Laptops
Honor unveils an updated MagicBook lineup
Giving MacBooks a run for their money
Huawei’s sister brand Honor is famous for its affordable and midrange offerings. The brand controlled a considerable chunk of the smartphone market a few quarters back in markets like India but has recently taken a step back.
However, the company is still strong in its home market of China and plans to slowly expand its portfolio. The MagicBook series is often seen as a direct MacBook competitor due to its design and an updated lineup with the latest specifications has been announced.
Honor has updated the MagicBook 14 as well as MagicBook 15 to maintain its edge over the offerings from Xiaomi. Honor’s MagicBook laptops have always been on the pocket-friendly side, in the sense that these MagicBooks are not as expensive and over-the-top as MacBooks.
The MagicBook 15 gets a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a high screen-to-body ratio of 87 percent. It weighs just 1.53kg and will be available in two color options — silver and black.
Powering the laptop is an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U in the base variant while other option includes the Ryzen 7 3700U. For gaming, Radeon Vega 8 gaming configuration is available in the starting variant with an optional upgrade to RX Vega 10.
It can support up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, depending on the configuration. The battery is rated for 42Wh and a USB-C port has also been included along with the standard port options.
On the other hand, the MagicBook 14 gets a 14-inch display with a screen-to-body ratio of 84 percent. It weighs slightly lesser at 1.38kg and comes in the same color option as the MagicBook 15.
At the heart of the laptop are the same two AMD chipsets that are found on the elder sibling. It also supports RAM up to 16GB with optional storage support for 512GB SSD.
Honor claims the 56Wh battery can deliver up to 9.5 hours of 1080p video playback and it also gets an assorted selection of ports, including a fingerprint scanner on the power button.
Samsung’s most advanced AI-powered PC lineup yet, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 series, will be available in the United States starting March 11.
The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, Book6 Pro, and Book6 are all powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors to deliver improved CPU, GPU, and NPU performance.
Galaxy AI features like AI Select and Intelligent Search streamline workflows, while Multi-Control and Second Screen enable seamless productivity across Galaxy devices.
Users can connect the Galaxy Book6 series to their Galaxy smartphone or tablet for multi-screen productivity. This includes accessing one’s phone storage straight from the Book6 PC.
And similar to Circle to Search on Galaxy mobile devices, the upcoming PCs have a feature wherein users can just trace whatever is on their screen and search.
In addition, the series combines ultra-thin designs with up to 30 hours of video playback.
Price, availability
Here are the pricing of the three devices under the series:
- Galaxy Book6 Ultra: Starts at US$ 2,449.99
- Galaxy Book6 Pro: Starts at US$ 1,599.99
- Galaxy Book6: Starts at US$ 1,049.99
They will be available nationwide at Samsung.com and Samsung Experience Stores beginning on March 11. Customers who reserve early will get a US$ 30 credit.
More details will be unveiled during the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event on February 25 at 10:00 A.M. PT / 1:00 A.M. ET.
Laptops
Are you ready for a more colorful MacBook?
Apple is experimenting with quirkier colorway options for the MacBook.
In recent years, Apple has relented on limiting the colors of its devices to only the more premium-looking options. Users can now pick quirkier colors for their iPhones, highlighted currently by the Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max. Soon, the same splashes of color might make its way to the MacBook lineup.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has been testing different colorway options for its upcoming entry-level MacBook. The unannounced lineup might come in pink, light yellow, light green, and blue.
It’s a big change for MacBooks. Currently, the only “quirky” option that users can get is the MacBook Air’s Sky Blue, which honestly looks more silvery than blue. Other than that, the MacBook simply seesaws from different shades of gold, silver, and black.
To be fair, the upcoming MacBook will still have the traditional colorways of the current lineup. Additionally, it’s unclear whether Apple will ultimately include all its experimental colors into the final lineup.
Reportedly, the new lineup will cost somewhere between US$ 699 to US$ 799. Of course, the lower price tag will come at the expense of some specs. Although, it should still be good if we’re talking about an entry-level laptop.
It’s even more interesting if it’s hinting at the return of truly colorful options but for the notebook. The iMac already got a similar renaissance back in 2024, which mimics the classic computer’s colorful history.
SEE ALSO: M5 MacBook Pro review
Brands getting banned are commonplace in today’s tech landscape. These usually happen because of geopolitical reasons, especially if it’s in the United States. In Europe, brands sometimes get banned for anticompetition reasons. Today, however, a commonly used codec, HEVC, is at the center of a controversy that has led to the banning of ASUS and Acer in Germany. Even crazier, Nokia is involved.
For context, Nokia owns several patents for video codecs. One of those codecs, HEVC (or High-Efficiency Video Coding) is ubiquitous in every PC, which means that every PC maker must purchase a license to include the codec in their machines. It’s an essential these days, so it’s unusual for ASUS and Acer to miss it.
In Germany, where licensing is stricter, both companies were found guilty of infringing the patent, as reported by German outlet Hardwareluxx. As a result, ASUS and Acer must stop selling PC and laptop sales until they obtain a license from Nokia.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean that the two brands have disappeared from the country. Third-party retailers can still sell their remaining stock. However, the companies cannot import or sell any new stock, pending a conclusion to the issue.
Naturally, the easiest fix is to just buy the license. Hisense, another company that found itself in the same mire, bought a license last month. Either ASUS and Acer are running into more technical issues, or they just didn’t feel the license was worth it for a single market.
SEE ALSO: ASUS is leaving the smartphone industry
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