EnGenius’ ECW536 brings Wi-Fi 7 to the office with a wireless access point offering a maximum aggregate throughput of 18.7Gbps.
Specifications
Model: EnGenius ECW536
CPU: Quad-core Qualcomm 1220 CPU
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 256MB NAND
Radios: One 4x4 for 6GHz Wi-Fi 7 / 6e, One 4x4 for 5GHz Wi-Fi 6, One 4x4 for 2.4GHz
Wireless throughput: Theoretical 18.7Gbps
Ports: 10Gb Ethernet with PoE, 10Gb Ethernet
Weight: 1.3 kg
Dimensions: 23 cm x 23 cm x 37 mm
Power Consumption: 15W with one client connected, 38W maximum consumption
MSRP: $1199
The dual 10Gbps Ethernet ports turn the unit into a 10G switch. A large aluminum backplate acts as a heatsink, dissipating up to 35W. The only accessories provided are a mounting bracket and screws. The unit thus requires a PoE LAN or an external 12V DC adapter to work correctly.
The access point integrates three radio modules, providing Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and Wi-Fi 6, 5, and 2.4GHz backward compatibility. Antenna gains are between 5dBi and 6dBi, similar to competitive APs, while onboard radio amplifiers provide an average boost of 5dBm. All this means that the ECW536 covers a surface of 100 meters square with a throughput of 300 Mbps or more.
EnGenius offers a range of access points that can work in a mesh. That is particularly interesting if one wants to boost the network throughput while extending the range simultaneously. The ECW536 retails for $1199 but is on sale for $499. The smaller version with a 2x2 radio configuration costs $456 while not on sale.
EnGenius ECW536: Design
The EnGenius access point ships with one accessory box containing the mounting kit. Once installed, the unit locks to the base by rotating it. The white plastic enclosure has a metal backplate that doubles as a heat dissipator. Two Ethernet connectors and a 12V DC socket at the back connect to the network. A small hole is also present to reset the device using a paper clip. The case gets warm after some time, eventually reaching 50 degrees Celcius. The access point measures 23 cm x 23 cm x 37 mm and weighs 1.3kg.
The ECW536 uses a Qualcomm Pro 1220 multichip design. The processor is a fast quad-core ARM A73 CPU, which can support up to eight SSIDs on the 2.4GHz and 5/6GHz bands. There are also built-in VLAN tagging and a QoS for increased bandwidth management. Complementing the CPU are 2GB of RAM, 256MB of Flash, and two 10G Ethernet interfaces, which also support 5G, 2.5G, 1G, and 10/100Mbps.
Three Wi-Fi radios each serve a specific frequency while supporting four spatial streams, the twelve paths aggregating for a throughput of 18Gbps. Maximum transmit gains, which depend on country location, vary between 24dBm and 25dBm, while antenna gains vary between 5dBi and 6dBi.
The ECW536 access point consumes 13W without connected clients, which increases to 20W when one user actively uses the AP. A single multicolor LED gives feedback on the unit’s operation and is a departure from the past Wi-Fi 6 version, which had four LEDs. The AP is ready when the LED is green. Blue indicates that there is at least one connected client. The user can adjust the LED’s brightness through the mobile app.
(Image credit: Future)
EnGenius ECW536: In Use
Setting up the access point can be done entirely through the mobile app, which is available for Android and iOS platforms. The user needs an account to begin the installation. The AP and other EnGenius units can be added using a QR code on the back of each unit.
To fully utilize the Wi-Fi7 bandwidth, we strongly recommend connecting the AP to a 10Gb Ethernet LAN supporting PoE with at least 50W of available power. The ECW536 LED will blink orange if the PoE switch cannot provide sufficient power. Thus, the optional power socket becomes handy with an external 12V supply and completes the setup.
The mobile application offers features similar to those available on the cloud portal. The convenience of controlling access to the Wi-Fi network at one’s fingertips is very enticing. The user can also see what device consumes the most bandwidth at any time. However, the most helpful thing remains the ability to check the access point’s health from any place with Internet access.
The ECW536 offers mesh capability to increase signal reach; the AP can connect to other ECW536 units or previous-generation models such as ECS230S. There are obvious reasons to use one against the other. In a Wi-Fi 6 infrastructure, the ECW536 will mesh using one of its four 160MHz backhaul channels, providing a maximum of 1.4Gbps as throughput. On the other hand, using several ECW536 yields the best range and throughput since the backhaul is now over Wi-Fi 7 at 2.9Gbps.
(Image credit: Future)
EnGenius ECW536: The competition
Upgrading from something other than Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 7 should be a sound investment for the next few years, mainly because of the higher throughput offered by the denser 4096 QAM encoding. Still, fierce competition in consumer-level routers continues to drive prices down. The ECW536 comes with more technical support and an overall better performance when compared to consumer products.
Based on the same Qualcomm technology, the Zyxel WBE660S provides a similar throughput and range compared to the ECW536, while the Zyxel AP costs less than the EnGenius. A second 10G Ethernet port on the ECW536 turns it into a 10G switch, something lacking on the WBE660S. The ECW536 is also more compact and lighter, making installation a breeze compared to the WBE660S. Finally, the EnGenius AP consumes less energy than Zyxel’s access point, resulting in a device that will last longer while costing less electricity.
EnGenius ECW536: Final verdict
Thanks to the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, the EnGenius ECW536 takes wireless networks to the next level by adding more range and bandwidth. The range should be as good as previous 5GHz access points. The increase in bandwidth results from using a better encoding algorithm, quadrupling the throughput compared to Wi-Fi 6. These gains come with higher power dissipation and a more expensive unit. A 10G LAN infrastructure supporting PoE is required to use the AP to its fullest potential.
EnGenius offers a 5-year warranty on the ECW536 and customer support via online chat, phone, or email. The AP has cloud access, allowing network inspection and problem resolution remotely.
Buy the ECW536 if:
You are starting a new network that requires lots of bandwidth and range.
Dont buy the ECW536 if:
You already have a Wi-Fi 6 AP fleet from another manufacturer
At its big event today Honor not only took the wraps off of the Magic V3 and Magic Vs3 smartphones, but also unveiled the MagicBook Art 14 2024 laptop. This one weighs 1.03kg and is 12.95mm thick, sporting a 14.6-inch OLED screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio, 700-nit typical brightness, and 3,120x2,080 resolution.
You can have it with a choice of Intel Core Ultra 5 125H or Core Ultra 7 155H, with Intel Arc graphics. The laptop comes with a 1TB SSD, and supports LPDDR5X RAM. It has six speakers with spatial audio and DTS support, and a 60Wh battery that fully charges in 95 minutes and gets...
CPU: Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 processor 125H Graphics: Intel® Arc™ graphics RAM: 24GB Storage: 1TB Rear Ports: USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, HDMI 2.0 Front Ports: USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, Thunderbolt 4 Connectivity: 2x2 MIMO antennas, Wi-Fi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and Bluetooth 5.1. Audio: 3.5mm Camera: webcam Size: 354 x 242 x 19.9mm Weight: 1.79kg OS installed: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Accessories: None
The Honor MagicBook Pro 16 2024 is an impressive-looking laptop from the outset, with sleek black lines and sharp edges, instantly giving it an ultra-stylish and modern look.
Like the many of the best business laptops we've reviewed, the build quality of the Aluminium Alloy case highlights the MagicBook Pro as something more than your average Windows work laptop, giving it both a premium and robust feel. When closed, the laptop exterior is kept simple with a sleek, subtle wedge-like design that makes it easy to slip into a laptop bag, while when open, that design gives the keyboard a subtle yet comfortable angle when in use. Likewise, the rest of the exterior is plain, with just two USB ports on the side along with a 3.5mm audio socket and two USBs on the back with an HDMI - just what you want for business use.
The unusual positioning of the two USB Type-A ports and HDMI at the back enables easy connection to multimedia docs, making it an ideal solution when giving a presentation from a lectern or board room. With wires clear of the sides of the machine, additional notes, drinks, and props can be placed back onto the surface without being obstructed by wires, helping to keep things neat and professional.
Opening the lid and the large 16-inch screen is clear and bright, with plenty of scope for adjustment. Starting the test with a little office work, the high-resolution screen of 3072 x 1920 gives plenty of space for laying out windows and flicking between office apps. If you need more screen real estate then there's the HDMI or Thunderbolt 4 port to connect up to additional monitors. Used for standard office applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, along with a browser for research, the laptop handles all with ease, with the AI working unnoticed in the background to allocate resources when and where needed.
The actuation of the full keyboard is decent enough with a good feel to the keys and responsiveness. However, some of the keyboard feels a little crammed in, and miss types are easy with the "Enter" and right-hand "Shift" keys, both reduced in size and surrounded by the number pad and cursor keys without the usual gap. The touchpad is of a decent size and, again, responsive, but there's a slight tinniness to the feel, and it lacks some of the quality you expect with premium laptops. However, this is mid-range.
Switching the laptop's use to creative apps such as Photoshop, the machine is able to handle files with relative ease and is powerful enough to build up multi-layer projects from files from the Canon EOS R5. When using Photoshop, additional storage is a good idea as there's only 1TB internally, and with the option of USB or Thunderbolt 4 ports, you have two speedy connection options.
Taking a look at video editing, the laptop does start to struggle with 4K footage - so this won't replace the best video editing laptops any time soon. Straight editing is handled, but complex compositions start to see the system slow, although it still impresses with what it is able to handle. As with photography, when video editing, an external SSD can be connected to boost storage, and again, the Thunderbolt 4 or USB 4 ports make a big difference to the overall performance.
Finally, used in a lecture theater, the rear port connection makes connection easy, and the space around the machine is welcome. The long battery life is also welcome, as the machine happily remained self-powered through a three-hour lecture running a presentation without pause.
Overall, this is a powerful laptop with plenty of flexibility for use in and out of the office. While creatives may find the size of the internal SSD a little limiting, most will find this space more than adequate, and the balance of the power and abilities are finely tuned for everyday work from spreadsheets and documents to larger-scale presentations.
Honor MagicBook Pro 16: Introduction
Honour makes several variants of the MagicBook Pro 16, and in this review, we'll be looking at the Honor MagicBook Pro 16 2024, with the mid-range Intel Core Ultra 5 CPU and Intel Arc GPU. While the internals of the various models may be different, the external aluminium alloy casing is much the same and gives the machine a stylish high-quality look and feel. This model is also available in two colour variants, either white or purple, although the purple is closer to grey, making it an ideal solution for everyday office use.
The Core Ultra 5 is the entry-level of the new range of Intel CPUs and features built-in AI abilities and far more processing power than we've seen in previous entry level CPUs. The CPU's performance when coupled with integrated graphics is impressive, especially when pushed to handle larger documents and files across multiple different apps, a task previous generations of the processors at this level might have struggled with, however here, this machine is it's able to intelligently allocate resources where needed and run those applications smoothly.
While this laptop only features integrated graphics, the Intel Arc GPU is surprisingly powerful and can handle creative tasks and applications that are well beyond the capabilities of many laptops in this price range. Both Photoshop and Premiere Pro can run and handle relatively complex projects, although an external SSD is a good idea for additional storage.
The Honor MagicBook Pro 16 is an interesting laptop designed as a powerful mid-range solution with a premium build and solid hardware that should offer most professional users the power and features they need.
Honor MagicBook Pro 16: Price & availability
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
How much does it cost? 1299,90 EUROS
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in France and China
The 2024 Honor MagicBook Pro 16 is available in France for €1299 and in China for ¥6299. This laptop is designed for professionals and features an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor and Intel Arc graphics, a 16-inch 3K display with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and TÜV Rheinland certifications for eye protection. The sleek, aluminium alloy design ensures durability and style, while its performance supports both office and light creative use. With a 75Wh battery offering up to 12 hours of use and fast charging capabilities, it is ideal for both office and creative work.
For more details, visit the Honor product page by clicking here.
Price: 4/5
Honor MagicBook Pro 16: Design & build
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The Honor MagicBook Pro 16 features a sleek aluminium alloy outer casing that gives the laptop a durable, stylish, and modern look. The materials and finish give it a solid build quality that surpasses that of many laptops in this price range. The subtle slim wedge shape design gives the laptop an ergonomic feel and not only makes it comfortable to carry but also easy to slip into a laptop bag. When it comes to doing some work and the laptop is opened, this shape subtle slant provides a comfortable platform when typing over longer periods.
When it comes to weight, the two colour variants are weighted differently which is slightly strange. The Purple version, which is more grey, is the lighter of the two options at 1.79 kg, while the white comes in at 1.83 kg. Both models feel reassuringly premium when it comes to build quality and this feeling of quality continues as you open the lid to reveal the screen. The 16.1-inch display is bright and crisp, featuring 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, 500 nits brightness, and a 3072 x 1920 resolution.
The overall design feels premium; however, while this is an expensive machine, in real terms, it's in the mid-range of professional laptops suited for everyday office use rather than home gaming or intensive creative work. As such, the design is simple, and this simplicity is evident through the layout of ports: a 3.5mm audio socket, USB-C 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps), and Thunderbolt 4 (40Gbs) are on the side. On the back, which is an unusual position, are two USB-A 3.2 Gen1 and an HDMI 2.1, which supports 4K @ 60Hz, making it ideal for presentations and multimedia connections.
The ports' rear positioning is an interesting design choice, making them ideal for connecting to presentation systems and docks.
Another interesting feature is the full keyboard with a 1.5mm actuation distance and a 134.2mm x 81.2mm touchpad that supports multi-touch. When it comes to biometric features, there is a fingerprint power button with a touch sensor, but the small camera doesn't allow Windows Hello. The 1080P FHD front camera supports video recording and video chat and is equipped with an indicator for privacy.
As you'd expect, audio is well covered with six speakers delivering Spatial Audio and DTS effects, along with two microphones, all designed to give you the best quality for video streaming and online meetings.
When it comes to power, there are the usual options, AC through the Thunderbolt 4 port, which enables a 65w fast charge to the laptop's 75Wh battery. In normal use this battery offers approximately 12 hours of usage on a single charge, and fast charging can boost the charge to about 55% in 30 minutes.
Ultimately, this laptop is designed for professionals who need a reliable machine for the workplace. It is capable of plugging into a docking station, supporting intensive work on the go, and connecting to projectors and multimedia with ease and neatness. The size and weight, combined with a robust build, all come together to ensure that it can withstand being carried around safely in a suitable laptop bag.
Design: 3.5/5
Honor MagicBook Pro 16: Features
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The Honor MagicBook Pro 16 is a laptop aimed at working professionals and combines looks with ability. However, whereas other manufacturers boost the basics with additions such as card readers, discrete graphics, and more, this version of the MagicBook Pro 16 2024 focuses its abilities on those who need a powerful laptop for work.
As such, it offers a large 16-inch 3K display with a 3072 x 1920 resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate, which means that it can display spreadsheets, word documents, and multimedia presentations smoothly. Backing up the resolution is 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut support and 500 nits of brightness, all helping to ensure accurate and bright colour, making it a decent choice for creative professionals. It also includes TÜV Rheinland certifications for low blue light and flicker-free viewing, protecting your eyes during prolonged use.
Inside is one of the latest Intel Core Ultra 5 processors 125H with a base frequency of 1.2 GHz, boosting up to 4.5 GHz. Intel Arc graphics complements this 14-core processor. While this isn't a separate GPU, this integrated graphics chip is still capable of delivering substantial power for multitasking and graphics-intensive applications such as Illustrator and Photoshop. In this review, our laptop features 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB SSD, all helping to ensure fast load times and a decent amount of storage for general use and applications. If you are looking at using this for more creative endeavours, then an external SSD would be a good idea.
One of the most interesting features of the Honor MagicBook Pro 16 is the all-new AI NPU chip integrated with the Intel processor. This AI chip has been designed to support a variety of applications, including real-time translation and automated reasoning, and this is all down to the large language model of up to 20 billion parameters. These AI capabilities enable the laptop to perform sophisticated tasks without requiring an internet connection, significantly improving efficiency. These additional features are handled through the Honor Software offerings that are pre-installed.
When you set up the laptop, you have two Honor applications that feature some of the AI abilities, such as Honor Connect, which enables you to switch tasks intelligently between devices; Smart Reminders, which enhance the more you use them, and the ability to tether with your smartphone when needed easily. Most of these features are based on preserving battery power as well as being exteremly useful. The other app is Honor PC Manager, and this keeps an eye on the health and performance of your machine, depending on how you're using it. One of the main features here is the Smart Mode that adjusts the power settings depending on what you're doing, or if you just want full power, then you can switch to the high-performance option, although this does create more noise from the cooling system and shorter battery life. There's even a keyboard short cut of Fn + P to make the switch manually if you need a power boost, but you need to be on the desktop for this to work rather than within an App.
In other applications, such as Microsoft Office, the AI chip can optimize system resources to ensure a responsive experience. Even with large documents and complex spreadsheets, the idea is that you can work on multiple applications simultaneously without experiencing slowdowns. In all cases the AI works in the background handling the resources and allocations and ultimately helping to avoid slowdowns.
The most impressive angle for the AI chip is the ability to manage resources, especially for intensive creative applications used for photo and video editing. In Photoshop and Lightroom, the AI can assist in automated tasks like selecting subjects or applying filters. In Premiere Pro, AI-driven enhancements can speed up rendering times and general performance with 4K resolution footag
As always, connectivity options are incredibly important, especially for a work laptop. Here, there's Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, and support for HONOR Magic-link for integration with Honor smartphones and tablets. The port selection around the laptop is minimal, with a USB-C 3.2 Gen2 port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, two USB-A 3.2 Gen1 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The laptop's battery, 75Wh, keeps it powered away from AC power. Honor quotes this battery as being able to supply up to 12 hours of usage on a single charge. A good feature is support for fast charging, which means that it can reach a 55% battery capacity in 30 minutes and a full charge in 70 minutes.
The MagicBook Pro 16's keyboard is quite unusual. It's a full-size keyboard with a 1.5mm actuation distance and a large touchpad supporting multi-touch gestures. Regarding security, there's a convenient fingerprint power button, making it quick to access the laptop when needed.
Finally, audio is covered with a six-speaker sound system that enables Spatial Audio and DTS effects. Dual microphones help ensure clear voice capture when you're making video calls and recordings, and the 1080P FHD front camera handles visuals.
Features: 4/5
Honor MagicBook Pro 16: Performance
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Benchmarks
3DMark Wild Life:
Graphics Score: 21257 Fire Strike: Overall: 7867
Graphics Score: 8467
Physics Score: 21629
Combined Score: 3166 Time Spy:
Overall: 3341
Graphics Score: 3009
CPU Score: 8958 Night Raid: 27643
Graphics: 35347
CPU: 12369
sRGB Accuracy: 100%, Adobe RGB: 88%, P3 99%
Gamut: 5 out of 5
Tone response: 3.5 out of 5
White Point: 4.5 out of 5
Contrast: 5.0 out of 5
Luminance: 4 out of 5
Colour Uniformity: 4.5 out of 5
Colour Accuracy: 3.5 out of 5 Overall: 4 out of 5
The Honor MagicBook Pro 16 2024 is aimed at professionals who need a well-made, high-quality laptop that will enable fast loading of applications and documents as well as the ability to easily link into systems and adapt to a variety of work situations. The style of the laptop reflects this with a sleek, professional design that will look at home in any city office, workplace meeting or presentation.
The machine is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 5 processor 125H, which has a base frequency of 1.2 GHz and automatically boosts up to 4.5 GHz when needed, such as when multitasking or using more power-intensive applications such as Photoshop or DaVinci Resolve. When used for day-to-day work, such as switching between various Microsoft Office applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, the machine handles all programs with ease, and there's no lag or hesitation as you switch from one to the other
Taking a look at the benchmark tests, the MagicBook Pro 16 mirrors the real-world performance with the results from the tests. Using Microsoft Office applications, the laptop is fast and responsive, with large Word documents loading quickly and mid-sized Excel spreadsheets with multiple formulas and data points being easy to open and navigate. When it came to more graphics-intensive applications such as PowerPoint, the laptop's Intel Arc graphics handled the stock transitions and animations through the presentations that were tested well.
One of the points that will interest many creative professionals is the P3 display. In Photoshop, the high-resolution 3K display with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage does help to ensure that images are vibrant and colours look accurate on screen. We used a DataColor Spyder X2 to calibrate the monitor prior to testing. With the latest version of Photoshop loaded, editing high-resolution photos taken on a Canon EOS R5 proved to be a fluid process with fast reaction times for the dodge-and-burn, selection and Generative AI tools. When enhancing the images, even when working with multiple layers and complex effects the machine was able to handle the work with ease. In Lightroom, the laptop handles large photo libraries effortlessly, making it easy to sort, edit, and export images quickly.
Video editing in DaVinci really put the Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, Intel Arc graphics, 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD to the test. Here, the laptop handles multiple video tracks, effects, and transitions with relative ease. However, it is possible to see the limitations of the hardware and the Windows operating system with codecs and multiple other bits of software required to play back native Canon RAW video files. 1080p video edits smoothly and easily, 4K up to 5 minutes with a couple of tracks and effects is fine, but as you build the complexity of the production, the machine does start to slow down, which is expected.
One surprising aspect, as the machine's abilities are pushed, is the effectiveness of the cooling system, which keeps temperatures in check even during intensive tasks. During video editing, the machine stayed quiet due to the cooling system, which seems to show that the 12mm composite pipe system works.
Honor states that the 75Wh battery is able to provide approximately 12 hours of usage on a single charge. In our real-world test, we ran the various benchmark tests, Photoshop, DaVinci, and the Microsoft Office apps. At that time, we had around five hours of intensive use with around 20% left. With the fast charge, you can get the level back up within 30 minutes, and just over an hour sees you back at full power. It's worth noting that the charger needs to be the correct type, and not all USB Type-C chargers will work in the Thunderbolt 4 port.
In general performance, the laptop proved ideal for office and presentation-based work, with the power of the hardware more than capable of handling almost any document or presentation you could wish to throw at it. When it came to creative tasks, again, this is a powerful, if understated, laptop. The P3 display is good, and our test proved 88% Adobe RGB accurate, which is a consideration for photographers. Videographers will be happy with the colour profiles and accuracy as well. For basic onsite editing with an external SSD, this laptop with the correct codecs installed will happily enable you to edit basic video productions ideal for work and social.
Considering the laptop's cost, its performance is exceptional. It handles Office applications with absolute ease, and Photoshop proved well within its limits. But using one of the best video editing software we've tried, DaVinci Resolve, admittedly started to push the machine's limits, but for general editing of short corporate videos and social posts, this machine will be more than happy to handle that type of work.
AI is a big part of this new chipset and you are aware that AI processing is going on in the background, and holding down the Fn button and P enables you to switch between the power modes when needed. In this test, that boost was when dragging new 4K footage into the Premiere Pro sequence.
Performance: 4/5
Should you buy the Honor MagicBook Pro 16?
If you're looking for a laptop that blends stylish looks, high-performance and price, then Honor MagicBook Pro 16 is an excellent choice. The sleek design, mid-range yet powerful internals, and AI-driven enhancements that come with the latest chipset and Honor software make this a great all-rounder. However, if you require extensive internal storage or a dedicated GPU for video or 3D work, possibly a bit of high-end gaming then opt for the version with the dedicated NVidia graphics. Also, while the full keyboard is great for general office work, it does take some getting used to the smaller enter and shift keys surrounded by the number pad.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7840U Graphics: AMD Radeon 780M RAM: 32GB LPDDR5 Storage: Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe SSD Rear Ports: None specified for the rear Front Ports: Dual USB4, USB-C, SD card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Audio: Built-in speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack Camera: Front-facing camera with Windows Hello facial recognition Size: 311.7 x 220.8 x 9.8 mm OS Installed: Windows 11 Pro Accessories: 4096-level pressure stylus, keyboard cover (Optional)
The Minisforum V3 AMD Tablet instantly stands out with its high-end specifications, which are more typically found in gaming mini PCs. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor delivers exceptional performance, making it suitable for demanding tasks like 4K video editing and photo editing in applications such as DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop, and Lightroom Classic. This power is complemented by a vibrant 14-inch display that supports a wide P3 colour gamut and 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, again making it ideal for creative professionals and a challenge to the excellent Wacom Screens, even with that lower range of sensitivity. The tablet's ability to switch seamlessly between laptop and tablet modes, thanks to its optional keyboard cover, is another advantage.
Despite its impressive performance - a hybrid of the best mini PCs and the best business tablets - the V3 has a couple of drawbacks. The battery life is shorter when gaming or video editing, and the device tends to get hot under pressure. The optional keyboard, while functional, feels a bit flimsy compared to the premium build of the tablet itself. This generally isn't an issue; however, when using it on your lap, it starts to feel a little disjointed due to the cover-style connection between the keyboard and tablet.
When it comes to the design and build quality, the V3's magnesium alloy body makes it relatively lightweight at 946 grams and exceptionally thin at 9.8mm thick. Hence, it tucks neatly into a backpack slot. The overall design is sleek and modern, with the front mostly covered by the screen, which includes a front-facing camera with Windows Hello facial recognition.
When it comes to value for money, the V3 is competitive, especially when compared to similar devices like the Microsoft Surface Pro. It offers superb performance thanks to its AMD Ryzen processor and high-quality display. However, the Surface Pro may have an edge when it comes to the quality of the optional keyboard.
Minisforum V3: Price & availability
How much does it cost? $1,199
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available now
The Minisforum V3 AMD Tablet features specifications more commonly found in Mini PCs, with the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor for tasks like 4K video editing and photo editing. Its 14-inch 2.5K display supports a wide P3 colour gamut and 4096 pressure sensitivity levels, perfect for creatives.
The V3, priced at $1,199 in the US and approximately £999 in the UK, is competitive with devices like the Microsoft Surface Pro.
Value: 4 / 5
Minisforum V3: Design & build
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The Minisforum V3 AMD Tablet features a sleek design with flat edges and rounded corners. It is constructed from a magnesium alloy that feels both durable and relatively lightweight. The tablet weighs 946 grams and measures 311.7 x 220.8 x 9.8 mm, making it easy to carry around at home, in the office, or out on-site. After using the tablet extensively, it's obvious that the build quality is very high.
During the test, the V3 was coupled with the cover, keyboard, and touch-sensitive pen, which helped protect it and added to its versatility. The keyboard, while good, doesn't quite meet the quality of finish of the V3, and a slightly more solid version of the keyboard in a future release would be a welcome addition. The pen, in contrast, is superb, adding to the abilities of the tablet, especially incompatible applications.
One issue that a tablet with this amount of power will have is heat, and across the top of the tablet, there are two sectioned vent slots. Inside is a dual fan system and four heat-conducting copper pipes, all helping to ensure the inner workings remain as cool as possible.
The V3 also incorporates some other nifty features, including a dual-function power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor and Windows Hello facial recognition.
When it comes to battery life, inside is a high-capacity 50.82Wh battery that enables over eight hours of normal use on a single charge; gaming and high-demand apps will, of course, dramatically reduce this time. As well as running on the battery, there is, of course, main support, and the V3 utilises a 65W PD for fast charging.
An interesting feature is the Minisforum Space application, which enables you to monitor the computer and its performance. It also enables you to switch modes, so if you prefer battery life over performance, you can switch to the Power Save mode in the system manager; if you need more power for video editing or gaming, you can use the Power Premium mode, and for more general use, you can use Power Balance.
Optional extras include a 4096-level pressure stylus and a detachable keyboard cover. The stylus is perfect for drawing, note-taking, and enhancing photos, while the keyboard is a great addition if you want the tablet to double up as a laptop.
Design: 4.5/5
Minisforum V3: Features
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The Minisforum V3 AMD Tablet is packed with features that will appeal to power users and creatives, especially photographers and videographers looking for a sleek computing solution. At the heart of the V3 is the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. The CPU is partnered with 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and an AMD Radeon 780M GPU.
The tablet's large 14-inch display fronts it, offering a 2.5K resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and a 165Hz refresh rate. Its support for a wide P3 colour gamut and 500 nits of brightness makes it ideal for video and photography and enables it to be calibrated for professional use.
Other additions include AI features made possible through AMD Ryzen AI, which enable functionalities like eye contact correction and automatic framing. Again, in the software is the Minisforum space, which enables you to access a range of impressive software features that tune the machine to the way you use it and also enable you to monitor its health.
When it comes to connectivity, the V3 has dual USB4 ports, a USB-C port, an SD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, alongside Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support.
Enhanced security features are always important, especially for any portable devices, and here, the V3 includes Windows Hello facial recognition and a fingerprint sensor, all helping to ensure quick access once you register your details. Beyond the tablet, there are a series of accessories, including a 4096-level pressure stylus and a keyboard cover.
Features: 4/5
Minisforum V3: Performance
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Benchmarks
Crystal Disk Read: 4805.85MB/s Crystal Disk Write: 3894.29MB/s GeekBench CPU Single: 10290 GeekBench CPU Multi: 2471 GeekBench Compute: 27288 PC Mark: 6525 CineBench CPU Multi: 9052 CineBench CPU Single: 730 Fire Strike Overall: 6819 Fire Strike Graphics: 7328 Fire Strike Physics: 20690 Fire Strike Combined: 2650 Time Spy Overall: 2394 Time Spy Graphics: 2133 Time Spy CPU: 7843 Wild Life: 15011 Windows Experience: 8.2
Through the test, the Minisforum V3's performance has impressed for a variety of different uses and applications, proving that it is a solid tool for professionals who need a powerful tablet device. This power, coupled with the outstanding screen, makes it a perfect solution for creatives who need to run the Adobe suite of apps such as Photoshop, Premiere, and Illustrator. The powerful AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor not only enables these apps to run as if they were on a far larger desktop machine but this performance is also reflected in the benchmark scores.
During the test, the machine was mainly used on the Power Balance setting, which gave the best of both power and performance for a range of tasks, including creative, office, and gaming. When testing the gaming features, the performance was increased to Power Premium, which gave the machine a slight yet noticeable boost in graphics smoothness.
In terms of general productivity, the V3 handles Microsoft Office applications with ease, with the 14-inch screen providing a decent amount of real estate to the interface for both Word and Excel. For everyday use, when you switch between apps and countless browser tabs, the GeekBench CPU Single score of 10290 and PC Mark score of 6525 reinforce this performance.
When it comes to use for creative professionals, the graphics and processing capabilities powered by the AMD Radeon 780M GPU enable the apps to work quickly with multi-layer images in Photoshop, handling high-resolution images from the Canon EOS R5 C well. The GeekBench Compute score of 27288 is a good indicator of the performance in Adobe Photoshop and DaVinci Resolve. Tasks such as photo editing, applying filters, rendering videos, and real-time previews are all handled well - it might not replace the best laptops for photo editing or the best video editing laptops, but performance is better than you might expect. Backing up the power of the CPU and GPU is the 1TB internal SSD, which, when tested, produced impressive scores from CrystalDiskMark: read and write speeds of 4805.85MB/s and 3894.29MB/s, respectively. This is at the top end for mini PCs and tablets.
One thing to watch when using more demanding applications is the heat. The frame of the tablet becomes hot to the touch after a couple of hours of intensive video editing with external accessories such as hard drives connected. When switched to the Power Premium mode, the fans really start to kick in to help keep things cool under demanding processing
3D applications and CAD software also benefit from the V3's capabilities. The CineBench CPU Multi score of 9052 and CPU Single score of 730, combined with the Fire Strike Overall score of 6819 and Time Spy CPU score of 7843, show the ability to handle 3D modelling, rendering, and simulation tasks well, although not quite with the ease of larger desktop machines. This would make the V3 a great choice if you are an architect, engineer, or designer looking for a portable solution for work.
Although not in the professional remit of use, if you did want to dive into a little gaming after some graphics-intensive work, the Fire Strike Graphics score of 7328 and Wild Life score of 15011 reflect the tablet's ability to provide a smooth gaming experience and high frame rates in less demanding titles. Higher-demand games such as Red Dead Redemption and Cyberpunk 2077 will also run well, although the heat does rise through extended play. Plugging into a power source is a good idea, as you'll only get a couple of hours of gameplay on a single charge.
Performance: 4 / 5
Should you buy the Minisforum V3?
If you are a creative professional or are looking for a portable device that offers close to desktop-level performance, the Minisforum V3 is an excellent choice. The AMD Ryzen 7 processor, high-resolution display, and connectivity options make it a great choice for a range of demanding applications.
However, if you prioritise long battery life for creative applications, then a full-blown laptop might be a better option.
As Windows tablets go, the power, function and features of the V3 are impressive considering the price, making it a great all-around option if you need a tablet with the power of a PC.
HP’s Spectre Foldable 17 is, on the surface, an interesting device. If you were to look at the product page or any of the marketing material for the Foldable 17, no doubt you’d be impressed with the folding OLED panel, its crisp resolution, and the insane versatility that comes with it.
That magnetic keyboard, shifting the display up and altering the resolution automatically, and the fact you can use it as a fully-fledged all-in-one PC, or a 17-inch tablet at the drop of a hat, is no word of a lie – and incredibly enticing. But really, that’s all a mirage, a ghostly silhouette of what – at its core – is a significantly flawed product.
Right now, there’s one spec available for the HP Spectre Foldable. It’s priced at $5,000 retail in the US (£4,850 in the UK, or AU$8,499 in Australia), and features an Intel Core i7-1250U processor, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM (running at 5200MHz), a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 94.3Wh battery.
That’s honestly all there really is to say about it. You get a pen, a USB dock, along with a (fairly average) detachable Bluetooth laptop substitute keyboard-and-mouse-combo-thing, and that’s it. And it’s the hardware that really drives the nail into the coffin.
Yes, the screen is good – it’s a beautifully crisp OLED panel that recreates colors to an exceptional degree. It’s stunning to look at, bright at 500 nits, and can even shift its resolution from 1,920 x 2,560 to 1,920 x 1,820 depending on how you position that keyboard. But, here’s the thing: you’re paying effectively $5,000 for a screen with a bit of hardware attached. And that hardware doesn’t perform as well as laptops that are a fifth the cost of this HP offering. Huawei’s MateBook D 16 for example, or Dell’s XPS 13 Plus, or literally any other laptop really, will outperform this device. And that’s a problem.
If all you need is a laptop to edit documents on (and I’ll caveat that with “not large spreadsheets”), watch a bit of Netflix, and stream a touch of YouTube, then yes the HP Spectre Foldable will fit the bill. Yes, you can technically use it as an all-in-one or a tablet to do that as well, but then you’re paying $5,000 for that privilege when, to be frank, you could probably get as much, if not better, performance out of an OLED TV for half the cost.
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Price and availability
Windows still isn’t quite set up for tablets as well as it should be (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
How much does it cost? $5,000 / £4,850 / AU$8,499
When is it out? It’s available right now
Where can you get it? In the US, UK, and Australia
The price for the HP Spectre Foldable 17 is eye-watering. There is only one model available, priced at $5,000, or £4,850 in the UK, or if you live in Australia, AU$8,499.
This device goes by different names dependent on the region (Foldable in the US and Australia, or just Fold in the UK), but they are effectively the same model. All of them feature that 17-inch OLED panel, 16GB of soldered LPDDR5 RAM, and an Intel Core i7-1250U at their heart.
As to where you can buy the Spectre, the places to go are Amazon and Best Buy in the US, Amazon in the UK, and the HP store directly in Australia. There’s another big problem with the price, though, and that’s the fact that the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED exists, certainly in the UK anyway.
On paper, and to be honest, even at a quick glance, these two products are pretty much identical. The one difference being the Zenbook 17 Fold comes in (for the exact same spec) at a much lower £3,299 as standard (although we’ve seen it as low as £2,299). You can buy the Asus Fold in the US, but only from eBay sellers at this point, for similarly low prices.
Value: 1.5 / 5
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Design and Features
HP’s auto-keyboard detecting tech shifts the screen resolution depending on where you place the keyboard (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Beautiful display
Materials are solid
Port selection is disappointing
So we’ve established that this is a premium product. The Foldable certainly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to that price tag, but the same can’t quite be said for the overall design, however.
Let’s start by addressing the good points. That OLED display is incredible. As standard it’s a 17-inch foldable screen that comes with a 2.5K resolution, 500 nits of brightness in HDR mode, and a ton of the usual features (including low blue light and brightview modes). It packs 1.07 billion colors into that array and produces a phenomenal 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio to back it up.
It is only a 60Hz panel, however, unlike some of the OLED screens now available, so it’s not quite as buttery smooth as some of the competition with fixed-screen displays. However, we have seen bendable OLED panels go well beyond 60Hz, with Corsair’s Xeneon Flex being perhaps one of the better examples of what’s possible with the tech in terms of refresh rate at least.
The real party trick, however, is that fold, and how it incorporates into the design of the device. Namely, this isn’t technically one product. It’s a laptop, an all-in-one PC, and a tablet, depending on how you configure it. In the rear of the unit, there’s a kickstand that you can fold out to turn the Foldable into a pure 17-inch screen. You can then use the keyboard-trackpad combo to operate it like a standard desktop PC. Or alternatively, drop that kickstand, and convert it into a 17-inch tablet instead.
Create a slight bend in the screen and place it on your desk, then attach the keyboard to it (via the power of magnetism), and you’ve turned it into a laptop. Interestingly, with laptop mode HP has some nifty software installed that detects the keyboard’s position, and adjusts the screen size and resolution accordingly, depending on where you place the keyboard, which is pretty neat.
Rotation is supported as well: you can rotate the entire unit horizontally, one way or the other, and the display will twist to the correct orientation accordingly (although bear in mind that kickstand only works one way). In portrait mode, however, you are limited to one orientation.
That is mildly awkward, as this does place one of the only two USB-C ports on the top-left of the display. If you plug in the included USB dock on the bottom-right side of the screen, then your only option, if you want power in as well, is to have the cable trailing out of the top-left of the display, which looks pretty ghastly.
The included kickstand is great if you want to use the device as an all-in-one PC, although it does only work in one orientation (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
And it’s the ports that are the most frustrating to deal with. As standard, HP does include a USB hub with the foldable, but otherwise, you only get two USB-C Thunderbolt ports on here and nothing else. That’d be fine on a super-thin, small form factor device, but the Foldable is quite thick at 0.85cm, as that’s necessary to house all of that internal hardware.
The Spectre Foldable is thick - seriously thick - and only has two USB-C ports as standard (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Then we get to the keyboard. It’s small, foldable, with fairly standard keys that feel okay touch-wise. It has a trackpad, a small amount of Spectre branding on there, and a soft-touch leather cover. It connects only via Bluetooth and has a 330-hour battery life. You can charge it wirelessly off the display (when it’s fully on the device), but otherwise you’re stuck with a proprietary charging cable instead.
For the money, the keyboard experience isn’t great (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
HP also reckons it should automatically pair with the Foldable 17 as well, but we consistently found that to be a weak point of the unit, particularly after restarting Windows, or letting the keyboard battery go flat. The one saving grace is you can magnetically stick the keyboard on the display, leave it there, and close the device without worry.
Design: 3.5 / 5
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Perfomance
The keyboard-trackpad combo has a phenomenal battery life, and wirelessly charges off the device, but connectivity can be an issue (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Fine for light usage
Gaming and heavy productivity isn't possible
So, the design side of the equation, except for a few minor or indeed more major pitfalls depending on your perspective, is pretty okay to be fair. There are a few foibles, particularly with the keyboard and placement of ports, but generally speaking, disregarding the price, the HP Foldable is an awesome product.
However, coming to its performance, this is where things take a turn for the worse. Now let’s be clear, you have to look at this with that price in mind: $5,000 is no small sum, particularly for a laptop like this.
I took it for a spin, benchmarking it across all manner of tests, just to see how the Foldable would perform. My test conditions were strict, and it was plugged in, and on the high-performance power plan in Windows, with all of the latest updates applied, and chipset/drivers installed. I ran a number of tests, including Crossmark, Geekbench 6.2.1, Blender, and some limited gaming benchmarks as well.
Now, Intel’s integrated Iris graphics has come a long way, but it’s still nowhere near the calibre of the Alchemist architecture found in the Arc graphics cards. It’s just not going to be one of the best gaming laptops, and that’s fine, it’s not meant to be. However, when you’re spending $5,000 you do expect a modicum of performance.
In Geekbench 6.2.1 the Foldable scored 2,210 in single-core and 6,635 in multi-core. By comparison, the Huawei Matebook D 16 scored 2,605 in single-core and 12,568 in multi-core. That’s double the multi-threaded performance in comparison, from a laptop that clocks in at 25% of the price. The Foldable did have a slight edge when it came to CrystalDiskMark clocking in at 6,739MB/s for reads and 4,524MB/s for writes (sequential), but then we came to the gaming, or lack thereof.
No matter what I tried, not one single benchmark would complete. In 3DMark Wildlife Extreme and Extreme Unlimited (tests designed for mobile gaming), the Foldable didn’t meet the minimum requirements, and Solar Bay (mobile ray tracing) was the same. I also tried Borderlands 3 and Total War: Warhammer III, on their lowest settings, and despite making it to the main menu, neither game would load the benchmark without crashing.
Is it a tablet? A plane? No, it’s a foldable screen (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Blender performance was pretty dire too, at 26.81 for scene one, 17.14 for scene two, and 11.69 for scene three – less than half the performance of our comparative Huawei Matebook D 16. Likewise, Crossmark also got a pummelling across all four results, with scores ranging anywhere between 30-40% worse than the £1,200 Huawei notebook.
Clearly, when it comes to PC games this HP device isn’t going to be as capable as any of the best gaming desktops out there right now. Something like a dedicated gaming PC packing an Nvidia RTX 4080 Super, and maybe Intel Core i9-14900K, is obviously going to run rings around the Foldable 17.
However, the problem goes beyond this, as you could literally go out right now, and spend $3,500 to pick up a PC with a Ryzen 9 7900X, RTX 4070 Super, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 32-inch 4K OLED screen, and still have $1,500 left over to get a good laptop. Or alternatively, if all you want is a powerhouse laptop with a stunning screen, you could spend $2,500 on something like an Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED and save yourself a ton of cash while getting way, way better performance levels.
If all you care about is streaming content on Netflix, or doing some light document work, and browsing the web, the HP Spectre Foldable is more than capable of that. But then, so is practically every laptop at every price point, even the budget ones, and for that crazy four-figure investment, you should expect more.
Performance: 1.5 / 5
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Battery life
Solid 11-hour battery life
For battery life, the HP Spectre Foldable performed well enough and pretty much met our expectations across the board. It wasn’t phenomenal by any means, but lasted a full day of working remotely, with wireless and Bluetooth devices connected to it.
As standard, the Foldable comes with a 6-cell 94.3Wh Li-ion polymer battery and is rated in its folded mode, with keyboard attached, at around 12.5 hours, which is roughly what I saw during my time testing.
If you detach the keyboard entirely and run the Foldable as a display, that time does drop, as you’re effectively enabling more pixels to be active as you are running a higher resolution – but otherwise, it’s still fairly consistent in that regard.
HP also has fast charging support on the Foldable as well, and with any 100W USB-C charger, you’ll get around 50% charge in 40 to 45 minutes, with a full charge taking a little over two hours in my testing.
Having tested out a number of the best rugged tablets, we've always enjoyed Dell's durable devices. For us, the Dell Latitude Rugged series remain top contenders for anyone who needs a robust tablet for outdoor use. So, we put the Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme to the test to see how this hybrid tablet-laptop with detachable keyboard performs under pressure.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme: Unboxing and First Impressions
While the box is pretty basic, once I got past the packaging, I immediately noticed the compact durability I had in my hands. The 10.1-inch form factor does take a moment to get used to, as it is pretty tiny. But once I got into setting things up in settings and using this to get some work done, I stopped feeling like it was a limited device but rather a massive computer eloquently crammed into a niche format.
For those on the go outdoors, working on a job site, out for days at a time, or even if you need something rugged for another reason, this laptop might be what you are looking for. Frequently, if you need a device that you can take to rugged places, you will be moving in and out of that place. Having a highly portable, smaller device that can still get the job done with ease computing-wise is a brilliant move in those situations.
While the size is small, the heft and rigidity of the Latitude 7030 are still very much noticeable. Right away, when I grabbed the handle of this laptop/tablet, I was thrilled to feel like I could swing this computer around by the handle without any issue. This device is reinforced in the corners, covers all the ports and cameras, and has a nice coating around the edges, protecting it from scuffs or damage.
Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme: Design and Build Quality
Specs
Processor: 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260U
RAM: Up to 32GB LPDDR5
Storage: Up to 2TB NVMe SSD
Display: 10.1-inch FHD (1920 x 1200) outdoor-readable, 1000 nits brightness
Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
Battery: Dual removable batteries (up to 18 Wh each)
Connectivity: 5G, GPS, Wi-Fi 6E with Dual Band Support, FirstNet, Bluetooth
Weight: 2.2 lbs
The more I looked at this laptop-tablet hybrid, the more areas for mounting and modular swapping I noticed. The Latitude 7030 Rugged has an entire ecosystem of accessories that can be added and removed anytime to help customize the tablet to your needs.
These accessories range from the handle itself to a hand strap for ease of holding, the stylus, an external battery charger (as opposed to charging via the laptop, this charges the hot-swappable batteries so you can keep the tablet on the go), a magnetic mount, a kickstand, shoulder straps, vehicle docks, and chargers, and the detachable keyboard.
You can create whatever working machine you need through these accessories, let alone the modular portion of the computer's optional I/O bay. You can outfit this bay to fit another USB-A, an RJ-45 jack, a barcode scanner, or a universal audio jack. Lastly, you can utilize the programmable physical buttons to launch applications, run programs, control features, and do things of that nature.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Along the side are some covered ports for the various IOs that come standard, along with the customizable port. On the back live are the hot-swappable battery bays, the power button, an optional fingerprint reader, a SmartCard reader for authentication methods, a flash, the rear camera, and VESA mounting points. You can find the front-facing camera on the front top of the device, along with an IR Camera. You can find four programmable buttons and the docking connector at the bottom of the device.
Dell Latitude 7030 Rugged Extreme: In use
While I am not a first responder, trekking up a mountainside, working a job site, or wearing a hard hat where I work, I was able to imagine just how helpful this tablet might be to those who are. Customizing a computer to complement your work rather than molding your way of working around the device's limitations is excellent. The included front and rear-facing cameras allow for, for example, a construction site's general contractor to take photos of progress or areas that need to be addressed directly on their device without pulling out a camera or personal phone.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
For first responders, the ability to mount this computer to their cruiser or truck and connect to FirstReady net for reliable coverage that first responders use is not only helpful but vital.
Sure, you can get a lot of these features on any number of other devices, but with this rugged tablet, you get all of that in a compact and discrete 10.1" tablet that you can hot swap features with, swap out batteries to keep going, and even un-mount from any docking station to take with you while you move around.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Dell Latitude Rugged 7030 Tablet: Final verdict
If you need a laptop that is as mobile and active as you are, the Latitude 7030 might be the perfect device for you, especially after you customize it to fit your needs beyond what the base model offers. Dell has numerous software features that I didn't get a chance to mention that make the overall experience of this tablet feel much more desktop-like than tablet-like, which is perfect for those who need a tried and true version of their trusty Windows 11 Pro to get their job done.
CPU: Intel® Processor N1000, 0.8 GHz (up to 3.4 GHz, 4 cores) Graphics: Intel® UHD Graphics RAM: 8GB DDR5 onboard (Max up to 16GB) Storage: 128GB UFS, expandable via 1x M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0x4 slot Rear Ports: Not specified Front Ports: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (supports display/power delivery), 1x USB 2.0 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Dual band 2*2 + Bluetooth® 5.2 Wireless Card Audio: Audio by Dirac, built-in speakers, built-in array microphone, Cortana support Camera: 720p HD camera with privacy shutter, 13.0M world-facing camera Size: 12.2-inch touchscreen, WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 16:10, glossy display with Corning Gorilla® Glass OS installed: Windows 11 Pro Education Accessories: Optional MPP 2.0 garaged stylus
The Asus ExpertBook BR1204F is a robust and flexible laptop specifically designed for educational facilities. It provides students and teachers with workstations that meet standard academic course criteria while allowing easy upgrades and repairs.
From the ground up, this laptop is crafted with its intended audience in mind, resulting in a functional, if slightly unexciting, design. We've tested out loads of the best student laptops, and unlike many sleek modern devices with high-end CPUs, GPUs, and storage, this Asus model offers a more traditional word processing-focused approach, at least on first look.
The Intel Processor N200 easily handles Windows 11 Pro for Education and standard word processing applications. It even supports applications like Tinkercad without issues, making it one of the best laptops for engineering students and 3D modellers - but only if your needs are pretty simple or you're just starting out. While Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom can run, performance could be enhanced with a slight HD and RAM upgrade from our review unit.
While it looks like a traditional laptop, the BR1204F features a flip-over design that sees the keyboard flip under the screen, transforming the machine into a tablet and very capable creative tool. It features an outstanding touch screen protected by Gorilla Glass, ideal for less delicate students. Apps such as Microsoft's garage project Sketch360 and the native drawing app function smoothly.
Overall, this machine is designed with a focus on education. For educational-based fun and games, it performs well, though it's not intended for video or image editing. However, some graphics and creative applications are feasible with its flip screen design. It's a well-made, and designed educational tool, with straightforward maintenance requiring just a few tools.
Asus ExpertBook BR1204F: Introduction
The Asus ExpertBook BR1204F is a laptop specifically designed for education as part of Asus's Education product line. Consequently, many high-end features typically promoted are not the focus here. The Intel N200 CPU and standard Intel graphics are sufficient for office applications and academic study, rather than multimedia playback or overly distracting games.
The machine is tailored to meet classroom demands, equipped with Windows 11 Pro for Education, a stylus, and a flip screen design, enabling students to use it as a screen, tablet, or laptop, offering versatility.
When used with Microsoft Teams, the whiteboard feature is invaluable, allowing students to interact with the class by drawing directly on the board without leaving their seats. Class materials and formative and summative feedback can be easily distributed through the Teams Classroom environment.
Of course, the classroom is just part of what an education laptop needs to address. With decent battery life in use and standby mode, the system has enough power to last through a day's worth of lessons between charges. Charging is quick via a standard USB Type-C connector, and the machine offers a good array of other connection options for connecting devices such Lego Mindstorms, 3D printers, Laser Engravers and networks.
One of the most appealing features for education is the ease of maintenance, with a five-point procedure for maintaining, repairing, and upgrading, making it quick and easy for any IT technician or anyone with basic IT hardware skills.
The Asus ExpertBook BR1204F is fully geared toward education, and in that environment, the choice of hardware makes complete sense. Outside that world, the limited storage space and processing power might be restrictive.
Asus ExpertBook BR1204F: Price & availability
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The ExpertBook BR1204F is designed for education and is part of the Asus Education Solution program. For more information on purchasing the machine please visit your local education supplier.
Price: 4/5
Asus ExpertBook BR1204F: Design & build
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The laptop's size is compact, measuring 297mm x 213mm x 22mm and weighing 1.47kg, making it easy to carry or fit into most bags or backpacks. Its relatively flat shape allows easy stacking of several BR1204Fs in a secure cupboard or custom computer stand.
Designed for classroom use by students, the laptop’s overall construction is tough, though not to the standards of a tough book, so it will withstand knocks and far more abuse than most but will not survive submersion in water or drops from significant heights.
The robust construction is evident when picking up the laptop, as it feels more solid than similar general-use laptops. Aside from the stylus integrated into the case design, there are no protective doors or components that can be easily dislodged. Additionally, access to the inner electronics is secured by cross-head screws to prevent young engineers from making hardware alterations in class.
Once the lid is lifted, the robust build is clear, with large, thick monitor hinges designed to be extremely strong. If a student wants to walk around with the laptop open, held by the monitor, it should withstand this handling, although it is obviously not ideal.
The general layout includes a small touchpad, a keyboard, and a 12.2-inch monitor. While the touchpad and keyboard are standard, the monitor stands out as a full touch screen toughened with Gorilla Glass, making it more resilient in a classroom.
The laptop’s left and right sides feature connection ports, including 1x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 1.4, USB 2.0 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, and the stylus on the left, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (supporting display/power delivery), USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, and a 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack on the right.
An interesting feature are the two cameras: one above the screen and another above the keyboard. This second world-facing camera can be used with applications like Microsoft Office Lens. When the keyboard is flipped under the screen the now rear-facing camera can scan documents or students' work with the preview appearing on screen, essentially think mobile phone. The captured image can then be cast to a whiteboard or stored for portfolio work.
The flip screen means that the laptop can be used as a touch screen tablet or part open can be used as a stand so the laptop can sit on a desk as a handy screen, enabling class materials to be cast during presentations and the Teams Whiteboard feature to be used by the entire class for interactive sessions.
Using the laptop reveals more to its design compared to standard off-the-shelf machines, with features updated to ensure better functionality within a classroom environment.
The final aspect of the design is crucial for education IT engineers. The BR1204F is modular, meaning it can be purchased as is and expanded as needed for each intended use. Our review unit was suitable for most office applications, but with upgraded RAM and storage, it could edit HD footage and images. More importantly, the modular design simplifies maintenance.
The Panel, I/O ports, Keyboard, Thermal Module, and Battery are all quickly accessible, serviceable, and replaceable. Unlike other laptops, where removing these parts can be time-consuming and delicate, requiring specialist intervention, the modular design of the BR1204F simplifies the process significantly.
Design: 5/5
Asus ExpertBook BR1204F: Features
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The BR1204F is designed from the outset as a durable and versatile laptop, tablet, and screen for educational environments. It may not be the best rugged laptop we've tried, but built for its intended use, it's more durable than most devices of its size and specifications, meeting MIL-STD 810H US military durability standards, with a fingerprint-resistant finish, full rubber bumper, and spill-resistant keyboard.
The display is a 12.2-inch touchscreen, protected by scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass for durability, with a 16:10 aspect ratio and TÜV Rheinland certification for low blue-light emissions.
Standard storage options are relatively small at 128 GB of integrated UFS 2.1 storage, ideal for educational environments where multiple students use the same machine and files are stored in the cloud. For additional storage, there is an expansion slot for up to 1TB. The laptop also features advanced AI-powered noise-cancellation technology to isolate background noise during video calls, enhancing call quality.
Connectivity is well-catered for, with Wi-Fi 6E and 4G LTE ensuring fast connections for online learning, whether in the classroom or remote. An essential feature for tablet use is the inclusion of a garaged stylus, held on the left side of the machine and charged while docked, providing a more accurate tool than a finger for using and drawing on the touchscreen.
Beyond student use, the Asus BR1204F's design is fully serviceable, with a modular design allowing easy access and upgrades to internal components.
Features: 4/5
Asus ExpertBook BR1204F: Performance
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Benchmarks
Crystal Disk Read: 1709.58MB/s Crystal Disk Write: 923.20MB/s GeekBench CPU Single: 2754 GeekBench CPU Multi: 1220 GeekBench Compute: 3891 PC Mark: 2824 CineBench CPU Multi: 2300 CineBench CPU Single: 794 Fire Strike Graphics: 1204 Fire Strike Physics: 379 Fire Strike Combined: 379 Time Spy Overall: 430 Time Spy Graphics: 376 Time Spy CPU: 2444 Wild Life: N/A Windows Experience: 8.0
Ordinarily, processing power is a primary concern for any computer, but within an educational environment, you just need a machine that works, runs the necessary apps, is durable, and can be fixed when the inevitable happens. With the BR1204F, Asus has provided exactly that, and if more is needed, the RAM and storage can be upgraded.
In use for all Microsoft Office applications, the BR1204F works smoothly, handling word processing and all the features of Teams with ease. Most importantly, the connection to a wireless network is robust, and the ability to link to the wired network as a backup adds resilience compared to some alternatives.
Outside of office apps, the lack of storage at 128GB is somewhat restrictive, allowing only small additional apps to be installed before running low on space. A base of 256GB would have been better, given the size of the Windows installation.
The integration with Teams is the major advantage here, with classroom apps enabling interactive sessions, and the touchscreen allowing all class members to engage with the lesson. The touchscreen also adds flexibility to the laptop’s use, and while drawing apps are not super quick, they are fluid enough to be enjoyable.
The benchmark results for the Asus BR1204F highlight its capabilities in handling educational tasks. The 3DMark Fire Strike graphics score of 1109 and a combined score of 379 suggest it can handle basic graphics and interactive classroom applications smoothly. Time Spy's overall score of 430, with a graphics score of 376 and CPU score of 2444 highlights its ability to run multi-threaded tasks, ideal for applications like Tinkercad and Lego Mindstorms.
Cinebench R23's multi-core score of 2300 and single-core score of 794 indicate moderate performance for multitasking and single-threaded applications like Microsoft Office, so just running one possibly two applications at a time is advisable. GeekBench 5 scores, with 2754 for multi-core and 1220 for single-core, underscore its ability to handle general computing tasks and most educational software well. The CrystalDiskMark read and write speeds of 1709.58 MB/s and 923.20 MB/s respectively ensure quick data access and saving, beneficial for handling large files and applications.
PCMark 10's score of 2824 and a Windows Experience Index score of 8 reflect the laptop's robust performance for productivity tasks, again highlighting all Office applications, making it well-suited for extensive use with Microsoft Teams and classroom features.
Performance: 3/5
Should you buy the Asus ExpertBook BR1204F?
The Asus ExpertBook BR1204F is a solidly built, education-focused laptop offering a robust and versatile solution for students. Its durable design, coupled with a flexible touchscreen and easy maintenance, makes it ideal for the demands of a classroom environment. While the base model's storage is limited, the device's modular design allows for easy upgrades, enhancing its longevity and utility in education. Overall, it's a superb educational tool that prioritises function and durability over high-end specs, making it a worthwhile investment for schools and educational institutions.
The Moto G84 made its debut in August of last year (with a release the following month), but it looks like its successor could be arriving sooner. We've already spotted the Moto G85 in a European retailer's database earlier this month, with a price of €300, and now a prototype has run Geekbench, which means it's featured in the benchmark's online database.
This reveals the fact that the G85 seems to be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 4 Gen 3 chipset, which hasn't been officially announced yet, but will be the successor to the 4 Gen 2 from 2023. That was the first chip in the series made...
GPU: Entry-level 650MHz, High-performance 750MHz, 12 execution units
RAM: Upgradable up to 16GB of DDR3L, none supplied in the box
FLASH: 32GB eMMC
USB: 1 x Type-C, 1 x USB3.0, 2 x internal USB2.0
Display: 1 x 4K MiniDP, 1 x DP over Type-C, 1 x eDP internal
PCIe: Four lanes 2.0
SATA: 2 x SATA3.0
Ethernet: 1 x Gigabit LAN
Power Consumption: About 15W
Size: 107mm x 80mm x 32mm
It competes with the Raspberry Pi 4, being in the same price bracket while offering an Intel x86 architecture. The SBC has plenty of connectors, which makes this hacker-friendly platform versatile and unique. The built-in PCIe 2.0 x4 connector accepts various cards out-of-the-box, and with two SATA3 ports, the board can morph into a portable NAS storage device.
Since the ZimaBlade supports up to 16GB of DDR3L, it can run applications requiring large amounts of memory, such as databases and VMs. The main let-down is the outdated CPU, with the speediest version of the board based on a Quad-Core 2.3GHz Apollo Lake CPU. The SBC features a single USB Type-C, which supplies power and drives a DisplayPort output.
IceWhale Technology, the maker of the ZimaBlade, held a Crowdsupply campaign to finance the board's new version. Various perks are available; the most basic, containing a Dual-Core Intel Celeron N3350, is available for $64. The ZimaBlade 7700, built around a Quad-Core J3455 CPU, sells for $96. Except for the CPU, both have the same hardware and require a DDR3L memory module to boot.
(Image credit: Future)
ZimaBlade: Design
The ZimaBlade computer comes with a male-to-male Type-C and one SATA cable. The passively cooled unit measures 107mm x 80mm x 32mm and weighs 175g. The small case sits perfectly flat on a desk, with no mounting holes and only four tiny rubber pads on the bottom. Being very light, connecting various cables can become problematic as the case can topple easily.
The Zimablade designers have worked hard to produce an enclosure that showcases the computer’s internal components. A transparent plastic top displays the SODIMM memory but not the CPU. With no power button available, the hardware turns on when plugging a Type-C cable. A single status LED, barely visible from the side of the case, indicates if the board is powered. The PCIe socket location does not allow easy card insertion. The card’s metal bracket has to be removed before use.
Under the hood, the ZimaBlade sports a J3455 quad-core Intel Celeron CPU clocked at 2.4GHz for the highest performance board variant. Geekbench shows the ZimaBlade handily outperforms the Cortex A72 ARM CPU found in the Pi4 but scores well below the new Pi5’s Cortex A76 CPU. One aspect not found on similar-priced platforms is expanding the memory to 16GB using DDR3L SODIMM.
The ZimaBlade targets an audience that strives for high-speed interfaces. Seven connectors provide connectivity for many use cases with throughputs above the gigabit mark. Two SATA6 and one Gigabit Ethernet socket turn the ZimaBlade into a redundant storage server. One USB3, a USB Type-C with DP, and a mini-DP connector capable of 4K at 60Hz complete the list of external ports. Three internal connectors, two USB 2.0 connectors, and one eDP socket allow additional peripherals.
(Image credit: Future)
ZimaBlade: In Use
The owner can use the ZimaBlade simply by plugging a USB Type-C cable into a screen supporting a Type-C display. The computer then boots CasaOS, a lightweight cloud-accessible platform with an ever-increasing number of applications. ZimaBlade is extremely fast at booting, taking just five seconds to display the Linux login.
After entering the default username and password, the user has root access to the Linux-based OS stored in 32GB eMMC storage, with 24GB left for user applications. A lean OS means a lowly 20% RAM utilization with an 8GB memory module. With the 1G LAN connected, software updates run automatically and keep the platform secured.
In addition to being affordable, the ZimaBlade builds on a user-friendly OS where the UI is viewed entirely through a web browser. This cloud concept could have been a miss, but thanks to modern technologies like Docker containers, using the desktop is very snappy. The installed software includes a file explorer and an app store containing forty applications ranging from a retro emulator to home automation.
Running Geekbench6 on the ZimaBlade involves installing through SSH. The board's power consumption reaches 15W, with the case becoming
hot at more than 60 degrees Celsius, and decreases to 6W when idle. With a score of 300 in single-core and 911 in multi-core benchmarks on Geekbench6, the J3455 CPU won’t blow you away with its computing prowess but will be sufficient for everyday basic tasks.
(Image credit: Future)
ZimaBlade: The competition
Thanks to the ZimaBlade, finding an affordable x86 single-board computer with lots of connectivity and expandable memory has become more accessible. Hardkernel’s Odroid H3+ is very similar to the ZimaBlade, being passively cooled and possessing various high-speed connectors. The H3+ costs more than twice as much, with the Odroid H3+ being bigger with an oversized heatsink and consuming more power. The quad-lane PCIe connector on the ZimaBlade makes it a valuable testbed for PCIe cards, something not found in the Odroid H3+.
ZimaBlade: Final verdict
IceWhale’s ZimaBlade makes a tremendous entry-level computer with many options for adding extra hardware. The PCIe slot is the product's standout feature, allowing the use of high-end gaming graphics cards, for example. The single SODIMM socket gives the user an upgrade path to more memory. The onboard eMMC storage memory turns the unit into a self-contained product. Finally, a price below $100 tilts the balance, making the ZimaBlade a must-have gadget this year.
In a world driven by technology, with GenerativeAI and creative work growing in demand daily and the need for powerful servers in tech companies worldwide, Dell continues to stand strong as a pillar in the computing community. High-quality computers to handle the growing computing demands have never been more critical.
The Precision 7875 Tower Workstation is an incredibly versatile machine. Its base price of $3,299 can be scaled up to a fully loaded $38,904.67 beast of a machine. Unlike even the best business computers I have experienced, this workstation can handle anything thrown at it and more.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Dell Precision 7875: Unboxing & first impressions
While I was initially unboxing this workstation, it was a powerhouse. I immediately noticed the sheer weight of the computer and quickly recognized the understated yet professional design of the case. It's not flashy and loud like what is trendy in the custom PC or gaming PC world, with RGB lights everywhere and gaudy components. This is a professional workstation, and it looks sleek, minimal, and functional.
The second big thing I noticed was dual (NVIDIA® RTX™ 6000 Ada, 48 GB GDDR6, 4 DP) graphics cards. Third, I saw an intense power cable in both cable thickness and plug. Most computers, laptop bricks, and monitors (except Apple) all utilize standard C13 IEC power cables. However, this Precision 7875 Tower Workstation uses a C19 connector and C20 inlet to allow for higher amperage and, therefore, more power to the computer.
After booting up, I was reminded that my Precision 7875 Tower has been equipped with Windows 11 Pro (currently version 23H2) and that it has 128GB of RAM installed to work hand in hand with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX (96-Cores).
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Dell Precision 7875: Design & build quality
As I briefly mentioned, this workstation is simple yet robust. It's well-built, has excellent ports, and is a professional workhorse just by looking at it. If looking directly at the front of the unit, the left side has a panel that can be removed to expand to utilize the six expansion bays quickly. There are also two SATA/M.2 Flex bays on the front of the tower, a place for a slim optical drive, and a handful of USB-C and USB-A ports that are all USB 3.2, plus an SD-Card slot, power button, hard-drive activity light, and a headphone and microphone combo port.
Specs
As Tested
Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX (384 MB cache, 96 cores, 192 threads, 2.5GHz to 5.1GHz, 350 W)
On the back, I was thrilled that my unit had some expansion ports filled. With those expanded ports, my Precision 7875 has a power port (C20 Inlet for 1350 W PSU), an audio jack, two RJ45 ethernet ports on the top (1 GB and 10 GB), two more 10GbE NIC ethernet ports built into the Intel X710 network card, three more USB-C 3.2 ports, three more USB-A 3.2 ports, and eight display ports split between two graphics cards.
Though this computer is an absolute beast in components, ability, ports, and power, it is still a standard-size desktop tower. All components are relatively easy to navigate around and expand, which is more than I can say for some competitors.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Dell Precision 7875: In use
While testing the Dell Precision 7875, I attempted to run every benchmark I could throw at this machine - I wanted to know if it really was one of the best workstations or were appearances deceptive? Ironically, several tests I use to benchmark PCs failed due to too many cores. After fiddling with the number of cores to allow PCMark and others to use, I finally got some testing done.
I noticed right away that even while being tested, it takes quite a bit to get the Precision 7875 to break a sweat. During the entire testing process, I barely even heard the fans kick on. Now, granted, if I were utilizing this in its intended purpose to be my machine to work with GenerativeAI, intense programming, or creative apps for an extended period, I might have gotten this computer to give me more than what felt like a mere sigh, but that's impressive in and of itself.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Navigating around applications, web browsing, working on documents, and other daily admin tasks are an absolute breeze. Even jumping back to other high-powered computers I am testing, they feel slow after working on the Dell Precision 7875. The port offering is incredible, and I appreciate that I can use this computer vertically or horizontally due to the rubber feet that Dell has included all around the case.
Another huge component of this computer's ease of use is that it has just about everything I could need already built in. It has a high-speed Wi-Fi module, an SD Card slot, a large number of USB-C and even USB-A ports, an absurd number of Display Ports, headphone jacks, plenty of Ethernet Ports, and even a disk drive, not to mention how helpful it is to have onboard storage that I would have to work hard to fill.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
This computer is designed for those who need a high-powered, best-of-the-best computer that can handle the most demanding applications and workflows.
Dell Precision 7875: Final verdict
The Dell Precision 7875 is a fantastic option for professionals who need a robust and reliable workstation. Dell engineered it to handle the most demanding programs and workflows, making the expensive investment worth the price for those who require unmatched performance and dependability.
Yes, it is not for everyone; it may not even be for most people. However, if you are a part of the demographic that needs the best regarding your choice in Windows-based workstations, you should check out the Dell Precision 7875 Tower and try kitting it out to fit your needs and wants.
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