Tag Archives: pc

This all-in-one PC concept reimagines how the monitor looks and functions

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It’s not easy to create a workstation that reflects your personality, and it’s even harder to keep one organized. While the former is entirely a personal choice involving handpicked equipment, the latter depends on readily available solutions that make decluttering possible. Kakao, an all-in-one PC that utilizes the space behind the monitor for storage, presents itself as a godsend for achieving just that.

At the rendering stage at the time of writing, Kakao has a long way to go, if ever, to see the light of day. But from how it appears in pictures shared on the internet, this is a desk setup of the future, which draws some inspiration from the past when monitors or all-in-one PCs were more than slim panels we own these days.

Designer: Design Burger

Conceived on two metal stands, this all-in-one PC appears in a boxy form with storage and computer innards tucked behind the monitor. If you are someone who is often bothered by the awkward space behind the monitor, which has no purpose because it’s either too shallow to store something or too cluttered with wires, and you don’t want to add to the visual displeasure, then the Kakao is what you should be looking at with interest.

It turns the often-ignored space behind the monitor into a useful space with its design that is a combination of a PC and a storage cabinet. The furniture integrated all-in-one PC reimagines how the monitor looks and functions: instead of leaving the space vacant, Kakao extends the screen into a horizontal enclosure that houses computer parts along with storage for everyday things.

I am not definite about how we are supposed to use the Kakao on the desk with all that bulk, but once it is there, there is definitely going to be less clutter. I can already see my Bluetooth speaker, power strip, gaming controller, pen stand, and other stationery disappearing from my desk into the cabinet.

I’m not sure about the monitor’s screen size or the computing components we are getting with it. However, that the PC has a mirror-polished stainless steel frame with PVD finish. The horizontal cabinet is completely closed on the side where the computer innards sit, while the other half has a mesh panel that ensures the heat can flow out and there’s no hindrance in using the computer.

On the front, the monitor slides sideways to reveal or conceal the storage shelves inside. The Kakao speakers and power slot are placed on the bottom panel, while the connectivity ports are seen on the side. The latter I believe, is a terrible idea. Ports on the side of the storage cabinet will end up allowing cables to clutter outside the all-in-one PC, defying its actual purpose. I think overall it is a decent idea, and the designer will think about getting the ports on the inside with cable cutouts to ensure decluttering.

The post This all-in-one PC concept reimagines how the monitor looks and functions first appeared on Yanko Design.

7 Handheld Gaming PCs That Actually Look Like the Future — Not a Fisher-Price Toy

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The handheld gaming PC market has a design problem. For every device that earns a second look, there are three more that look like they escaped from a toy aisle — chunky plastic grips, aggressive LED halos, fonts borrowed from energy drink cans. It adds up to a category that has historically rewarded specs over sensibility, power over the kind of quiet confidence that makes an object worth owning.

That’s starting to change. A new wave of devices is rethinking what portable gaming hardware should look and feel like: objects you’d carry without embarrassment, leave on a clean desk, or hand to someone who doesn’t play games, so they can appreciate the craft before they’ve touched a button. Some of these seven handhelds earn their place through industrial restraint. Others earn it through engineering honesty — upgradeability, connectivity, or a refusal to treat the buyer as someone who only needs to be impressed in the first five minutes. What they all share is an understanding that good design is a feature, not a finish.

1. AYANEO 3

The curves are the story. AYANEO’s third flagship iteration takes a category that has historically prioritized power over personality and gives it something more interesting: softness. The smooth, pleasing curves on the AYANEO 3 extend beyond the ergonomic grip area on the back to the corners of the device itself, rounding off every edge that might otherwise make the hardware feel aggressive or alienating. It is a small visual distinction that makes an enormous tonal difference. The result is a device that looks like it was designed for people rather than exclusively for the kind of person who already knows what a TDP setting is and can tell you why it matters.

The diagonal orientation of the analog joysticks and D-Pad mirrors the Xbox controller arrangement, which is one of those invisible ergonomic improvements you only register when a device gets it wrong. The larger back buttons are a genuine upgrade in theory, giving players more surface area to work with during extended sessions. Their positioning, though, introduces the real possibility of accidental presses during intense gameplay. This trade-off will feel familiar to anyone who has tried to improve on a layout that was already functional. The AYANEO 3 makes the strongest argument for design as a feature in its own right. Whether that argument is worth the price is the question you’ll be asking yourself after you pick it up for the first time.

What We Like:

  • Rounded, curve-forward chassis makes it the most approachable-looking handheld in its category
  • Diagonal joystick and button orientation mirrors Xbox ergonomics for more natural long-session play

What We Dislike:

  • Back button placement may result in accidental presses during fast-paced gameplay
  • Softened design language may not satisfy players who want their hardware to read as purposeful and performance-oriented

2. Acer Nitro Blaze 7

Acer enters the handheld arena with something the market actually needed: a device that solves Windows gaming’s most persistent pain point before you even load your first title. The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS packs 39 AI TOPS, placing it on the same performance tier as many AI-powered laptops currently on the market. Paired with the AMD Radeon 780M and 16GB of RAM, the Nitro Blaze 7 arrives as serious hardware in a compact form. The 7-inch 1920×1080 144Hz IPS touchscreen with 100% sRGB color gamut coverage is the kind of display specification that makes comparable handhelds feel like compromises — vibrant and bright enough that even the darkest visual environments read clearly on screen.

What separates the Nitro Blaze 7 from the competition isn’t the chip — it’s the software thinking wrapped around it. The Acer Game Space feature consolidates titles from every platform and source into a single unified library, removing the multi-menu navigation friction that makes Windows gaming handhelds feel like a productivity task compared to SteamOS devices. Touchscreen support lets players interact directly with interface elements rather than routing everything through controller input, which matters more than it sounds when you are three minutes into a launch session and still navigating settings. The dedicated hotkey that drops you straight into your library is a small thing that solves a real and recurring problem, and that is exactly the kind of design thinking this category needs to normalize.

What We Like:

  • Acer Game Space consolidates multi-platform libraries into one interface, fixing Windows gaming’s biggest UX friction point
  • 144Hz IPS display with 100% sRGB delivers premium visual quality for a 7-inch handheld screen

What We Dislike:

  • The IPS panel means the Blaze 7 lacks the contrast depth and blacks of OLED competitors
  • At 7 inches, the display is smaller than the growing number of competitors now shipping with 8-inch screens

3. Steam Deck OLED Limited Edition White

Valve’s limited edition white Steam Deck is the rare hardware release that justifies its price premium through object quality alone. The off-white shell with gray buttons and a single orange power button is a restrained, confident color story that most hardware brands spend years failing to tell. The OLED panel with HDR support already positioned the standard Steam Deck a visual step above the LCD models, and the white chassis makes that contrast even more vivid — display colors read differently against a lighter surround, and the overall effect is closer to a premium consumer electronics object than a gaming peripheral. Valve pairs the device with a matching white carrying case and a microfiber cloth, because they know exactly what that surface will attract daily.

Available only in the 1TB configuration, the limited edition white Steam Deck is not a casual purchase — it is priced above the standard black variant, and that premium is entirely about the colorway rather than any specification difference. Valve has been direct about the potential for further bold color options depending on how this version performs in the market, and the design language of this release suggests they genuinely understand that hardware can carry emotional weight beyond its spec sheet. Their stated commitment to continued software and hardware improvements also changes the calculus on what the purchase represents. You are not buying a device at its peak; you are buying into an object that the people who made it intend to keep improving.

What We Like:

  • The off-white and orange colorway is the most considered visual design statement in the handheld gaming category
  • 1TB OLED configuration with HDR support represents the best display quality available in a handheld gaming PC

What We Dislike:

  • The white shell will show dirt and wear significantly faster than the black variant, demanding frequent cleaning
  • Limited edition pricing premium is cosmetic rather than functional, which makes it a harder case to make to practical buyers

4. MSI Claw 8 AI+

MSI’s second attempt at a handheld gaming PC makes a strong case for listening. The original Claw’s 53Wh battery was one of the most discussed disappointments in gaming hardware, and the Claw 8 AI+ responds with an 80Wh unit that matches the ROG Ally X — immediately removing that criticism from the conversation. The redesigned chassis is more comfortable to hold than the original, which sounds like a modest correction but represents the difference between a product you use and one you tolerate through a session. The 8-inch display at 1080p and 120Hz is the screen you can actually picture using across several hours without fatigue, and the overall hardware package reflects a manufacturer that took its first attempt as useful data rather than a finished result.

The dual Thunderbolt ports are the detail that separates the Claw 8 AI+ from most of its direct competition. In a category where connectivity has generally been an afterthought, Thunderbolt transforms the device into something more versatile than a dedicated gaming handheld. It can drive an external display, connect high-speed peripherals, and function as a desktop replacement when docked — a use case that justifies the form factor for people who travel and need their hardware to earn its carry weight across more than one context. MSI’s continued driver support for the original Claw also signals something about the relationship they want to build with buyers, which matters when you are deciding which ecosystem to invest in for the long term.

What We Like:

  • 80Wh battery resolves the original Claw’s most criticized weakness, matching the ROG Ally X for endurance
  • Dual Thunderbolt ports offer versatility that positions the device beyond pure gaming into broader portable computing

What We Dislike:

  • 1080p resolution on an 8-inch screen sits at the market standard rather than pushing the category forward
  • The redesigned chassis was not available for hands-on evaluation at launch, leaving the real-world grip feel unconfirmed

5. ADATA XPG Nia

The XPG Nia arrives with a design philosophy that most handheld manufacturers have been too conservative to commit to: repairability as a genuine feature. The use of LPCAMM2 memory modules, which are not soldered to the motherboard, makes this one of the very few handheld gaming PCs where upgrading the RAM is a realistic possibility rather than a route to a voided warranty. The M.2 2230 SSD slot handles storage upgrades in the same way, borrowing the kind of upgrade-friendly architecture that better laptops have offered for years. ADATA, better known for its data storage solutions than gaming hardware, brings exactly the right technical background to a product that treats longevity as a design consideration rather than an inconvenience.

This matters more than it sounds in a category that has normalized the idea of buying new hardware every two years because your existing device can’t be updated. Handheld PCs are essentially miniature laptops running laptop-grade hardware with constrained cooling, which has traditionally meant buyers are locked into the specs they purchase on day one. The XPG Nia pushes back against that assumption. It may not carry the brand recognition of Valve or ASUS, but the decision to make memory and storage user-upgradable in a handheld gaming PC is genuinely forward-thinking hardware design. The category is full of devices optimized for the unboxing moment. The XPG Nia is designed for year three.

What We Like:

  • Upgradable RAM via the LPCAMM2 module makes it one of the only handhelds built for long-term ownership
  • Upgradable M.2 2230 SSD slot extends the device’s useful lifespan well beyond its launch-day specifications

What We Dislike:

  • Real-world ease of RAM upgrades remains unproven, as LPCAMM2 is a relatively new memory format
  • ADATA’s identity as a storage brand creates unanswered questions around long-term software support and gaming ecosystem depth

6. GPD Pocket 4

The GPD Pocket 4 does not belong in this list by conventional logic, and that is precisely why it does. There are no joysticks, no D-pad, no face buttons. What it has instead is a compact clamshell form factor built around a full QWERTY keyboard, a small touchpad in the upper right corner designed for right-thumb operation in a two-handed grip, and mouse buttons positioned on the opposing side for the left thumb. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with AMD Radeon 890M graphics, 64GB of RAM, and up to 4TB of upgradable NVMe SSD storage inside this chassis is a genuine statement about what a pocket-sized device can accomplish. It is a handheld PC for the person who refuses to separate productivity from portability.

Where most devices in this roundup are gaming handhelds that can also browse the web, the Pocket 4 is a legitimate laptop replacement that can also play games within certain limits. Content creation, entertainment, productivity, and travel computing are all addressed by hardware that fits in a jacket pocket. The 44.8Wh battery is the honest trade-off — you are carrying a compressed laptop, not an augmented gaming console, and the battery reflects that compromise directly. For the person who travels constantly and wants one device that handles most things well rather than two devices that each do one thing perfectly, the Pocket 4 makes more sense than almost anything else in this roundup. It is the most unusual recommendation here, and the most interesting.

What We Like:

  • Full laptop-grade specifications, including up to 64GB RAM and 4TB upgradable storage in a genuinely pocketable form factor
  • Functions as a true laptop replacement for content creation and productivity without requiring a second device

What We Dislike:

  • No gaming controls confine its gaming capability to keyboard-compatible titles only
  • The 44.8Wh battery is significantly smaller than competitors that prioritize gaming endurance over overall portability

7. ZOTAC ZONE

The ZOTAC ZONE wears its Steam Deck influence openly and then raises the conversation. The OLED display puts it in rare company — most handheld gaming PCs are still shipping IPS panels, and the presence of an OLED screen here is not incidental. The PlayStation-style button layout mirrors Valve’s device directly, setting it apart from the Xbox-influenced arrangement that the rest of the Windows handheld market has effectively standardized around. The built-in kickstand is the detail that reveals the ZONE’s genuine design thinking. It is an obvious feature that a surprising number of handheld PCs have decided to leave out, and its presence changes how the device lives in practice — on a plane tray table, a cafe counter, or a hotel room desk, where you’d rather not hold the thing for two hours straight.

The configurable controls are where the ZONE earns its premium positioning. Two-stage adjustable triggers and programmable dials around each joystick represent the most granular control customization available on any handheld gaming PC currently on the market. It runs more recent hardware than the Steam Deck, inside a chassis that clearly understands what it is trying to be. The steep price is a real barrier, and the ZONE will not make sense for every buyer. For the player who has worked through two or three handheld PCs already and knows precisely what they want from their next one — better controls, better display, a stand, and hardware that will not feel dated inside eighteen months — this is the device that was built with them specifically in mind.

What We Like:

  • Built-in kickstand and OLED display address two genuine gaps in the Steam Deck’s design, both meaningfully improving day-to-day use
  • Two-stage adjustable triggers and programmable joystick dials offer the deepest control customization in the handheld gaming PC category

What We Dislike:

  • Premium pricing places the ZONE significantly above most competing devices, narrowing its realistic audience
  • Strong visual and layout parallels to the Steam Deck make it a difficult upgrade pitch for buyers already in Valve’s ecosystem

The Category Grows Up

The seven devices above represent a category finally learning to want more from itself. Some of them get there through craft — the AYANEO 3’s considered curves, the ZOTAC ZONE’s OLED display and kickstand, the Steam Deck’s limited edition color story. Others earn their place through a harder kind of honesty: the XPG Nia’s upgradable RAM, the GPD Pocket 4’s refusal to be just one thing, the Claw 8 AI+’s willingness to publicly correct its own mistakes.

What unites all seven is a seriousness about the object itself — a sense that the person holding the device deserves hardware that respects their intelligence, their living space, and the money they are spending. The Fisher-Price era of handheld gaming PCs is not entirely over. But these seven devices are making a strong case for what comes after them.

The post 7 Handheld Gaming PCs That Actually Look Like the Future — Not a Fisher-Price Toy first appeared on Yanko Design.

Maingear Retro98 Is the 90s Dream PC Finally Built with 2026 Hardware

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Late-’90s desktops hummed under desks in beige towers that always felt heavier than they should. CRTs flickered, CD drives whirred, and somewhere in every PC gamer’s mind lived a fantasy build they only saw in shop windows or magazine ads. The gap between the family PC that struggled with Quake and the dream rig you sketched in notebooks, complete with turbo buttons and drive bays, felt impossibly wide.

Maingear’s Retro98 is that fantasy finally built. The limited-run sleeper PC uses a retro beige SilverStone tower with a working turbo button and keyed power lockout, but hides 2026 hardware inside. The pitch is simple: 1998 on the outside, 2026 inside. It is the machine your younger self would have lost their mind over if they could see past the beige and understood what an RTX 5070 even meant.

Designer: Maingear

Water-cooled Retro98α

Retro98 feels more like a drop than a product line. Maingear limited it to 38 units: 32 standard builds and six water-cooled Retro98α rigs with braided ketchup-and-mustard cables. The brand positions it as something you will not find at a big-box store, and points out that you will not even find a Radio Shack next week. Each system is hand-built by a single technician, making it feel closer to a limited sneaker release than a typical prebuilt.

Even the lowest spec overshoots anything you could have imagined in 1998. The Retro98 5070 pairs an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, 32 GB of DDR5 at 6000 MT/s, and a 2 TB NVMe SSD. This is the kind of machine that runs Cyberpunk smoothly while looking like it should be loading StarCraft from a stack of jewel cases on the desk.

Of course, the front-panel rituals matter as much as the internals. The keyed power lock feels like something your parents would have used to keep you off the PC, and the fully functional turbo button now toggles performance profiles instead of pretending to overclock a 486. These physical interactions turn booting up into a tiny ceremony, a reminder of when pressing power felt like entering a different world rather than unlocking another screen.

Behind the retro faceplate, you still get modern conveniences. USB-C on the front, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and a clean Windows 11 install without bloatware. The machine is not trying to recreate the pain of driver floppies or IRQ conflicts. It is just borrowing the shell and the attitude. You get the look and the jokes, but you also get quiet fans, instant game launches, and none of the frustration.

Retro98 is not about value per frame but about finally owning the mythical beige tower you stared at in catalogs. It is for people who remember sharing a/s/l in chat rooms and slapping CRTs after another buffer underrun, and who now have the budget to indulge that memory. A beige box with a turbo button probably should not feel fresh in 2026, but somehow it does, which says more about how boring glass-and-RGB towers have gotten than it does about nostalgia.

The post Maingear Retro98 Is the 90s Dream PC Finally Built with 2026 Hardware first appeared on Yanko Design.

HP Eliteboard G1a keyboard is a next gen AI PC in disguise

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It’s CES time, and we’re not expecting anything short of extraordinary at the event. The other day, we saw the Pentagram x Caligra c100 keyboard, which houses computing hardware inside. Now, HP has announced its own version of a keyboard PC, and it looks even better, with practicality at the forefront. At first glance, you might not realize the desktop keyboard has computing power inside, but that’s where the surprise lies.

According to HP, the Eliteboard G1a is “the first and only AI keyboard PC,” and is capable of doing most of the day-to-day tasks you desire while being mobile. Rather than going the AIO route (slamming a PC into the screen), HP chooses a piece of hardware that goes portable with you. The screen PC idea is novel, but it restricts you to one place. A keyboard PC is a more practical idea, and I’m glad it’s here.

Designer: HP

The EliteBoard G1a keyboard is a tad thicker than normal peripherals, and it’s completely understandable as computing hardware requires space. Measuring 58 x 118 x 17 mm and weighing just 726 grams (with the battery included), the keyboard is ideal for tasks like browsing the internet, opening the odd survey form for input, listening to music, and more. The spill-proof peripheral has 93 keys, including the number pad. In retrospect, it makes the Bapco mechanical keyboard that houses a working PC inside look bulky.

If you’ve used the HP Elitebook range, the keyboard has the same tactile typing experience, with the key travel (2mm) fine-tuned for desktop space. The keyboard PC comes with the choice of AMD Ryzen AI 300 Pro mobile processors, capable of a maximum of 50 NPU TOPS, making it a Copilot+ equivalent PC. You can connect up to two 4K monitors (running at 60Hz) since it has an integrated Radeon iGPU. Memory capacity is capped at 64GB DDR5-6400, which should be enough to handle sizeable tasks on the fly. The user can install up to 2 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, while the Ryzen AI 7 350 SKU variant can be configured for 32GB of eMMC storage.

The Windows 11-powered EliteBoard G1a has a built-in 32 Wh battery that can be charged at speeds of up to 65 Watts. You can connect monitors via the USB4 and USB-C ports on the back, or any other compatible hardware. The keyboard has a claimed 3.5 hours of battery run time on a single charge, but that’ll vary depending on usage and connected devices. There are vents to channel airflow, and the keyboard even comes with stereo speakers for a holistic setup. The keyboard comes in two models, with the high-end version having an optional fingerprint reader and a detachable USB-C cable.

HP is slated to release the keyboard PC in March 2026, and there’s no word on the pricing yet.

The post HP Eliteboard G1a keyboard is a next gen AI PC in disguise first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Pocket PC Concept Has a Flip-Out Pen and No Gaming Apps

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Most students now juggle phones, tablets, and laptops, with messaging and games living right next to textbooks and notes. That mix can be powerful but also distracting, especially in crowded Chinese classrooms where space and attention are both limited. Pokepad is a portable PC concept that tries to carve out a focused, pocketable space dedicated to learning, treating study tools as worthy of their own hardware.

Pokepad is a smart learning device designed specifically for students, intended to cover most of their daily study scenarios. It is compact and portable enough to fit into school bags and coat pockets, and the goal is unrestricted learning, a device that can travel from classroom to bus to bedroom without feeling like a shrunken laptop or a repurposed phone fighting for attention against notifications and app alerts.

Designers: DaPengPeng (DPP), Wengkang Cheng, Qi M

The design team experimented with multiple shapes before settling on a slim rectangular box concept, balancing learning apps, hardware needs, and clever portability. The box footprint keeps it familiar enough to slip into existing routines, yet distinct from a phone, with enough internal volume for a decent battery, speakers, and a pen mechanism, without turning into a bulky tablet that refuses to fit anywhere.

The built-in flip pen is central to the concept. To ensure portability, slimness, and differentiation, the team chose to hide the stylus inside the body, so it flips out when needed and disappears when not. That decision reinforces Pokepad as a pen-first device for note-taking, annotation, and handwriting practice, and avoids the classic problem of separate styluses getting lost in backpacks or rolling off desks during lectures.

The soft-edged, minimal aesthetic uses rounded corners, a single camera module, and a small “100” logo that nods to perfect test scores. Colour options range from clean white and light blue to a more playful red with a textured back for grip. The branding and palette position Pokepad as a study companion rather than a gaming gadget, something that feels at home in a pencil case next to erasers and rulers.

The interface is geared toward classes, homework, notes, a dictionary, and voice recording, rather than a full app store. The idea is to centralise tasks that are currently split across paper notebooks and phones, giving students a dedicated place to scan assignments, jot down ideas with the pen, and review materials on the go, without the constant pull of unrelated apps demanding screen time.

Pokepad takes the idea of a learning device seriously enough to design hardware, UI, and branding around school life, instead of treating students as a side market for general tablets. A pocketable box with a flip pen and a “100” on the back suggests a quieter, more focused path for everyday study tech, where the device earns its footprint by doing one category of tasks well instead of trying to be everything at once.

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New Steam Machine and Controller Bring Living Room Gaming Back to PCs

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Living room gaming has always meant choosing between the simplicity of consoles and the raw power of PCs. Consoles offer plug-and-play convenience with hardware that fits neatly under your TV, but you’re locked into their ecosystems and performance limits. Gaming PCs deliver the horsepower and flexibility, but they’re often noisy, bulky, and require enough desk space to house a small village. Valve’s original Steam Machine experiment tried bridging this gap back in 2015, but awkward controllers and limited adoption meant the idea fizzled out before it could catch on.

Now Valve is trying again, and this time the pieces actually fit together. The new Steam Machine and Steam Controller arrive in early 2026 as part of a broader hardware ecosystem that includes the Steam Deck and Steam Frame VR headset. These aren’t just updated versions of old ideas; they’re built on years of learning from the Steam Deck’s success, with designs that finally deliver on the promise of powerful, flexible PC gaming in a package your living room won’t reject.

Designer: Valve

Steam Machine

The Steam Machine packs desktop-class gaming into a cube that’s roughly six inches on each side. The matte black enclosure features a magnetically swappable front faceplate and a customizable LED strip that displays system status, download progress, or whatever color gradient suits your mood. It’s a minimalist design that hides pretty impressive hardware, including a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 CPU and RDNA3 GPU capable of 4K gaming at 60fps with FSR enabled. Valve claims it’s over six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, which should handle most AAA titles without breaking a sweat.

Inside, you get 16GB of DDR5 RAM plus 8GB of dedicated VRAM, with storage options of either 512GB or 2TB NVMe SSDs. Both models include microSD expansion if you need even more space. The internal power supply means no bulky external brick cluttering your entertainment center, and the whole thing runs whisper-quiet even under load. Valve designed the cooling system to handle demanding games without turning your living room into a wind tunnel, which is a thoughtful touch for something meant to sit in plain sight.

The I/O situation is refreshingly generous. You get DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 outputs for connecting to TVs or monitors, with support for resolutions up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz, depending on which port you use. There are five USB ports total, split between the front and back, plus Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6E for connectivity. The Steam Machine also has a built-in wireless adapter that pairs directly with up to four Steam Controllers, letting you wake the system from your couch without fumbling for a keyboard.

Of course, the Steam Machine runs SteamOS, the same Linux-based operating system that powers the Steam Deck. The interface is designed for controllers rather than mice, with fast suspend and resume that works like a console. That said, it’s still a PC underneath, so you can install whatever apps or operating systems you want. Valve isn’t locking you into anything, which feels like a rare bit of freedom in hardware that’s otherwise pretty locked down these days.

Steam Controller

The new Steam Controller takes everything Valve learned from the Steam Deck’s controls and packages it into a standalone gamepad. The layout is familiar if you’ve used a Steam Deck, with two full-size magnetic thumbsticks, dual square trackpads, and all the standard buttons you’d expect. The thumbsticks use TMR technology for better durability and responsiveness, and they support capacitive touch for enabling motion controls. The trackpads are pressure-sensitive and include haptic feedback, making them viable for games that normally require a mouse.

What sets this controller apart are the extras. Four assignable grip buttons sit on the back, letting you map additional controls without taking your thumbs off the sticks or pads. There’s also a feature Valve calls Grip Sense, which uses capacitive sensors along the handles to enable gyro aiming when you hold the controller and disable it when you let go. It’s a small detail that makes aiming in shooters feel more natural without requiring you to toggle a button every time you want precision.

The controller connects via a dedicated wireless puck that doubles as a magnetic charging dock. The puck uses a 2.4GHz connection with about 8ms latency, which is noticeably faster than Bluetooth and feels snappy during gameplay. You can also connect via Bluetooth or USB-C if you prefer, and the 8.39Wh battery is rated for over 35 hours of play. One puck can handle up to four controllers, which makes local multiplayer setups pretty straightforward.

Customization runs deep thanks to Steam Input, which lets you remap every button, adjust sensitivity, and tweak haptics to your liking. Community configurations are available from day one, so you can load presets for thousands of games or build your own and share them. The controller also works across Valve’s entire ecosystem, from PCs and laptops to Steam Deck and the new Steam Machine, with infrared LEDs that let the Steam Frame VR headset track it for mixed-reality gameplay.

Valve’s hardware lineup is expanding into a proper ecosystem rather than just scattered experiments. The Steam Machine and Steam Controller arrive as the cornerstones of that vision, offering power and flexibility without forcing you to choose between the simplicity of consoles and the openness of PCs. Whether that’s enough to pull gamers off the couch and away from their PlayStations remains to be seen, but the pieces are finally in place.

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Microsoft 365 Link mini PC streams Windows 11 from the cloud in a secure ecosystem

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Let’s be honest Windows 11 is not perfect, evolving at an agonizingly slow pace. This has pushed many power users down the Apple alley. The recently launched Mac Mini has a lot going in its favor, further creating a deep divide between the Microsoft and Apple options.

As a last-ditch effort to save the glitchy Windows 11 OS and very less options to choose from that bind the hardware and software for a seamless experience, Microsoft has introduced the Windows 365 Link mini PC strictly limited to cloud usage in a walled environment. The portable CPU is targeted towards big organizations and businesses who give a lot of weightage to security and keeping the working environment productive.

Designer: Microsoft

Targeted towards enterprise users

This is the world’s first dedicated “boot to cloud” device that runs Windows 11 OS via the Windows 365 link on the Windows 365 servers. Priced at $349 it is specifically designed to run Windows 365 Cloud PCs, and you need a Windows 365 subscription to get started. That adds another $28 to $315 per month. It’s still not clear whether the mini PC will get the extra perk of a subscription discount as a bundle, but we hope so.

The most popular option for employees is a $66 per month per user with applications including Microsoft Teams and browsers. Include the $349 hardware cost of the Windows mini PC and you’ve got a fat bill of $2,000 for a closed ecosystem with limited applications. Compare that to the $1,300 price tag for the 15-inch touchscreen Microsoft Surface Laptop powered by the Snapdragon X Elite chip and having 256GB storage. Clearly, Microsoft’s compact PC is not targeted towards individual users, and in no way competes with Apple’s powerhouse mini PC.

Security takes center stage

This 120 x 120 x 30 mm desktop PC has a fanless design, and comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an HDMI port, and a single DisplayPort output. There’s one Ethernet port, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity. The mini PC is designed for specific requirements where workers need to be quickly rotated between workstations and securely access their files. This eliminates the hassle of configuring the user settings and saving time. Also, the PC is ideal for setups where cloud-based software and hardware integration takes precedence.

Windows 365 Link will be available for purchase in April 2025 – that’s a long way off. However, one can enroll for the preview program in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Japan, Australia, or New Zealand. Interested users can join the program before December 15 with permission from the Microsoft account team.

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Windows on ARM success can drive PC design innovation

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Despite the power that smartphones and tablets have these days, PCs and their Mac equivalents remain the workhorses of the modern world. Not only do they have more power, they also offer more flexibility thanks to decades of research, development, and innovation. Market analysts, however, have long been pointing to the demise of the PC market, especially desktops, and there has indeed been a great deal of stagnation not only in hardware but even in product designs. It’s not that there haven’t been any improvements, just that designs have become predictable and even sometimes forgettable. You can’t, after all, change the design formula too much unless you also drastically change the internals as well. That’s the kind of burst in innovation that awaits the PC market, both laptops and even desktops, if running Windows on the same hardware as smartphones and tablets finally becomes reliable and productive.

Designer: Qualcomm

Rough Start: Microsoft Surface

It’s not like the combination of Windows and ARM-based processors, the same silicon that powers mobile devices, hasn’t been done before, but almost all past attempts have come up short of expectations. Disregarding the antiquated Windows CE and Windows Phone variants, Microsoft has time and again tried to bring the benefits of phones and tablets to PCs without much success. One of the first ones in recent memory is the smaller Microsoft Surface. Although the Surface Pro has become something of an icon today, its base model didn’t enjoy the same level of fame, attention, and sales.

Microsoft Surface RT

Designer: Microsoft

The Surface RT and Surface 2 both ran on ARM-based NVIDIA Tegra processors that were normally quite capable on Android tablets. Even those, however, couldn’t bear the weight of Windows, even the watered-down Windows RT version. To add insult to injury, the apps available for that platform were a dismal number which didn’t include the software that people needed to use on Windows. Thus, these first attempts at Windows on ARM were considered to be abject failures, but surprisingly, Microsoft didn’t give up completely.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

Fast-forward to today, there have been numerous attempts to improve the situation, both from the hardware and the software side. The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 now has a version that runs an even more powerful ARM Qualcomm processor, and the Microsoft Store has quite a selection of popular apps. There are also some emulation solutions for running “normal” Windows software on ARM laptops and tablets, but that’s not exactly a panacea. All these sound like too much effort for what seems like a niche design, but it’s an effort that could yield a bountiful harvest if it succeeds.

Faster, Slimmer, Cooler

Qualcomm announced last month its new Snapdragon X Plus and Elite processors, and while the “Snapdragon” name is popular for smartphones and tablets, the “X” chips are earmarked for use in Windows computers instead, particularly laptops. Qualcomm boasts numbers that would make the likes of Intel and AMD worry, though it’s also aiming squarely for Apple’s M series processors. That’s definitely a tall order, especially with the launch of the new Apple M4 chip, but if theory proves to be even remotely near the mark, it will be a huge win for the Windows market and PCs in general.

Designer: Qualcomm

The new Snapdragon X Plus and Elite unsurprisingly boast about being able to do heavy-duty generative AI work, something that would require a lot of processing power that is traditionally only available on “regular” laptops and desktops. What would set it apart, however, is how it delivers that performance with lower battery consumption, heat, and space compared to equivalent Intel and AMD processors. It’s too early to say if Qualcomm will be able to deliver those promises, but it’s definitely a big leap compared to previous generations.

ARM-based processors like those from Qualcomm and MediaTek have been used in mobile devices precisely because of these traits. They can keep the product compact without impacting performance, something that laptop makers aim for every year. More importantly, however, these small form factors open the doors to less conventional designs, paving the way for dual-screen, foldable, or rollable PCs that don’t sacrifice their power for the sake of their novel appearance and features.

Thinking Outside the Box

The very first benefit of Windows successfully and smoothly running on ARM devices would be thinner laptops with longer battery lives. It can’t be understated how significant that will be for creatives, especially those who will rely a lot on that generative AI that everyone’s talking about these days. But even if you do much of your designs manually, the idea that you can bring your work anywhere without breaking your back and stay unplugged for more than half a day is going to appeal to a lot of people

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

Designer: Lenovo

Once that has become the norm, however, it will be time to explore the possibilities that thinner, more compact, or smaller devices can bring. Imagine those handheld gaming PCs becoming thinner and smaller, almost down to tablet or even phone sizes. Admittedly, being able to play just about any PC game is going to be tricky today, but that’s not going to be the case in the future.

And then there are the current novelties like laptops with two screens or foldable displays, designs that have to sacrifice performance for the sake of super thin bodies. It hasn’t arrived yet, but a rollable screen might even become a thing for computers. In other words, Windows on ARM would enable all these forms beyond desktop towers and laptops to become possible without sacrificing too much performance. We seem to be heading in that direction already, but hardware is only half the battle.

Uphill Battle

No matter how powerful ARM chips are, enough to smoothly run Windows, all of that will fall on deaf ears if Windows on ARM isn’t able to support as much as 80% of regular Windows software, including games and especially content creation tools. That was what killed the Surface RT and Surface 2, after all, and things have improved considerably but not yet to most PC users’ satisfaction. One of the available solutions right now is emulation, like making the software or game think it’s running on an Intel/AMD computer, but that incurs penalties in performance.

AYANEO Flip DS

AYANEO Slide

Designer: AYANEO

There are also obstacles to be overcome on the hardware side. As strange as it might sound, PCs are a somewhat open ecosystem when it comes to the variety of things you can plug into a computer and have them working automatically. You lose some of that with Windows on ARM because of compatibility issues, and that might prevent less popular but heavily used peripherals from working, at least not at first. Unfortunately, that might be a huge deal breaker, especially for those who have already invested in devices for their workflow.

Designer: Qualcomm

Final Thoughts

Qualcomm’s announcement of the Snapdragon X Plus and Elite tried to preempt Apple’s new M4 chip and iPad Pros. Apple’s venture into the ARM world is both a boon and a bane for the likes of Qualcomm as it demonstrates what’s possible. But even Apple has remained within the boundaries of traditional devices like a tablet and a laptop. Not surprising for a company that is very meticulous and careful about the design of its products.

Designer: Apple

The Windows world, however, is a bit more daring thanks to the diversity of people involved. Unconventional and sometimes impractical designs pop up once in a while, but they’re all hampered by the limitations of hardware that’s commonly available for PCs. Windows on ARM isn’t new and it still has a long way to go to confidently match what Intel, AMD, and now Apple are selling, but stakeholders in the PC industry should probably consider rallying behind this if they want to breathe new life into the stagnating PC market.

Designer: Samsung

The post Windows on ARM success can drive PC design innovation first appeared on Yanko Design.

YouTuber custom builds coffee machine into a PC for freshly brewed cup of Joe at work

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If you’re someone like Martina of YouTube channel Nerdforge, who craves a cup of coffee after lunch, or maybe during work, you don’t have to get up and hit the kitchen anymore. Martina has built herself a PC case mod that brews a perfect cup of coffee with the touch of a button. And if you’re an ardent coffee buff, she has a detailed video on how you can try and build a PC that also makes coffee in a quick and efficient manner.

This PC with a built in coffee maker brews and dispense a hot cup of coffee whenever you want, but the process of building it from scratch hasn’t been easy. The idea started with, what if there was a coffee maker installed right into the PC, you wouldn’t have to get up and fetch a cup when you wanted it after lunch. And so, the modification started with the empty Corsair Obsidian 1000D tower case, which was considered big enough to fit the coffee machine.

Designer: Nerdforge

The humungous PC case was needed because Martina did not want to install a pod coffee maker. She wanted the entire machine: from bean grinder to brewer and dispenser, all-in-one, functioning glitch-free on a press of a button. The PC case was first cleared of the side panels and obstruction on the right where the coffee mug would need space to move in and out. Then the bean grinder was first trimmed to fit into the case with 3D printed pipes, funnels and attachments connecting it to the brewing machine.

Martina removed the coffee container from the dispenser to replace it with a mug that could be easily accessed by the user. Once the hardware was ready, the recreated coffee machine was connected to an Arduino (by Martina’s partner Hansi) to be able to control it using just one button. The machine grinds, brews, and dispense a savory cup of coffee in one breath, with all the precision. The duo has added a visual progress bar to see where the coffee making process has reached. Also, provided is a sensor that ensure the coffee never begins brewing until there is a cup in the holder.

Although everything in the video is all about the installation of the coffee machine in the PC case, it has been fitted with capable innards to deliver computing needs. It comes installed with Intel Core i7-14700K processor and an Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti graphics. Other details are scanty, but the PC is air-cooled to ensure it can keep the temperature on both – coffee machine and PC – sides effectively cooled. Finally, for an impressive and aesthetically pleasing look, Martina decorated the case mod with stained wood on both the inside and the outside, and finished the look with LED lights.

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Ambitious handheld gaming PC fuses Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Surface

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PC gaming is taking on a rather interesting turn in terms of design, with the rise of handheld gaming devices. Valve’s Steam Deck fired the opening salvo, and soon the likes of ASUS, Lenovo, and now MSI have followed suit. While the big brands took their sweet time joining the bandwagon, other manufacturers have already been playing this game for quite some time and have even iterated over a few unusual designs. One of those happens to be arriving soon, with what could only be called the love child of the Nintendo Switch and the Microsoft Surface tablet, offering a single device for both work and play that stretches the definition of what “handheld” really means.

Designer: ONE-NETBOOK

To be even considered gaming-worthy, these handheld computers need to pack enough power to satisfy the greed of AAA titles. Of course, that power can also be used for other activities, but the design of a relatively small handset device isn’t exactly conducive to anything but gaming. You can, of course, connect the handheld PC to a dock and other peripherals, but you can only do that at home or in the office.

In order to satisfy the needs of both entertainment and productivity, the OneXPlayer X1 shatters a few conventions, especially when it comes to screen size. If you think the Lenovo Legion GO’s 8.8-inch screen is already massive, then you’re jaw will probably drop at this 10.95-inch 2.5K screen. That’s pretty much “netbook” size, which means it’s a little bit more comfortable to view documents and spreadsheets, especially when you have to type them out. Of course, that does also mean you have a larger view of your games, but it comes at the price of portability, though ONE-NETBOOK advertises the device will only be 789 grams thanks to the use of 6000 series aviation aluminum.

The OneXPlayer X1’s inspiration can clearly be seen from the detachable controls. Flanking the sides of the large tablet are removable controllers clearly inspired by the Switch Joy-cons. When it’s time to start typing, however, the keyboard cover, ala the Surface Pro, comes into play. While the laptop use case is a proven design, it remains to be seen whether the promise of lightweight handheld gaming will actually be delivered.

It’s interesting to see how the OneXPlayer X1 combines multiple designs gathered from computing history, from the canceled Razer Edge Pro to the unexpected Microsoft Surface Pro to the successful Nintendo Switch. Of course, simply combining successful designs doesn’t guarantee the same successful outcome, especially when that combination itself is still unproven and almost questionable. With an Intel Core Ultra processor and Intel’s ARC GPU, there might be some doubt as to its actual gaming chops. And with a price tag that starts at around $950 for the baseline specs, that’s too expensive a risk to take as well.

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