So Apple really called it the iPhone 13. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat about Apple’s latest announcements, and why the iPhone 13 is more like an iPhone 12S. Also, they discuss why the revamped iPad Mini is the most intriguing new Apple gadget this year. (Hold off on getting a new iPad Air for now, folks.)
Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Credits Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar Producer: Ben Ellman Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos,Luke Brooks Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Kyle Maack Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
The iPhone 13 could make your mobile footage look a lot more like Hollywood films. Apple's new phones feature cinematic mode, which can mimic the focus capabilities from professional cameras. It can automatically focus your video scenes on specific subjects — for example, making someone in the foreground look completely clear, while everyone in the background is blurred out. Even better, cinematic mode is smart enough to push focus to someone in the background if a foreground character looks at them. And, of course, you'll also be able to manually choose focus points if you want.
Apple
Apple says cinematic mode is possible thanks to the iPhone 13's A15 Bionic processor. As usual, the company claims it's far faster than competing mobile chips (50-percent better, in this case), which opens the door for entirely new software features. The iPhone 13's camera also has optical image stabilization tech from last year's 12 Pro Max, along with far better sensors, all of which help make cinematic mode possible.
It's unclear just how advanced cinematic mode is at this point. But if it works as advertised, it could be a major upgrade for home videos and pros looking to shoot with iPhones. Professionals can also take their footage to another level with the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, both of which support ProRes video.
At this point, it looks like cinematic mode could go the way of portrait capabilities, a feature that every smartphone maker will race to replicate. (And yes, we know that first arrived on Android phones.)
Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.
I once spent an entire college summer doing nothing but play Quake 3 Arena. Well, almost nothing. I was an IT help desk drone during the day, but my nights and weekends were almost entirely filled learning the intricacies of the game's rail gun, rocket jump maneuvers, and inventive mods (if I ruined your day in a Threewave match, sorry). Now that I have a child, a home to take care of, and an endless list of adult responsibilities, I thought I had put all that behind me. Then I started playing Splitgate.
At first, it seems to be a fairly standard free-to-play multiplayer shooter, like a lost Halo clone from a decade ago. But the twist is that it also brings in the core mechanic from Portal. Alongside your normal weaponry, you also have a gun that can create portals on specific areas, no matter how far apart they are. And it's not just for teleporting, either. You can also use peer through those portals to pick off far-away enemies.
That may seem like a small, even quaint, addition to the world of online shooters. But in practice it fundamentally changes how they work. Being able to strategically use portals is just as important as being a crack shot who's memorized every map. And of course, it goes the other way too. If you can sneak up on an enemy with portals, they can do the same to you. Nowhere is safe.
Splitgate's subtle complexity is what makes it addictive. All of a sudden, walls high up on the map could give you a vantage point to snipe oblivious foes. A chase through a corridor could easily get wild as you jump between multiple portals. And being able to sneak up on a camping sniper by throwing a portal behind them is always satisfying.
I've gotten into plenty of shooters over the years, but they've never quite scratched my Quake 3 itch (perhaps because I never again had vast amounts of free time to eat pizza and play all day). Battle Royale titles like PUBG and Apex Legend changed the landscape with enormous maps with 100 players, but they've always felt more like tense survival games than huge fragfests. They take longer to play, and one screw-up could take you out of a match entirely. I didn't know how much I missed the days of simple multiplayer shooters, games with quick matches that deliver a direct dose of adrenaline and dopamine all at once, until I started playing Splitgate.
Even though it's become wildly popular over the last few months, Splitgate hasn't officially launched yet. But its most recent beta release, Season 0, has added a lot on consoles and PCs. That includes new character models, more maps and an infection gameplay mode. I've been playing earlier betas for the last few months, but now it's finally starting to look like a complete product, with more UI polish and player models I don't entirely hate. It's also the perfect time to give it a shot before elite players make online matches less enjoyable to play.
Since it's a free-to-play game, Splitgate developer 1047 Games is following in the footsteps of modern shooters by making you pay for items, characters and Battle Passes to level yourself up. It's all cosmetic, but I've found myself throwing them a few bucks for holographic armor and other trinkets just because I enjoy playing the game so much. Spending $20 in add-ons doesn't seem that bad for something that’s already given me dozens of hours of joy.
1047 Games
If you’re considering jumping into Splitgate, I have one piece of advice: Learn to love the damn portals. Treating it like a normal run-and-gun FPS is a recipe for failure, no matter how great you are. It’s a game about quick movement across the map, sneaky shots through your portals, and sneaking up on your enemies. It’s not for everyone, but for players who find joy in a five-minute, fast-paced team deathmatch mode, it’s practically perfect.
This week, Devindra and Cherlynn chat with Wired Reviews Editor Julian Chokkattu about Apple’s upcoming launch event on September 14th. What will the next iPhone be called, and what new features will it bring? We’ll bring down everything we know so far, along with other new hardware to expect from Apple. Also, Devindra and Engadget Senior Editor Karissa Bell chat about Facebook’s first smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Stories. Are we ready for a world where everyone has cameras on their faces? Probably not!
Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Facebook's first foray into the world of smart glasses is here. Confusingly dubbed Ray-Ban Stories, they start at $299 and bring together much of the technology we've already seen in smart eyewear. They'll let you take first-person photos and videos on the go, like Snap's Spectacles. And, similar to Bose and Amazon's speaker-equipped glasses, you'll be able to listen to media, as well as take calls.
But what's most impressive is that Facebook and Ray-Ban owner Luxottica have crammed the hardware components into frames that look and feel almost exactly like a pair of typical designer glasses. The only difference is that the pair of cameras mounted along the corners.
The Ray-Ban Stories in the iconic Wayfarer style — those chunky '50s-era frames that still look fashionable today — weigh just five grams more than the standard version. And that's including its dual 5-megapixel cameras, Snapdragon processor, touchpad, speakers, three-microphone array and other hardware. I'll be honest, I was a bit shocked when I learned how much they weighed. We're used to smart glasses being thick and heavy, even when they're coming from major brands like Bose. The Ray-Ban Stories look, well, normal.
I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising, though, as both Facebook and Ray-Ban ultimately want to normalize smart frames to the point where they're as common as wireless earbuds. That also helps the companies avoid the mistake Google made with Glass: Those things looked so alien and Borg-like that they were almost instantly reviled.
Ray-Ban and Facebook
Privacy remains a concern with all smart glasses, though. The Ray-Ban Stories have a bright LED that lights up when you're taking photos and video, but I could see many people taking issue with the subtle camera placement. We're all used to people capturing everything with their smartphones these days, but doing so still requires more effort than tapping your glasses or issuing a voice command to an all-seeing social network.
If Facebook can successfully deliver the first smart glasses that don't make the wearer feel like a joke, and which the general public doesn't want to throw in a fire, it could gain a serious foothold in the augmented reality market. And, well, we know how much Mark Zuckerberg wants to transform it into a "metaverse company."
In addition to the Wayfarer style, Ray-Ban Stories will be available in the brand's Round and Meteor frames, five different colors, and your typical array of lenses: Clear, sun, prescription, transition and polarized. I'm surprised Ray-Ban isn't offering polarized sunglass lenses by default though, which can reduce glare far better than lenses that are just tinted dark. As for battery life, Facebook claims the Ray-Ban Stories will last for around a day of use (around three hours of audio streaming), while the bundled charging case adds another three days of use.
As ambitious as they may seem, Ray-Ban Stories are also yet another example of how Facebook seemingly can't help but imitate Snapchat, which has been dabbling in smart glasses since 2016. Even their name hearkens back to the social story format that Snap kicked off and was later copied by Facebook, Instagram and pretty much every other social media outfit. But at this point, I don't think Facebook cares if everyone calls them copycats if it ultimately leads to more engagement.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
After testing out the Ray-Ban Stories for a few days, I found them far more compelling than any smart glasses today. They don't look as goofy as the Snap Spectacles, and they're far more comfortable to wear than Bose and Amazon's Frames. I could only use the Stories in limited situations though, since I need prescription lenses to actually see well.
Video quality is surprisingly good, very stable even when I’m moving around. The best use case is being able to record your kids without picking up a phone pic.twitter.com/axhkMYfN8e
Still, I was surprised by how smooth video footage looked; it reminded me of YouTube professionals like J. Kenji Lopez-Alt who use head-mounted GoPros. It was also nice to have both hands free to capture fleeting moments of play with my daughter. I was less impressed with the Stories' photo quality, but I suppose it could be useful if you wanted to take a pic without pulling out your phone. You can import your photos and videos from the smart glasses into Facebook View, a new app that lets you quickly edit your media and share it to practically every social media site (yes, even Snapchat!).
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
While I didn't expect much when it comes to audio playback, the Stories surprised me with sound that was good enough for listening to light tunes or podcasts. I could see them being particularly useful while jogging or biking outdoors, where you want to maintain situational awareness. During the day, I'm never too far from my wireless earbuds, but being able to get a bit of audio from my glasses in a pinch could be genuinely useful.
To control the Ray-Ban Stories, you can either invoke the Facebook assistant by saying "Hey Facebook" or by tapping the button on the right arm, or swiping on the side touchpad. Personally, I never want to be caught in public talking to Facebook, so I mostly relied on touch controls. But the voice controls worked just fine during the few occasions when nobody could hear my shame.
Ray-Ban and Facebook
While they're not exactly perfect, the Ray-Ban Stories are the first smart glasses I'd recommend to someone looking for a pair. But the Facebook of it all is still concerning. While the company says the glasses will only collect basic information to be functional — things like the battery level, your Facebook login and Wi-Fi details — who knows how that'll change as its future smart glasses become more fully featured. Perhaps that's why there's no Facebook branding on the Ray-Ban Stories case and frames: It's probably better if people forget these are also Facebook-powered products.
You'll be able to buy Ray-Ban Stories today in 20 different styles in the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and the UK. Even though the Ray-Ban Stories may seem to have limited availability right now, Facebook and Luxottica have a multi-year partnership that will result in even more products. It's likely that true AR glasses, which can display information on your lenses, aren't far off. And you can be sure of that, since Snapchat has already shown off its own AR Spectacles.
Over the past two decades, iRobot has steadily evolved its Roombas from being fairly dumb robotic dirt suckers to devices that are smart enough to unload their own bins. Now with the $849 Roomba j7+, the company is ready to take on its greatest challenge yet: Pet poop. It's iRobot's first vacuum that can recognize and avoid obstacles, like cables or a pile of clothes, in real-time. And for pet owners, that could finally be reason to adopt a robot vacuum.
After all, you can't exactly trust your bot to clean up while you're away if they could run into surprises from your furry friends. That's a disaster that could lead to poop being spread around your home, not to mention gumming up your expensive bot. To alleviate that concern, iRobot is making a Pet Owner Official Promise (yes, P.O.O.P.): If your j7+ runs into poop within your first year of ownership, the company will replace your vacuum. That should go a long way towards making pet parents feel more comfortable with a Roomba. (It would be nice to see that offer extended beyond just one year, though.)
While the j7+ is technically the smartest Roomba yet, it's not the company's most powerful cleaner. That honor still belongs to the $1,299 s9+. This new model is basically the Roomba i7+ with a more powerful camera, better sensors and far more processing power. It can also automatically empty its bin into a redesigned Clean Base, which is shorter and sleeker than the previous models we've seen. Now you should be able tuck it into an inobtrusive corner, or under a table, instead of dedicating floorspace to a tall iRobot monolith.
With its "PrecisionVision Navigation" — iRobot's marketing term for AI-driven computer vision — the j7+ can detect specific objects, as well as alert you to obstalces in the iRobot app after a cleaning job. You can label them as permanent or temporary obstructions, which helps the vacuum learn how to deal with similar issues in the future. If there's a pile of cords that will always be in one corner, the j7+ will just stop cleaning around that area for good. But if it's just a headphone cord that you've dropped onto the floor, the robot can give that area another go on future jobs. And since it can actually see and interpret your rooms, the j7+ will also be able to clean more gently along walls and furniture.
As it's relying on computer vision, iRobot had to train new models to help the j7+ recognize objects from floor level (there aren't too many other devices with a camera down there). At this point, CEO Colin Angle tells us that it can recognize and a pair of corded headphones on the ground, but eventually it'll handle shoes and socks as well. When it comes to recognizing pet poop, the company captured photos using playdough models, as well as images from employees, to build what's surely one of the most unique machine learning models around.
iRobot plans to bring the j7+'s sensors to future models, Angle says, but it wanted to introduce them in something more people could buy. As much as I like the pricey s9+, it's not a wise purchase when there are cheaper self-cleaning Roombas around.
iRobot
The j7+ is powered by iRobot's new Genius 3.0 software, which will also roll out to the rest of the company's connected vacuums. That builds on the features introduced last year — which includes a better mobile app, smarter scheduling and routine triggers — by adding cleaning time estimates, as well as the ability to automatically clean while you're away. The new OS smarts will also let Roombas automatically suggest room labels as they map out your home. And if you send you intrepid bot to clean one room, it'll be able to move throughout your home quietly until it reaches the work zone.
While I haven't tried out the j7+ yet, it's clear that iRobot is targeting a persistent issue with robot vacuums: trust. Early Roombas required plenty of babysitting, otherwise they could easily get stuck or jammed. These days, I habitually clear out my floors before I start a vacuum run, because even newer models can get into trouble. If iRobot can actually develop a vacuum bot that can deal with obstacles on its own, it may finally have the ideal device for people who hate cleaning. At the very least, it'd be nice to have something I can trust to avoid my cat's poop.
ProtonMail, an email service that prides itself on security with end-to-end encryption, is facing criticism after it gave up a French climate activist's IP address to Swiss police. As TechCrunch reports, the company was acting on a request sent via Europol by French authorities, who sought help from the Swiss. Since it's based in Switzerland, ProtonMail has to obey the country's laws. That includes logging IP addresses from users in "extreme criminal cases," according to its own transparency report.
Andy Yen, Proton's CEO, pointed out in a blog post today that the company has tried to make it clear that it has to follow local laws. "In this case, Proton received a legally binding order from Swiss authorities which we are obligated to comply with," he wrote. "There was no possibility to appeal this particular request."
The case in question involves activists who took over commercial locations and apartments near Paris's Place Sainte Marthe. According to TechCrunch, the protest began as a local effort around gentrification in the neighborhood, but quickly grew into a movement that snagged national headlines in France. On September 1st, they published an article claiming that French authorities sent a message through Europol to uncover who created their ProtonMail account.
Yen notes that the company's encryption prevents it from seeing the contents of a ProtonMail account, and it also doesn't know the identity of its users. So in this case, it wasn't aware it was revealing information about climate activists. Moving forward, he says the company will be more clear how it handles cases of criminal prosecution, and it will further promote using ProtonMail via its Tor site and the company's VPN for users particularly concerned about privacy.
In 2020, Proton says it received 3,572 orders for user information, contested 750 orders and ultimately complied with 3,017 requests.
We're back after a week off, and we've got a lot of news to catch up on! This week, Devindra chats with Senior Editor Daniel Cooper about the iPhone potentially getting satellite phone connectivity, as well as the upcoming launch of Windows 11. Plus, they answer some questions from our YouTube livestream audience. And of course, they can't help but dive into the messy Ted Lasso season 2 discourse.
Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
01:56: News talk: Will the next iPhone have satellite calling?
07:12: BTW, we're now Yahoo again!
07:50: Apple will let some media apps link to outside payment providers
09:55: Apple announces the first states to bring driver's license to Apple Wallet
14:15: Microsoft announces a Surface event on Sept 22, Windows 11 launching Oct. 5
22:15: Twitch streamers organized #DayOffTwitch to protest hate raids
26:15: RIP Locast
37:28: Audience Q&A
49:30: Dev working on: Razer Blade 14, Twelve Minutes
55:30: Dan working on: HP Pavilion Aero, Saints Row
1:06:00: Pop culture picks: Ted Lasso, Candyman, Lower Decks
1:23:10: Neill Blomkamp on Demonic
Video livestream
Credits Hosts: Daniel Cooper and Devindra Hardawar Producer: Ben Ellman Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos, Owen Davidoff, Luke Brooks Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Kyle Maack Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
Razer has finally found the perfect balance between power and portability with the Blade 14. It features AMD's latest processor, NVIDIA's RTX 30-series GPUs, and a responsive 14-inch display, but it wraps all of that together in a sub-four-pound package. What's not to love? While Razer's 13-inch Blade Stealth is even lighter, I've always found it to be woefully underpowered and dramatically overpriced. But the Blade 14 represents what Razer does best: delivering powerful hardware that feels more polished than the competition.
Imagine a shrunken-down version of the Blade 15, and you've pretty much got the 14-inch. It has the same sleek black aluminum case, and a minimalist aesthetic that resembles Apple's MacBook Pro more than a typical gaming laptop. That, of course, has been Razer's major accomplishment over the last few years: Its computers are still the closest Windows users can get to Apple's polished hardware. The only major feature that screams "gaming laptop" is the Blade 14's RGB LED keyboard, which allows every key to display its own color (something you can also turn off easily, too).
Like most 14-inch gaming laptops these days, the Blade 14's biggest selling point is that it's lighter than most 15-inch notebooks. Here's where Razer's own innovations start to work against it, though. The Blade 15 currently weighs around 4.4 pounds, whereas the 14 clocks in at 3.9 pounds. That's only a half-pound difference, something that could be noticeable if you were comparing these laptops in each hand, but less so in normal usage. The Blade 14 would have seemed more impressive when the 15-inch model was upwards of 4.6 pounds, but now it's actually a bit hefty compared to competitors like the 3.5-pound ASUS Zephyrus G14.
This isn't the first time that Razer has had a 14-inch laptop either, which takes some of the luster away from the Blade 14. The last model dropped around three years ago, toting a 7th-gen Intel CPU and weak NVIDIA GTX 1650 graphics. What makes this new version stand out is under the hood. It's the first time Razer has used an AMD processor — every Blade 15 comes with the powerful Ryzen 9 5900HX — and it also has NVIDIA's fastest RTX 30 graphics.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Still, it's worth noting even those graphics cards are constrained by the Blade 14's size. NVIDIA lets every PC maker tweak the wattage of their GPUs, which is helpful for dealing with thermal constraints, but that also means performance can vary wildly. Basically, not every RTX 3080 is created equal, especially when it comes to gaming laptops. Keep that caveat in mind, because it'll explain some of the performance benchmarks I ended up seeing.
Our review unit was the most expensive configuration, a $2,800 build with the Ryzen 9 5900HX, RTX 3080, 16GB of fixed RAM, 1TB SSD, and a quad HD 165Hz display Given that caliber hardware, the Blade 14 had no troubling handling demanding games and torturous benchmarks. In Destiny 2, reached up to 120fps while playing in 1,440p with maxed-out settings. It also looked smooth on the laptop's 14-inch screen, with excellent color reproduction and solid brightness. Ray tracing performance was also solid; I was able to see between 60 and 70fps in Control while playing in 1,440p with maxed graphics, DLSS and medium ray tracing.
Still, I definitely noticed the compromises Razer had to make to squeeze the RTX 3080 into such a small case. It was slower than the larger Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, equipped with an RTX 3070 GPU, in all of our 3DMark tests and Geekbench 5's compute benchmark. Clearly, Lenovo was able to squeeze out more performance from what's supposed to be a slower GPU. Compared to the ASUS Zephyrus G15, which has a Ryzen 9 5900HS and an RTX 3080, the Blade 15 lags behind slightly in all of our 3D benchmarks.
I also noticed that the Blade 14 could get toasty, with its CPU reaching up to 94 degrees Celsius when I really stressed it out. It's rare for me to see processors going beyond 85 Celsius in gaming notebooks today, so that was particularly surprising. There were times when the bottom of the Blade 14 felt too hot to touch. I was glad that the GPU generally stayed below 84 Celsius under load, which is more in line with competitors. Despite running so hot, it lasted 10 hours and 50 minutes in our battery benchmark. That’s mainly for productivity tasks, though. Expect it to last a lot less if you’re gaming unplugged.
The Blade 14's case size also has implications for its keyboard. While it looks and feels just like Razer's existing laptop designs, with a satisfying amount of key travel and responsiveness, the layout is far more cramped than the Blade 15. That led to a bit of finger pain after extended Destiny 2 and Overwatch sessions. Maybe I'm just becoming less dexterous in my older age, but I think that alone could be a dealbreaker for some gamers. You're going to be hitting those WASD keys quite a bit in shooters, after all.
Port-wise, the Blade 14 crams in most of what you'd want: two USB-C 3.2 connections with charging; two USB 3.2 Type A sockets; a full-sized HDMI port; a headphone jack; and a custom power cable. It's definitely nice to be able to charge up using a normal USB-C cable, but those won't be powerful enough to juice up while gaming. Thankfully, the Blade 14's bundled power adapter is relatively small, unlike the bricks that gaming laptops used to come with.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
As usual, I would have liked to see an SD card reader, but that's just another reason to consider the larger Razer notebooks. Similarly, the Blade 14 doesn't have upgradable RAM, which means you're stuck with the 16GB of memory it comes with. You can upgrade the NVMe SSD, but you'll be limited to 2TB. The Blade 15 and 17, meanwhile, let you add more RAM and up to two NVMe SSDs.
The Blade 14 starts at $1,800 with an RTX 3060 and a 1080p 144Hz screen. Given that price point, I'd recommend the Blade 15 for most shoppers. You'd get a larger screen, more customizable and faster hardware, as well as fewer thermal restrictions. And when it comes to 14-inch competition, the ASUS Zephyrus G14 is another solid choice (though I'd give Razer the upper hand when it comes to long-term reliability).
Still, there’s a lot to love about the Blade 14. More so than the overpriced Blade Stealth 13, this new model is a light laptop that'll satisfy most of your hardware demands. So if you're in love with the idea of a sub-four-pound Blade, and don't mind the compromises involved, then go with the gaming gods.
ASUS has just four letters to sell you on its latest creator-focused notebooks: OLED. The company is bringing OLED screens to all of its new models, a move meant to differentiate them in the increasingly crowded PC market. Compared to traditional LCD screens, OLED offers deeper blacks levels, vastly better contrast, and more responsiveness. Even today, as LCDs have evolved to be brighter and faster, OLED offers a more pronounced visual "pop."
We've been seeing notebooks with OLED for years, like on the XPS 15 and ZenBook, but they've typically been positioned as a premium feature for select models. Now ASUS is trying to make its name synonymous with OLED, so much so that it's bringing it to new mid-range notebooks like the VivoBook Pro 14X and 16X. It's also touting the first 16-inch 4K OLED HDR screens on notebooks across several models: the ProArt Studiobook Pro, ProArt Studiobook and the Vivobook Pro.
Befitting its name, you can expect to see the fastest hardware on the market in the StudioBook Pro 16 OLED (starting at $2,500). It'll be powered by H-series Ryzen 5000 processors, 3rd-gen Intel Xeon chips and NVIDIA's professional-grade RTX A2000 and A5000 GPUs. And if you don't need all of that power, there's also the Studiobook 16 OLED ($2,000), which has the same Ryzen chips, Intel Core i7 CPUs and either RTX 3070 or 3060 graphics. Both notebooks will be equipped with 4K OLED HDR screens that reach up to 550 nits and cover 100 percent of DCI-P3 color gamut. They'll also sport ASUS Dial, a new rotary accessory located at the top of their trackpads, offering similar functionality to Microsoft's forgotten Surface Dial.
ASUS
Stepping down another level, there's the the latest ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED, the company's 15-inch dual-screen notebook. That can be equipped with up to RTX 3070 graphics and a core i9 CPU. While they seemed gimmicky at first, ASUS has proven it can make dual-display notebooks genuinely useful, as we saw in our review of the Zenbook Pro Duo. The single-screen ZenBook Pro 15 OLED ($1,470), meanwhile, tops out with RTX 3050 Ti graphics and Ryzen 5000 processors.
The Vivobook Pro 14X and 16X OLED ($1,400) are entirely new territory for ASUS, sitting above the mainstream Vivobook line, but below the more premium Zenbook. I suppose at this point, with consumers eager to snap up more PCs, having additional models won't hurt. The 16X will come with up to a 4K 16-inch OLED screen, while the 14X has a 2.8K OLED 90Hz option. You'll be able to choose from Intel Core i7 or Ryzen 5000 H-series chips and up to RTX 3050 Ti graphics. And, not to be forgotten, the Vivobook Pro 14 and 15 OLED offer similar power in cases that weigh 3.09 pounds and 3.64 pounds, respectively.
ASUS
ASUS's new notebooks are expected to be available in North America in Q4. The one possible exception is the Vivobook Pro 14X OLED, which hits Canada at the same time (but it's unclear about the rest of North America).
