About twenty years ago, consumers and business owners alike upgraded their laptops regularly. Because, let's face it, back then, technology changed so quickly that your new laptop could be a dinosaur in just three years.
About twenty years ago, consumers and business owners alike upgraded their laptops regularly. Because, let's face it, back then, technology changed so quickly that your new laptop could be a dinosaur in just three years.
Fast forward to ten years ago, and the upgrade cycles started getting longer and longer. This is because not much difference was being made in laptop technology. Today, many consumers have laptops older than five years, and they're not even planning on upgrading.
Most people don’t see the need to spend over $600 on a new laptop, which is only a bit faster than their old one. Laptop manufacturers seem to have caught up to this logic and are upping their game. Today, laptop technology is more focused on user experience, not just the speed.
Read on as I tell you some of the cool features you can expect to see on new laptop models this year. And to make sure you get the full package, I’m also going to throw in some tips on a few features that you should look out for when buying a new laptop.
Nowadays, you stare at your OLED high-resolution TV, in your pocket is a high-end smartphone, which also has an OLED display screen. After experiencing all that image perfection, you turn to your laptop, only to be greeted with dull and somewhat unclear images. Disappointing, right?
You can say goodbye to all that because recently, all major laptop manufacturers have started producing laptops with OLED display. A good example is the Alienware m1R3, which features a 60Hz 15.6" 4K OLED display.
Apart from the charger port, the USB port is probably the most used port on a laptop. It allows you to connect your laptop with your phone, tablet, external hard drive, and more.
Unless your laptop is super new, I mean manufactured less than a few months ago, it probably has only a few standard Type-A USB Ports. Although they are functional, standard Type-A USB Ports are not that great, at least not compared to Type-c ports.
USB Type-C Ports can transmit data and electricity over a single wire, allowing you to copy files, output video to external monitors, and power your laptop with just one standard cable.
Probably the best thing about USB Type-C Ports is that they are reversible. This means that you don't have to fumble around with the cable every time you plug it upside down.
Unfortunately, not all laptops that come with a USB Type-C can charge off it. However, getting one that does will have many advantages as you will be able to take advantage of an entire ecosystem of standardized docks, monitors, and AC adapters.
Since USB Type-C is an industry-standard, you'll be able to use the same power brick with tablets, phones, and laptops of different brands. Talk about convenience! Two such power bricks are the Finsix version of the dart charger, which is remarkably small and innergie PowerGear USB-C 45, which is slightly bigger, but cheaper.
I talked about screens earlier when I mentioned the OLED display, but I don't feel like I covered it to its entirety. Well, picture this, in the past, laptops came with a lousy resolution of just 1366 x 768. With these screens, you got grainy pictures, and you had to scroll a lot when viewing websites since most of the text couldn't fit on the screen.
Today, most laptops come with 1920 x 1080 resolution screens. This allows you to view your work more comfortably and watch movies. You can get a laptop with a full HD screen at under $400. And if you're willing to churn out lots of cash, you can get a laptop with a 4K UHD display with an outstanding resolution of 3840 x 2160.
Based on how competitive laptop manufacturers are getting, we’ll probably see laptops with much higher resolutions being produced this year. The best part is that their prices keep dropping by the minute.
Intel, the leading chip manufacturer on the market, has recently released a new generation processor, codenamed Kaby Lake. Officially, Kaby Lake was named Intel 7th Generation Core Series.
Apart from being faster than your old laptop, these chips can play 4K videos and promise a long battery life. You can check whether your laptop runs on Kaby Lake by checking its serial number. If it begins with seven (i7), then you’re good.
But, if it doesn’t, no need to worry. An educated guess would be that all laptops manufactured this year will run on Kaby Lake.
When you're at home, reading your email, or working on a document, a laptop with a keyboard comes in handy. But, when you're stuck in the supermarket and want to update your Facebook status or on a flight watching a movie, you need something portable, like a tablet.
Now, imagine if you could enjoy both worlds on a single device. 2-In-1 new generation laptops come in cool, sleek designs that will just blow your mind. They can open at an angle like a regular PC, or fold-out at a 360-degree angle to be used as a tablet. Some even have detachable keyboards.
Your old laptop probably has a traditional mechanical hard drive. SSDs make mechanical hard drives (HDDs) look like a bicycle in a motocross race. SSDs are up to 300% faster than HDDs, enabling you to perform all functions on your PC in record time.
SSDs let you wake your computer from sleep almost instantly, boot faster, and open your favorite applications instantly.
In the past, SSDs used to add about $300 to the price tag of a new PC, but today they are more widespread. Now, you can find an averagely-priced $800 computer with a Solid State Drive.
If you are a gamer and are planning to play modern games, or use a VR headset like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, your old laptop just won’t cut it. You need a gaming machine with one of Nvidia’s Pascal chips. Computers with an Nvidia GTX chip have a number ten(10) at the beginning of their model number, so you should look out for that.
Nvidia Pascal chips range from the GTX 1050, which is a bit to the lower end. To the high-end is the GTX 1080. These chips turn up your PC's settings and performance so you can play AAA games at regular desktop-class frame rates.
Even the least powerful Nvidia Pascal chips can handle high-end VR applications with ease. Whenever you go game-rig shopping, don't get one without Pascal.
You'd have to part with a substantial amount of cash for a laptop with more than 4GB RAM in the past. Now, most mainstream laptops come with 8GB RAM, and for those of you who like to take things to the next level, you can even get one with a 16GB RAM at an affordable price.
An 8GB RAM will enable you to multitask a lot better. You can keep multiple tabs open in your browser while playing a game, watching a movie, or editing your mail.
If you try multitasking with too little RAM, your computer will get super slow as it uses the SSD or HDD as a source of "virtual memory."
Windows Hello enables you to log into your Windows 10 computer by just peering at the screen. Unfortunately, to use it, you need a laptop with a built-in RealSense 3D or infrared camera. You can also use an external webcam with these specs.
Laptops with an infrared camera have it listed along with their other specs. Others may explicitly list Windows Hello facial recognition.
Most laptops being produced these days are 802.11 ac Wi-Fi enabled. This Wi-Fi gives you up to 10 times the speed of other wireless standards allowed, especially if you are far from the router.
However, to make use of this protocol, you might have to upgrade your router to one that supports 802.11 ac. On the bright side, most smartphones produced recently have 802.11 ac, so your phone would benefit too.
Size matters and laptops are no exception. Depending on what you plan on doing with it, you should get a laptop whose size will suit you. The worst thing about the size is that unlike ROM or RAM, you can't upgrade it later. Once you get it, you're stuck with it.
Laptop sizes range between 11.6 inches and 17.3 inches. Most vendors offer three display sizes – 17.3-inch, 15.6-inch, and 13.3-inch. However, you can get PCs that fall outside these sizes, including; 14-inches, 12.5-inches, and 11.6 inches.
If you plan on moving around with it a lot, you should go for a smaller laptop. They tend to be lighter and thinner than their larger counterparts, making them more portable.
You'll probably spend hours staring at your laptop, so you should get one with a screen that is comfortable to look at and use.
When it comes to laptop screens, you have two choices. You can choose to go with one that has touchscreen capability, or one with a regular screen. An important point you should note here is that touchscreens tend to be glossy. They have reflections, which are a major turn off if you are watching videos, playing games, and editing images.
Next up is the resolution. If you want absolute clarity and picture quality, you should go for one that has 4K resolution. Unfortunately, you'll have to dig deeper into your pockets for this one.
If you usually have long typing sessions, you need a laptop with a comfortable keyboard. The best type of keyboard is one that has a comfortable layout with full-size keys. Also, some space around the arrow keys is a big plus since it reduces errors and confusion.
Another keyboard feature to look out for is the backlight. Backlit keyboards come in handy when working in dimly-lit environments.
In the past, a mere 4GB of RAM was enough to run your system efficiently. But nowadays, the creation of significant and demanding applications has created the need for higher RAM allocation.
If you are an average user, 8GB of RAM will suffice. But, if you are a power user, I suggest getting a computer with at least 16GB of RAM. Meanwhile, gamers should get a computer with a 32GB RAM if they want the best gaming experience.
Intel Core processors offer the best experience when it comes to multimedia and multitasking. Older computers have core i3, while most modern mainstream computers have core i5.
If you want the best performance, you should go for a core i7-based system. On the downside, laptops with core i7-based systems tend to heat up a lot. So, if you plan on placing your PC on your lap, you might want to reconsider.
These days, technology is advancing at an alarming rate, and laptop technology is no exception. Steep competition in the laptop industry has brought along some perks. Now, laptops come with lots of cool features that make them faster and super easy and comfortable to use. Above are the latest features that we expect to see in laptops this year. Currently, most of these features are available on high-end laptops only, but they are slowly being incorporated in standard models.
If you plan on going laptop shopping, look out for these features, you will not regret it.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional consultation or advice related to your health or finances. No reference to an identifiable individual or company is intended as an endorsement thereof. Some or all of this article may have been generated using artificial intelligence, and it may contain certain inaccuracies or unreliable information. Readers should not rely on this article for information and should consult with professionals for personal advice.