Microsoft unveiled its new Microsoft 365 subscription plans today and some new Edge browser features. The biggest new addition is vertical tabs for Edge, which will allow users to stack tabs at the side of the browser instead of the traditional long list of tabs at the top. While it might look a little peculiar at first, it will be ideal for 16:9 monitors and laptops.
Websites typically look stretched out on these types of displays, with a lot of wasted vertical space. If you’re using a 3:2 display, then the regular tabs will likely be more efficient. You’ll be able to click to switch between tabs like you normally do or group tabs together and move them into the vertical list.
Most vertical tab features in browsers like Firefox or Chrome require an add-in these days, despite early implementations of vertical tabs many years ago. Microsoft claims it’s now “the only browser that allows you to manage your tabs on the side with a single click.”
The vertical tabs are expected to come to beta and canary versions of Edge within the next few months, so you won’t be able to try this new feature for a while yet.
If you’re a student who has suddenly found themselves attending classes remotely, or a person stuck working from home for a company reluctant to provide equipment, it goes without saying that you’ll need a reliable computer. Whether you need a new laptop or just need something to do some quick word processing, they usually don’t come cheap. While we typically recommend buying computers that are at least $500 to not compromise the overall experience, many of the same manufacturers have Chromebooks and Windows machines in the $300 or less range. Usually on sale, too! It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. So we did all the work for you because hunting down a cheap computer can be a confusing slog.
A word of caution about these super budget machines. They’re going to be slower machines. That means no gaming or audio of video editing. Simpler tasks like email, writing, and just browsing the web will be a little slower too, but you’ll still be able to stream videos from places like Netflix and Youtube and get most basic tasks done.
Craigslist and eBay are both places to score a decent deal on a used computer, but you can’t be sure of the quality of the device, and if it breaks and you’re not equipped to repair it you’ll be out of luck. So, typically we recommend, if you can afford it, to buy a computer from the manufacturer itself or from a major retailer that will offer a warranty.
Also, while you’ll still get adequate computing power and reliability from a less expensive machine, the screen size is typically a tiny 11-inches, and you get an incredibly small amount of storage space, sometimes as little as 16GB. You’ll normally find that small of storage space on Chromebooks, since all your files are saved to the cloud, but still try to avoid 16GB of storage or less.
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We haven’t reviewed a lot of laptops in this lower price range in the last few years so, for now, we can’t recommend any based on our own experiences. Yet I did go over through what all the major manufacturers are offering to find some of the better spec’d laptops available. If you’re trying to narrow your options down these are the cheap laptops I’d feel more comfortable investing cash in.
Windows machines
Generally speaking, if you’re going with a traditional OS, you’re going to have more storage space than a Chromebook since it’s likely that you’ll store more files on the actual computer than in the cloud. But at the $300 or lower range, it’s rare to find any with a storage solution larger than 64GB. If you’re lucky it might be 128GB. That’s like 90s or early 2000s laptop storage sizes. If you’re willing to ditch the SSD for a slower HDD, that capacity expands to a decent 500GB.
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This Dell Inspiron 14 3000 laptop has a few nice features for being only $320: 128GB SSD, Intel processor, and 14-inch display. That small SSD is what pushes it over the $300 range, and it’s not even a 2-in-1, so it doesn’t transform into a tablet either. This Dell Inspiron 15 3000 laptop for $300 though? Totally worth the price for the 500GB HDD and a slightly larger display. The AMD processor inside also helps bring the price down a bit, too, and those generally have better-integrated graphics than Intel. You’re likely getting a better deal at at $280 with this HP 15-inch display laptop, even with its modest 128GB SSD.
However, this Lenovo laptop has 1TB of space for under $300, and the same or similar specs to the rest of the Windows-based laptops, which make this one the best deal for the cost and specs, since it’s on sale right now. It has an HDD instead of an SSD, but at that price it really doesn’t matter. This laptop wasn’t made for video editing. Just writing. So, a 1TB drive is more than enough for your files and basic programs.
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If you’re looking for a 2-in-1, Asus has this little VivoBook Flip for $270, and it’s a little prettier than the Dell laptops. It has an okay 64GB of storage for the price, but a tiny 11-inch screen. Again, that’s typically what you get for something under $300. If you want something much prettier, you get the same specs in this 11-inch Lenovo IdeaPad for only $190 after applying the coupon at checkout. This is definitely worth the price.
One thing to watch out for on these cheaper Windows machines is that they almost always come with S Mode enabled, which means you can’t install anything that isn’t from the Windows store. Microsoft says this is a security measure, but frankly it’s annoying if you need to connect to your school’s network by downloading their own software. (Especially if you’re an IT professional helping a school get its students set up with laptops.) It’s easy to disable, though. Open Settings and under Update & Security > Activation.
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Chromebooks
I personally am not a fan of Chromebooks mainly because they have a lot less storage space than the Windows machines I mentioned above, and I much prefer the Windows interface to Chrome OS one. However, Chromebooks are incredibly popular in schools and if you don’t need to save a lot of files to your computer, Chromebook are an easy-to-use alternative.
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Acer kind of has the market cornered on Chromebooks that are cheap and come with decent specs. One of the best you can find is Acer’s Chromebook 15 for $300. It’s super sleek, has a nice chrome finish, and it one not only has one of the larger displays (15.6-inches) available at this price range, but it’s also a full touch screen. Downsides are that it doesn’t transform into a tablet, which makes the touch screen seem pointless, and the SSDs only come in 16GB and 32GB sizes. So don’t plan on storing much directly on the Chromebook.
This Dell Chromebook is one of the better ones out there as well, and it’s about $50 cheaper than Acer’s right now. $243 gets you 32GB of storage and an 11-inch screen. Lenovo, again, comes in with the prettier option, and the same specs as Dell, but at a slightly higher price. (I guess beauty is worth $20 more.)
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(As a general note about ordering laptops and Chromebooks online right now: availability may change from retailer to retailer. So if you find something you like but it just went out of stock, you can plug the name and model into a different retail site to see if they have it in stock for around the same price. Shipping times may vary, too.)
There's a subscription for almost anything these days. You can pay companies such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney, HBO, ESPN and Quibi as little as $4.99 a month for access to vast libraries of movies and TV shows, new and old. You can pay Apple and Google as little as 99 cents a month to store your photos, documents and all sorts of other data. Video game companies such as Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation offer access to hundreds of games for as little as $10 per month. And don't forget Amazon Prime, Instacart Express, Grubhub Plus as much as $120 a year to deliver take-out, groceries and all sorts of other goodies.
Microsoft is betting there's another subscription you'll be willing to sign up for. This service, the company says, is "the subscription service for your life."
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The new service, called Microsoft 365, takes its Office subscription service and attempts to make it more appealing. The company's adding new features like its Microsoft Editor, which tracks what you type and recommends different words, less jargon and more concise ways to say whatever you've typed. And it's partnered with companies such as photo and video app maker Adobe, meditation app Headspace, and kid-monitoring app Bark to give its users access to some of their apps and services too. It'll be available starting April 21, costing the same as before at $6.99 per month for an individual plan and $9.99 per month for a family of up to six people.
Microsoft believes the service will entice people by offering a merger between work and life, said Yusuf Mehdi, a Microsoft VP who helps head up its search, devices and "modern life" initiatives. "We'll be a curator of stuff that's out there."
The move, which CNET sister site ZDNet reported was in the works for well over a year, marks Microsoft's latest effort to stake out ground beyond its Office suite of software. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook have become staples of the corporate world over the decades. But increasing competition from Google's free Docs, Sheets and Slides has pushed Microsoft to change its approach.
Microsoft's effort to add outside apps makes its 365 service like Xbox Game Pass, its popular $9.99 per month service offering people access to more than 260 games both from its Xbox team, as well as outside developers such Square Enix, maker of the Final Fantasy adventure series, and Bethesda, publisher of the popular Doom shooting games.
Over time, Mehdi said Microsoft plans to add more outside apps to Microsoft 365.
New features
Microsoft Editor is like spellcheck on steroids.
Microsoft
In addition to the new partnerships Microsoft struck for its service, the company is also adding new features, such as its Microsoft Editor. The technology, which works in 20 languages and was first offered in December as an add-on for Google's Chrome extension, uses artificial intelligence to track what you're writing and suggest changes for duplicate words, jargon and poor grammar.
Now, it's being built into Microsoft's Office apps, and has new features like a plagiarism checker and inclusive language critiquing that will suggest terms like "police officer" instead of "policeman."
Microsoft is also building new features into its PowerPoint presentation software that will listen as you rehearse and recommend changes.
In Excel, Microsoft is offering new features that will connect with banks and credit cards to download people's spending data so they can better budget their money. "It can help you improve your spending habits by providing personalized insights on how much you're spending on categories like groceries each month and proactive alerts about price changes for recurring payments, bank fees, overdraft warnings, and more," the company said.
Also new is an app called Family Safety that lets parents see and regulate their kids' screen time on Windows, Android and Xbox. Parents can see the apps and games kids are using and for how long, steer them away from mature content, set their default web browser and even see what search terms kids are using.
And for when the coronavirus shelter in place limits lift, Microsoft Family Safety can send parents alerts when family members leave specific locations like home, work or school. It also will be able to track driving habits. Family safety will be available for iOS and Android devices in coming months, Microsoft said.
CNET staff writer Stephen Shankland contributed to this report.
Microsoft is unveiling its new Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions today, which are designed to replace and enhance existing Office 365 consumer plans. Much like the Office 365 Personal and Home subscriptions that exist today, Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans will be available on April 21st, priced at $6.99 per month for Personal (one person) and $9.99 a month for a Family (up to six people) subscription. Both options will include access to Office, and new features will gradually roll out in the months ahead.
Microsoft 365 plans add two new features that will roll out in preview in the coming months: a new Microsoft Family Safety app and new features in Microsoft Teams for consumers. The new Microsoft Family Safety app is designed to allow families to share their location and manage screen time across multiple devices. Similar to Apple’s Find My app, Microsoft Family Safety can generate notifications when a family member leaves home, work, or school, and enables location sharing.
Microsoft has even built a driving report feature into the app that allows parents to keep an eye on first-time drivers in a household. None of the information will be shared with third parties, but I can’t imagine many teenagers will be thrilled to have mom and dad tracking their driving habits. The Family Safety app can also manage screen time across traditional Windows PCs, Android devices, and even Xbox consoles, so it’s all synced into a single location and limits can be set centrally.
While Skype is Microsoft’s primary communications app for consumers, it’s clear that the company is now focusing more on Microsoft Teams for both work and home. Microsoft is previewing new home features for Microsoft Teams that are now part of Microsoft 365 subscriptions. They’re designed to let friends and family connect in a group chat or through video calls, and share to-do lists, photos, and other content all in one location.
Microsoft is aiming these new Teams features at people who plan trips with friends, or those organizing book clubs and social gatherings. It doesn’t mean Microsoft Teams will replace Skype for everything, but it’s clearly where a lot of Microsoft’s energy is focused right now. All of these Microsoft Teams home features will be available in preview in the summer, and available generally later this year.
If you’re already an Office 365 subscriber, then you’ll be pleased to learn that Microsoft is adding a lot of Office-related features with this transition to Microsoft 365. Anyone will soon be able to access the existing Editor feature of Word, which is more of an advanced proofing service than the regular grammar and spellcheck features. Editor does things like improve your writing by flagging words that are used too frequently or teach you phrases to improve your writing style.
Microsoft 365 subscribers will get access to more advanced grammar and style guides, including a rewrite option that offers to rephrase entire sentences. There’s even a similarity checker to prevent plagiarism and coax students to properly cite content.
PowerPoint is also getting some exclusive features for Microsoft 365 consumers. The existing Presenter Coach feature, which helps people practice a slidedeck and avoid stuttering and swearing, is getting monotone pitch and speech refinement. Presenter coach will monitor your tone of voice and suggest variations and ways to improve your speech. Ultimately, it’s designed to make your presentations feel less boring.
One of the other aspects of family life that Microsoft is trying to tackle with its consumer subscriptions is money budgeting. Money in Excel sees Microsoft return to its Microsoft Money personal finance management roots to make it easier to track and analyze spending in Excel. Microsoft will connect to your bank and credit card accounts to import transactions and balances and generate alerts for fees, changes, and monthly spend. It’s a feature that will become available first in the US in the coming months.
Outlook is getting some love, too, with the ability to link your work and personal calendars on the web. Elsewhere in Office, Microsoft 365 subscribers also get exclusive access to more than 200 new templates and thousands of images and videos from Getty Images. Microsoft is also bundling in 300 new fonts and 2,800 new icons for use across Office.
Microsoft is also unveiling a new Password Monitor feature for its Edge browser today. Despite rumors of a password manager being included in this new subscription, the Password Monitor will instead let you know if any passwords (stored in Edge) have been compromised in database breaches so you can change them easily. Edge is also getting a vertical tabs feature so you can stack your tabs at the side of the browser and a smart copy option that maintains formatting like text and tables when you’re pasting it elsewhere.
Microsoft is also working with Adobe, Experian, Bark, Blinklist, and others to offer limited-time access to other premium consumer subscriptions. Thirty-eight million people are currently subscribed to Office 365 Personal and Home, and those subscriptions will automatically transfer over to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family next month. It’s a base of users that has been steadily growing each year, and Microsoft had around 12.4 million subscribers five years ago.
There’s clearly a lot here that improves the existing Office 365 subscriptions, and it’s impressive that Microsoft is keeping the cost the same. Microsoft has been working on this new “modern life” subscription approach for nearly two years, and the fresh focus comes after the company killed off many of its troubled consumer pushes in recent years.
Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions are clear evidence of the company’s recent direction. Instead of launching a Spotify competitor or something to take on TikTok or whatever is the latest and greatest app, Microsoft has taken a step back and is trying to add value where it matters. It’s a different approach that relies on a balance of work and life and a niche area where Microsoft is uniquely positioned to provide services that respect privacy and are focused on productivity.
Nintendo Switch's first-party line-up for the rest of 2020 will be dominated by Mario games old and new, to coincide with the original Super Mario Bros.' 35th anniversary.
That's according to Eurogamer sources with knowledge of Nintendo's upcoming plans, who have corroborated a report posted by VGC.
First, the report states Nintendo will release "most of Super Mario's 35-year back catalogue this year, remastered for Nintendo Switch".
There's no detail on which games this includes, but the article includes a banner image of Mario Galaxy, perhaps intended to suggest the Wii classic as one of these games.
Eurogamer sources have indicated that Mario Galaxy is indeed one of the games being readied for a remaster, alongside a couple of other 3D Mario favourites. [UPDATE: Gematsu has now confirmed these as Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine, which Eurogamer can corroborate.]
Many earlier Mario games are already available on Switch via the console's Switch Online NES and SNES apps.
Second, the report states "several other Mario titles" will release in 2020, including a new Paper Mario.
Eurogamer sources have confirmed a new Paper Mario is in the works, along with a Deluxe version of Super Mario 3D World, which will include an array of new levels. This long-rumoured Wii U port is one of a couple of first-party games from Nintendo's previous console currently due for a new lease of life in 2020.
When contacted for this story, Nintendo gave Eurogamer its traditional response that it did not comment on rumour or speculation.
In their early years, gaming laptops were meant to be desktop replacements. The first Razer Blade, released in 2011, was almost seven pounds; the 2012 Blade was 6.6. Battery life was a laughing matter. (The 2017 Zephyrus had just over two hours.) Gaming laptops were bulky and garish. They were designed for gaming on a budget, not for gaming on the go.
But the age of the ultraportable is here. There’s now a 2.01-pound laptop with six cores, there’s a 3.3-pound laptop with a discrete GPU, and a 5-pound laptop is considered to be on the heavy side. Each year, we’re expecting lighter notebooks that can do more — and as productivity laptops move in that direction, so are the gaming machines.
That’s where the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS comes in. For the past decade, the main argument for a Ryzen chip over an Intel chip centered on price rather than performance. But AMD has released a CPU that could, for the first time in recent memory, compete with Intel’s top-of-the-line model. The 35W 4900HS, with 8 cores, 16 threads, and 3.0 GHz clock speeds that can boost up to 4.4 GHz, goes head to head with Intel’s Core i9-9880H; it’s meant to power desktop-class gaming and productivity in portable laptops.
We’re getting our first look at the 4900HS in its quintessential use case: the $1,449 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. Somehow, Asus crammed a 4900HS and an Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q into a 14-inch notebook that weighs just over 3.5 pounds. It also has 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 120Hz display. It’s unusual to see such powerful hardware in such a small chassis: the G14 is the smallest Zephyrus gaming laptop AMD has ever made, and it’s also one of the few 14-inch laptops to pair an H-series processor with a discrete GPU.
(You can get the same model with a Ryzen 7 4800HS, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage, and the less-powerful GTX 1660 TI Max-Q for $1,299, or go down to 8GB of RAM, a GTX 1650, and a 60Hz screen for $1,049.)
I’m happy to say that the G14 delivers. The laptop is fantastic for productivity, and it’s a lot of fun to use. The 4900HS and 2060 Max-Q duo can handle demanding games like Red Dead Redemption II and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. As with any gaming rig, you’ll make some trade-offs for that performance. But in the grand scheme of things, the sacrifices that the G14 asks are small.
I’ll start by talking about the gaming experience since that’s probably what you care most about if you clicked on this review. Fear not: it’s good. It’s as good as you’d expect from an H-Series processor, a 2060 Max-Q, and a 120Hz screen.
CS:GO averaged 216fps on maximum settings, with a low of 49. Motion was smooth, and I could see individual dust particles and sparks flying from various things I shot. The more graphically intensive Shadow of the Tomb Raider was also playable on the highest settings (with ray tracing off), averaging around 74fps with a minimum of 58. The play was also quite smooth and scenery, from bright towns to dark jungles, looked great.
On the ultimate test, Red Dead Redemption II cranked up to Ultra (with fast and multisample anti-aliasing off), the G14 delivered more of a console-like experience, achieving an average of 31fps and a low of 14. Rows of stores and trees were a bit blurry as I galloped past them on horseback, and there was some stuttering in flurries of dust and snow. But the game was functional. Most people will have a better time on High settings, however, where the G14 hovered around 50fps.
I suspect cooling is holding the G14 back somewhat. The 4900HS got pretty hot under demanding titles; it hit 98 degrees Celsius during my 80-minute session of Red Dead, and 97 during my hour-long session of Tomb Raider. That’s not unexpected from a 14-inch laptop running AAA titles, but a laptop with the same hardware but better cooling would probably see better results.
Now, for all the other stuff.
Asus has nicely refined its retro aesthetic. If there were laptops in Battlestar Galactica, they would look like the G14. A dot matrix covers half of the lid — these can function as an LED display that can show GIFS, the time, and other neat effects, but that model won’t be available for a few more weeks. On the non-LED model, they’re still a cool design.
Like many thinner laptops, the G14’s screen folds under the deck when you open it, lifting the keyboard a bit above the ground. This, in theory, helps with cooling by allowing air to better circulate, and it also hides a chunk of the screen’s enormous bottom bezel. Some people find these types of hinge uncomfortable in their laps, but I had no problem with this one, which is blunt and rounded.
The port selection is serviceable: two USB-C, two USB-A, an HDMI, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The G14 can charge via USB-C, but there’s also a jack for Asus’ 180W adaptor if you don’t want to take up a port. There’s no Thunderbolt 3, unsurprisingly, since that’s Intel’s proprietary standard. This is an unfortunate downside of using an AMD system for the time being, though the G14’s HDMI and DisplayPort capabilities give you other options for connecting to peripherals.
This probably won’t surprise you if you’ve owned a smaller gaming laptop before, but if you plan to use the G14 for browsing and productivity, the largest trade-off you’re making is screen quality. The notebook has a 1920 x 1080 screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is par for the course with smaller gaming machines. You’re not likely to see many 14-inch 120Hz panels at any higher resolution, and a 4K panel would be a big ask of the 2060 Max-Q.
That means the G14’s screen is excellent for gaming, and it’s not bad for video-watching either. It’s matte and kicks back almost no glare. Dark scenes from Altered Carbon looked great, even in bright rooms. Some lighter tones (such as a wedding dress and Joel Kinnaman’s skin) had a greenish tint to them, but it’s not noticeable if you’re not looking for it. (The screen covers 100 percent of the SRGB spectrum and 75.35 percent of Adobe RGB.) I saw a lot more glare outdoors, but it’s usable there in a pinch.
The downside is that if you plan on doing a lot of browsing or productivity work, you’ll be more cramped than you would on a 3:2 display such as that of Huawei’s MateBook 13. I had to zoom out to 70 to 80 percent to comfortably work two windows side by side.
The second drawback is the fans. The G14 does an impressive job keeping itself cool, given the power of the hardware it’s packing into a 3.5-pound chassis. If you’re using this machine on its default fan settings for multitasking, you’re likely to hear a constant whine. It’s loud enough that your office neighbors will hear it. I got used to this fairly quickly, but it’s a fact worth noting if you’re picky about fan noise.
You can also switch to Asus’ “Silent” profile, which makes the fans inaudible. I was worried that muffling the fans would cause the 4900HS to fry itself, but browsing in this profile was still very doable. You won’t want to use this mode for intensive gaming, of course, but even while running several Chrome tabs and a number of other programs, including Slack, Spotify, and a couple of benchmarks, the G14 was downright cold in my lap, and the CPU didn’t pass 35 degrees Celsius.
14-inch non-touchscreen (1920 x 1080 resolution)
AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
16GB DDR4 3200MHz SDRAM
1TB NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD
No webcam
Intel Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5
4-cell 76WHr battery
180W AC adapter
Speaking of the touchpad and keyboard, they are both great. The Windows Precision Trackpad is a good size and very easy to press. The keys are clicky with decent travel, without being loud enough to annoy officemates. The deck is sturdy, with very little flex. The labels do retain Asus’ sci-fi font that looks like it belongs in a Johnny Rockets restaurant; you can take your own view on that design choice. I also like that the G14 has a separate panel containing the volume controls and a key that mutes or unmutes the microphone, as well as a slightly less helpful button that opens Asus’ control panel.
I never thought I’d be saying this about a gaming laptop, but the battery life is also very good. During my normal workday of swapping between a dozen Chrome tabs, running Slack, and occasionally streaming Netflix or Spotify at 50 percent brightness and a balanced battery profile, I got around 8 hours and 50 minutes of juice. That means the G14 can make it through a workday on battery and can handle a long bus or plane ride as well. The device took 41 minutes to charge up to 60 percent on Asus’ plug and 53 minutes to do the same via USB-C.
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.
As with other Windows 10 computers, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 presents you with multiple things to agree to or decline upon setup.
The mandatory policies, for which an agreement is required, are:
A request for your region, and keyboard layout
Windows 10 License Agreement and Asus privacy agreement
A Microsoft account for sign-in (this can be bypassed if you don’t connect the computer to the internet during setup)
A PIN
In addition, there is a slew of optional things to agree to:
Wi-Fi network
Windows Hello fingerprint sensor authentication
Activity History (which syncs your activity across Windows devices)
Link your Android smartphone
Office 365
Cortana (which allows Microsoft to access your location, location history, contacts, voice input, speech and handwriting patterns, typing history, search history, calendar details, messages, apps, and Edge browsing history)
Device privacy settings: online speech recognition, Find My Device, Inking and Typing, Advertising ID, Location, Diagnostic data, Tailored experiences
Add it all up, and there are five mandatory agreements and 13 optional ones.
Of course, don’t expect to be doing much gaming on battery. Red Dead on high settings ran around 18 to 20fps when the G14 wasn’t plugged in, dropping down to the low teens at around 40 percent, and the low single digits at 10 percent. I got an hour and 38 minutes of gaming on a charge.
At the end of the day, the Zephyrus G14 can handle the multitasking you need it to. The keyboard, touchpad, and battery life are superb. If you don’t mind a low-resolution screen and fans that you can hear, you’ll be happy with the G14 as your primary device. (If those are deal-breakers for you, though, you’ll need something else for browsing and work.)
But mainly, Asus and AMD have successfully put Intel on notice. Last year’s Core i7-powered Blade Stealth 13 was the first 13-inch machine that came with a GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU. The most demanding game it could handle was what Engadget called “a stuttery Destiny 2 experience.” Still, many gamers hailed it as a triumph for being a 3.24-pound laptop that could run that title at all.
The Ryzen-powered G14 weighs just a bit more than the Stealth GTX and it games better. I see no reason to buy the Stealth GTX or any pricier gaming ultraportable when this laptop exists. AMD has rewritten the rules of what a gaming laptop can be.
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