Tag Archives: Laptop

The best 2-in-1 laptops for 2023

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The perfect hybrid machine that’s just as good a tablet as it is a laptop still doesn’t exist. But throughout last year, companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google continued to improve their operating systems for machines that do double duty. Windows 11 has features that make it friendlier for multi-screen devices, while Android has been better optimized for larger displays. Plus, with the rise of ARM-based chips for laptops, especially Apple’s impressive M series, prospects for a powerful 2-in-1 with a vast touch-friendly app ecosystem is at an all-time high.

Even the best 2-in-1 laptops still have their limits, of course. Since they’re smaller than proper laptops, they tend to have less-powerful processors. Keyboards are often less sturdy, with condensed layouts and shallower travel. Plus, they’re almost always tablets first, leaving you to buy a keyboard case separately. (And those ain’t cheap!) So, you can’t always assume the advertised price is what you’ll actually spend on the 2-in-1 you want.

Sometimes, getting a third-party keyboard might be just as good, and they’re often cheaper than first-party offerings. If you’re looking to save some money, Logitech’s Slim Folio is an affordable option, and if you don’t need your keyboard to attach to your tablet, Logitech’s K780 Multi-Device wireless keyboard is also a good pick.

While we’ve typically made sure to include a budget 2-in-1 laptop in previous years, this time there isn’t a great choice. We would usually pick a Surface Go, but the latest model is still too expensive. Other alternatives, like cheaper Android tablets, are underpowered and don’t offer a great multitasking interface. If you want something around $500 that’s thin, lightweight and long-lasting, you’re better off this year looking at a conventional laptop (like those on our best budget PCs list).

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 2020
Chris Velazco / Engadget

When you’re shopping for a 2-in-1, there are some basic criteria to keep in mind. First, look at the spec sheet to see how heavy the tablet is (alone, and with the keyboard). Most modern hybrids weigh less than 2 pounds, with the 1.94-pound Surface Pro 9 being one of the heaviest around. The iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8+ are both slightly lighter. If the overall weight of the tablet and its keyboard come close to 3 pounds, you’ll be better off just getting an ultraportable laptop.

You’ll also want to opt for an 11-inch or 12-inch screen instead of a smaller 10-inch model. The bigger displays will make multitasking easier, plus their companion keyboards will be much better spaced. Also, try to get 6GB of RAM if you can for better performance — you’ll find this in the base model of the Galaxy Tab S7+, while this year’s iPad Pro and the Surface Pro 8 start with 8GB of RAM.

Finally, while some 2-in-1s offer built-in LTE or 5G connectivity, not everyone will want to pay the premium for it. An integrated cellular radio makes checking emails or replying to messages on the go far more convenient. But it also often costs more, and that’s not counting what you’ll pay for data. And, as for 5G — you can hold off on it unless you live within range of a mmWave beacon. Coverage is still spotty and existing nationwide networks use the slower sub-6 technology that’s barely faster than LTE.

Best overall: Surface Pro 9 (Intel)

There’s no beating the Surface series when it comes to 2-in-1s. They’re powerful, sleek tablets running an OS that’s actually designed for productivity. The Surface Pro 9 is Microsoft’s latest and great tablet, and it builds upon the already excellent Pro 8. It features speedy 12th-gen Intel CPUs and all of the major upgrades from last year, including a 120Hz display and a more modern design. It’s the best implementation of Microsoft’s tablet PC vision yet.

Don’t confuse this with the similarly named Surface Pro 9 with 5G, though, which has a slower ARM processor and inferior software compatibility. Built-in cellular is nice and all, but the Intel Pro 9 is a far better PC.

Like most of the other 2-in-1s on this list, the Pro 9 doesn’t come with a keyboard cover — you’ll have to pay extra for that. That’s a shame, considering it starts at $1,000. Microsoft offers a variety of Type Covers for its Surface Pros ranging from $100 to $180, depending on whether you want a slot for a stylus. But at least they’re comfortable and well-spaced. You can also get the Surface Slim Pen 2 ($130) for sketching out your diagrams or artwork, which features haptic feedback for a more responsive experience.

Best for Apple users: 12.9-inch iPad Pro

If you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, the best option for you is obviously an iPad. The 12-inch Pro is our pick. Like older models, this iPad Pro has a stunning 12.9-inch screen with a speedy 120Hz refresh rate, as well as mini-LED backlighting. This year, it includes Apple’s incredibly fast M2 chip and more battery life than ever before.

Apple’s Magic Keyboard provides a satisfying typing experience, and its trackpad means you won’t have to reach for the screen to launch apps. But it’ll also cost you an extra $300, making it the most expensive case on this list by a lot. The iPad also lacks a headphone jack and its webcam is awkwardly positioned along the left bezel when you prop it up horizontally, so be aware that it’s still far from a perfect laptop replacement. Still, with its sleek design and respectable battery life, the iPad Pro 12.9 is a good 2-in-1 for Apple users.

Best for Android users: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+

While Windows is better than iPadOS and Android for productivity, it lags the other two when it comes to apps specifically designed for touchscreens. If you want a tablet that has all the apps you want, and only need it to occasionally double as a laptop, the Galaxy Tab S8+ is a solid option. You’ll enjoy watching movies and playing games on its gorgeous 12.4-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen, and Samsung includes the S Pen, which is great for sketching and taking notes. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and 8GB of RAM keep things running smoothly, too.

Last year, Samsung dramatically improved its keyboard case, making the Tab an even better laptop replacement. You could type for hours on this thing and not hate yourself (or Samsung). The battery life is also excellent, so you won’t need to worry about staying close to an outlet. The main caveat is that Android isn’t great as a desktop OS, even with the benefits of Android 12L. And while Samsung’s DeX mode offers a somewhat workable solution, it has plenty of quirks.

Cherlynn Low contributed to this report.

Carl Pei hints at a Nothing Laptop in the near future. Here’s what we think it should look like…

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Asked about a Nothing Laptop during an AMA on Twitter, Carl responded by saying “Considered – yes. We’ve even made some concepts. But as a 2-year-old company, really need to really focus on becoming successful in our current categories.”

The Nothing Book (1) comes from the mind of YouTube channel Concept Central and features a similar transparency-focused design, along with a pleasant surprise in the form of a charging dock for your phone (1) and Ear (1) to the left of the trackpad.

Designer: Concept Central

Transparency has always been at the heart of Nothing’s design ethos, and the Nothing Book (1) is no different. It builds on the visual library left behind by the products before it, i.e., the phone (1) and the Ear (1). The Book (1) sports a minimalist design that combines white elements with transparent ones, creating a device that’s all-telling and detailed, yet minimalist and sleek. Just the way the phone (1) looks a lot like an iPhone, the Book (1) pays a hat-tip to the MacBook’s classic design with a similar visual language, barring that transparent panel around the touchpad.

The bug theme also shines through in this concept. The use of the butterfly is a tribute to the laptop’s folding design.

While the phone (1) was purely an Android device running on Nothing’s minimal skin, It seems like this concept is a Windows laptop that possibly comes with a stripped version of Microsoft’s OS, focusing on the essentials (sort of like the Surface Laptop). You’ve got a 15.6″ device that fits an entire keyboard in (sans the numpad of course). The keyboard also comes outfitted with Nothing’s signature dot-matrix font, even including a row of function keys for good measure.

The minimal notebook concept comes with two USB-C ports, a USB-A port, and a headphone jack.

Everything of consequence really lies below the keyboard. The Nothing Book (1) comes with a transparent panel overlaying the lower half of the laptop’s body. This houses the trackpad in the center, and a series of easter eggs around – the most notable one being a wireless charging coil to the left of the trackpad.

The wireless charger to the side of the trackpad provides the perfect place to rest your Ear (1) or phone (1) while working. Place your device in the designated zone and LEDs around the charger light up, like on the Nothing phone (1). The laptop also has another set of lights to the right of the trackpad that light up to indicate things like notifications, battery level, etc.

The Nothing Book (1) is clearly just a fan concept for now… but the main takeaway lies in Pei’s statement which mentions that Nothing has built laptop prototypes already. While our idea of the company’s vision can only base itself on the two (and a half) products it’s launched, I really wonder what’s on the Nothing team’s mind regarding the future of the company… and the potential of a kickass Nothing Book (1).

The post Carl Pei hints at a Nothing Laptop in the near future. Here’s what we think it should look like… first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold is proof that a foldable tablet/laptop is a better idea than a foldable phone

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“The single biggest challenge is the screen itself”, says Kevin Beck, Senior Story Technologist at Lenovo (although I’m not entirely sure what that title means). Beck’s statement is rather revealing, as it’s a complete affirmation of the fact that a folding laptop/tablet is a MUCH better idea than a folding phone. Phones are used/opened hundreds of times each day, compounding to thousands of times in just two weeks alone. Laptops/tablets, on the other hand, are ‘opened’ much less often, which translates to a dramatic decrease in the stress taken by a folding display. Moreover, laptops and tablets can usually afford to be thicker than phones, which gives you a lot of leeway to build a better hinge that can withstand friction, and constant folding, and is therefore built to last for years.

Meet the ThinkPad X1 Fold from Lenovo, a laptop-tablet hybrid that celebrates its foldability. In a world where MacBooks don’t look like books, we’ve got ourselves a ThinkPad that opens like one! Now in its second iteration, the ‘next gen’ Thinkpad X1 Fold sports a slimmer design with thinner bezels and a much larger screen with a 16-inch diagonal (as compared to the 13.3-inch one on the previous ThinkPad X1 Fold from 2020). The tablet folds right down the center, sort of like a book, giving you a slim device that’s easy to carry and versatile enough to be used in a variety of formats. You can use it as a tablet in conjunction with a stylus, or fold it in an L-shaped format and use it as you would a laptop… albeit with a touchscreen keyboard underneath your fingertips. If you want a more analog experience, there’s a mechanical keyboard attachment too that wirelessly connects to your X1 Fold, and a stand that you can prop your device onto, turning it into sort of a desktop-style experience.

Designer: Lenovo

On paper, the ThinkPad X1 Fold boasts some rather commendable specs. It sports a 12th Gen Intel Core™ i7 processor on the inside, with the ability to go up to 32GB LPDDR5 memory and 1TB storage. The 16.3-inch OLED display has a 4:3 resolution when completely open, bringing it to 3:2 when folded in half (that’s 15:10, which is just about comparable to the 16:9 aspect ratio found on regular laptops). The X1 Fold can be used solo or configured with an optional magnetic-attach pen utilizing Wacom protocol for a true tablet-esque experience. For laptop-lovers who need a tactile keyboard, the ThinkPad X1 Fold offers an optional full-size backlit ThinkPad keyboard, with TrackPoint and
large haptic touchpad.

The beauty of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold lies in its versatility. The company touts that the device can be used in 5 different modes – the clamshell laptop mode, landscape ‘desktop’ mode with the keyboard, portrait desktop mode with the keyboard (a unique template that Lenovo claims really excited early users), book mode, and finally tablet mode with either the touchscreen input or the stylus. “Productivity, collaboration, content consumption, reading, writing, editing, and so on are all a breeze in whichever mode one feels most comfortable with”, Lenovo says. “The modes are managed by an intuitive Mode Switcher interface”

The hybrid folding tablet comes with a camera array that’s placed on the shorter edge of the bezel (sort of like on the iPad). This means it faces you when you’re using it in laptop mode. Multiple microphones placed along the sides of the bezel help with orientation and spatial awareness, allowing the X1 Fold to be used in a variety of ways.

The one largest drawback with a 16-inch folding tablet is the battery life, given that it’s powering such a massive display. The ThinkPad X1 Fold comes with a 48Wh battery on the inside that is intelligently managed by the tablet’s chip to optimize performance based on usage. When left idle, the X1 Fold’s display automatically dims to save battery, and when you walk away from the device, the screen automatically shuts off, saving power. It even auto-wakes when you return, so you can pick up right where you left off.

With all those impressive specs and abilities, the ThinkPad X1 Fold won’t come cheap. It begins shipping in November with a starting price of $2499. Higher specs will cost you more, and the keyboard, stand, and stylus are sold as optional accessories.

The price, however high it may be, is a factor of exactly how impressive and innovative this little gizmo is. Folding displays aren’t quite mainstream yet, and folding laptop/tablets are practically inexistent as a category barring a few models. The ThinkPad X1 Fold hopes to pave the way to a future where such devices are much more commonplace, resulting in a robust supply chain and eventually… eventually, a lower price tag!

The post The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold is proof that a foldable tablet/laptop is a better idea than a foldable phone first appeared on Yanko Design.

Inspired by Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung Flipbook has a secondary display to interact with the laptop without opening it

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, over the three generations, hasn’t made the market invasion like the Korean giant would have expected. Nevertheless, it is a niche smartphone and anyone who uses can swear by its inventiveness. The standout here is the secondary display that provides a quick glance at the notifications and more without having to flip the phone over. This feature is not just phone-centric for God’s sake; a designer thinks the laptops deserve a small screen on the outside for the purpose best told by the Galaxy Z Flip.

This is how the enticing Flipbook for Samsung has been idealized by hyeonseok Kang, who not long ago had us in awe with The Suitcase for the camping enthusiasts. At the first glance, the Flipbook draws a clearer resemblance to a MacBook than swaying in the Samsung design corridors. That said, it certainly has a point to make with what it brings to the table. It not the ordinary touch bar on the Apple laptop, it’s a sheen display right below the screen, which is also visible when the lid is flipped closed; thanks to the cut out in the lid between the two hinges holding it firm against the keyboard unit.

Designer: Hyeonseok Kang

As Kang puts and we reciprocate, “Flipbook shares a design language with Samsung’s Flip” – the screen cut out on the front displays message notifications, battery life, media controls, news updates, and more information without the user having to open the laptop. Convenience unparalleled for the hybrid workforce that can, with just a glance at the secondary display, know when to flip open the laptop to jump onto a zoom call or ignore an unnecessary login.

Making it slightly more Samsung friendly, the Flipbook arrives with a Bixby launch button built right into the keyboard, as a way to eliminate Windows from the equation. The panel here is complete with a nice big aluminum trackpad and two speaker grills running horizontally on either side of the keyboard. Since accidental touches on the interactive secondary display bar are a given; the designer has integrated a toggle button on the side, alongside the connectivity ports, which can lock up the display just as you can on the smartphone.

The post Inspired by Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung Flipbook has a secondary display to interact with the laptop without opening it first appeared on Yanko Design.

The most powerful M1 MacBook that Apple never built…

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This Frankenstein monster of a laptop basically attaches an iPad Mini onto an M1 Mac Mini, giving you a laptop with more ports and better performance than a MacBook Pro while still being a (theoretically) portable laptop. Obviously, I’m using the word laptop incredibly loosely here. Oh, it also has the added advantage of a touchscreen display with Apple Pencil input.

YouTuber Scott Yu-Jan hates laptops, as he so thoroughly expresses throughout his video (he even punches a hole through one for emphasis). Laptops, he posits, may be powerful, but a laptop never puts power above sleekness. Even the most top-of-the-line laptop today is still under an inch thick. Laptops were designed to be carried around everywhere, which means compact form and portability are a non-starter for manufacturers… but that’s where Scott voices his frustration. To him, the ideal laptop is just a desktop without wires. It should be portable, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be sleek. Hacked together to ironically (or not) prove his point, Scott’s MacMiniBook (or MacBook Mini if you’re pedantic) is the perfect solution for people who want a truly powerful zero-compromise laptop. Sure, it isn’t sleek, but it doesn’t pull punches. With an M1 chip on the inside that lifts well above its weight, Scott’s creation comfortably bridges the gap between the laptop and desktop experience. In fact, parts of the video above were even edited on Scott’s MacGyvered MacBook Mini.

Designer: Scott Yu-Jan

Scott’s experiment started with just picking up a Mac Mini and wondering how to go from there… but where things really picked up is when he, just for kicks, placed his iPad Mini on top of the Mac Mini only to realize that they were exactly the same size. What were the odds, eh?! I guess Apple takes nomenclature pretty seriously.

Once the perfect CPU and Display combo were picked out, it was just a question of merging them together into a rather chunky looking laptop. Scott designed, modeled, and 3D printed his housing in multiple parts, complete with openings for ports and cables, and even a friction hinge that would let you adjust your iPad to any angle you wanted.

Scott’s solution is what the internet would call ‘thicc’. It isn’t elegant by a far stretch, but it’s job isn’t to look elegant, it’s to outperform every laptop out there – a claim that Scott was pretty confident about once his solution was ready.

To run his mad machine, the iPad would have to work as an external display, rather than a tablet. Scott’s app of choice was Duet, using it to create an external screen for his M1 Mac Mini. A USB-C cable both beamed video information to the iPad, while keeping it charged. The upper edge of the iPad would remain plastic-free, allowing Scott to still dock his Apple Pencil.

Scott’s creation is undeniably bonkers, but it is an incredibly powerful device on paper. The M1 chip handles complex tasks without consuming power or causing the cooling fans to go crazy. Scott demonstrated this by even editing a 2K video on it. Then again, his Frankenstein MacBook does have a few tiny flaws. For starters, it doesn’t have a built-in battery, which means you need to continuously stay connected to a power source to use your machine (unless you just want to use the iPad). Secondly, and in the same vein, there’s no keyboard or trackpad on this laptop, although Scott says he’s more than comfortable carrying a Magic Keyboard around with him as a tradeoff. Finally, using the machine takes a little getting used to. For starters, you need to separately switch the Mac Mini and iPad Mini on every time, and configure Duet too. While shutting your laptop down, you need to switch the Mac Mini off too, given that closing the lid doesn’t snooze this laptop. Even the webcam placement may bother a few, and finally, the presence of 2 cables that are a permanent fixture may irk a few people… especially the design team at Apple!

The post The most powerful M1 MacBook that Apple never built… first appeared on Yanko Design.

The most powerful M1 MacBook that Apple never built…

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This Frankenstein monster of a laptop basically attaches an iPad Mini onto an M1 Mac Mini, giving you a laptop with more ports and better performance than a MacBook Pro while still being a (theoretically) portable laptop. Obviously, I’m using the word laptop incredibly loosely here. Oh, it also has the added advantage of a touchscreen display with Apple Pencil input.

YouTuber Scott Yu-Jan hates laptops, as he so thoroughly expresses throughout his video (he even punches a hole through one for emphasis). Laptops, he posits, may be powerful, but a laptop never puts power above sleekness. Even the most top-of-the-line laptop today is still under an inch thick. Laptops were designed to be carried around everywhere, which means compact form and portability are a non-starter for manufacturers… but that’s where Scott voices his frustration. To him, the ideal laptop is just a desktop without wires. It should be portable, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be sleek. Hacked together to ironically (or not) prove his point, Scott’s MacMiniBook (or MacBook Mini if you’re pedantic) is the perfect solution for people who want a truly powerful zero-compromise laptop. Sure, it isn’t sleek, but it doesn’t pull punches. With an M1 chip on the inside that lifts well above its weight, Scott’s creation comfortably bridges the gap between the laptop and desktop experience. In fact, parts of the video above were even edited on Scott’s MacGyvered MacBook Mini.

Designer: Scott Yu-Jan

Scott’s experiment started with just picking up a Mac Mini and wondering how to go from there… but where things really picked up is when he, just for kicks, placed his iPad Mini on top of the Mac Mini only to realize that they were exactly the same size. What were the odds, eh?! I guess Apple takes nomenclature pretty seriously.

Once the perfect CPU and Display combo were picked out, it was just a question of merging them together into a rather chunky looking laptop. Scott designed, modeled, and 3D printed his housing in multiple parts, complete with openings for ports and cables, and even a friction hinge that would let you adjust your iPad to any angle you wanted.

Scott’s solution is what the internet would call ‘thicc’. It isn’t elegant by a far stretch, but it’s job isn’t to look elegant, it’s to outperform every laptop out there – a claim that Scott was pretty confident about once his solution was ready.

To run his mad machine, the iPad would have to work as an external display, rather than a tablet. Scott’s app of choice was Duet, using it to create an external screen for his M1 Mac Mini. A USB-C cable both beamed video information to the iPad, while keeping it charged. The upper edge of the iPad would remain plastic-free, allowing Scott to still dock his Apple Pencil.

Scott’s creation is undeniably bonkers, but it is an incredibly powerful device on paper. The M1 chip handles complex tasks without consuming power or causing the cooling fans to go crazy. Scott demonstrated this by even editing a 2K video on it. Then again, his Frankenstein MacBook does have a few tiny flaws. For starters, it doesn’t have a built-in battery, which means you need to continuously stay connected to a power source to use your machine (unless you just want to use the iPad). Secondly, and in the same vein, there’s no keyboard or trackpad on this laptop, although Scott says he’s more than comfortable carrying a Magic Keyboard around with him as a tradeoff. Finally, using the machine takes a little getting used to. For starters, you need to separately switch the Mac Mini and iPad Mini on every time, and configure Duet too. While shutting your laptop down, you need to switch the Mac Mini off too, given that closing the lid doesn’t snooze this laptop. Even the webcam placement may bother a few, and finally, the presence of 2 cables that are a permanent fixture may irk a few people… especially the design team at Apple!

The post The most powerful M1 MacBook that Apple never built… first appeared on Yanko Design.

Modder Builds MacBook Mini: “The World’s Smallest MacBook Pro”

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Because dream it and you can achieve it, modder Michael Pick (aka the Casual Engineer) went and built himself a custom MacBook Mini, which he considers “the world’s smallest MacBook Pro.” It doesn’t actually run iOS, though, instead, it’s powered by a Raspberry Pi 4 running iRaspbian OS. It only looks like an Apple product, which is what a lot of consumers only care about anyways.

The MacBook Mini features a light-up Apple logo on the back of the screen and a MagSafe charging connector and USB 3.0 port. Besides those features, the tiny laptop looks almost unusable – at least with my big bear paws. Maybe my wife could use it; she has tiny hands. They’re so small she can’t even open pickle jars, which is one of the two reasons I suspect she keeps me around. The other is jelly jars.

Pretty cool, albeit impractical. You’re probably better off just using your phone as a computer. Unless you still sport a Nokia 3310 brick phone as I do. I took it to the phone store recently to ask about an upgrade, and the kid behind the counter said he’d never even seen one before. Wait till I bring in my pager!

[via TechEBlog]

Sleek Laptop Stands designed to eliminate bad posture + boost WFH productivity

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To be honest, I could not survive without my laptop! It stores almost everything I hold sacred, and I need it for various purposes – from work to leisure. And most of us do spend the majority of our day working on laptops, and hence maintaining a consistently high level of productivity and efficiency is extremely integral for our work routines. However, spending hours on our laptops can cause immense strain to our hands and neck. And this is where laptop stands come in! The right laptop stand offers ergonomic angle adjustments and helps us work in a posture that does not cause physical pain and strain on our bodies. From an ultra-thin laptop stand as slim as a credit card to an e-bike with a concealed laptop stand – we’ve curated a collection of ergonomically designed and highly functional laptop stands that can help you work in the most comfortable position possible, in turn boosting your work productivity and efficiency!

1. The MOFT Z

The MOFT Z was designed keeping the original MOFT brief in mind but was made to push limits. It does come with the ability to prop your laptop at three angles, but that’s not all. The MOFT Z even transforms your sitting setup into a standing one, elevating your laptop up by as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters). The MOFT Z does this using an innovative Z-shaped folding system along with its signature PU and fiberglass material which allows the laptop stand to have a high strength to weight ratio while being thin enough to slide right into a Manila envelope. The MOFT Z was designed to be used independently, without being stuck to the back of your laptop (like the original MOFT). Slightly larger than a sheet of A4 paper and at nearly half an inch thick, the MOFT Z can be kept on your desk, stored in a drawer, or a shelf, among folders.

2. The MetaStand Pro

Measuring 0.1 inches, the MetaStand Pro might easily be the contender for the slimmest laptop stand in the world. However, thanks to the power of origami, it can hold the weight of your laptop or tablet, angling it for a comfortable working experience. The MetaStand Pro offers the ability to prop your laptop or tablet up at a variety of angles for ease of use. Using a clever origami-inspired design, it offers a mix of slimness and strength, letting you place your gadget at as many as 4 different angles comfortably without breaking a sweat.

3. PILLR

Like most laptop stands, PILLR elevates your work machine to a higher level, allowing you to view your laptop screen at a much higher, more natural angle, preventing neck fatigue. Unlike most laptops stands, PILLR, however, doesn’t look like a badly designed accessory that hides behind your expensive laptop. With a minimal, sculpture-esque design, PILLR looks pretty darn good even without the laptop on it. Its strong presence gives it the appeal of a desk sculpture, and once you place a laptop on it, the PILLR enters a functional mode, elevating your laptop to reduce neck pain and boost productivity.

4. The FLIKK Laptop Stand and Sleeve

FLIKK Laptop Stand by Jexter Lim

The designer came up with this idea after observing the irking drawbacks of traditional laptop stands. Most of them don’t provide the desired elevation and the right viewing angles. Also, they are very complicated to deploy, which mars the whole purpose. This prompted Jexter Lim to plug all the gaps that spoil the user experience and function of the accessory. The laptop stand gives you the desired viewing angle for a comfortable working regime anytime, anywhere. The goodness doesn’t end there, as it seamlessly transforms into a laptop sleeve to head to your next destination without all the bulk of a traditional laptop stand.

5. The MOFT

Desks can’t be carried around where you go, and stands are usually either bulky or heavy, given that they need to support the constant weight of the laptop plus your palms, making both solutions portability-unfriendly. The MOFT grasps that design brief almost perfectly. Thin as a coin (barely 3mm in thickness) and light as a pen, the MOFT sticks to the back of your laptop almost like a cover of sorts. When folded, it sits flat against the back of your laptop (thanks to hidden magnets), practically indistinguishable and invisible, and when deployed/unfolded, uses a clever bit of structural engineering to support your laptop in not one, but two angle settings. Channeling Dieter Rams’ principle that Good Design must be Invisible, the MOFT sits flat on the back of the laptop.

6. The RLDH Alto Standing Desk

The RLDH Alto Standing Desk is a thoughtful flat-pack accessory designed keeping in mind your multiple needs if you can’t invest in a height-adjustable desk. It is simple to carry and disassemble, with the option to adjust the height of your keyboard and mouse tray, giving it the flexibility of use with your laptop. Yes, this stylish yet functional standing desk is tailored for use with your laptop – virtually transforming your table into a standing desk when the need arises. Its flat-pack and lightweight (weighing just 6.5 lbs) nature give you the freedom to tuck it away when not needed or even to take it along during travel for remote work regimes.

7. g.flow laptop stand

Arguably, grape lab’s g.flow laptop stand is better than most other laptop stands on the market. It ticks all the boxes as an effective product but also as a sustainable product. It’s clever, lightweight, and comes in packaging that can be used as a stand too! g.flow is just an amalgamation of a lot of good ideas into one great product that does its job with 100% effectiveness and 0% negative impact on the environment. The g.flow is basically a tray made from folded recycled paper. Relying on origami tricks, the paper is stiff enough to hold up to 11 pounds of weight (enough to take the weight of your laptop and your hands too) thanks to the origami folds which not only give it strength but also create multiple channels to boost airflow and cool your laptop better. The ridged paper is specifically angled for easy viewing and typing so that you get the benefits of a cooling pad as well as a prop stand, while the device comes with a small lip on the front to keep the laptop from sliding down.

8. HUB-OX

Designed to be portable and compact, HUB–OX initially comes as a lightweight, palm-sized USB-C hub, which splits into two halves, both equipped with plenty of charging slots, HDMI connections, and ethernet ports. HUB–OX is compatible with MacBook Pro models that have four USB-C ports, generally any MacBook Pro from 2016 or any of its succeeding generations. When HUB–OX is split in two, users can plug the USB-C chargers into all four of their MacBook Pro’s ports, lifting their laptops to an angle of 7.7° to keep them charged and at eye level for the rest of the day.

9. The Triyards Laptop Stand

The Triyards Laptop Stand borrows a clever trick from a product we’ve been using for decades. Inspired by the thin-yet-effective kickstands found in most keyboards, the Triyards Laptop Stand sits flat against your machine, adding a mere 0.2 inches of thickness. Made from durable aerospace-grade aluminum, the stand adheres to the back of your laptop using a non-harmful 3M glue strip and comes with two fold-out legs that allow you to easily prop your laptop up, angling it in a way that helps it stay cool while angling the keyboard in a way that makes it easier to type. It comes with rubber legs, too, to make sure your laptop doesn’t slide around or damage the surface you’re working on.

10. The BUCK electric bike

The BUCK electric bike has a laptop stand that elegantly conceals beneath the bike frame when not in use. The moment you need to perform an important task – just park the bike, swivel the laptop stand in position, and your mobile standing workstation is ready. You just have to slide it out of the bike frame’s section and attach it to the saddle, which can be moved to a 90 degrees position to give up space for the stand. On the design front, the bicycle has a very neat minimalist look draped in white color with contrasting black sections. Since the bike is meant for the odd leisure too on rough roads, the active suspension and the high riding position are well suited for the same.

The post Sleek Laptop Stands designed to eliminate bad posture + boost WFH productivity first appeared on Yanko Design.

ASUS Zenbook 17’s single screen design revives the foldable laptop fantasy in a big way

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Foldable devices are the big thing in mobile these days, but the concept isn’t limited to smartphones and tablets only. There have been a few that envisioned laptops that are all screens that can then unfold to become an even bigger screen. That idea, however, hasn’t completely caught on in the PC world, but ASUS is taking another whack at it with a foldable laptop that’s big both in size as well as ambition.

Designer: ASUS

ASUS is hardly the first company to try and sell a foldable laptop, and this is hardly its first attempt at a non-conventional laptop form. Lenovo beat it to the punch with the ThinkPad X1 Fold in 2020, albeit in a smaller 13.3-inch unfolded size. ASUS also presented its Project Precog concept back in 2018, but that had two screens more like the Microsoft Surface Neo that never came to be.

The ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is not only a mouthful but also big. When unfolded, it becomes a rather sizeable 17.3-inch monitor. When folded, you get the equivalent of two 12.5-inch screens, almost like a regular 13-inch laptop. ASUS went out of its way to give the device a premium finish, like a magnesium alloy body, a built-in faux leather kickstand, and an almost prismatic black logo on dark blue glass, but there’s no escaping the fact that it’s a chunky slab of metal and fragile flexible glass. That, in turn, will have consequences for ergonomics as well as the reliability of this foldable laptop.

The use cases that ASUS presents for the Zenbook 17 Fold are almost endless. You can use it as a large all-in-one PC, or you can use it as a laptop, either with the on-screen virtual keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard that’s specially designed to sit on the lower half of the screen. You can use it like a book, with the screen barely folded in two, or as a tablet lying flat on a table. Unfortunately, ASUS wasn’t able to follow Samsung’s lead in getting support for a stylus.

These scenarios, however, rely heavily on the software that will be running on the ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, namely, Microsoft Windows 11. That operating system, however, has proven not to be that friendly to tablets, and perhaps even less so to tablets that fold into laptops. ASUS doesn’t seem to be too worried that software will be the albatross around this futuristic device’s neck and will reportedly make it available in the next quarter.

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Dell envisions a sustainable laptop, allowing you to replace parts, creating a design you could grow old with

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Dell is checking all the right boxes for a laptop that is not only environment-friendly but also potentially immortal.

Laptops revolutionized the computing industry by making personal computing more portable, but it also came at the expense of some flexibility and sustainability. Unlike towering desktops, not everything inside a laptop can be easily upgraded, much less replaced when broken. Many laptops makers probably prefer that status quo, but Dell is boldly pushing an idea that could mean it will eventually sell fewer laptops.

Designer: Dell

Today, you can upgrade or replace a laptop’s memory and storage, but that’s pretty much it. You can’t upgrade the processor, add a graphics unit, or even easily replace the keyboard after years of wear and tear. That’s not even considering the materials and processes used in manufacturing these devices, which involve a lot of plastics and a lot of components that eventually end up being a lot of waste.

Dell’s Concept Luna laptop throws all of that out the window, envisioning a portable computer that would appeal to almost everyone, from the expert PC modder to the environment-conscious consumer. The company is trying to apply multiple strategies across the pipeline to not only reduce the laptop’s carbon footprint but, ultimately, also make it as long-lasting as any desktop that can get repaired or upgraded bit by bit.

The ideas that Dell has are quite interesting. In addition to using more recyclable materials, like flax fiber instead of plastic laminate, the company is also looking into shrinking the size or number of components like the motherboard to reduce the amount of energy used to manufacture them. Smarter placement of those components can also lead to better passive heat dissipation, removing the need for plastic fans inside.

Then there’s also the element of repairability, which is made easier by having only four screws to access internal components and using no adhesives. Components can be removed easily and replaced, or perhaps even upgraded with a newer part. All in all, the Concept Luna represents the holy grail of sustainable computers and is probably years away from becoming a reality.

Dell admits that the concept only touches on what is possible, not what is feasible or, more importantly, profitable. A sustainable laptop would ultimately mean people will buy fewer new laptops if they could just upgrade or replace parts of the laptop they already own. Of course, Dell could build a business around selling parts or services, but that might still be less profitable than the status quo that isn’t doing our environment any favors.

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