Dell and Apple are the big winners in second-quarter notebook sales

Why it matters to you

Notebook sales between April and June 2017 suggest that the MacBook brand is still very strong, while Acer’s attempt to carve out a slice of the Chromebook market might be failing.

Apple recorded very strong notebook sales figures in the second quarter of 2017, thanks in no small part to the release of its revised 12-inch MacBook. The company shipped an estimated 3.98 million units between April and June, which makes for an increase of 17.1 percent over the previous quarter.

In terms of global notebook shipments, Apple now sits in fifth place, just behind Asus — and the company is certainly gaining ground. In the first quarter of 2017, Asus recorded a 9.7-percent market share while Apple could only muster 9 percent, but these results put both companies almost on a par with 10 percent each.

Apple is poised to record another significant increase when shipment results from the third quarter are announced, according to analysis from TrendForce. A focus on the MacBook Pro line will likely allow the company to once again up its total shipments by a double-digit percentage, which could enable it to outpace Asus.

At WWDC in June 2017, Apple announced plans to refresh its MacBook Pro laptops, alongside a $200 price cut to the entry-level version of the system. Since these developments only took effect deep into the second quarter, we won’t fully see the results until the next time hardware sales figures are posted.

Dell managed to outdo both Apple and Asus to comfortably take third place in the rankings. It recorded the best quarter-on-quarter improvement out of any of the top six notebook manufacturers, with an increase of 21.3 percent, according to a report from MacRumors.

Global notebook shipments in the second quarter increased by 5.7 percent over the first quarter, representing an increase of 3.6 percent over the same time span in 2016. Sales totaled 39.96 million units, with new product lines and particularly strong sales in the U.S. being cited as two of the reasons that sales figures are on an upward incline.

These sales figures don’t offer up good news for all parties, though. Acer made a big play for the Chromebook market in 2017, but based on the numbers, the effort is not necessarily paying off in the way the company might have hoped. Its market share dropped from 8.8 percent to 8 percent, and it shipped 3.5 percent less notebooks than the previous quarter to boot.

Google Contacts app is now available on all non-Pixel/Nexus Android devices

Why it matters to you

You no longer need to have a Pixel or Nexus phone to use Android’s best app for contact management.

Though many of Google’s own Android apps are available to all devices that run the platform, there have been a couple holdouts. One of them was Google Contacts. In the past, you had to own a Pixel, Nexus, or Android One phone to use it. Fortunately, the company has just opened up availability to all devices with the latest version, released to the Google Play Store on Tuesday.

While every phone comes with its own built-in contacts app, and there are loads of third-party alternatives out there, Google’s solution is distinctive because it leverages the full capabilities of the company’s cloud. There’s backup and sync, the ability to merge contacts, and fast switching between accounts if you have multiple Gmail addresses stored on your phone.

It also helps that what you see in the Google Contacts app is exactly what you get via the dedicated web version. It’s a seamless experience that was unavailable to the wide majority of Android users until this week.

Still, you’ll need to be running at least Android 5.0 Lollipop to download the app, no matter what device you’ve got. This version of Contacts is actually pretty new — the app was given a fresh look in May — though Google appears to be adding even more features in the near future, according to 9to5Google. The site recently uncovered the ability to share and add contacts via QR codes, though it isn’t live for the public yet.

Google has a history of testing and including unreleased features in public apps, long before they’re formally rolled out via a new version or a discreet server-side update. There’s no way to tell when we might see QR sharing appear — it could be weeks or months, as we’ve observed with similar updates to the company’s Allo chat platform.

Google Contacts is not to be confused with Trusted Contacts — Google’s app that allows friends and family to request and view each other’s location. The app has long been available for Android, but didn’t debut on iOS until July. Unlike Contacts, Trusted Contacts is intended more for tracking in the event of an emergency.

Close to the Metal Ep. 52: AMD’s return to form with Vega and Ryzen

Everyone loves a good comeback. AMD’s budget-focused Bulldozer chips and modest R9 graphics line had lost them the favor of all but the most devout red team members, until now. AMD’s return has had a sharp takeoff, and a steady climb towards relevance, creating a competitive market its enemies can’t ignore.

While the last few years have seen remarkable improvements to gaming PC performance, they were dominated by Intel and Nvidia. For a while, it seemed like every other system was sporting a Core i5 and GTX 970. AMD needed a saving throw, and the RX 480 struck that chord, offering a $200 GPU when Nvidia’s GTX 1070 started at almost $400.

Then along came Ryzen, with chips like the Ryzen 7 1700 offering more cores than Intel at the price point, a move the PC gaming community was quick to take advantage of. Our breakdown of all the Ryzen chips showed there was a lot of value from top to bottom, something the blue team wasn’t offering at the time.

ThreadRipper pushed performance boundaries too, with 16 cores and 32 threads of massive computing power. All of a sudden, AMD’s $800 chip was beating out Intel’s $1,060 chip in multi-core performance tests like Cinebench. Intel will have a chance to fire back in September, but AMD’s platform support on the high-end chips may still be unmatched.

And finally, we come to Vega, the long-awaited GPUs based on a brand new architecture, so far only seen in workstation graphics cards. No longer content with taking the budget market, the Radeon RX Vega 64 and Radeon RX Vega 56 aim straight for Nvidia’s GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 Ti, and actually manage to land a solid blow to the other side’s thick armor.

We’ll talk Threadripper, Vega, and AMD’s steady march back into relevance, as well as what it means for the computing and PC gaming communities at large, on this week’s Close to the Metal.

Close to the Metal is a podcast from Digital Trends that takes a deep dive into computing and PC gaming topics. Each show, we’ll focus in on one topic, and leave no stone unturned as we show off the latest in hardware and software. Whether it’s the latest GPU, supercomputers, or which 2-in-1 you should buy, we break down the complicated jargon and talk about how user experience is affected in the real world. Please subscribe, share, and send your questions to podcast@digitaltrends.com. We broadcast the show live on YouTube and Facebook at 10 a.m. Pacific / 1 p.m. Eastern, every Tuesday.

Are netbooks back? The first Windows 10 S laptop from Asus only costs $279

Why it matters to you

Your choices in low-cost and easy-to-manage Windows 10 S machines just increased with the Asus VivoBook W202.

Microsoft introduced its free, locked-down, and easier-to-manage version of Window 10, dubbed Windows 10 S, along with its premium Surface Laptop. That was an unexpected move, given that where Windows 10 S most attractive is the budget-conscious education market. Windows 10 S makes more sense when it comes loaded on low-cost machines, and Asus is one of the first manufacturers to oblige by introducing its own $279 model.

Windows 10 S is not only for education, of course. The new Asus VivoBook W202 should appeal to anyone with a severely limited budget and who is willing to compromise on some specifications. The Verge reports the VivoBook W202 offers a moderately configured machine that could be perfect for a parent to hand to a young child and feel secure that the machine will be relatively safe.

The VivoBook W202’s $279 price scores an Intel Celeron N3350 running at 1.1GHz, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage. Higher-priced options are available with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and Asus will be offering a model with the full version of Windows 10 for only $20 more.

Asus is marketing the VivoBook W202 as being built for education, touting a robust design that includes a spill-resistant keyboard, a 180-degree hinge that’s been tested to ensure reliability, and reinforced edges to protect against the inevitable drops and bumps. The 11.6-inch display is an anti-glare model to reduce eye fatigue, the keyboard offers a significant 1.8mm travel, and the touchpad is 17-percent larger to make the machine easier for students to use.

Other important specifications include up to 11 hours of battery life on a single charge and a complement of ports. Asus squeezed in two USB Type-A ports, a full-size HDMI port, and an SD card reader. Compare that to the Microsoft Surface Laptop‘s single USB Type-A port and mini-DisplayPort, and the VivoBook W202 actually comes out ahead at a fraction of the cost. In terms of size and weight, the VivoBook W202 is a chunky 2.6 pounds and 0.89 inches thick.

If you work for a school that is looking for a robust machine that students can neither easily destroy nor casually break into, then the Asus VivoBook W202 might be a solid option. It could also serve you well if you need to hand off an alternative machine to your kid and not have to worry so much about rogue applications being installed and settings being adjusted. If you are looking for a powerful machine, however, then you will likely look elsewhere.

Stem cell therapy work could solve hairy problem, banish baldness for good

Why it matters to you

Stem cell therapy could be used to promote hair growth in people with either baldness or alopecia.

Stem cells may have a part to play in regrowing everything from teeth to eyeballs, and now researchers at UCLA are working on something that would be welcomed by people suffering from a very common problem — regrowing hair in bald people. In new research, they describe a new way to activate the stem cells in the hair follicle to make new hair sprout. Such a breakthrough could potentially be used to develop drugs for promoting hair growth in people with either baldness or alopecia.

“We found that hair follicle stem cells practice a distinct type of metabolism, and that if you fiddle with it genetically or pharmacologically, you can control the rate at which these cells wake up to make new hair shafts,” Bill Lowry, a professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at UCLA, told Digital Trends.

Hair follicle stem cells generate hair over an individual’s lifetime. These remain dormant much of the time, but activate quickly when a new hair cycle prompts growth. When they don’t activate, baldness occurs. In small animal studies, the team was able to identify two drugs that influence hair follicle growth when applied to the skin. One drug is named RCGD423, and works by activating a cellular-signaling pathway that transmits information from outside the cell to the cell’s nucleus. The other drug, called UK5099, works by forcing the production of lactate in hair follicle stem cells, thereby accelerating hair growth.

“We showed that drugs that promote production of a particular metabolite can accelerate hair follicle stem cell activation in mice,” Lowry said. “We are pushing forward toward the clinic to determine if this same approach is viable for human hair in patients with thinning due to stress, age, chemotherapy, [and] hormone imbalance.”

There is still more work to be done before that point can be reached. As of now, the experimental drugs have not been tested in humans, nor approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration. Researchers are optimistic that it will reach that point. “We are considering starting a new company to support the ongoing development of new compounds that could be drugs for testing in a clinical trial,” Lowry said.

A paper describing the research was recently published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

X-Bows keyboard targets RSI but has ‘training wheels’ to ease the transition

Why it matters to you

If you suffer from carpal tunnel or RSI, or even if you just type a lot, it might be worth considering a keyboard design that better supports your wrists.

The X-Bows keyboard is a doctor-approved ergonomic keyboard that looks to fix the common repetitive strain injuries (RSI) of office workers, writers, and programmers around the world. Unlike its fellow wrist-loving designs though, it offers “training wheels” in the form of traditional keys, helping to reduce how steep the learning curve is.

RSI and carpal tunnel are common problems among the world’s millions of office workers and regular keyboard users. The standard keyboard layout running in parallel to the desk it sits on is not conducive to healthy hand and wrist positioning. The X-Bows wants to fix that but is looking to avoid the pitfalls of disinterest faced by its fellow ergonomic designs by helping to ease the transition to a new style of typing.

That is the biggest problem with ergonomic keyboard designs: Getting people to actually use them. Most people do not want to relearn how to type on a new design or find the process uncomfortable as they retrain their mind and body. The X-Bows has an angled design that brings more keys within easy reach while still having many commonly placed keys of traditional keyboards.

The keyboard angles the central letter keys but keeps the “F” key in line as usual. The backspace key can still be found where it usually is and likewise with the arrow keys. However, that same backspace function is also present on a new central key, alongside secondary enter, shift and control keys. They are there once you get used to typing in the new layout, making it so you do not have to entirely transition in one go.

On top of the ergonomic changes to the traditional keyboard design, the X-Bows also embraces modern gaming keyboard features such as RGB backlighting. It uses Gateron mechanical switches too, which are considered a solid Cherry MX alternative.

It connects using a USB Type-C interface for compatibility with a variety of smart devices, as well as traditional desktop PCs.

No official word has been released on when we can expect the X-Bows keyboard to become available, nor what it will cost initially. Since it is mechanical with RGB lighting and uses a bespoke design, it is unlikely to be cheap. We have contacted the developers and will update this piece as and when we hear back.

Time will tell whether it will join the ranks of the keyboards we consider the best ergonomic designs out there.

Allo for web brings Google Assistant to your favorite browser

Why it matters to you

Allo for web makes sending stickers, chatting with the Google Assistant, and texting a cinch.

Google’s AI-powered Allo messaging app isn’t just on smartphones anymore. On Tuesday, the search giant launched Allo for web, a companion web app that puts the messaging service’s core features in your favorite web browser.

Allo for web requires an Android phone for now, and you need a registered Allo account to use it. If you meet those prerequisites, signing up is as simple as heading to the Allo website, tap the three line menu on the top left of the Allo app, and click on Allo for web. Tap Scan QR code to open the camera, and point it at the QR code on the Allo web interface, and you’re ready to go.

Allo for web keeps things as simple. On the left-hand side is your profile picture, message history, and quick links to contacts you’ve synced with your Google account. Messaging works just like it does on your phone: When you start a chat with another Allo user (either public or Incognito), you get a menu of stickers and emojis, and any personal stickers you’ve created with Allo’s selfies feature. Allo for web, just like the Allo app, suggests short phrases — Smart Replies — that let you reply with a single tap.

You aren’t restricted to chatting with contacts who have signed up for Allo. Allo for web, just like Allo on Android and iOS, supports text messaging (SMS). But you can’t send stickers to SMS recipients, and they don’t see Allo’s animations and interactive elements.

There isn’t much in Allo for web you can tweak. Clicking on your profile picture brings up the settings menu, which lets you disable the noises and pop-up alerts that indicate the arrival of a new message. You can change the theme of each conversation thread by clicking on your chat partner’s profile picture in the upper right-hand corner, which pulls up a theme selector. That’s about it.

What’s more interesting about Allo for web is how Google Assistant, a core part of the Allo app on smartphones, is finally available on a web interface. The artificially intelligent Assistant responds inline when you invoke it by typing “@google” or click the Assistant button. Via a dedicated Assistant channel on the left-hand corner of the Allo for web menu, you get reminders or news sources you’ve subscribed to (try typing “send daily”), and reminders from your phone and other devices (“remind me”). You can ask the Assistant about movies (“good movies nearby”), restaurants (“Indian restaurants in Midtown Manhattan”), airline reservations (“my flights”), or diversions (“let’s play a game), and it’ll answer to the best of its abilities.

Allo for web is available now. A Google spokesperson told Digital Trends the Allo team is “working on bringing support for iOS soon,” but no specific date has been shared.

Save up to 66 percent on these Logitech gaming accessories today only

The PC is one of the most popular platforms for gaming, accounting for 62 percent of gamers worldwide. That means there’s no shortage of demand for quality PC accessories designed specifically for gaming. Whether you’re looking for a rumbling sound system or a highly sensitive mouse, we’ve got you covered with these Logitech gaming accessories. These deals are only available today, August 15, so act quick before the savings pass you by.

Logitech Daedalus Prime Gaming Mouse

Nothing beats the finesse of a perfect shot or the accuracy of a well-timed click. However, such accomplishments are far less frequent without a decent mouse at your side. A gaming mouse should feel like a natural extension of your hand, with little to no lag holding you back.

The Daedalus Prime Gaming Mouse offers four on-the-fly DPI settings as well as six programmable buttons to give you everything you need to up your game.

With a durable and lightweight body, high-speed clicking, and adaptable specifications, this mouse will have you gaming like you never thought you could. Pick one up today for just $17 on Amazon after a 66 percent discount.

Amazon

Logitech Speaker System with Subwoofer

A fully immersive gaming experience can quickly be ruined by poor sound. A booming explosion can only sound as real as those tiny computer speakers will allow.

The Logitech Speaker System offers 360 degrees of sound with an ultra-deep bass for a much more immersive experience.

With the Logitech Speaker System at your back, you’ll be able to feel every moment and every explosion as it happens on your screen. Grab this set of speakers for just $50 on Amazon after a 50 percent discount.

Amazon

Logitech Wireless Wave Keyboard and Mouse

A good gamer knows that you can only be as good as the tools you use. A quality keyboard can be the difference between dodging that bullet and living long enough to take down the person who fired it. And a good mouse can make or break that revenge shot and stop you from firing wildly into the sky.

This Wave Combo gives you everything you need to become a better gamer. An ergonomic design and a cushioned palm rest allow for optimal comfort and precise control.

With an operating distance of up to 30 feet, you’ll have no problem gaming from anywhere in the room. Pick up this keyboard and mouse combo for just $36 on Amazon after a 31 percent discount.

Amazon

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Looking for more great laptop deals and discounts on other electronics? Check out our deals page to score some extra savings on our favorite tech.

The new ‘Ice Lake’ flowing from Intel is filled with 9th-generation processors

Why it matters to you

Although Intel’s eighth-generation desktop processors won’t be officially revealed until Monday, now we have a code name for its ninth-generation family.

The lakes keep flowing from Intel. The company is introducing its eighth-generation “Coffee Lake” desktop processors on Monday as the solar eclipse blazes across the United States. They will follow Intel’s seventh-generation “Kaby Lake” and its sixth-generation “Skylake” processors. After that, Intel’s “Cannonlake” chips will be compacted versions of its coffee-charged eighth-generation chips hitting the market during the next nine months. Now another lake has bubbled to the surface: Ice Lake.

For starters, these are all code names for processor designs. They make individual CPU designs easy to remember, and Intel evidently understands this by sticking to lake-based names as of late. Its unannounced CPU design, “Ice Lake,” is officially listed on the company’s website, and is apparently Intel’s upcoming ninth-generation processor design based on 10nm+ process technology. According to Intel, it is the successor to its eighth-generation design.

We already know the processors making their debut will be based on the Coffee Lake-S design, which targets mainstream performance desktops using the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 branding. This family will finally introduce a six-core processor to the mainstream market along with a handful of upgrades from the previous generation.

After that, the company will continue to roll out Coffee Lake until the end of the year, and throughout the first quarter of 2018. Coffee Lake-H chips will target notebooks with high-end graphics (like gaming notebooks), Coffee Lake-U chips will appear in thin-and-light notebooks, and Coffee Lake-Y chips will be installed in tablets and 2-in-1 detachables. Coffee Lake-X will likely surface this time in 2018 for the enthusiast desktop crowd.

All of these coffee-injected chips will be based on a revision/optimization of 14nm process technology, which is a method of shrinking transistors and shoving them into a small package. But Intel is shrinking its Coffee Lake architecture even more by using 10nm process technology and calling the resulting design Cannonlake. Chips based on this CPU are not expected to arrive until the end of 2017 or early 2018 and will begin a new stage of Intel’s “Processor Architecture Optimization” model. That essentially means Intel will release three generations of processors using the same manufacturing process.

That brings us to Ice Lake. Because Cannonlake will be the first 10nm processor and a reduced version of Coffee Lake, Intel’s ninth-generation Ice Lake chips will be the second release and based on a refined version of the 10nm process technology.

Are all of Intel’s lakes confusing? Here is a chart to help:

Code-name
Generation
Process Node
Release Date
Skylake
6th
14nm
August 2015
Kaby Lake
7th
14nm
August 2016
Coffee Lake
8th
14nm+
August 2017
Cannonlake
8th
10nm
Early 2018
Ice Lake
9th
10nm+
August 2018

In the case of Cannonlake, Intel did something similar in the past. Intel shrunk its 22nm fourth-generation Haswell processor design (2013) using 14nm process technology. Ultimately called Broadwell (2014), the resulting processors did not completely replace the fourth-generation products, but merely provided additional powerful options for the performance desktop space. The Core i3/i5/i7 models were marketed as fifth-generation chips while the Celeron, Pentium, and Xeon chips were not.

Grab Samsung’s Chromebook Pro at its all-time low right now

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with a great deal on Samsung’s Chromebook Pro!

Amazon is currently offering Samsung’s Chromebook Pro for its lowest price yet. Priced at $499, this is $50 less than it was recently selling for, and about $20 less than its previous Amazon low. It features a 12.3-inch touch screen LCD display and comes equipped with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

Not sure if the Chromebook Pro is for you? From our review:

This is far and away the best Chromebook Samsung has ever made relative to the competition at the time, and considering how strong the market has become that’s an extra bit of praise. It’s extremely thin and light without feeling cheap, has an excellent display and plenty of power for any Chromebook user while hitting a reasonable price point of $550. It also has the added bonus of a stylus that performs just as well as Samsung’s Note line of phones and tablets.

This is a solid Chromebook, and at this price you won’t find much better out there. Be sure to grab one now, before the discount is gone.

See at Amazon

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For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!