buy's sale.

Quick Links

• shop the best Chromebook deals at Best Buy from $189
• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3: was $529 now $299
• Acer Chromebook Plus 516: was $649 now $399
• HP 2K Chromebook Plus: was $599 now $449
• Acer Chrombook Plus Spin: was $799 now $599
• Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 OLED: was $999 now $749

Best Chromebook deals