Microsoft’s spring sale knocks up to $200 off the Surface Laptop Go

Microsoft is ushering in the spring season with a new sale that discounts Surface devices, Xbox games, accessories and more through April 21st. A bunch of Surface gadgets are hundreds of dollars off right now, including the new Surface Pro X that’s down to $700 for the base model, but you’ll find an even better deal on the Surface Laptop Go. The entry-level Windows notebook is up to $200 off, so you can grab the model with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $700. The base configuration is $150 off, too, bringing it down to $400.

Buy Surface Pro X at Microsoft starting at $700Buy Surface Laptop Go at Microsoft starting at $400Shop spring sale at Microsoft

While you can spend $700 and get either the Surface Pro X or the Laptop Go, we think the latter is the better option. The Surface Pro X is a gorgeous machine, but we found that buggy software held the 2-in-1 back from being truly great. While the Laptop Go has its compromises, it makes a great basic notebook thanks to its stellar hardware and speedy performance. Coming in at 2.45 pounds, the Laptop Go is lighter than its predecessor and looks sharp with its anodized aluminum top portion. Its 12.4-inch touchscreen gives you just enough room to multitask easily and its 3:2 aspect ratio makes it better for reading long articles and documents. 

All of the Surface Laptop Go configurations run on Core i5 processors, which means you’ll get solid CPU performance regardless of the one you pick. We recommend opting for a model with 8GB of RAM because it’ll serve you better over time than a measly 4GB will. As far as other features go, you’re getting a 720p webcam, a fingerprint-toting power button, one USB-C port and one USB-A port on the Laptop Go. Microsoft didn’t pack this machine with a lot of extra perks because it’s designed to be an affordable Surface option — just good enough to give those with basic needs a solid laptop experience, and it does deliver on that.

Xbox players can also save on individual titles thanks to this sale, along with subscriptions to Game Pass. You can join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for only $1 for your first month, and the sale price applies for PC Game Pass, too. Discounted games include Red Dead Redemption 2 for $24, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War for $35, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for $10 and BioShock: The Collection for $10.

Subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at Microsoft – $1Subscribe to PC Game Pass at Microsoft – $1Shop Xbox games at Microsoft

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Dell’s new rechargeable stylus has Tile tracking built-in

If you’ve hesitated in getting a PC stylus because it’s one more thing to lose, Dell has a possible solution. The company’s latest Premiere Rechargeable Active Pen has Tile tracking built in, so you can use the Tile app to make it emit sound and LED light. If it’s not close enough to hear or see, the app will show the pen’s last known location and track it down via the Tile network.

The $110 Premiere Rechargeable Active Pen works with compatible Dell 2-in-1 laptops and offers a 40-day battery life with 80 percent charging in just 20 minutes. The programmable top and side buttons give easy access to commands and it attaches to laptops via a magnet tether. 

Tile also announced that it has added its tracking tech to several new Intel-powered laptops. The latest to include it are Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 and latest ThinkPad T Series, making for a total of seven Lenovo laptops with the tech. MSI’s new Intel 12th-gen Summit and Prestige series laptops are also equipped with Tile tracking, along with Fujitsu’s FMV Loox PCs in Japan. To activate tracking, you just need to install the Tile Windows App and activate your PC as a Tile. The Android or iOS app will then “ring” your laptop to help you find it nearby.

Tile announced in 2020 that it was teaming with Intel to help users find lost notebooks. It also struck a deal with Bluetooth chip companies to allow its tech to be placed in nearly any kind of device. Its tech can currently be found in HP Dragonfly laptops, Fitbit wearables, Skullcandy products, Sennheiser headphones and other devices, around 55 in total according to Tile. 

ASUS ZenBook laptops are up to $250 off at Amazon today only

If you’re looking for a new Windows laptop, you may find what you need in Amazon’s one-day ASUS sale. Today, the online retailer has a number of ASUS laptops on sale, with some up to $250 off. Likely best for most people are the ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED and the ZenBook 13 Flip OLED, which are down to $650 and $745, respectively. You can also grab the ZenBook Duo 14, a dual-screen laptop that earned a score of 84 from us, for $906, which is $194 less than usual.

Shop ASUS sale on AmazonBuy ZenBook 13 OLED at Amazon – $650Buy ZenBook 13 Flip OLED at Amazon – $745Buy ZenBook Duo 14 at Amazon – $906

If you go for the standard ASUS ZenBook 13, you’re getting an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, along with a 13.3-inch 1080p OLED display. The Flip version shares the same display, RAM and storage, but runs on an 11th-gen Core i5 processor. While we didn’t review these exact models, we did put the ZenBook Flip S through its paces and gave it a score of 84 for its sleek design, powerful performance and lovely OLED display.

The main difference between the Flip S and the Flip on sale today is that the former runs on a Core i7 processor and has a 4K OLED panel. Otherwise, you’ll get a similarly premium Windows experience from both machines. Also, both the standard ZenBook and the Flip have ASUS’ unique and convenient NumberPad 2.0, which is combined with the trackpad and illuminates only when you need it.

As for the ZenBook Duo, it’s best for those who want something a bit different in their next laptop. Its main screen is a 14-inch 1080p touch panel and it also includes a 12.6-inch matte touchscreen that sits above the keyboard and lifts up slightly when you open the laptop. That’s one of the new features ASUS built in to this second-gen laptop that makes it easier to use and more viable as your daily driver. The latest ZenBook Duo also has better dual-screen software and much improved build quality than the previous version. The keyboard and trackpad area are still a bit cramped for our liking, but if you’re going to invest in a dual-screen notebook, this is one of the few solid options available right now.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Intel details its first Arc A-series GPUs for laptops

Way back in 2018 Intel announced plans to develop its own line of discrete GPUs back designed to compete with rival cards from AMD and NVIDIA. And despite several delays including missing its original 2020 launch window, this spring the first batch of Intel’s new Arc graphics cards are finally ready for use in retail devices, starting with Samsung’s Galaxy Book 2 Pro laptops.

As a quick recap, while Intel’s Arc line will eventually cover both laptops and desktops, the first batch of A-series GPUs are lower-power cards intended mainly for ultraportables and thin-and-light notebooks. The company’s graphics cards will use a naming scheme similar to its CPUs to help differentiate between various performance tiers, beginning with the new Arc A350M and A370M, before moving on to the more powerful Arc 5 and Arc 7 cards which are due out sometime later this summer. 

The new Arc 3 line will serve as Intel's entry-level GPUs, while the more powerful Arc 7 GPUs will cater more to gaming enthusiasts and pro content creators.
Intel

Across the entire family of Arc GPUs, Intel’s graphics architecture is based on four main pillars: the company’s XE cores, XE Media Engine, XE Display Engine, and the XE Graphics Pipeline. All Arc cards will also have the same basic feature set including support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, ray tracing, XE Super Sampling, AV1 hardware acceleration and more. 

The Arc’s XE cores are based on Intel’s XE HPG (High Performance Graphics) microarchitecture, with each core featuring 16 256-bit Vector Engines. 16 1,024-bit Matrix Engines and 192KB of shared memory. The XE Media Engine is designed to support popular video apps with hardware encoding at up to 8K 10-bit HDR and hardware acceleration for a number of popular standards (VP9, AVC, HEVC, AV1). Meanwhile, the XE Display Engine was built to handle video output for up to two 8K displays at 60Hz simultaneously, four 4K displays running at 120Hz, or a single 1440p screen at 360Hz.

Intel's new A-series GPUs will feature a similar name scheme to the company's CPUs, with lower-power Arc 3 GPUs available now followed by more performant Arc 5 and Arc 7 cards due out later this summer.
Intel

As for the two new cards themselves, both the A350M and A370M are targeting 1080p gaming at 60fps to 90fps across a range of popular games. The A350M is designed to draw between 25 and 35 watts of power and will sport six XE cores, six ray tracing units, a graphics clock of 1,150 MHz (which Intel says is a conservative estimate of the card’s typical clock speed) and 4GB of GDDR6 vRAM. Alternatively, the A370M is designed for slightly larger laptops with a power draw of between 35 and 50 watts, eight XE cores, 8 ray tracing units, a graphics clock of 1,550 MHz, and the same 4GB of vRAM. And as you can see in the image above, the upcoming Arc 5 and Arc 7 cards will be significantly more powerful. But again, they won’t be out until sometime in early summer. 

According to an infographic from Intel, the new Arc 3 GPUs should provide a significant performance boost compared to Iris XE integrated graphics
Intel

Also, alongside its new GPUs, Intel created a software suite called Arc Control similar to NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience and AMD’s Radeon Software, designed to allow users to more easily monitor performance, install drivers and updates, record game highlights and even connect to live streaming apps like Xsplit. And thanks to a UI that uses a streamlined overlay, Intel’s Arc Control should be easy to access in the middle of a battle. 

Intel even says it’s working more with developers to provide faster and more responsive driver support for new titles, with featured games on the Arc cards including titles such as Elden Ring, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Dolmen and a whole lot more. And as one of the largest chip makers in the world, Intel also created its Deep Link tech which is designed to give its Arc cards an additional performance boost when working in tandem with Intel’s onboard integrated graphics. 

Intel's new A-Serci Arc GPUs will include a number of next-gen features including AV1 hardware acceleration, Intel's new XE cores and more.
Intel

So while we’re only getting two new Arc cards right now (and relatively low-power ones at that), today marks an important moment as Intel finally becomes the true third horse in the discrete graphics space. The first retail device to feature one of Intel’s A-series cards is Samsung’s Galaxy Book 2 Pro, which goes on sale next month. However, Intel promises that there will be a slew of even more laptops featuring Arc GPUs coming soon from big names including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, MSI, Lenovo and others. 

Dell XPS 15 and 17 laptops are now available with 12th-gen Intel chips

It’s a refresh those with an eye on Dell’s XPS 15 and XPS 17 laptops have waiting to get their hands on for a while, and it’s now available. Starting today, you can configure both computers with Intel’s latest 12th-generation Core H-series CPUs. Announ…

Samsung’s speedy T7 Touch SSDs fall to new all-time lows

With great speed, security and reliability, Samsung’s T7 Touch SSDs are among the best storage expansion options for PCs and mobile devices alike. Now is a great time to pick one up, as both the 1TB and 2TB models are available on Amazon at all-time low prices. You can pick up the 1TB model in silver or black for $130 (a savings of $60), or grab the 2TB version for $260, or $110 off the regular $370 price.

Buy Samsung 1TB T7 Touch SSD at Amazon – $130Buy Samsung 2TB T7 Touch SSD at Amazon – $260

When it launched, the T7 Touch SSD won a CES Innovation Award thanks to its built-in fingerprint scanner feature with 265-bit AES hardware encryption. It supports read and write speeds of 1,050 MB/s and 1,000 MB/s thanks to the USB 3.2 connectivity, considerably faster than most portable SSDs. In addition, it comes with an LED status indicator and can withstand shocks from drops up to six feet. 

Fingerprint setup is relatively simple thanks to the included software. And while some portable SSDs are stingy with cables, the T7 Touch includes both USB Type C-to-C and Type C-to-A cables so you can connect it to PCs, Macs and portable devices. Finally, it offers a sleek and compact style, fitting in the palm of your hand and weighing just 2 ounces or 57 grams. As mentioned, these are the lowest prices we’ve seen on the T7 Touch models, so if you’ve been looking, now’s the time to act.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Annoyingly, the Mac Studio’s software lock prevents SSD upgrades

The dream of an upgradeable Mac Studio is dead – at least for the time being. If you follow Apple blogs, you probably saw that over the weekend teardowns of the company’s latest desktop computer showed that it features SSD storage that isn’t soldered down to its main logic board. That led some to believe that it would be possible for Mac Studio owners to upgrade the computer on their own. However, those hopes have now been dashed.

YouTuber Luke Miani conducted a test to see if he could upgrade the Mac Studio’s storage. To do so, he took one unit and wiped its SSD so that he could then transfer the drive to an open SSD slot on a second machine. The secondary Mac Studio recognized the drive, but no matter what Miani did, the computer would not boot with the component installed in it. The Mac Studio’s only response was to use its status LED to send out an SOS call. All of that suggests Apple has programmed the Mac Studio not to accept replacement SSDs.

That’s not necessarily surprising. On its website, Apple states, “Mac Studio storage is not user accessible,” and the company recommends customers configure the computer with enough storage to meet their needs when they buy it. MacRumors suggests the purpose of the Mac Studio’s SSD slots is to allow certified technicians to replace nonfunctioning drives. Presumably, they’ll have access to tools that will allow them to bypass the company’s software lock. As the website also notes, it’s possible Apple may at some point allow people to replace the SSD in their Mac Studio on their own by selling storage upgrade kits, much like it started doing with the Mac Pro in mid-2020. Until then, it’s a shame a machine that costs so much doesn’t offer some form of upgradability.

Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro returns to an all-time low price of $1,749

Don’t worry if you missed out on previous sales for the 14-inch MacBook Pro — you’re getting a second chance. Amazon is once again selling the base 14-inch laptop with an 8-core M1 Pro, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $1,749, or a substantial $250 below the official price. That matches the all-time low price we saw in February, and remains a good bargain if the ‘entry’ version meets your needs.

Buy 14-inch MacBook Pro at Amazon – $1,749

The starter 14-inch MacBook Pro represents a sweet spot in Apple’s rejuvenated laptop range. You get a speedy M1 Pro chip, a 120Hz mini-LED display, strong battery life, an exceptional keyboard and a healthy selection of ports in a body that’s still easy to carry around. While there are more powerful 14-inch variants available, this configuration is more than enough for day-to-day tasks and even serious media editing.

The caveats haven’t changed much since launch. You can’t expand the RAM or storage, so you’ll have to be content with what you get for the life of the computer. You’ll also need Apple Silicon-native apps to wring the most performance out of the M1 Pro, and that display notch might prove irksome. At this price, though, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is very competitive and could easily be worth the tradeoffs.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.