Lenovo brings gaming to the ThinkPad for the first time with its X1 Extreme

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Extreme made its debut at this week’s IFA 2018 convention in Berlin. Ideal for the workplace, this new laptop includes features that enhance security in the office, including a fingerprint reader, an infrared scanner, and a ThinkShutter cover for the built-in webcam. Measuring 0.72 inches thin and weighing up to 4.04 pounds. it’s nice and portable for workers on the go.

Although Lenovo didn’t provide any detailed specifics about the new laptop’s processors, the options will be based on Intel’s eighth-generation “Coffee Lake-H” family introduced in April. There are two Core i7 six-core processors in this family, along with two Core i5 four-core chips.

The processor backs a 15.6-inch IPS screen with two configurations: A 1,920 x 1,080 resolution with a decent brightness of 300 nits, and a touch-enabled 3,840 x 2,160 resolution with HDR support at a brighter 400 nits. These screens are powered by the CPU’s integrated graphics and a discrete GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q chip for decent gaming when the boss isn’t looking. The GPU includes 4GB of dedicated video memory.

According to the specs, this laptop supports up to 64GB of system memory (DDR4) clocked at 2,666MHz, meaning it can handle up to two 32GB sticks (2x slots). For storage, you can have two stick-shaped M.2 2280 PCIe SSDs supporting up to 2TB of storage (2x 1TB). If you need additional storage, just connect an external drive to one of the laptop’s many ports.

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme includes two USB-A ports (5Gbps), two Thunderbolt 3 ports (40Gbps), one SD card reader, and one HDMI 2.0 port. There doesn’t appear to be an Ethernet port, so networking falls back on the laptop’s Wireless AC connectivity, or an adapter or dock you can purchase separately. Presumably, Bluetooth is also on the menu, although it wasn’t included in Lenovo’s prerelease notes.

Lenovo says the top cover structure consists of four layers of reinforced carbon fiber. It also ships with a stylus that supports tilt and shade functions, and a 135-watt power supply that’s 25 percent smaller than what’s used by other ThinkPad models. An 80WHr rapid-charge battery powers this laptop, promising up to 15 hours of use on a single charge.

Sound is handled by Dolby Audio Premium, which includes support for Dolby Vision and Dolby ATMOS. The laptop weighs 3.75 pounds without the touchscreen and 4.04 pounds with touch intact. The fingerprint reader resides to the right of the backlit keyboard.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme arrives in September with a starting price of $1,860. Here are the specifications at a glance:

• Screen size: 15.6-inches
• Screen resolution: Full HD (300 nits) / 4K with Touch (400 nits)
• Processor: Up to Core i7 with vPro (Coffee Lake-H)
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q (4GB)
• Memory: Up to 64GB DDR4 @ 2,666MHz (2x 32GB)
• Storage: 2x M.2 2280 PCIe SSD up to 2TB (2x 1TB)
• Ports: 2x USB-A, 2x Thunderbolt 3, 1x SD card reader, 1x HDMI 2.0
• Audio: Dolby Audio Premium
• Battery: 80WHr
• Camera: HD with ThinkShutter, HD + IR
• Size: 14.24 x 9.67 x 0.72 inches
• Weight: 3.75 pounds (no touch) / 4.04 pounds (with touch)

Editors’ Recommendations

• Lenovo’s first VR-certified 15-inch mobile workstation packs a six-core CPU
• Touchpad on the new Asus ZenBook Flip turns into an LED-illuminated NumberPad
• Dell’s new Inspiron 2-in-1 PCs, premium Inspiron 2-in-1 Chromebook debut at IFA
• Lenovo’s new mobile workstations pack a punch with Xeon CPUs, Quadro graphics
• Lenovo ThinkPad T480s review

The best laptops of IFA 2018

IFA is one of the larger stages for new laptops each year, and this year’s selection of proves that to be true. Though we’re still waiting for new laptops from Microsoft, Apple, and Google, other big players introduced sweeping portfolios of new Windows 10 laptops, 2-in-1s, Chromebooks — and even some experimental oddities that defy the conventional categories.

Here are the five laptops from IFA 2018 that we’re most excited to get extended hands-on time with later this year.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme

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There’s no lack of love for the ThinkPad brand out there, especially if we’re talking about the excellent new X1-series laptops Lenovo has launched in the past few years. This newest 15-inch ThinkPad X1 laptop takes the premium-level build and components to the next level, throwing in a capable graphics card, the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q. On top of that, it comes with a powerful Intel H-series six-core processor, a 4K HDR display, and up to 15 hours of battery life.

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme has its aim set directly on laptop like the Dell XPS 15 and the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Despite its hefty $1,860 starting price, we think this laptop has the potential to reach beyond just ThinkPad devotees.

Asus ZenBook S

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The original ZenBook S was launched just recently, and we reviewed it as one of our favorite premium 13-inch laptop. It has a killer design, a gorgeous 4K display, and excellent performance. Asus is already following it up by refreshing it with the newest 8th-gen Intel processors, more specifically, the Whisky Lake chips announced at IFA.

Asus says these news chips provide a 10 percent performance enhancements over the previous ZenBook S — and even more interestingly, up to twenty hours of battery life. Manufacturer battery claims always have to be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s still an impressing number to boost. So far, only the Surface Book 2 (which has extra juice in the tablet) and Qualcomm-powered PCs have come close to lasting for twenty hours.

Lenovo Yoga Book

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Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The original Yoga Book seemed crazy when first introduced in 2016, but these days a keyboard-less, dual-screen notebook feels more like the future of laptop form factors than a silly experiment. The 2nd-generation Yoga Book was teased at Computex earlier this year, alongside a couple of other interesting keyboard-less designs, but IFA was its full, official introduction. The new version comes with two 10.8-inch displays, one in the lid and one where the keyboard would normally. In place of a keyboard is a Full HD E-Ink display that works for both typing and stylus use. We found typing significantly improved this time around.

The lack of a keyboard means the Yoga Book is incredibly thin and light. In fact, as far as we can tell, it’s the thinnest and lightest laptop ever made. It starts at $1,000 for the base model, which comes with a 7th-gen Y-Series processor. It’s unfortunate Lenovo couldn’t implement the new 8th-gen processors in time, though it seems as if the project has been in the works for a long time.

Read out Lenovo Yoga Book hands-on review

Asus ZenBook 13 / 14 / 15

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Asus relaunched the ZenBook 13 at IFA, showing off its new trimmed-down bezels and smaller footprint. There’s now a 92 percent screen-to-body ratio, making for a great new look for these affordable ZenBooks. They come in 13-inch, 14-inch, and 15-inch sizes, with options of up to a 4K display. It’s not all just about looks, though — Asus has packed some impressive components under the hood too.

All models come with the latest Whiskey Lake 8th-gen processors and options for a discrete graphics card. The GeForce MX150 is available for the smaller sizes, and the GTX 1050 (Max-Q) for the 15-inch. The most interesting feature included is the touchpad, which can be turned into a Numpad when needed. We don’t have any details on specific configuration options, pricing, or release date yet.

Acer Swift 5

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The Swift 5 was advertised in its announcement as the lightest 15-inch ever made. It also has tiny bezels and a thinned out chassis, for a modern look that’s a huge upgrade over last year’s model. The design is an impressive feat, but it’s actually not the most compelling feature of the laptop.

Thanks to the new Intel U-Series processors, the Swift 5 comes with both built-in 4G LTE and Gigabit Wi-Fi. While it’s not the only laptop to receive these important new connectivity features, the $1,100 starting price makes it a bit more accessible for the average person.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The $1,100 Acer Swift is the lightest 15-inch laptop ever made
• The ThinkPad X1 Extreme might be my dream laptop
• Asus ZenBook UX330UA review
• Lenovo’s keyboard-less Yoga Book now comes with dual screens
• MacBook Pro 13-inch with Touch Bar review

Lenovo’s keyboard-less Yoga Book now comes with dual screens

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Chuong Nguyen/Digital Trends

Chuong Nguyen/Digital Trends

When it debuted two years ago, Lenovo’s groundbreaking Yoga Book reimagined the traditional keyboard with a glass surface and laser-etched keys. At IFA, Lenovo is back again with an updated Yoga Book with two displays, and the refreshed device lends insight into how a dual-screen computing device could work. Like its predecessor, this year’s Yoga Book is also geared at note-takers.

The original Yoga Book came with a primary display, a hinge that liberally borrows from Lenovo’s Yoga convertible laptops, and a second glass panel. On traditional notebooks, a physical keyboard would occupy much of the surface on this glass panel, but Lenovo swapped out a physical keyboard with moving parts in favor of laser-etched capacitive touch keys on the glass surface. The move not only allowed the Yoga Book to be extremely slim and sturdy for its size, but it gave Lenovo the opportunity to introduce a physical notepad where handwritten sketches and notes can be digitally transcribed, allowing the user to retain both the pen-and-paper copy and a saved digital file.

Chuong Nguyen/Digital Trends

Unlike the original Yoga Book, which came with Android and Windows options, this year’s Yoga Book C930 is purely a Windows affair, and will be available in October starting at $999. Lenovo is swapping out the glass-etched keyboard and paper notepad accessory from the previous generation in favor of an electronic ink display, making this year’s Yoga Book a true dual-screen laptop. The main display comes with a 10.8-inch panel and a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels, while the 10.8-inch E Ink panel comes with a full HD resolution.

Because the device relies on a secondary glass screen rather than a physical keyboard for input, the Yoga Book is an extremely slim device, measuring 9.9mm thick when closed. Lenovo claims that the Yoga Book is the world’s thinnest and lightest dual-display laptop. Because the device is so thin, Lenovo created a new way to open the Yoga Book when it’s resting on a table. Instead of lifting the lid, you can now knock on the device and it will open.

Chuong Nguyen/Digital Trends

The electronic ink display serves as the keyboard, notepad, and e-reader, depending on the application in use, and this year’s Yoga Book C930 delivers a keyboard with bigger keys and a larger trackpad. It remains to be seen how comfortable the Yoga Book’s E Ink keyboard will be for long typing sessions. Note-takers and digital artists can rely on the Wacom Active Pen with Bluetooth to jot notes or draw on either displays. The pen attaches to the Yoga Book via magnets. There’s also an IR optical fingerprint sensor and support for Dolby Atmos audio on the dual speaker system.

The laptop ships with either a 7th-generation Intel Core i5 7Y54 or 7th generation Intel Core m3 7Y30 processor, 4GB RAM, up to 256GB of solid-state storage, and two USB-C ports. For mobile users, the Yoga Book C930 can also be configured with optional LTE connectivity.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Lenovo Yoga Book C930 hands-on review
• Intel hopes to kick-start dual-screen Windows 10 market with its own designs
• Brace yourself! The age of keyboard-less laptops is upon us
• The best laptops of IFA 2018
• Windows 10 Mail will let you handwrite your email with a stylus

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme might be my dream laptop

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I’m not the target audience for a “mobile workstation” laptop. I don’t edit video. I don’t run complex simulations. I rarely even edit photos, and when I do, it’s a simple change of aspect ratio in GIMP. Yet two years ago, Lenovo’s ThinkPad P50 seduced me with its combination of simple functionality and incredible power. I spend a lot of time in front of a computer. I use a PC for work, then relax by firing up a PC game like World of Warcraft or Warframe. Lenovo’s ThinkPad P50 handled both without trouble.

Handling the P50 itself, though, was trouble. It weighed 5.6 pounds and was about an inch thick, enough to make hauling it in my usual messenger bag a chore. The problem might’ve been a deal breaker if I were to buy it for my own, personal use.

Lenovo understand my plight, it seems, and now it has a solution: The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme.

Lenovo has wrapped everything I liked about the hefty P50 into a much more portable device.

For those unfamiliar, the X1 lineup serves as the flagship ThinkPads. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga are top-tier portable business laptops with one weak spot. They’re not all as powerful, especially in the graphics department. The X1 Extreme fixes that issue — and then some.

I’ll get straight the point. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme comes with Nvidia’s GeForce 1050 Ti Max-Q graphics chip. It’s not god-tier hardware, but we’ve tested plenty of 1050 Ti hardware in the past and have always judged the 1080p gaming performance on the enjoyable side of adequate.

Lenovo’s decision to pick this chip, instead of the workstation-focused Quadro line, is a bit weird given the ThinkPad’s supposed focus on business use. Not that I care. That’s not what I want it for. I’d rather have the GeForce; it moderates the laptop’s price and will offer access to driver updates that focus on gaming instead of CAD.

And here’s the other key point: The X1 Extreme keeps the 15-inch display, but it weighs about 3.8 pounds.

That’s almost half what the P50 weighed. That’s what 13-inch laptops weighed just a few years ago. You can buy a lighter laptop, to be sure, but at 3.8 pounds it’s light enough to not feel like a burden. It even shaves about a half-pound off the weight of Microsoft’s Surface Book 2 15-inch, a device I often tote to and from the Digital Trends office.

I often worry that laptop progress has stalled. I worry that today’s laptops aren’t that much better than those which came a few years ago. But here, I can see and feel the progress. Lenovo has wrapped everything I liked about the hefty P50 into a much more portable device, and they’re not even charging more for it. The X1 Extreme will start at $1,860 – the P50 I loved in 2016 was priced at $2,350.

There’s no doubt I’ll be giving the X1 Extreme a close look, and I won’t have to wait long to do it. The first units will be sold later this month. If you want a Core i9 model you’ll have to wait until December, but if your interest in the X1 Extreme aligns with mine, you can skip that.

As for me, well, I hope to see the X1 Extreme in our lab soon. A World of Warcraft expansion just came out, and I need to put it through its paces.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best laptops of IFA 2018
• Dell XPS 15 9570 review
• Microsoft Surface Laptop review
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 review
• Lenovo revamps Legion brand with affordable gaming laptops and desktops

Lenovo Yoga Book C930 hands-on review

Research Center:

Lenovo Yoga Book C930

Everything about the Lenovo Yoga Book C930 feels like the future. It’s the laptop James T. Kirk would use (in the new movies, of course). Why? Because it doesn’t have an actual, physical keyboard, and instead has a beautiful piece of glass covering an E-Ink screen on which the keyboard appears. What’s more sci-fi than typing on nothing more than a glass panel?

Of course, it’s actually not sci-fi at all, because the vast majority of us type on a pane of glass everyday. The touchscreen smartphone has made this a normal action, so why does having one on a laptop feel so futuristic? After all, we could type on a tablet too if we wanted more screen real estate than a phone. It’s all to do with the Yoga Book being an actual computer, despite its high-tech looks. At its heart, this is still a laptop.

Wait, no keyboard?

Without a physical keyboard, you’re probably wondering how you’re supposed to get any work done on the Yoga Book like you would on an ordinary laptop. But it’s less akin to typing on a tablet than you might think. Due to it being in a laptop configuration with the screen upright in front of you, typing feels quite natural. The E-Ink keyboard is sized perfectly, and I could touch type on it almost immediately, without much practice. The keys animate and even provide some haptic feedback vibrations depending on the key presses.

There’s even an E-Ink touchpad to navigate around Windows 10. Don’t dismiss it as slow because it’s E-Ink either, as there is no lag when using it as a keyboard. Typing is not usually an action that fills me with joy, but I smiled when typing on the Yoga Book C930. Take that as a sign that it’s a very special experience.

Lenovo even explained the keyboard has a degree of intelligence, where it learns how you type and will adjust its understanding of where you hit keys on a repeated basis. If you always hit the F key in a way that touches the R key, the Yoga Book will learn that’s how you type.

If you always hit the F key in a way that touches the R key, the Yoga Book will learn that’s how you type.

But it’s a special experience long before you even get to the keyboard. It’s ultra-thin when closed, and the wonderfully over-engineered hinge system looks fantastic, just like it did on the first Yoga Book. Lenovo is proud of its solution to the slightly awkward way of prising the old model open, and we think it’s one of the most fun solutions to an unusual problem we’ve seen in a while.

With the Yoga Book closed, you knock twice on the leading edge — really — and the top section automatically pops up a centimeter or so, allowing you to easily open the clamshell. It reminded us of Huawei’s innovative solution to where it would place the front facing camera on the MateBook X Pro. Different, innovative, and fun.

The E-Ink screen is more than just a keyboard too. Using a menu in the top right, you can change it to a notepad on which to scribble notes with the included stylus. A button on the stylus erases or copies text, all of it fast and responsive, even offering varying pressures for more creative uses.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

E-Ink limitations mean it’s not in color though. The pen magnetically attaches to the Yoga Book’s case when not in use, and is included with the package rather than being sold as an extra. Most will be familiar with E-Ink screen technology from e-readers like the Amazon Kindle, as it’s easy on the eyes when reading. The Yoga Book’s keyboard also has a reading mode, ready to display a book or two, but only in limited formats like PDFs at launch, with others to follow later.

You knock twice on the leading edge and the top section automatically pops up a centimeter or so.

Whether open or closed, the Yoga Book is a compact, highly portable computer at 0.39 inches thick and only 1.7 pounds in weight. In case you’re counting, that makes the Yoga Book the lightest laptop ever made — and very close to one of the thinnest as well. Its overall footprint is small too, with both screens measuring in at 10.8-inches. The LCD IPS main display has a 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution and looked bright and punchy in our brief hands-on, while the E-Ink screen has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.

Inside there is a choice of processor, the seventh generation Intel Core M3 7Y30 or Core i5 7Y54, and both are matched to 4GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of SSD storage. We’re a little disappointed Lenovo couldn’t use Intel’s newer 8th-gen Y-Series processors, especially since they were announced at the very same conference. Lenovo says it just missed the boat on integrating the new processors. Unfortunately, that means the Yoga Book could begin to feel quite outdated in just a couple of years. A 4G LTE version will be sold in some regions, but is not expected to come to North America.

Lenovo Yoga Book C930 Compared To

HP ZBook Studio G4

Acer Aspire VX 5-591G 5652

Asus Zenbook 3 UX390UA

Lenovo ThinkPad X260

Lenovo Ideapad 710S

Dell XPS 13 (Skylake)

LG Gram 15 Z960

Asus Zenbook UX501VW-DS71T

Samsung ATIV Book 9 (2014)

Dell XPS 15 (2012)

Fujitsu LifeBook S6510

Panasonic Y2

Compaq Presario R3000

Gateway 200XL

Sony VAIO PCG-Z1AP1

Approximately nine hours of use is expected from the battery, while the E-Ink screen used on its own to read books will last around 13 hours on a single charge. There are two ports, both USB Type-C 3.1, plus a fingerprint sensor along the top edge of the E-Ink screen. It uses an infrared sensor to operate even if your fingers are damp. There are a couple of speakers, complete with Dolby Atmos, and a physical volume rocker on the side of the body, alongside a sleep/wake key.

Is it love?

While we fell completely, head-over-heels in love with the Yoga Book C930, we’re also aware this could be an old-fashioned crush that may spoil when we spend more time with it. There are question marks over the effectiveness of the keyboard when typing for a long time, or when accuracy fails due to tiredness or fatigue, things that a physical keyboard compensates for naturally.

We fell completely, head-over-heels in love with the Yoga Book C930.

The Yoga Book is also small for a laptop — and expensive too. It’s $1,000 for the basic 128GB Core m3 model and around $1,500 for the upper model. Only after spending more time with it will we know if it can challenge other laptop computers that cost this much, or if its natural competition is the Apple iPad Pro with a keyboard case and the Apple Pencil. It is unquestionably more versatile than the iPad, and definitely better-looking; but for travel convenience the iPad makes a very strong case for itself. There also won’t be an Android version like there was with the first model either.

It’s coming out in October, and despite not getting to swoon over it for very long, it’s still fresh in our mind as one of the standout new devices revealed at the IFA 2018 technology show. The Lenovo Yoga Book C930 has a fresh design, innovative enjoyable-to-use technology, masses of sci-fi cool, and a case you knock twice to open up. At this point, we’re counting out the dollar bills to get one.

Lenovo beats Google to the punch with the first 4K Chromebook

Lenovo Yoga Chromebook

Lenovo has jumped ahead of Google’s long-rumored second-generation Pixelbook with a fancy new Chromebook of its own that comes packing a 4K screen and an eighth-generation Intel Core processor. What’s even more impressive is that it keeps the price tag much more reasonable than Google’s earlier Pixelbook release. The price is just $600 for the new 2-in-1.

Debuted at the IFA 2018 show, the Yoga Chromebook is a 15-inch 2-in-1 Chromebook with a 4K “near-edgeless” touchscreen display. There is an option for a 1080p screen at the same size, with both using IPS panels for great color reproduction and viewing angles. Both screens can fold to any configuration through its 360-degree hinge, making it a true convertible 2-in-1 for both tablet and laptop use.

It’s not the lightest 2-in-1 in the world, with an overall weight of 4.2 pounds. It doesn’t have a detachable keyboard like the Surface Book 2 either, so don’t expect this to be the easiest tablet to hold in one hand for long periods of time. It is, however, portable enough to stay far from a power socket for up to 10 hours, thanks to its on-board 56 watt-hour battery life.

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Lenovo Yoga Chromebook

Lenovo Yoga Chromebook

Lenovo Yoga Chromebook

Lenovo Yoga Chromebook

Lenovo Yoga Chromebook

Under the hood, the Yoga Chromebook sports an eighth-generation Intel Core i5-8250U Kaby Lake R processor, featuring four cores and eight-threads (thanks to hyperthreading). It’s paired up with 8GB of DDR4 memory and 64GB or 128 GB of eMMC flash storage. That combination of hardware should offer solid performance, especially when combined with the lightweight operating system that is Chrome OS.

In terms of graphics, this Chromebook will be about as capable as its contemporaries, thanks to the on-board Intel HD 620 graphics core. Gaming isn’t exactly a forte of Chrome OS, but at least with its expanded support of Android apps, there are some games available for those who want to do a little more than web browsing, email, and watching Netflix.

The Yoga Chromebook is set to go on sale this October, with a starting price of $600. Prospective buyers will need to pay extra for the 4K display or extra storage space, though exact pricing for those upgrades has yet to be revealed.

It’s not the only Chromebook that Lenovo unveiled at this year’s IFA show. The Lenovo C330 Chromebook is a much more mainstream offering. It has an 11-inch form factor and offers affordable Chrome OS computing in a compact package. It weighs just 2.6 pounds and is less than an inch thick at its widest point.

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Lenovo C330 Chromebook

Lenovo C330 Chromebook

Lenovo C330 Chromebook

Lenovo C330 Chromebook

Its internal hardware is a lot less extravagant than the Yoga Chromebook, but its ARM processor, 4GB of memory, and a choice of 32 or 64GB of storage space should give it plenty of resources for running a number of Chrome OS and Android applications. It also supports USB-C for fast transfers and charging and has a battery life that should stretch to 10 hours if used for lightweight tasks.

The S330 Chromebook is an even more affordable offering — starting at $250 — but it’s much larger too. The 14-inch clamshell design is only a little thicker and heavier, but features a full-HD display and narrow bezels for a seamless look.

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Lenovo S330 Chromebook

Lenovo S330 Chromebook

Lenovo S330 Chromebook

Lenovo S330 Chromebook

It features the same MTK8173C Arm processor as the 11-inch Chromebook, as well as 4GB of RAM and up to 64GB of on-board flash storage. Its battery should also last 10 hours, though due to the larger, higher-resolution display, you may need to be a bit smarter about your usage to hit that sort of longevity.

The Chromebooks are set to go on sale in October.

If you want to order something now, these are the best Chromebooks you can buy.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best Chromebooks of 2018
• Samsung Chromebook Pro review
• 5 features we want in Google’s Pixelbook 2
• Samsung’s speedier Chromebook Plus V2 now comes with a second camera
• The slick HP Chromebook x2 just landed at Best Buy

Apple patent hints at smarter charging for a potential wireless pad

It’s no secret that Apple has been working on wireless charging for some time now, but just because it has announced its AirPower wireless charger, that doesn’t mean that it has ceased development on the tech. In fact, the company has been awarded a new patent called “Inductive Power Transmitter,” hinting at a smarter wireless charger that can detect foreign objects like coins or paperclips nearby, and either redirect charging or stop charging altogether to prevent any unwanted objects from heating up.

It’s important to note that this patent is a continuation of previous patents dating back to 2015 — so Apple has been working on the tech for a few years now. It’s even possible that the tech will be included in Apple’s upcoming AirPower charging pad, which was announced alongside the iPhone X last year, and is expected to finally be released to the public at Apple’s upcoming September 12 event. Still, considering this is just a patent, it’s possible the tech won’t ever make it to market, or that it will find its way into future versions of the AirPower charger.

The patent describes a few ways of detecting foreign objects on the charging pad. The first method is to track power loss. By tracking how much power is being transmitted and how much is being received by the iPhone or Apple Watch, the charging pad can detect how much is being lost in the process. The second method of tracking foreign objects is to include separate coils in the charger that can detect excitation by foreign objects. Changes in induction are then measured, indicating whether or not a foreign object is present. The third and final method includes generating a resonating voltage in either the receiver or detection coil and detecting the Q changes through a transmitter coil.

If this all sounds a bit technical, all you really need to know is that Apple wants to make wireless chargers safer for normal use.

The future of wireless charging certainly is bright. While many Android manufacturers have been using wireless charging for some time now, the fact that Apple has included it in recent iPhones means it will likely become much more mainstream in coming years — and that more development will be put into wireless charging, meaning it should get a whole lot better.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here’s everything we know about Apple’s AirPower wireless charging mat
• Apple found guilty of infringing WiLan patents, must pay $145 million
• Microsoft patent filing hints at wireless charging for future Surface PCs
• Updated Apple patent suggests MacBook Pro will eventually sport touchscreens
• Whirlpool may dip its toe in the sous vide space, new patent suggests

Netgear’s Alexa-enabled Orbi Voice mesh Wi-Fi speaker packs Harman Kardon audio

Netgear is bringing a new triple-play addition to its Orbi Mesh Wi-Fi line. The Orbi Voice Smart Speaker and Wi-Fi Mesh Satellite is a single unit that combines a mesh Wi-Fi extender, an Alexa-enabled smart home assistant, and Harman Kardon audio. Netgear announced the new product at IFA 2018.

The mesh Wi-Fi extender gives you broader, more even internet access throughout your home; Alexa is ready for your voice commands; and the Harman Kardon components provide high-end audio.

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“Products that solve multiple consumer needs are increasingly in demand, and the exquisite sound quality of Harman Kardon elevates the dynamic Orbi Voice Smart Speaker,” said David Rogers, president of Harman’s consumer audio business unit.

Combining three key features in one compact smart home appliance saves device and cable clutter.

Owners can add and configure the Orbi Voice Smart Speaker and Wi-Fi Mesh Satellite to their existing home networks and internet service using the free mobile Orbi app. The app also includes update, feature enhancement, and network-management controls.

The Orbi app’s Circle Smart parent controls let owners manage content kids can access, and the time they spend online. You can also configure a separate Wi-Fi network for guest use that runs separately from your home network to protect access to your devices and content.

If you still have devices that demand a wired Ethernet cable network connection, each Orbi Voice Mesh Wi-Fi Satellite has two gigabit Ethernet ports for more reliable connections and potentially higher speeds than with wireless hookups.

Netgear’s senior vice president of connected home products, David Henry, explained the reasoning behind the three-feature Orbi Voice Smart Speaker and Mesh Wi-Fi Satellite. “The two fastest-growing consumer trends for smart home technology have been the popularity of the voice assistant control and the growth of Wi-Fi mesh systems,” Henry said.

“It is also widely known that the most popular skill employed with smart speakers is to enjoy streaming music services,” Henry continued. “To address this need, we have taken our expertise in Wi-Fi and married it with a legend in the industry, Harman Kardon, to deliver superior sound quality while aligning with the leading providers of streaming music to give our customers the best Wi-Fi and hi-fi in one package.”

Netgear revealed two configurations. The Orbi Mesh Wi-Fi System, available in September, includes an Orbi Tri-Band Router and an Orbi Voice Smart Speaker and Mesh Wi-Fi Satellite for $430. If you don’t need the router, the Orbi Voice Smart Speaker and Wi-Fi Mesh Satellite will be available on its own later in the fall for $300.

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The best universal car mounts for your Android phone

Keep your phone safely in sight and secure with a car mount.

When you’re on the go, your phone is more than just a tool for keeping in touch. It’s your road trip playlist and your GPS, too. For safety’s sake, mounting your phone to your dashboard, windshield, or air vents is the best way to keep it in view while keeping your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. We’ve gathered up a list of some excellent options for universal car mounts, and trust us, there’s no shortage of choices out there.

Note: Before you consider a windshield mount for your phone, you should make and check that windshield mounts are allowed in the states you’ll be driving most frequently in. As it stands, most states outlaw windshield mounted GPS or phone holders due to visibility and safety concerns.

• Baseus Gravity Air Vent Wireless Car Charger
• iOttie Easy One Touch 4 Car Mount
• iOttie Easy One Touch Qi Wireless CD Slot
• WizGear Universal Air Vent Magnetic Mount
• Nite Ize Steelie
• Spigen Kuel A201 Premium Magnetic Mount
• Spigen Kuel OneTap Car Mount
• Koomus Eco-CD One Touch Car Mount

Baseus Gravity Air Vent Wireless Car Charger

Baseus’s wireless car charger is powerful enough to fast charge compatible Samsung phones, and clips into your air vent so your view of the road is unobstructed. You can also use the AC coming out of those vents to keep your phone cool while it charges, and the gravity-based clamps allow make it ridiculously easy to get your phone in and out while still keeping your phone secure while you drive.

$28 at Amazon

More and more phones are including Qi wireless charging, so if you’re in the market for a car mount, you may as well get one that charges your phone while you drive. Rather than having a dot on the back of the mount that triggers the spring-loaded clamps, Baseus uses the weight of the phone on the bottom lip of the mount instead. This makes getting your phone in and out of the mount a breeze, but also means you can only use the Baseus in portrait, not landscape.

iOttie Easy One Touch 4 Car Mount

iOttie has been a leading brand for car mounts for years, and their latest dashboard/windshield mount, the Easy One Touch 4, is the best mount they’ve ever made. Simply press the tabs on the side of the mount in then tap your phone to the button in the middle of the mount to spring it closed. It’s easy to use and can accommodate even the largest phones out there with or without a case.

$25 at Amazon

The Easy One Touch 4 can be oriented any way you like in your car thanks to a swiveling telescopic arm. The suction cup mount that’s installed on the mount out of the box is ideal for smooth surfaces such as a windshield, but since that’s illegal in most states, iOttie also includes an adhesive pad to help attach the mount to your dashboard.

iOttie Easy One Touch Qi Wireless Fast Charge CD Slot

Everything we said about how easy iOttie’s One Touch 4 is to use above is just as true with this CD-slot-mounted model, so you won’t have to fiddle with your phone every time you hop in for a drive. Fast wireless charging capabilities double the price, but it also doubles the convenience of charging your phone every time you plop it in the charger.

$50 at Amazon

iOttie gets another mention on our list because they make great car mounts, and this one clips into the CD slot you haven’t used in ten years. This not only takes advantage of an otherwise unused space in your car, but — depending on the layout of your dash — keeps your view of the road unobstructed. Qi wireless charging embedded in this charger supports fast wireless charging on compatible Samsung devices, with an additional USB port for charging your passenger’s phone or your favorite Bluetooth headphones while you drive.

Nite Ize Steelie

This is definitely one of the coolest mounts on this list. The Steelie is a two-piece magnetic mounting system wherein a concave magnet adheres to the back of your phone or its case, and a spherical magnetic base adheres to your car’s dashboard or console.

$18.50 at Amazon

Hop in the car, and your phone mounts in a snap. This is about as minimalist as it gets in terms of car mounts. Making sharp turns and hitting potholes? No worries: The magnet is super strong and the magnetic ball moves with your phone to prevent it from falling off. This beauty of a magnetic mount is small enough to look invisible when in use, but bold enough to stand out on your dash when its empty.

WizGear Universal Air Vent Magnetic Mount

WizGear produces another magnetic mount we’re a fan of, but this one using flat plates rather than shaped ones so that you can hide the magnetic plate inside a thin case or stick it to the back of your phone case without adding that weird dimple. The magnets here are strong enough to hold your phone fast over your average pothole-riddled interstate while still being easy to pluck your phone from when you reach your destination.

$7 at Amazon

The WizGear’s air vent clips keep your phone highly visible without obstructing your view, and it doubles as a kickstand for your phone if you take it out of the car. Since the WizGear is so compact and easy to transfer between cars, it’s ideal for people who swap vehicles with spouses or children in a multi-car household or frequent travelers who want an easy-to-pack mount to use in rental cars.

Spigen Kuel A201 Premium Magnetic Air Vent Car Mount

Spigen’s Kuel A201 feature the same air vent and hideable flat magnet convenience, but thanks to a 360-degree rotating and tilting magnetic base, the A201 can display your phone at any angle you want inside your car. 6 magnets inside the base instead of the WizGear’s 4 also mean that this mount has a stronger grip to keep your phone secured over rougher drives and sharper turns.

$12 at Amazon

This bumped out air vent holder also makes the A201 compatible with cars that have air vents too recessed to use with smaller air vent mounts like the WizGear. This mount is a bit bigger and a tiny bit bulkier, but that superior grip and adaptability make it more than worth the size bump and price bump.

Spigen Kuel OneTap Car Mount

Like iOttie, Spigen makes a lot of great phone accessories and car mounts, and the Spigen Kuel OneTap gives you the same convenience and grip as the Easy One Touch 4 at only $19, $6 less than the iOttie.

$19 at Amazon

The OneTap is capable of holding even the largest phones securely, and there’s a telescopic arm for orientating the arm precisely where you need it in your vehicle. This mount will not work on a leather dashboard, so keep that in mind. It’s also available in black or white.

Koomus Pro CD Slot Car Mount

Your phone may take care of your road trip tunes these days, but your CD player can still be put to good use. Koomus’s low-profile mount is easy to slip into the long-forgotten disc slot, and your CD player won’t be damaged or even recognize that it’s in use.

$17 at Amazon

The slide-out clamp on the Koomus Pro mount holds your phone easily and securely with or without its case. You can also rotate your phone 360 degrees for better viewing. The Koomus Pro has a maximum phone width of 3.4 inches, so even the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will fit in there with a thin case.

The bottom line

First and foremost, you need to know the details of your local laws, in terms of whether or not you are allowed to mount anything on your windshield. Next, you need to consider how often you’ll use a car mount and where in your vehicle it’s going to be. Each of these car mounts has distinct advantages all their own, but we think that versatility and durability are the most important qualities to look for.

Which universal car mount are you using these days? Tell us about it in the comments!

Update August 2018: I’ve replaced the Spigen Style Ring with the Spigen A201 and updated links so that they’re all taking you to the best listings and prices for our pick.

Harman’s all new audio equipment lineups are taking IFA 2018 by storm

So much new to talk about.

IFA 2018 tech show is currently underway in Berlin. The American equivalent would be the Consumer Electronics Show, so you can imagine a lot of companies use this as a chance to introduce brand new tech lineups. Harman, Samsung’s audio subsidiary, is taking the opportunity to announce several different types of audio products this week.

The first announcement is the Harman Kardon Citation speaker series. This will be a modular home audio setup where you can buy the speakers individually or buy them together and create a surround sound system, which is similar to what Sonos does with its speakers. The entire system will cover four tabletop speakers, one sound bar, a subwoofer, and floorstanding towers. They will also have Google Assistant built in, which is a trend we’ve seen a lot from IFA speaker announcements this week.

The Harman Kardon Enchant series is getting two new versions, the Enchant 800 and Enchant 1300. These sound bars use Harman Kardon’s proprietary MultiBeam technology, which helps them simulate surround sound without a full surround sound setup. They will also have Chromecast built-in for easy access to your favorite apps. While not available for sale just yet, B&H does have the 800, the 1300, and the new subwoofer available for pre-order.

Harman is also announcing a follow-up to the JBL Charge 3 portable Bluetooth speaker called, unsurprisingly, the Charge 4. It will have 10 different color options, 20 hours of play time on a single charge, and the ability to connect to up to 100 other JBL Connect+ devices at the same time for real ragers. Like previous Charge speakers, you’ll be able to plug in and charge your mobile devices using the built-in battery.

Other JBL gear includes the true wireless earphones the JBL Endurance PEAK. These earbuds are designed for working out with water-resistance, tech called TwistLock and FlexSoft designed to ensure they never fall out, and PowerHook, which will turn them off automatically when you take them out of your ears. With a four-hour battery in the headphones and 24 more hours in the carrying case, you’ll go a long time without ever needing to plug in.

JBL’s Link Bar is a new sound bar with Android TV, Chromecast, and Google Assistant. Not only will it enhance your speakers with JBL’s sound, but you’ll also be able to access all your favorite Google Play apps, stream content, and control it all with your voice. It will come out in October for $400, although B&H does have a pre-order page up.

The JBL Link View is very similar but seems more like a competitor for the Amazon Echo Show. It includes an eight-inch touchscreen, 5MP front-facing camera, and all the Google stuff built right in. You can order it for $250 on JBL’s site because it looks like it’s coming out very early in September.

Under Armour is teaming up with JBL to release a lineup of wireless Bluetooth headphones for gym goers called the UA Sport Wireless React and Wireless Pivot, which are building on the success of Under Armour’s previous headphone models. Similar in design to other headphones we’ve seen, like the Anker SoundBuds Curve, these will be lightweight, aluminum headphones with rugged cables, water-resistance, unique ear tips so everyone can wear them comfortably, and up to nine hours of battery life. These will also come with a free one-year membership to Under Armour’s MapMyRun, which allows you to track and analyze your runs over time and normally costs $30.

AKG has four new wireless headphones coming out. The N700NC over-ear headphones will be the flagship pair with adaptive noise-cancelling, tech for taking calls on the go, a 23-hour battery life, and more. The N200, Y500, and Y100 headphones will also feature exceptional sound with Bluetooth Apt-x technology, magnetic ear buds that snap together for easy management, and auto-play features that can detect when you’re wearing the headphones or not.