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<\/a><\/p>\nAt last week’s CES tradeshow, we saw a number of upcoming laptops and got a good sense of where the market is headed in 2018. Yes, some laptops will get thinner. But they do that every year. The real innovations come in the form of higher performance, better entertainment value and a easier-to-use, more personal experience.<\/p>\n
Here are five things we just learned about the future of laptops.<\/p>\n
HDR is in<\/h2>\n
Some laptops will look as good as TVs in 2018. We\u2019ve seen number of devices with 4K panels, but now we’ll see ones that have\u00a0HDR for brighter pops of color, sharper details and deeper blacks. Standouts include the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, though we\u2019re expecting several more throughout the year, along with additional content that supports HDR.<\/p>\n
Now if only we\u2019d see some more laptops with OLED screen options (only two models, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga and Alienware 13 provide the option).<\/p>\n
Alexa Comes to Windows<\/h2>\n
\u201cHey Cortana, I need to shut you off.\u201d
\n\u201cAlexa, your turn to shine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Microsoft\u2019s digital assistant never really took off in the mainstream, and now Amazon is releasing an Alexa app that will fill in the gaps. Acer, Asus, HP<\/a> and Lenovo have all announced systems that will support it with far-field microphones, but there\u2019s no reason not to expect that every Windows 10 laptop will support Amazon\u2019s assistant.<\/p>\n This follows reports last year that users would eventually be able to access Alexa by asking Cortana. Now, Amazon\u2019s own app means you won\u2019t need to use Cortana at all.<\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s big advantage is that you\u2019ll be able to use Cortana when your laptop is locked, but with Alexa\u2019s booming popularity, I\u2019m sure people will put up with that. Intel\u2019s staggered roll out of its 8th Gen Core CPUs has been awkward, but its new Kaby Lake-G chips\u00a0with Radeon graphics are a big deal. Besides partnering with AMD, which seems crazy on its own, Intel is delivering CPUs with integrated graphics that can provide real power for video editing, photo editing and even low-level gaming. They\u2019re not workstation laptops, but mobile creatives will be able to carry something thinner and lighter than ever before, like HP\u2019s 15-inch Spectre x360 with\u00a0Hp pavilion dv6000 laptop battery<\/a><\/strong> and the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1.<\/p>\n And if your favorite laptop hasn\u2019t yet been refreshed with 8th Gen Core speeds, you can expect it to soon. We saw our first business laptops, like Lenovo\u2019s ThinkPad lineup and Dell\u2019s Latitudes with 8th Gen ready for enterprise deployment.<\/p>\n It was quiet on the gaming laptop front at CES. Why? Because laptop vendors either don\u2019t have or can\u2019t talk about Intel\u2019s upcoming 8th Gen Core H-series processors, which haven’t been announced yet.<\/p>\n In fact, that\u2019s why our favorite gaming laptops of CES included a refreshed budget machine from Acer with Ryzen Mobile and a premium rig from MSI with a CPU that the company is being\u00a0very cagey about.<\/p>\n Several vendors hinted that gaming laptops will get exciting this year, but not until the back half of the year. If you\u2019re looking to refresh your gaming laptop, you might want to wait until the summer or the fall.<\/p>\n Look, we\u2019re all attached to our full-size USB ports. But USB Type-C is the future, and this year it finally looks like everyone\u2019s getting on board. I saw cheap Chromebooks and powerful workstations, all of which offered the new standard (or Thunderbolt 3, its more powerful sibling). Almost every laptop I saw offered it.<\/p>\n
\nMicrosoft will tell you it\u2019s all about choice, but it\u2019s a real blow towards Cortana and its attempt to hold any sort of market share at all in digital assistants and the internet of things.<\/p>\nNew Year, New CPUs<\/h2>\n
Gaming Laptops Are Waiting on Intel<\/h2>\n
USB Type-C is finally getting somewhere<\/h2>\n