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00:00Hey guys, I'm TomTheTechChap and we're only a few weeks into 2022 but already we've
00:07seen some incredible new laptops.
00:09With out of this world designs, all new hardware of course including 12th gen Intel processors
00:14and Ryzen 6000 series chips from AMD, super top Ti versions of Nvidia's GPUs, faster
00:21DDR5 RAM, PCIe 4 storage, as well as more OLED screens, high refresh rates, there's
00:27a bunch of upgrades.
00:29Although bear in mind since I've had early access to some of these pre-release laptops
00:33I haven't been able to properly test and benchmark them so make sure you have subscribed and
00:37stay tuned for my full reviews coming soon and if you think I've missed out on any great
00:41laptops then let me know in the comments below.
00:43Ok, let's start with the new Dell XPS 13 Plus.
00:47This is an all new, slightly more powerful version of what is probably the best thin
00:51and light Windows laptop you can buy.
00:54Now with beefier 12th gen Intel chips, still no dedicated GPU or Intel Arc graphics but
01:00if you're photo or video editing on this gorgeous 13 inch 16 by 10 screen then the
01:05extra processor horsepower is certainly welcome.
01:08We're also getting a very futuristic design refresh with this proper edge to edge keyboard
01:13with no spacing between the keys and bigger keycaps.
01:17There's also a new virtual function row at the top of the keyboard and as you can see
01:21there's no obvious touchpad.
01:23The centre of this palm rest is a haptic touchpad, kind of like what we get on the MacBook Pro
01:28but you can't really tell where it starts and finishes.
01:31So I am reserving judgement for when I can spend more time with this as to whether these
01:35upgrades are actually functionally as good as they look and you'll also note that there
01:39is no headphone jack on this.
01:41So it kind of feels like those concept cars that we see with unrealistically big tyres
01:46and designs that you'd never actually see on the road because it's probably illegal
01:49and then eventually you see the sort of pared down version come to market.
01:52But with the XPS 13 Plus it feels like we are getting that concept so I'm very intrigued
01:57by this.
01:58I can't wait to test it properly.
01:59Next up, let me introduce you to the ROG Zephyrus Flow Z13.
02:04You may have already seen this in my hands-on video a couple of weeks ago but it's kind
02:08of like a gaming Surface Pro 8.
02:10It's a chunky 13 inch tablet with a detachable keyboard and on the inside, as we get a little
02:15window into it on the back, we can get up to the highest end 12th gen i9 Intel chips.
02:21That's the beefiest H35 series along with an RTX 3050 Ti and that's with either a 4K60
02:26or 1080p 120 touchscreen.
02:29So this really is the world's most powerful gaming tablet.
02:33But the real magic happens when you pair it with the XG Mobile Dock which comes with either
02:38a 3070 or 3080 although an updated 2022 dock is on its way with AMD's new GPUs.
02:45Of course none of this comes cheap but it's cyberpunk-y design, 1.1 kilogram weight and
02:50impressive specs, this is a proper portable powerhouse.
02:55Alright now sticking with ASUS for a moment, let's talk about this guy.
02:59It's the new ROG Zephyrus G14.
03:02Now these are super popular gaming laptops because, well, we get a 14 inch screen in
03:07a thin and light form factor which you can throw in your backpack, well, place carefully
03:11into your backpack.
03:12And so this year we've had some tasty upgrades in the form of a new 16x10 screen which I'm
03:17happy to see.
03:18Thinner bezels as well.
03:20Also this year the G14 is going full team red with AMD's Ryzen 9 6900HS processor paired
03:26with the RX 6800S graphics card at the top end.
03:30We also get this nifty 180 degree hinge which is handy if you're using it on a laptop stand
03:35or on your knees in bed maybe.
03:37And also the G14 comes with either a Full HD 144 or Quad HD 120Hz screen.
03:42There's other nice upgrades like Dolby Vision support, Wi-Fi 6E, DDR5 RAM, a microSD port,
03:48a webcam, thank goodness, and this year we're also getting a MUX switch which lets you switch
03:53between the dedicated and integrated graphics.
03:56Oh and also the optional Anime Matrix lighting on the back now has 20% more LEDs and which
04:01are even brighter as well.
04:03Price is TBC but this or its bigger brother, the G15, are definitely ones to look out for.
04:09Okay so from ASUS to Acer, I've managed to get my grubby little paws on the new Swift
04:14X14 and 16 laptops.
04:17But for me, I think it's the 16-inch that really stands out as this is one of the first
04:21laptops that I've seen to come with Intel's new ARC graphics.
04:25We haven't really seen much of this yet and we haven't had any performance benchmarks
04:29but the word is it could compete with the likes of an RTX 3050 and considering this
04:34is expected to cost £1100, depending on the performance and also the battery life, this
04:39could be one to watch.
04:41However, whichever laptop or phone or tablet or PC you use, I would highly recommend using
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05:38Okay back to laptops and what about the good people over at Apple?
05:42Well I can tell you that since November this came out, the new Pro 14 and 16, I've been
05:47obsessed by this.
05:48I use the 16 inch Pro for everything and outside of gaming I've barely touched my desktop PC.
05:54The performance, the mini LED screen, the battery, the design, for my money these new
05:59Pros are the best laptops you can buy.
06:02However they are very expensive and I maintain that the MacBook Air is actually the best
06:06option for 99% of people which is why I'm excited for a refreshed MacBook Air 2022 which
06:13could be unveiled in April.
06:15Nothing confirmed yet but I would expect to see a refresh maybe with a new M2 chip which
06:20while it probably won't be as likely, as likely, as powerful sorry, as the M1 Macs or Pro you
06:25get in one of these in terms of the processor and the thermals and the raw horsepower it
06:30could be a lot more efficient which will also of course come with performance gains over
06:34the current MacBook Air which I still do highly recommend but an M2 maybe paired with
06:38a mini LED screen, thinner bezels and just a bit of a refreshed design.
06:43Considering we are seeing new Asus Vivobooks and Zenbooks and Dell XPS's with gorgeous
06:48OLED screens, 4K resolutions, the latest processors, I am very excited to see how Apple can compete
06:54and what they can do with the MacBook Air so fingers crossed.
06:58Speaking of Zenbooks though and while this is the third Asus laptop I'm featuring in
07:02this video, I mean these guys just make a lot of very good laptops, this Zenbook 14X
07:07OLED Space Edition is figuratively out of this world.
07:11So it actually shares many of the same specs as the standard Zenbook X 14 OLED but with
07:15a really unique and actually more durable design inspired by space and also the old
07:20Russian Mir space station which actually had an Asus laptop on board for a while although
07:24hopefully this doesn't end up crashing and burning into our atmosphere.
07:29There's also this really cool 3.5-inch feature vision monochrome OLED screen on the back
07:34which you can customise or just use to look at the time and battery life.
07:37We also get a 92% screen to body ratio up from 90 on the standard Zenbooks so we're
07:42looking at slightly thinner bezels around this gorgeous 14-inch 16x10 90Hz OLED screen.
07:49The specs are pretty beefy as well with up to an i9 12th gen Intel chip, that's the
07:54top-end 45Wh series by the way, and all in a chassis that weighs just 1.4 kilos.
08:00So a genuinely very cool laptop and if you do want to watch my full unboxing and hands-on
08:04I'll leave a link in the little pop-up banner and also at the end of the video.
08:08Okay moving on and one laptop I haven't been able to get hands-on with just yet but I am
08:12excited for is the new Lenovo ThinkPad Z.
08:16ThinkPads have always been known as the go-to business laptop, functionally very good but
08:20aesthetically a bit dull.
08:22Well the new Z13 and Z16 could change all that.
08:26It's been developed with AMD's latest hardware and comes in both 13 and 16-inch sizes and
08:31a big feature of the design is the recycled aluminium chassis which can also be paired
08:35with this recycled vegan leather exterior.
08:38I think it looks great and together with an OLED screen, Wi-Fi 6E, an improved webcam
08:43and on the Z16 even beefier performance with a dedicated graphics card, there's a lot
08:48to like here.
08:50But hold up, if we're talking about the most innovative laptops coming out of CES 2022,
08:55this ThinkPad Plus Gen 3 is a strong shout with its ultra-wide 17-inch screen and separate
09:018-inch touchscreen built into the keyboard and this also comes with the latest processors
09:05and is expected to come out in May.
09:08I hadn't really thought about this for a while but we don't see ultra-wide displays on laptops
09:13ever really.
09:14I mean we had the Acer Praetor three or four years ago which was very cool but very very
09:18expensive but since then it's kind of just gone away which is a shame because I love
09:22an ultra-wide and I wouldn't say no to maybe a 21 by 10 aspect ratio ultra-wide display
09:28on a laptop.
09:29What do you think?
09:30Which actually seems pretty reasonable next to this which probably is the winner for most
09:35innovative laptop this year so far, the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED which looks absolutely ridiculous.
09:42There's no pricing for this folding tablet laptop thing just yet but certainly we are
09:46seeing a new generation of folding tech and while with this we are only getting a low
09:51power U-series 12th Gen processor and also no dedicated graphics, I am very curious to
09:56see how well this could work.
09:59So what do you reckon?
10:00Do you think you'll be upgrading your laptop this year and if so which models do you have
10:04your eye on?
10:05Let me know in the comments below and as I say make sure you have hit that subscribe button
10:08as I'll have loads of reviews and tons more videos coming soon and I'll see you next time
10:12right here on The Tech Jam.
10:14And don't forget to check out Surfshark VPN where if you use the code techchap or click
10:18the link below you get 83% off and three months extra for free.