Laptops

HP spices up its Spectre x360 and Envy 13 notebooks

Published

October 12, 2016

Marvin Velasco

Anyone familiar with HP’s recent offerings knows just how great their designs are as of late, from the sexy Spectre 13 laptop to the unique desktop PCs launched during IFA 2016. Now, the Spectre x360 and Envy 13 are getting a refresh with the all-new design language and logo.

HP Spectre x360

All HP products with the “x360” branding have a rotating hinge, and the newest Spectre is no different. This lets you fold the display all the way back like other convertibles, but what’s truly special is the edge-to-edge display on the 13.3-inch model.

With 3.4mm bezels on the left and right sides of the screen, the space is well maximized, especially when in tablet mode. Sadly, the thin bezels don’t apply to the 15.6-inch variant, but it can be equipped with a 4K resolution, whereas the smaller one is limited to Full HD 1080p.

Naturally, you’d think the battery lives would suffer, but HP claims the two convertibles can last up to 16 hours of balanced usage. That would take some magic to pull off, but the secret probably lies in the seventh-generation Intel Core i7 or i5 processor inside, along with non-power-hungry SSD storage and the option to go up to 16GB of RAM.

The price begins at $1,050, and that’s for the most basic variant. It’s a good deal, though, since every unit comes with a solid aluminum chassis, glass trackpad, and four built-in speakers designed by Bang & Olufsen.

HP Envy 13

The Envy 13 doesn’t have the cool bendy bodies of the Spectres, but it’s just as slim as the two convertibles — 14mm for the Envy, while the smaller Spectre is 13.8mm in height and the larger one tops at 15.9mm.

The 13-inch notebook is a little cheaper too, retailing for only $850, and it still has an all-metal body that weighs around 2.8lbs (about 1.27kg). The Envy 13 also has the advantage of having two full-sized USB 3.0 ports, along with one USB Type-C port. The Spectres are limited to a single USB 3.0 port, but have two USB Type-C ports (with Thunderbolt 3) in exchange.

Everything else is up to par: seventh-generation Intel Core i7 or i5 processor, up to 16GB of memory, up to 1TB of storage, and Bang & Olufsen speakers.

The updated Spectre x360 convertibles are already available, and you can purchase an Envy 13 beginning October 26.

[irp posts=”4610″ name=”HP’s affordable convertible is coming to Lazada PH”]

Laptops

ROG launches 2026 Strix gaming laptop series

The pinnacle of gaming experiences

Published

June 16, 2026

GadgetMatch

The 2026 ROG Strix gaming laptops have officially arrived. They are available in the latest Strix G16 and G18 variants, as well as the Strix SCAR 18.

The latest gaming notebooks represent the pinnacle of gaming experiences, combining upgraded ROG Nebula Display technologies, refinements to ROG Intelligent Cooling, expanded high-speed connectivity, and a tool-less, upgrade-friendly chassis.

The 2026 ROG Strix G series raises the bar for mainstream gaming laptops. Both 16-inch and 18-inch models come with 2.5K Nebula Displays, now upgraded with ultra-fast 300Hz refresh rate.

Both models are capable of ultra-high framerates for the latest AAA games, thanks to the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 290HX and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080.

Their chassis can accommodate up to 32GB DDR5 memory and up to 1TB SSD storage.

The performance is complemented by advanced ROG Intelligent Cooling, featuring end-to-end vapor chambers, Tri-Fan technology, and Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal.

The ROG Strix G series ranges from PhP 159,995 to PhP 319,995.

On the other hand, the 2026 ROG Strix SCAR continues ASUS ROG’s pursuit of uncompromised gaming performance.

The Strix SCAR 18 comes with the first 18-inch 4K 240Hz Mini LED laptop panel, with over 2,000 dimming zones. ROG Nebula ELMB provides up to 16x greater motion clarity. The panel also features 1,600 nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3, and AGLR technology.

This laptop similarly comes with Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 290HX Plus, and up to GeForce RTX 5090 graphics. The graphics side is also enhanced by DLSS 4, Multi-Frame Generation, and GPU-accelerated technologies specially for the latest AAA titles.

New on the 2026 release is up to a 320W total system power. It also has a 20% thicker vapor chamber, as well as Upgraded Liquid Crystal Polymer fans to increase total airflow by 91%.

The ROG Strix SCAR 18 costs PhP 439,995.

Computers

Rewind: WWDC 2026

The Siri Update We’ve Been Waiting For?!

Published

June 10, 2026

GadgetMatch and Michael Josh Villanueva

At WWDC 2026, Apple unveiled Siri AI, a smarter version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, with personal context, onscreen awareness, deeper app integration, and a brand-new experience across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.

Apple also announced new Apple Intelligence features, Google Gemini-powered foundation models, smarter photo editing tools, improved parental controls, faster performance across iPhone and iPad, and the next version of macOS: Golden Gate.

In this WWDC 2026 Rewind, Michael Josh breaks down the biggest announcements, what actually matters. And, whether Apple finally delivered on the promises it made last year.

Computex 2026

Here’s all the RTX Spark notebooks announced at COMPUTEX 2026

We got notebooks from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and MSI.

Published

June 5, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

There’s been much ado about the NVIDIA RTX Spark. By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about the upcoming reinvention of PCs. But, as a regular consumer, it’s hard to visualize just how this revolution looks like. Thankfully, in NVIDIA’s demo suites, a few manufacturers got to showcase their take on an RTX Spark notebook. And all of them are coming out in the fall.

ASUS ProArt P14 and P16

ASUS ProArt P16

ASUS ProArt P14

Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition

HP OmniBook X 14 and Ultra 16

HP OmniBook X 14

HP OmniBook Ultra 16

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9n

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra

MSI Prestige N16 Flip AI+

Unfortunately, none of these brands could share comprehensive details about their laptops beyond a promise for raw power. All of these models aren’t the final version yet.

However, just from what we can tell, these notebooks do feel different from the standard fare of laptops today. For one, they are deceptively heavier. Though all of the OEMs promise a much thinner profile, they’re either packing a lot of tech inside or are using denser materials for their chassis. But again, these are engineering units, so who knows how heavy these things will actually be?

Secondly, based on NVIDIA’s demos, they can do a lot of heavy lifting. NVIDIA says that these superchips are meant for developers and creators, but gamers will also find joy in their performance. DLSS 4.5, in particular, feels like a true revolution in terms of graphics.

Thankfully, fall isn’t too far away. If you can wait, the next evolution of PCs is just around the corner.