Your Tech Story

laptops

Chromebooks for cloud gaming

Google to introduce Chromebooks for Cloud Gaming

It’s only been a few weeks since Google announced that its cloud gaming service Stadia will be discontinued next year. And now, the company has made a new cloud gaming announcement that it is launching Chromebooks made by various manufacturers that are optimized for cloud gaming.

Chromebooks for cloud gaming
Image Source: techviral91.com

To bring users marquee titles, Google has also partnered with cloud gaming services such as Nvidia GeForce Now, Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Amazon Luna. Furthermore, Acer, Corsair, HyperX, Lenovo, and SteelSeries have collaborated with the company to create “Works with Chromebook” certified peripherals for these devices.

“Chromebooks have always been known for being fast, secure, and easy-to-use devices. Since their launch more than a decade ago, we have improved their capabilities and expanded the variety of devices for people to choose from,” the company said in a blog post.

“Today, we are taking that effort a step further by introducing the world’s first laptops built for cloud gaming along with our partners Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo,” it added.

Source: business-standard.com

Hardware specifications

This first generation of Chromebooks for cloud gaming from Acer, Asus, and Lenovo includes numerous gaming-related features. High-resolution displays with refresh rates of 120Hz or higher, Wi-Fi 6 or 6E compatibility, high-quality audio, and RGB keyboards with anti-ghosting are among them. Anti-ghosting is a feature that registers all the key presses accurately even when you press multiple keys at once.

The first set of devices is priced between $399 and $799 to appeal to a wider audience. These laptops use Intel processors ranging from Core i3 to Core i7, depending on the price. Here’s a quick rundown of the three launch models’ specifications.

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook

It sports a 16-inch display with a WQXGA screen (2560 X 1500), and a 120 Hz refresh rate and has a 12th Gen Intel Core i3/i5 processor and 8 GB RAM. There are two versions with storage of variations of 256 GB/512 GB SSD and 128 eMMC. It features 4 X 2W speakers with Waves Audi and supports 2 X 2 Intel Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5. Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook contains 2 USB 3.2 gen 2 type C ports, 1 X USB 3.2 Gen 1 type A, 1 X HDMI 2.0, 1 X audio combo jack, 1 microSD card reader, and a battery backup of 71 Wh.

Acer Chromebook 516 GE

Acer Chromebook 516 GE features a display of 16-inch WQXGA screen (2560 X 1500) with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It contains a 12th gen Intel Core i5 processor with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. It sports DTS audio with quad-force vibration cancellation stereo. Some other features are 2 X 2 Intel Wi-fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 2 x USB 3.2 gen 2type C, 1 x USB 3.2 gen 2 type A, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1x audio combo jack, 1 x Ethernet RJ-45 port and battery backup of 65 Wh.

Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip

Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip sports a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 X 1080) IPS touchscreen with 144 Hz refresh rate, 11th Gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7. It is available in 128GB/256GB/512GB SSD. It sports 2X Harman/Kardon certified speakers. Other features are 2X2 Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, 2 x USB 3.2 gen 2 type C; 1 x USB 3.2 gen 1 type A; 1 x HDMI 2.0; 1x audio combo jack; 1 x microSD card reader and a battery backup of 57 Wh.

Google does not currently have a set of requirements or certification for Chromebooks for cloud gaming. So, we don’t know if future devices must meet certain specifications to be included in this initiative, but Google will prioritize future devices with high refresh rate screens and good Wi-Fi connectivity.

However, the company stated that GameBench independently tested all three launch devices to ensure they provide a consistent and smooth gaming experience at 120 frames per second with a latency of less than 85ms.

All of these devices will be available for purchase in October. Acer, Corsair, HyperX, Lenovo, and SteelSeries supported accessories including headsets, mice, and controllers.

Asus

Asus Launches 6 Creator-Focused Laptops With 12th-Gen Intel Processors In India.

Creator series of laptops introduced by Asus gets new restores. Asus, The Taiwanese tech giant, has declared the launch of its six new laptops as part of its Creative series which includes the Asus ZenBook Pro 14 Duo OLED, ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 OLED, ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED, ZenBook Pro 16X OLED, Vivobook Pro 15 OLED, and Vivobook Pro 16X OLED. Asus Claims that the above-mentioned laptops of the creator series are designed to meet the daily increasing requirements of creators, vloggers, designers, and artists. The laptops display enhanced features, and innovative designs and are built with creator-focused technologies to provide a seamless user experience and a powerful performance.

Specifications And Availability

Here is detailed information about the specifications and availability of the brand-new laptops.

Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402)

This laptop is a dual-screen creator laptop, which features a next-generation screen pad Plus a secondary touchscreen consisting “active aerodynamic system ultra” auto-tilting design. Its price starts at Rs. 1,44,990 in India and it is available for ordering from Flipkart, Amazon, and Asus e-stores. Also, it can be ordered from Asus stores and other retail stores across the country. The Zenbook is available in 12th Gen Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 processor options. The primary OLED touchscreen features a 2.8 K resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, HDR support, 120 Hz refresh rate, Pantone Validated colour accuracy, Dolby Vision, and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut. Zenbook, built out of Aluminium and Magnesium, comes with a 3.5 mm combination headphone jack, a USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, two ThunderBolt 4 connections, a microSD Express 7.0 port, HDMI 2.1 port, and two HDMI ports. It is powered by a 76WHr battery consisting of rapid charging capabilities.

Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (UX7602)

The Asus Zenbook Pro is equipped with an AAS Ultra mechanism that tilts up the keyboard by 7 degrees. The company claims that this mechanism can enhance the cooling by permitting 30% extra airflow than the prior generation. This laptop will only be available in two processor versions involving the flagship 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H paired with 32 GB RAM and the i7-12700H together with 16 GB RAM. It comes with studio-grade 6GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU with NVIDIA Studio drivers. The laptop sports features such as a 16-inch 4K 60 Hz OLED HDR NanoEdge touchscreen including a stylus supporting display. Other specifications include an ultrafast Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port with the latest 985 MB/s SD Express 7.0 card reader, fast charging, HDMI 2.1 port. The price starts from 2,49,990 INR.

Asus
Image source: fonearena.com

Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 OLED

This laptop features a 16-inch OLED display with 4k resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, HDR support, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, two SSD slots with 2+2 TB storage support, two thunderbolts 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1, two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and an SD Express 7.0 card reader. The device comes with a 12th Gen Intel i9-12900H processor with NVIDIA RTX A3000 GPU having 12 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. It also contains Asus Dial. The price starts from Rs. 3,29,990. 

Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED

The Studiobook 16 OLED is available in two versions having the flagship 12th gen Intel Processors i9-12900H and i7-12700H with fast NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070Ti including 8 GB memory and 3060 with 6 GB GPUs, respectively. Studiobook features a 16-inch 4K OLED HDR 16:10 display having up to 550 nits delivers 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut, VESA Display HDR 500 true Black accreditation and PANTONE Validated with Delta-E<2 colour accuracy. As for the connectivity, it has two slots for a PCle 4.0 x 4 NVMe M.2 SSDs with 2 + 2 TB storage capacity, two SO-DIMM slots with up to 64 GB 4800 MT/s DDR5 RAM support, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, an SD Express 7.0 Card reader plus HDMI 2.1 with a cost of Rs. 1,99,990.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED

This laptop features a 16-inch OLED display with 4K resolution. It comes with a 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H processor having 32 GB RAM and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, 1 TB expandable SSD with extra M.2 SSD. Some other features include Dolby Atmos, fingerprint scanner, 140 W fast charging, thunderbolt 4 ports, USB Type-A ports, SD Express 7.0 card reader, an HDMI 2.1 ports, and cost Rs. 1,59,990. 

Asus Vivobook Pro 15 OLED

The VivoBook features a 15.6-inch OLED display, 16:9 aspect ratio, and full HDR. The laptop comes with Intel Core i7-12650H 12th Gen processor with 16 GB Ram support and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU. It is also equipped with an FHD webcam, Dolby Atmos, fingerprint scanner, an enhanced thermal design, and fast charging up to 140W. The price starts at Rs. 89, 990. 

Pricing

The brand-new Zenbook schedule pricing starts at 1,44,990 INR, the Vivobook Pro lineup starts at Rs. 67,990, and the Studiobook prices start at Rs. 1,99,990.

These laptops will be available to the users in both offline and online modes.

Intel 12th Gen

Intel 12th Gen CPUs For Slim And Light Laptops Officially Announced.

Intel 12th Gen processors, based on its all-new hybrid architecture, were announced in January. The H-series, the first of three lines of laptop CPUs aimed at gaming laptops and workstations, was the focus of that announcement. The P- and U-series of performance thin-and-light laptops, as well as those with modern/foldable PC designs, will be available starting today.

While the chips are now official, customers will not have to wait long to see them in new laptops, as Intel anticipates OEMs shipping devices in March. Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, LG, MSI, NEC, Samsung, and “others,” which presumably includes Microsoft and Razer, are among the partners.

Intel 12th Gen

In Windows 11, the new mobile processors use Performance-cores (P-cores) and Efficient cores (E-cores) in conjunction with Intel Thread Director, just like the 12th Gen desktop processors. The architecture is similar to that of Arm-based big.LITTLE CPUs, with larger, more power-hungry cores paired with smaller, more energy-efficient ones. The larger cores handle the user’s current workloads, such as video editing or gaming, while the smaller cores handle background tasks or any minimized apps.

This hybrid design is based on energy efficiency, which, when combined with Intel’s smaller nanometer chip design, provides users with significantly more power when needed while also extending battery life.

Intel 12th Gen
Image source: i.gadgets360cdn.com

Indeed, Intel 12th Generation has far more cores than Intel 11th Generation, particularly in the traditional Ultrabook segment of thin-and-light laptops. Previously, an 11th Gen top-tier Core i7-1165G7 processor could only have four cores and eight threads; now, it can have up to fourteen cores (6 P-cores and eight E-cores) and twenty threads.

These new 12th Generation mobile chips are further divided into three categories:

P-series (28W): For thin-and-light performance laptops.
U-series (15W): For thin-and-light (convertible) laptops.
U-series (9W): For thinner detachable and new foldable PC designs

When compared to its 11th Gen processors, Intel claims the following in terms of real-world performance:

  • Multi-thread performance is up to 70% faster.
  • 3D rendering performance nearly doubled
  • Photo editing is up to 30% faster.

Many traditional clamshell laptops, as well as Dell’s highly anticipated redesigned XPS 13 Plus, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano G2, and HP Elite Dragonfly G3, will use that 28W P-series processor, e.g., Core i7-1280P (14 cores; 20 threads), as OEMs refresh their current lineup. The 15W U-series will likely be used in thinner devices, such as “x360” convertible PCs.

It is expected that the 9W U-series chips will be used in detachable “Surface Pro-like” PCs as well as Intel’s move toward foldable PCs like the Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED, which is perhaps more interesting. These PCs can use the new Core i7-1260U processor, which has 10 cores (2P, 8E) and 12 threads with a maximum turbo speed of 4.7GHz (29W).

The switch to 12th Gen U-series (9W) processors contrasts sharply with Lenovo’s experimental ThinkPad X1 Fold, which featured an Intel 11th Gen (Lakefield) i5-L16G7 processor with only 5 cores (5 threads) and a maximum turbo speed of only 3.0GHz.

Of course, how these chips compare to AMD’s latest Ryzen 6000 Mobile processors remains to be seen. AMD, like Intel, has recently improved sleep states, battery efficiency, performance, graphics, and features on its non-gaming processors. However, Intel now appears to have the upper hand in terms of cores over AMD, which is a fascinating shift in power.

We should have comparative tests later this year with Microsoft’s unannounced Surface Laptop 5, which is expected to ship with Intel 12th Gen and AMD Ryzen 6000 Mobile processor options.

Intel Evo

Revisions to Intel’s Evo platform round out the news. OEM laptops must meet specific criteria, according to Intel, to ensure an optimal PC experience, such as fast resuming, long battery life, and specific hardware requirements.

The camera in the second-edition Evo guidelines had to be at least 720p resolution, and the speakers and tuning had to be of high quality. In addition, a new “Key Experience Indicators” (KEI) dubbed “Intelligent Collaboration” has been added.

The new Engineered for Intel Evo program, which is expanding to accessory partners this year, is another significant addition. Engineered for Intel Evo accessories labels will start appearing on devices that meet Intel’s requirements, such as the Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 dock and the Poly Voyage 4320UC Bluetooth conference headphones.

Acer

Acer Launches Six New Laptops With Windows 11: Check Price And Specifications.

Several OEMs have taken advantage of the recent release of Windows 11 to introduce new laptops to the market. Acer was one of the first PC manufacturers to introduce a trio of new Windows 11 laptops, including the Aspire Vero and Nitro 5. The company has now announced that six new laptops with Windows 11 pre-installed will be available in India.
In India, Acer has added new laptops to its Swift, Aspire, and Spin series. With the exception of the operating system, the new models are identical to Acer’s current global offering in terms of specifications. Here’s a quick rundown of the most recent Acer laptops in India.

Acer Swift X

The Acer Swift X (SFX1441G) costs Rs 86,999 as a starting price. This laptop has a 14-inch FHD display with a peak brightness of 300 nits and 100 percent sRGB color gamut support. It’s powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600U Hexacore processor with a base clock speed of 2.3GHz and a maximum clock speed of 4.2GHz. This laptop has an Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU with 4GB of memory and AMD Radeon graphics. The Asus Swift X comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of solid-state drive storage. A 59 Wh 4-cell battery powers this laptop.

Acer
Image source: www.xda-developers.com

Acer Aspire Vero

The Acer Aspire Vero laptops, the new Acer Swift 5 (SF51455TA) and Nitro 5 (AN51557 and AN51554) were launched in the US with a starting price of $699 (approximately Rs. 52,400), $1,099 (approximately Rs. 82,300), and $769 (approximately Rs. 57,600), respectively, along with the new Windows 11 models in India. All three models are currently available for purchase in the United States through authorized retailers.

Acer Aspire 5

The Acer Aspire 5 is available with Intel and AMD processors in a variety of configurations. The Intel model has a Core i5 processor from the 11th generation, while the AMD model has a Ryzen 5 5500U processor. This model’s base configuration includes 4GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. A 14-inch FHD IPS panel is standard on all models. The Acer Aspire 5 series has a starting price of 57,999 rupees.

Acer Aspire 3

The Acer Aspire 3 has a starting price of 55,999. An Intel Core i51135G7 processor with a clock speed of 4.2 GHz powers this laptop. This laptop has a hybrid storage system with SSD and HDD configurations. A fingerprint reader is also included as an extra layer of security on this laptop.

Acer Spin 3

The Spin 3 has a starting price of Rs 74,999. The Spin 3 is a 13.3-inch 16:10 touchscreen laptop with a 2in1 touchscreen. It comes with a Wacom AES 1.0 Acer Active Stylus that can be used to draw and write on the device. This laptop is equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor and Intel Iris Xe graphics. The battery life of Spin 3 is said to be up to 15 hours.

Acer Spin 5

The Acer Spin 5 (2021) has a 3:2 aspect ratio display and is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor with Intel Iris Xe graphics and up to 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM. This laptop also has a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage option. Furthermore, the Spin 5 (2021) is said to have a battery life of up to 15 hours. It includes a built-in electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus that promises to provide a natural writing experience while charging quickly. Furthermore, the Spin 5 (2021) is constructed of durable aluminum and magnesium alloy.

Price And Availability Details

The Swift X (SFX1441G) is priced at Rs. 86,999, while the Swift 3 (SF31443) and Swift 3 (SF314511) start at Rs. 62,999. The Aspire 3 (A31558) and Aspire 5 (A31599), on the other hand, start at Rs. 55,999 and Rs. 57,999, respectively. The Spin 3 (2021) is priced at Rs. 74,999, while the Spin 5 (2021) is priced at Rs. 99,999. All of these new models will be available for purchase online at Acer, Amazon, and Flipkart, as well as in stores owned by Acer, Croma, Reliance, and Vijay Sales.