Whether it’s politics or tech, we live in a polarizing world. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter and renamed it X, the platform has become an increasingly important tool in his political ambitions. This is causing many users to leave the service. X and other social media services are criticized for their algorithms that encourage hate and conflict, and for having too little respect for privacy. That’s why there’s a desire for an alternative service and, for a long time, many talked about Mastodon as the main challenger. Today, Bluesky is perceived as the most interesting alternative. The number of users is growing rapidly, too–reaching 30 million at the time of writing. If you’re looking to ditch X in favor of Bluesky, we’ll help you get started. What’s the difference between Bluesky and X? Bluesky is structured in the same way as X. Users write short posts, often accompanied by a picture or link. Like X, you follow people, companies, or organizations. Bluesky recently added support for videos and instant messaging as well. Beneath the surface, however, there are big differences. Bluesky’s technology is open-source, which means it’s more transparent than its competitors. And while services like X rely on a single company to control data, Bluesky has opted for a decentralized solution that puts you in control of your information. Users also have more control over the system’s algorithms, which should mean it doesn’t contribute to polarization and hate in the same way. Another key difference is that Bluesky is based on an open protocol, so the idea is to be able to share content and discussions between different apps much like sending email. How do I install Bluesky? Foundry On your mobile phone, open the Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS) and search for Bluesky. Tap Install and select Open when the installation is complete. On your computer, open your browser and go to bsky.app. Here you can read other people’s posts directly without logging in. The Bluesky app is available for all devices, but in our examples we use the Android app. How do I register? Foundry If you already have a Bluesky account, tap Sign in and log in. Otherwise, select Create Account to create an account. Fill in the requested information and select your Bluesky name. Finally, you will have to prove that you are human and at a later stage you will have to confirm your email address. How do I create a profile? Foundry You will now have a chance to create a profile by uploading a photo or choosing an avatar. You can also specify topics you’re interested in to control the flow of posts. When everything is ready, finalize your registration with Let’s go. If you want to add more information afterwards, tap on your profile picture and select Edit profile. Where do I follow others? Foundry To follow other Bluesky users, tap the magnifying glass and type their name in the search window. Locate the correct account and tap Follow. New users will also find a link at the top of the app that says Find people to follow. As you can see, you’ll find more and more celebrities on Bluesky, including the Prime Minister of Sweden. Can I write my own posts? Foundry To write your own posts, tap the blue button with a pen. Write a text and press Post. You can also control how it is displayed and who can comment on it by pressing the globe at the bottom left. At the bottom there is also a toolbar to add images, videos, and more. Here you can also choose your language and see how many characters you can write. How does Bluesky work? Foundry 1. The menu View a shortcut to all features and settings. 2. Content Toggle between general content (Discover) and people you follow (Following). 3. Posts All posts are shown here and you tap to read more. 4. Comments Comment, share and do other things with a post. 5. Home Go to the Bluesky homepage (as pictured). 6. Users Search for users, follow them, and chat directly. 7. Settings Control notifications and open your profile page. Foundry 8. Feed Subscribe to content that interests you. 9. Write a post Write a post and press Post when you’re done. 10. Interaction Control how your post is displayed and who can comment. 11. Media Add images, videos, and more. Read...

Intel’s Core 285H chip, the first member of its Core Ultra 200 or “Arrow Lake-H” family for laptops, has a big crater to fill. Yes, crater: This processor essentially bombed on the desktop. In laptops, however, Intel’s Core 285H chip helps redeem Intel’s reputation, starring in the otherwise pedestrian MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) laptop. Consider this to be two reviews for the price of one: I’ll take a look at the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo itself, a sample of a laptop that has yet to begin officially shipping. But most of the performance tests I’ll run are for the purpose of comparing Intel’s Core Ultra 285H and the Arrow Lake-H architecture to the best that AMD and Qualcomm have to offer, plus Intel’s older mobile chips. The short answer: Intel blows away its previous “Lunar Lake” chips, the Core Ultra 200V. The new Core Ultra 200H chips essentially double the performance in general applications thanks to a ton of additional cores. But, hampered by its lack of a modern NPU, Intel is forced to mumble and kick the ground when it comes to talking about AI. At press time, I couldn’t find any retailers that advertised the Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) for sale, and MSI’s own listing for the laptop just references a number of overseas suppliers. MSI charges about $1,620 for the Prestige 16 AI EVO B1MG, which was the debut laptop for our tests of the Core Ultra 100-series chips, or Meteor Lake, in Feb. 2024. Mark Hachman / IDG MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG): Specs and features Display: 16-inch 3840×2400 OLED @60Hz Processor: “Up to” Core 7 200H, Core 9 285H as tested Graphics: Intel Arc 140T NPU: Yes, 13 TOPS Memory: 32GB LPDDR5x-7500 Storage: 1TB (2x M.2 SSD slots, NVMe PCIe Gen 4) Ports: 2 USB-C (Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort/Power Delivery 3.0); 1 HDMI 2.1, 1 USB-A 10Gbps, 1 SD (XC/HC card reader), Gigabit Ethernet, Kensington lock Camera: 1080p, 30 fps (user-facing) Battery: 99.9Wh Wireless: Intel Killer BE Wi-Fi 7/ Bluetooth 5.4 Operating system: Windows 11 Home/Pro (Windows 11 Home as tested) Dimensions (inches): 14.11 x 10.02 x 0.75 in. (16.9-19.0mm) Weight: 3.31 lbs. Color: Stellar Gray Price: Unknown MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG): Design, build quality, display and ports Intel sent us an engineering sample of the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) for review, as a test bed for the Core Ultra 9 285H (Arrow Lake-H) chip inside. You’re not going to find too many differences between the Prestige 16 AI Evo B2HMG and earlier models like the 2024 MSI Prestige 16 B1MG, which housed the Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel’s first entrant into its mobile Core Ultra family. As reviewer Matt Smith noted of the B1MG, this B2HMG is a thoroughly mainstream, rather nondescript, plasticky laptop most notable for what’s inside. It’s not a huge surprise that the model is used as a showcase for Intel’s new chips. Structurally, the magnesium-aluminum laptop doesn’t quite have the robustness you’d expect from a purely aluminum chassis, though I really didn’t notice any keyboard flex. I didn’t notice any display flex either, although opening and closing the device feels a bit flimsy. I wouldn’t mind if MSI shaved a few tenths of a pound off of the weight, but 3.3 pounds isn’t egregious for a mainstream laptop. I’ve stopped worrying about laptop thicknesses, mostly, but the chassis is thick enough to accommodate an Ethernet port, which is always a nice touch. About the only thing that feels off to me are the rear-mounted ports. I know there’s an argument to be made that snaking the power cable (which takes up one of the two USB-C/Thunderbolt ports on the rear of the machine) from behind can save space. The same holds for placing the HDMI port on the rear. But it feels weird in my own setup, in which the laptop sits on my desk’s keyboard drawer, with its screen nestled just under a desktop display. I always worry about crimping the cords or bending the USB-C port itself. I have mixed feeling about the choice to put the two Thunderbolt 4 ports and the HDMI port on the back of the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG).Mark Hachman / IDG Aside from the SD slot, Ethernet, and headphone jack on the right side of the chassis, the Prestige 16 AI Evo B2HMG uses the left side for venting hot air that’s pulled in from a grille underneath the laptop itself. I rarely heard the fans spin up to peak levels. Most of the time, if the laptop needed to cool itself, the fans ran at just a light hiss. The fan response time seems quick as well; over the years I’ve simply expected the fans to ramp up and stay that way through benchmark tests. That wasn’t the case here, with the fans turning off and on as needed. Maybe I’m jaded, but I’ve come to expect high-refresh rate displays. This laptop doesn’t have one — just the default 60Hz — which feels like a step down if you’ve used a faster one. Thankfully, MSI added an OLED display to the Prestige 16 AI Evo, which always adds a certain je ne sais quoi when watching movies, where OLED’s fantastic contrast helps the colors pop. I’m assuming you’ve used an OLED display before; if you haven’t, you’re in for a real treat. The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) puts the rest of its ports on the right side, with an SD card slot. but no microSD slot. Mark Hachman / IDG There’s a tradeoff, however, and that’s the display resolution: 2560 x 1600. As the numbers suggest, the display offers more pixels than a 1440p display, but falls short of a true 3840×2160 (4K) display. I couldn’t help but wonder why the earlier B1MG offered a gorgeous 3840×2400 display, and this didn’t. Pushing pixels does affect performance, however. (At the time of my review of Intel’s Core 100 chip, Intel and MSI sent me an engineering sample of the B1MG with the same 1600p display as in the B2HMG, and not the 2400p display that was part of our B1MG review.) The color gamut of the laptop’s display isn’t particularly outstanding, and there weren’t any color modes to choose from.Mark Hachman / IDG As always, some of the most useful functionality hides within the system utility software. MSI calls its app MSI Center, and it allows quick toggles between performance modes as well as access to features like the ability to cap charging at 80 percent to preserve battery life, what happens when the lid is closed, and so on. MSI doesn’t offer nearly as many capabilities as, say, Asus, but it’s still worth a tour to discover noise cancellation technologies and where to find firmware updates that aren’t covered by Windows Update itself. Our engineering sample didn’t come with any bloatware besides Norton 365, which I had to remove because it interfered with my benchmark software. There are a couple of other features worth noting: support for the very latest Wi-Fi 7, which may be faster than your own broadband connection, as well as a neat feature that uses the webcam to put the laptop into sleep mode when you walk away. The latter feature isn’t new, but not every vendor offers it. Venting and more venting on the left of the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) .Mark Hachman / IDG MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG): Keyboard and trackpad The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) offers a full keyboard plus a trackpad, which is always to be applauded for lefty gamers. A biometric login also hides behind the power button. Windows and Windows Hello prefer that you log in with a depth camera (and yes, there is one) so you might be unaware that it exists. I like logging in with my face, but shaving or just a bad hair day can sometimes mess it up. Set up both and chances are that you’ll never have to use a PIN as a backup again. Everything about the MSI laptop experience is sort of meh, so it’s mildly delightful to discover that the Prestige’s keyboard is comfortable and a pleasure to type upon. The keys are springy, even if they feel a mite small. The number pad is a bit narrower than a full-sized external keyboard, but that’s just a minor nitpick. A row of function keys at the top of the keyboard doesn’t hide any surprises, and includes keys to cut off the mic and camera. (There is also a physical webcam shutter.) There are three levels of backlighting, which can be configured to automatically turn off in 10 seconds via MSI Center. The default mode is “auto off,” which doesn’t really provide any additional explanation. It seems to rely on whether it detects you. I honestly didn’t notice this feature before performing some battery longevity tests that put the laptop near me on occasion. The battery life of this laptop is still amazing, but my results varied by about 90 minutes. This could be why. Mark Hachman / IDG A massive (6×3.5 inches) trackpad at the bottom of the laptop, and slightly offset, is clickable nearly to the top. It doesn’t use haptics, as some laptops now do, to simulate the typing experience. MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG): Webcam, speakers, and biometrics The combination of the fingerprint reader behind the power button and the additional Windows Hello webcam feels like a nice one-two punch of biometric redundancy. Fingerprint sensors can accumulate grime, and biometric cameras don’t always tolerate changes in your appearance. But MSI’s approach worked well during my limited review period. The webcam is pretty lousy. I’d wager that MSI built in a 1080p, 30fps webcam, then tacked Microsoft’s Windows Studio Effects on top of it. One of the features is the ability to do “pan and zoom,” so that the webcam follows your face as it moves around. In reality, the webcam is simply cropping in to find your face, which discards some of the 1080p pixels. In essence, you’re taking a 1080p webcam and cropping down to something akin to a 720p webcam instead. Mark Hachman / IDG My face ended up washed out and fuzzy (no beard jokes, please) when down in my office, and not much better upstairs in more natural light. I review the best webcams for laptops specifically for laptops like this. You can slide the webcam shutter closed with a physical mechanism near the camera module itself. One of the most underrated AI features on laptops is their ability to filter out and enhance audio, via a combination of multiple microphones, the laptop’s spatial awareness of them and what they can capture, and various AI enhancements. Again, this feature hides inside the MSI Center app, and specifically the AI Zone tab. Turning on the “Studio EQ” makes an enormous difference in how your voice sounds, giving it warmth and some timbre, like a professional mic. Enabling the related “Conference Enhancer” audio mode and the “Front” (precise) mode captured my voice well, and absolutely erased the tapping and rattling of a spoon in a bowl just a foot or so to my right. Absolutely spectacular stuff. It’s rather disappointing, then, that the speakers are soft and mushy. Yes, there’s AI filtering here as well, but MSI needs to beef up the basics. Mark Hachman / IDG What you need to know about the Core 200H (Arrow Lake-H) Normally, our laptop reviews focus on a few key benchmarks. But since this is the first chance PCWorld has had to test these new Arrow Lake-H mobile processors, I’m going to devote more space than I normally would to a number of tests. First, a brief recap. Intel announced both the Arrow Lake-H and Arrow Lake-HX processor families at CES in January. The Core Ultra 9 285H is the fastest chip in Intel’s mobile H-series chip at the moment, topping out at 2.90GHz. The Arrow Lake-H family combines “next-gen” Lion Cove performance cores and Skymont efficiency cores, found in Lunar Lake, but with an addition: the ultra-low-power E-cores found in the Meteor Lake architecture. Within the Core Ultra 9 285H, they line up in a 6-8-2 configuration, with 6 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores, and a pair of the low-power E-cores. The chip also includes the second-gen Arc GPU core found within the Arrow Lake desktop processor, whose NPU only provides 13 TOPS of AI power. The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo may have AI in its name, but it is not a Copilot+-class PC. Intel has positioned the Arrow Lake-H family as “tweener” chip, powering a middle category between Lunar Lake’s long battery life and the gaming power of the Core HX family, which is due by the end of March. It’s a little weird that Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake) and Core Ultra 9 285H (Arrow Lake) are two completely different chip architectures with similar model numbers, but that’s a problem for Intel’s marketing department to solve. In this review, we’re using for comparison Intel’s Core 100 (Meteor Lake) and Core 200V (Lunar Lake) chips, represented by the $1,649 MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo and the $1,499 Asus Zenbook S 14, respectively. I’m also including another $1,699 Asus Zenbook S 16 with a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip inside, as well as a second version with an AI 9 365 chip. I’ve let the $1,999 Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 represent the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, with the $1,199 Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition dropping in where it can. Let’s be honest: Arrow Lake was essentially a disaster on the desktop. Intel promised “parity” performance on the desktop at half the power, but failed to deliver. The Arrow Lake-S desktop chips needed a battery of patches and firmware updates to restore the expected performance, up to an additional 25 percent in some cases. (Those are all accounted for on the mobile platform, Intel says.) Will the increased emphasis on lower power play better in the laptop space? We’ll see. For this review, I’ve focused testing on the three key segments of the Core Ultra 9 285H: the CPU, GPU, and NPU, comparing Intel’s latest to the representative samples of Intel’s prior Core Ultra 100 (Meteor Lake) and Core Ultra 200 (Lunar Lake) chips, as well as AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processors. I’ve run the tests both on wall power and on battery, as in some cases the performance can drop fairly significantly. Though I leave the laptops on their default power settings, I also ran our test laptop at the “Best Performance” setting just to see if it made any difference. Those are noted by the “MAX” label in the the tests below. MSI’s laptop also has an optional “AI Engine” that’s tucked away in its MSI Center utility, bundled with the laptop. I received it with that option turned off; I left it off. I’d expect that turning it on would put the performance somewhere between the default settings and the maximum performance option, both of which I’ve tested. The results, unfortunately, are a bit patchy. Because of my colleague Gordon Mah Ung’s untimely death, a small number of tests weren’t completed on the Asus Zenbook S 16 and its Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip that he had in his possession. Rather than intrude on the family, we asked AMD for a replacement. AMD representatives accidentally sent over a laptop with a slightly slower AI 9 365 chip inside instead. Though the names are similar, the AI HX 370 has 12 cores (4 Zen 5, 8 Zen 5c) and runs at up to 5.1GHz; the AI 9 365 includes 10 cores (4 Zen 5, and 6 Zen 5c) and runs at 5GHz. We’ve tested both, and our results appear below. Some of the early AI tests don’t really accommodate the range of the new Ryzen’s capabilities, so you’ll notice some gaps there, however. Finally, it appears that a recent update to Adobe Photoshop may have broken the Pugetbench benchmark, a test I wanted to use to show off how well the chip runs Photoshop. The benchmark wouldn’t run. Intel Core 200H: CPU benchmarks The traditional metrics of CPU testing are Cinebench and Geekbench, which push the CPU to its limits in a prolonged burst. With gobs of cores, the Core Ultra 9 285H inside the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) helps it kick butt in the all-cores, all-threads tests — more than doubling the performance from Lunar Lake! Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285H easily tops the Cinebench benchmark.Mark Hachman / IDG Cinebench R23 and Cinebench 2024 are variations on the same test, with the latter version ramping up its intensity to challenge the more advanced chips. These two tests essentially render a 2D scene, using the codebase that underlies the Maxon Cinema 4D visual FX application. Geekbench performs a number of similar stress tests upon the CPU, but does a lot more behind the scenes. Though the multicore scores show a clear win for Intel’s Arrow Lake-H and the Core Ultra 9 285H, the single-core scores are much closer. Here, I have to note that the power settings make a difference. Again, I leave the power settings at the default levels, and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scores 849 in my multicore Cinebench 2024 tests. Gordon’s earlier tests of the chip dialed up the power settings across the board, where the Ryzen scored a 982. The Core Ultra 9 285H outperforms everything else in the older Cinebench R23 benchmark test, too. The Ryzen AI 365’s single-thread (battery) score was accidentally excluded; it is 1,513.)Mark Hachman / IDG AMD, Qualcomm, and Intel are much closer in single-core performance… but again, it’s a clear win for Intel in this round. You’ll notice in a few cases that the “maximum” power setting actually underperforms the standard setting. We also occasionally see cases where the performance on battery even outperforms the chip on wall power. We’ve seen these sorts of anomalies for a few generations now; they’re rare, but they do happen. Geekbench tests the CPU as well as the GPU, so there’s a bit of foreshadowing in the purple bars of the GPU testing here. Geekbench offers CPU (green and blue) as well as GPU (purple) benchmark scores, and the Core Ultra 200H comes out on top, again.Mark Hachman / IDG UL’s PCMark 10 is actually one of my favorite benchmarks, as it encompasses everything from video to CAD work to office testing. The problem is that Windows on Arm machines powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon trip and fall over one of the tests, invalidating the whole run. A similar test using the UL’s Procyon suite asks the laptop to perform various work tasks specifically designed around four Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365 applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Procyon’s office benchmark might not be too intensive, but it’s also a real-world signal of how this laptop and the Core Ultra 200H chip will perform. What interests me about this test is that it uses all real-world application, but performance still drops off sharply on battery — more than other tests I ran. This is one of the benchmarks where the Core Ultra 285H drops sharply while run on battery — a drop of 23 percent.Mark Hachman / IDG Handbrake is a transcoding application, with a real-world, practical punch. In my previous testing of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, I downloaded a recent version to give the chip a fair chance to compete, and I’ve done the same with the Core Ultra 200H. (Previously we’ve used an older, unoptimized version for consistency.) Handbrake offers tons of configuration settings. For this test, I used a quick, standardized preset and re-ran our previous results on the new settings. Here, a lower score is better, as it indicates the task completed faster. Again, the Core Ultra 200H wins, but not by that much over the Ryzen. (I’m pretty confident that the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 would have taken this test, but I didn’t have the laptop to prove it.) AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 chip hangs in tight here, and probably only falls short because of the power settings of the representative laptops.Mark Hachman / IDG Again, I would have liked to have tested Pugetbench’s standardized Photoshop test, but it wouldn’t run. Intel Core 200H: GPU and gaming benchmarks Intel has never positioned the Core Ultra 200H platform as a gaming PC, but Intel and its competitors are offering powerful enough integrated graphics that potentially offer the capability to play some older games at low settings. AMD, especially, offers a strong competitor with its integrated 980M GPUs. Does the Arrow Lake-H have enough to keep up? We test graphics using simulated benchmarks: UL’s 3DMark suite. The Time Spy test maintains consistency with our established database of historical benchmarks, while the more advanced Steel Nomad Light test is designed for more modern PCs. Mark Hachman / IDG This is a competitive benchmark, with all three chip vendors performing well here. I’m also impressed that the performance doesn’t drop much when the laptops are disconnected from wall power and run on battery. Still, games are the real test. The popular game Cyberpunk: 2077 scales well across the board, and it’s a good test of everything from frame generation to ray tracing. In this case, Intel has said that XeSS 2.0, which injects AI frames to smooth frame rates, was “backported” to the Core 200H’s GPU. But while more than 150 games reportedly support XeSS 1.0, only Marvel Rivals and F1 2024 currently support XeSS 2.0. That limits the chip’s appeal somewhat. (Though F1 has a “benchmark mode,” it simply tracks the frame rate on an on-screen counter, which makes it tough to gauge.) Although Intel recommends that you try out gaming on the chip at Medium settings, we stuck with Low settings to eke out the best frame rate. After watching the benchmark for Cyberpunk, I’d consider the 40-ish frames per second not too bad, even though my preferred gaming setup can reach much higher. Most gamers prefer at least 60fps for smooth gaming, and the laptop doesn’t quite hit that, even at maximum power. AMD’s Ryzen is the king here. It’s worth noting that the frame rate didn’t seem to move when I enabled XeSS 1.0 on Cyberpunk.Mark Hachman / IDG The same thing occurred with the other game in our test bench, Shadow of the Tomb Raider. On Low settings it came closer to our target of 60fps, but didn’t achieve it. Just out of curiosity, I tried the Highest graphics setting and achieved just 33 frames per second. I don’t think that you can call the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) quite capable of gaming by itself. Close, but no cigar.Mark Hachman / IDG Intel Core Ultra 200H: AI benchmarks AI benchmarking is still in a nascent stage. Chip vendors like Intel are hoping for a day when you’ll run local AI applications like AI art and LLM/AI chatbots directly on your PC, and that day is indeed here. However, the quality of the AI output is still heavily dependent on whether your laptop has a powerful graphics card, or a more efficient NPU; and whether the models being used are small enough to fit on a PC. You’ll also need to ensure that the application is coded for your chip’s architecture. That last point is the snare that’s still hampering both Qualcomm and AMD. Although more applications are supporting both chip architectures — Microsoft has developed Copilot+ applications almost exclusively with Snapdragon chips in mind — Intel has leaned hard into capturing AI developers. What this means is that many of the standardized tests either don’t run on AMD or Qualcomm chips, or else don’t take full advantage. On the other hand, some of the apps tap into both the GPU and the NPU on Intel’s processors, a future that Intel has eagerly anticipated. The bottom line is that it’s not easy to find a test that will put all three chip architectures on a level playing field, if the app supports all three chip architectures in the first place. These tests basically just compare generation-over-generation performance with Intel’s own chips. In these tests, I turned on support for each processor where I could. Intel, for example, ran using in a dedicated OpenVINO mode, while Qualcomm used SNPE. AMD’s Ryzen AI only had a NPU available, and it reported that the dedicated NPU driver wasn’t loaded. But that didn’t seem to matter, given its score. Mark Hachman / IDG Remember, Arrow Lake-H is not a Copilot+ chip, and when you can find an application like UL’s Procyon Vision (which looks at how well a laptop processor can inference, or do work on, various machine learning models) Intel doesn’t come out on top. Procyon Image Generation offers image models of different complexities. Here, the laptop is actually creating eight 512×512 images using an 8-bit integer model. (Higher complexity, such as a FP16 model, takes longer but produces better images.) Here, each image takes about 20 seconds to produce. Lunar Lake is dominant here, with its GPU and NPU working together. Since the option to have both work together was there, I turned it on; it felt more realistic. The AMD and Qualcomm chips didn’t run. Mark Hachman / IDG You’re probably familiar with Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT; all are what’s known as LLMs, or large language models. Chip vendors hope that you’ll eventually use a compressed, less complex Small Language Model, or SLM, on your own machine. MLCommons developed its own test, using the Llama 2 7B large language model (LLM) from Meta. The test downloads the model and then asks it to perform content generation, creative writing, and two summarization tests. This test doesn’t bother with a score. Instead, it looks at two key, real-world metrics: the time to first token (or how long the AI takes to respond to your query), and the number of tokens per second. If you’re unfamiliar with AI, a “token” is the key unit of measurement. A token is a little less than a word: “some” requires a token, as does “2” or “6”. “Something” would require two tokens, as it’s essentially a compound word. When an AI chatbot responds to a query, it spits out text like a dot-matrix printer: You can see the words crawl across the screen on a locally running LLM. How “fast” the result is really depends on how quickly you read. These are real-world tests with real-world results, but it’s the robust NPU in Lunar Lake which takes the crown.Mark Hachman / IDG I used Procyon’s version of a similar test to round out my AI testing. Although this test also provides time-to-first-token and token-per-second benchmarks, I used the overall score instead. This test downloads four models, not one, and compares the performance on all four. Unfortunately, the test wouldn’t run on Arm or AMD Ryzen processors. The output is a bit messy, but Intel’s Lunar Lake wins again. Mark Hachman / IDG Evaluating battery life is a holistic exercise, where the laptop, its chip, display, cooling, and battery all play some role. Of the laptops I’ve tested above, here’s how the battery life shapes up: excellent across the board. I set the display luminance at the same level for all laptops, than used the UL’s battery rundown test that essentially loops its office benchmark over and over until the battery expires — simulating a marathon all-nighter of work. Asus 14 OLED (Intel Lunar Lake): 17 hours, 7 minutes Surface Laptop 7th Edition (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite): 16 hours, 20 minutes Asus ZenBook S 16 (AMD Ryzen AI 300): 10 hours, 42 minutes Asus ZenBook 14 OLED (Intel Meteor Lake): 10 hours, 35 minutes To that, the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) with the Arrow Lake-H chip inside recorded between 15 hours, 10 minutes and 16 hours, 33 minutes of battery life, with an average of about 15 hours, 50 minutes over several runs. That’s outstanding, as is the battery life of virtually all of these laptops. Conclusion: Should you buy a laptop with a Core Ultra 200H chip? I’m convinced that, yes, you should. As a general-purpose PC processor, Intel’s Arrow Lake-H chip soars to the top of the heap in most tests, dramatically outperforming Intel’s Lunar Lake chips — which, to be fair, weren’t specifically designed with as much performance in mind. Instead, the Core Ultra 200V family was designed specifically for long battery life plus AI performance, which is where Intel’s Arrow Lake-H chips still fall short. But basing our battery-life testing on the Procyon Office benchmark, which consistently throws Microsoft Office tasks at the laptop, makes me feel much more confident in saying that you’ll get far more than a typical workday’s workload out of the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) and its Arrow Lake-H chip inside of it. (Remember, the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) itself is an engineering sample that’s not available for sale. I’m relatively ambivalent toward it right now — it’s good, but doesn’t really make my heart ache to use it.) Mark Hachman / IDG I still think that all three laptop platforms — AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm — are at the top of their game right now, pushing hard. If you want absolutely killer battery life and incredible standby performance, consider a Snapdragon laptop. AMD’s Ryzen platform, meanwhile, excels in most tasks, including gaming. Intel’s Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V chips are still probably the best choice for both battery life and some AI tasks, with the Core Ultra 200H taking over for general productivity. The Core Ultra 200H doesn’t appear to quite have the chops to serve as a gaming processor, and lacks sufficient NPU TOPS to really run NPU-dependent AI apps. Right now, Intel’s advantage seems to be that everything runs Intel, giving it a sense that it’s the all-around processor you need. Real life bends more towards Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, at least where Windows’ AI apps are concerned. If I had to pick the best laptop chip at the moment, however, I’d still lean toward AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 processor. It’s not the top of the heap in most tests, but it’s quite close in many, and rises to the top in gaming and AI. I don’t think AMD’s challenge right now is silicon, but software: Its ROCm AI development environment doesn’t have the ubiquity Intel is tying to push with OpenVINO, and it shows. If you can’t run the app, it doesn’t matter how good the chip is. I think Intel’s dominance of the laptop market is nearing an end, and instead heading toward an age of relative parity between all three processor platforms. Nerds will still be able to buy the “best” laptop, but it will be important to know what features you’re prioritizing, exactly. Intel’s Core Ultra 200H (Arrow Lake-H) looks exceptionally strong in general productivity and battery life, two key features consumers care deeply about. That will keep Intel’s foes at bay, for now. Read...

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Have you ever tried ChatGPT? You may want to take a quick moment to freshen up your account’s security. A Russian hacker is claiming to have login data for over 20 million OpenAI users—and the information includes email addresses and passwords. On Friday, samples of OpenAI logins emerged on the dark web, along with an offer to sell the full trove of data. Currently, OpenAI says it has not yet found evidence of compromised systems (as per The Independent). However, don’t take that as a sign that everything’s fine. Given the potential sensitive information that could be exposed if this is true, responding proactively now is a safe move. (Not sure what could put you at risk if you wait to see what happens? For starters, OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot undoubtedly contains sensitive data in saved user queries, including financial and medical information. Such information could be used in targeted phishing campaigns—which, due to the use of AI services like those provided by OpenAI, have become dramatically more sophisticated in a very short period. Most users aren’t yet expecting the new level of personalization in scam attempts.) Until OpenAI’s investigation is complete, you can take several proactive steps: Enable multi-factor authentication (aka two-factor authentication) on your account. It adds a second checkpoint to clear when logging in, which protects you if your password is compromised. Change your password. Force the service to log out of all other devices If you reuse passwords or use very similar passwords across sites, also change your password on any other services where there’s overlap. Our favorite password manager Dashlane Read our review Best Prices Today: $4.99 at Dashlane To enable 2FA and log out of all devices, you must log into your account, then go to Settings. To reset your password, you must use the “Reset password” link on the login page. Unfortunately, big data breaches affecting major services aren’t unusual—which is why you should treat this claim with some seriousness. And, in general, bolster your security practices for 2025. You don’t need to keep track of all your unique login details, either. Passkeys and a password manager will help you stay on top of it all, with little extra effort needed on your part. Read...

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OpenAI’s ChatGPT has removed the last barrier to using ChatGPT as a search engine, the requirement to log in. Now, it’s open to all. OpenAI launched the feature last fall, but required a login. Now, the feature can be used without the need for registration. ChatGPT Search is essentially just ChatGPT, and can be accessed at ChatGPT.com. But below the “Message ChatGPT” box you’ll see a small icon called “Search” that can be clicked. When activated, it will turn blue, signaling that the web search is active. In my tests, however, I didn’t even need to click the “Search” icon; when I typed in “What’s the most important tech news today?” I received a similar list of answers whether the Search icon had been highlighted or not. In both cases, ChatGPT used the web search to pull its responses. Essentially, this new ChatGPT search feature turns the ChatGPT interface into something like the Google Chrome Omnibox at the top of your browser: It can be used to type in the name of a web page, of course, but it’s also a search box. ChatGPT now doubles as a search engine as well as a general way to chat with ChatGPT. It’s worth noting that the “Log In” and “Sign Up” buttons still remain at the top of the ChatGPT web page, and logging in will continue to save a history of your chats. Signing up for ChatGPT’s paid programs will offer more sophisticated models. (ChatGPT reports that’s it’s using the “GPT-4” model, tuned for conversation and interaction.) The new functionality of ChatGPT places it in direct competition with Perplexity.ai, which also uses a combination of AI-powered search and the web to return responses. Compared to Googe’s Gemini, which also uses up-to-date sources for its results, ChatGPT has an edge in that it doesn’t disallow the topics of elections or politics. Mark Hachman / IDG Is ChatGPT’s search function good? It’s not great, but it’s not too shabby, either. To help offset concerns that it might be “hallucinating” results, ChatGPT includes footnoted links with its source material. When asked what the best processor was for 4K PC gaming, it returned a short, footnoted argument claiming that both the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D were the two best choices, a conclusion I’d agree with. The links back to the original sources, however, we monochromatic and easily missed. I also found it a good choice if you’re looking for an ongoing summary of what the new Trump administration is doing to the government. A traditional search engine like Bing or Google spat out individual search results, while ChatGPT provided a summary and links. Like many, I’m still suspicious of AI’s tendency to get things wrong, and to slurp up content I and others have created without credit or a reference to the page. For deep knowledge, I’ll still use a search engine to find the sources of deep knowledge. But for a general overview, ChatGPT isn’t bad. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Attractive design and ergonomic stand Great connectivity including USB-C with Power Delivery Includes ambient light sensor, microphone Good contrast ratio for the price Cons Only 1080p resolution Color performance is mid-pack Lacks Adaptive Sync Our Verdict The BenQ GW2786TC is a great choice if you need a home office monitor with USB-C for under $200. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: BenQ GW2786TC Retailer Price $179.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Finding a budget monitor is both easy and difficult. It’s easy to spot a good deal, but with so many options available for a few hundred bucks or less, deciding which ones are worth your money (and which are better to skip) can be challenging. The BenQ GW2786TC simplifies the decision with multiple useful features alongside good image quality for less than $200. BenQ GW2786TC specs and features At a glance, the BenQ GW2786TC’s specifications might not stand out. It features a 27-inch widescreen IPS panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1920×1080—specs that are incredibly common for monitors under $200. In fact, many 27-inch 1080p monitors dip closer to $100 when on sale. Display size: 27-inch 16:9 widescreen Native resolution: 1920×1080 Panel type: IPS Refresh rate: 100Hz Adaptive sync: No HDR: No Ports: 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x DisplayPort-out (MST), 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 65 watts USB Power Delivery, 2x USB-3.2 Gen 1 downstream with 5Gbps data, 4.5-watt charging VESA mount: 100x100mm Audio: 2x 2-watt speakers, noise-cancelling microphone Extra features: Ambient light sensor Price: $199.99 However, BenQ packs in extra features that help the GW2786TC step ahead of the pack. Its video connectivity includes a USB-C port with 65 watts of Power Delivery, along with two downstream USB-A ports and a DisplayPort output for daisy-chaining a second display. It also features a refresh rate of up to 100Hz, an ergonomic stand, built-in speakers, a noise-canceling microphone, and an ambient light sensor. (See our roundup of the best USB-C monitors for a comparison.) Shoppers should keep in mind that BenQ has a similar monitor with 2560×1440 resolution, the BenQ GW2790T, priced at $250. The GW2790T is a good pick if you need a sharper image, but the GW2786TC provides many of the same features for less. BenQ GW2786TC design The BenQ GW2786TC makes a strong first impression straight out of the box. It features a bright white color scheme, with nearly every surface aside from the display bezels on the top and sides sporting a clean, modern look. While the monitor is made primarily of plastic, it feels durable and looks attractive on a desk. BenQ markets the monitor as a companion for Apple Mac laptops like the MacBook Air, but it pairs just as well with Windows or Linux machines. Matthew Smith / Foundry The GW2786TC has a high-quality stand that offers significant ergonomic adjustment. It tilts 25 degrees, swivels 45 degrees left and right, pivots 90 degrees for portrait orientation, and has 130 millimeters of height adjustment. This range of movement is better than what’s typical for monitors in this price range (some don’t pivot, for example). The stand’s base is large yet flat, meaning it doesn’t take up unnecessary desk space, and it feels stable. For those who prefer a different setup, the monitor also supports a 100x100mm VESA mount, allowing for easy attachment to a third-party monitor arm or stand. BenQ markets the monitor as a companion for Apple Mac laptops like the MacBook Air, but it pairs just as well with Windows or Linux machines. BenQ GW2786TC connectivity You have three options for connecting video inputs to the BenQ GW2786TC: HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode. That provides a total of three video inputs, which is typical for an inexpensive monitor. However, there’s an unusual addition—a DisplayPort output, which allows you to daisy-chain a second monitor. This feature helps reduce cable clutter since you can connect your laptop to the first monitor and then link the first monitor to a second display, rather than running separate video cables to each monitor. It’s uncommon to find on a budget-friendly monitor. The monitor also provides USB-C with up to 65 watts of power delivery, meaning it can power and charge most mid-range laptops over USB-C. Again, BenQ is targeting Mac users here, specifically the MacBook Air, which appears in the company’s marketing materials. But budget Windows, ChromeOS, and Linux laptops that support USB-C charging also benefit from this feature. If you use the USB-C port, you’ll also get data connectivity to two USB-A downstream ports. BenQ GW2786TC features The BenQ GW2786TC’s image quality settings are controlled by a set of buttons on the lower right-hand side of the monitor. This is somewhat unusual in 2025, as most monitors have switched to a joystick-style control, which tends to be quicker and more intuitive. The buttons work fine, but navigating the menu is cumbersome. BenQ provides a standard range of image quality controls for a budget monitor. There are several preset image modes, as well as adjustments for color temperature and gamma. However, the color temperature and gamma adjustments don’t target specific values and are instead vaguely labeled. Matthew Smith / Foundry One unusual and appreciated feature is the inclusion of an ambient light sensor, which is activated through a setting called Brightness Intelligence. It automatically adjusts the monitor’s brightness based on room lighting conditions, so you don’t have to tweak it manually. This is a rare feature in a budget monitor and useful if the lighting in your room changes throughout the day (which is true for many home offices). The monitor also has built-in speakers and a noise-canceling microphone, though neither is impressive. The speakers are fine for podcasts and video calls but weak in volume and lack bass. The noise-canceling microphone captures usable audio and does reduce some background noise, but a decent standalone webcam microphone will be better quality. Since the monitor doesn’t include a webcam, most users taking video calls will likely have a webcam connected anyway. BenQ GW2786TC image quality The BenQ GW2786TC is exactly the kind of monitor where image quality is less of a priority. While it would be great to have an exceptional display, the monitor’s long list of features is likely to be the bigger factor in your buying decision. Fortunately, the GW2786TC still delivers enjoyable image quality across the board. It doesn’t excel in any area but also doesn’t suffer any major weaknesses. Matthew Smith / Foundry We start with brightness, where the GW2786TC delivers a maximum sustained SDR brightness of 260 nits. That’s not bright for a modern monitor, but as the data shows, it’s typical among similarly priced competitors. It should be more than bright enough to look vivid in a typical home office. However, if you’re using it in a space with direct sunlight or large windows, it might appear dim. Matthew Smith / Foundry Next up is the contrast ratio, which is crucial for providing a good sense of depth and immersion in an image. I was surprised to see the GW2786TC achieve a contrast ratio of 1500:1, which is on the high end for a budget monitor with an IPS panel. As the data shows, most other monitors in this category have a less impressive contrast ratio. The higher contrast will be most noticeable in dark scenes, where the GW2786TC provides a bit more shadow detail and a stronger distinction between bright and dark areas. That said, it still suffers from IPS glow, which means very dark scenes can take on a grayish-silver tone rather than a true, deep black. One monitor that stands out is the AOC 27G15, which has a much higher contrast ratio, nearly reaching 6000:1. It achieves that with a VA panel that blocks more light from the backlight, significantly reducing the glow issue seen on IPS monitors. The AOC 27G15 is a better choice if your main priority is gaming or watching movies on a budget display. However, the AOC is a bit dimmer and not quite as sharp, so the BenQ GW2786TC has an edge in productivity.   Matthew Smith / Foundry The BenQ GW2786TC provides a mid-tier color gamut that covers 100 percent of sRGB, 84 percent of DCI-P3, and 78 percent of Adobe RGB. These numbers place it in the middle of the pack. It outperforms some budget home office monitors, like the Pixio PX248 Wave, but falls behind models that bridge the gap between gaming and home office use, such as the Gigabyte M27QA ICE. Despite having a slightly more limited color gamut than some competitors, the GW2786TC still delivers a vivid and colorful image. When viewed on its own, colors appear vibrant, though a direct comparison with higher-gamut monitors may reveal slightly less saturation.    Matthew Smith / Foundry The GW2786TC’s color accuracy is solid, though as the data shows, its color error is slightly higher than some competitors. However, all of these budget monitors perform well in this regard, and you’re unlikely to notice much color inaccuracy unless you’re working on color-critical professional tasks—something these monitors aren’t really designed for. Overall, the BenQ GW2786TC’s color appears realistic. A key contributor to its natural-looking image is its strong gamma and color temperature performance. It achieved our preferred gamma curve of 2.2, meaning content appears as bright as expected. Its measured color temperature of 6600K is only slightly above the ideal 6500K target, making the image just a touch cooler than perfect—but the difference is barely noticeable. Thanks to these good out-of-the-box results, the monitor’s image feels well-tuned for general use. Sharpness is a downside. With a resolution of 1920×1080 on a 27-inch screen, the pixel density comes out to about 81.6 pixels per inch. That’s not high for a monitor sold in 2025. Video content can appear soft and small fonts may show some pixelation. Still, this is acceptable for a monitor priced under $200. A 1440p monitor with similar features will cost at least $50 more. The BenQ GW2786TC’s image quality can be summarized in one word: adequate. It’s not amazing, but it’s fine. I found the image looked good right out of the box and I had no major complaints while using it. Just keep your expectations in check—this is a budget monitor selling for under $200, and monitors priced $50 to $100 more will deliver a noticeable improvement to image quality. BenQ GW2786TC HDR image quality The BenQ GW2786TC doesn’t support HDR. That might seem like a flaw, as many inexpensive monitors claim HDR support. In truth, though, all monitors below $200 lack the brightness and color gamut to properly support HDR, and those that claim HDR support fail to offer a quality HDR image. BenQ GW2786TC motion performance BenQ boosts the GW2786TC’s refresh rate from the 60Hz standard to 100Hz. It’s possible to find gaming monitors with a higher refresh rate under $200, but they lack the GW2786TC’s features. The 100Hz refresh rate provides a noticeable improvement to motion clarity which, though not best-in-class, is appreciated. Adaptive Sync support is not included, however, so the monitor can’t sync the refresh rate to the output frame rate of the game you’re enjoying. That means you’ll have to rely on V-Sync or allow an uncapped frame rate—both options degrade motion fluidity. Because of that, the GW2786TC isn’t a great choice for gamers. Should you buy the BenQ GW2786TC? BenQ’s GW2786TC is a good pick if you need a home office or general-use monitor that pairs well with a laptop that has USB-C, but you don’t want to spend more than $200. It offers features rarely found at this price point, like USB-C Power Delivery and DisplayPort-out, alongside acceptable image quality, and ambient light sensor, and an enhanced 100Hz refresh rate. Read...

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Microsoft will release the last update for Windows 10 with the Patchday on October 14, 2025, after which this version of Windows will no longer receive any updates. What does this mean for users? Windows 10 is not immediately insecure or no longer usable First of all, there is no need to panic about this date. Windows 10 will theoretically continue to run indefinitely, as Microsoft is not discontinuing the functionality of the operating system, there will “only” be no more updates from November. This means that you can continue to use Windows 10 in principle, but no more security gaps will be closed, for example. Chris Hoffman / IDG Of course, given that cyber attacks on companies and private individuals continue to increase, this can be a problem for Windows 10 users in the long term. This is because newly discovered security gaps in the operating system can give attackers access to the computer, its data, and the network. PCs connected to the internet in particular are then fundamentally less protected. However, the security functions of the operating system remain active, including malware protection. As a precaution, you can disconnect your PC from the internet completely, but this reduces the usefulness of the computer, especially in a private environment. In principle, there is nothing to be said against Windows 11, especially as Microsoft still allows you to update for free. Windows 10 upgrade to Windows 11 Ralf Liebhold/Shutterstock.com These are the real dangers for Windows 10 without support New security vulnerabilities are regularly discovered in the various versions of Windows — even years later. From October 2025, Microsoft will no longer close these in Windows 10, so the likelihood of malware gaining access to a PC increases with each passing day. As most PCs are connected to the internet via a router with a firewall, there is often no danger to be expected via this route. However, there are numerous websites that are contaminated with malware. MacPaw Moonlock Lab There are also emails that you receive or programs that you download. These can contain malware that spreads on your PC if the malware scanner does not recognize it. If you actively use your PC with the internet, especially in sensitive areas such as online banking, you should always update the operating system or switch to Linux, for example. In this case, using Windows 10 is too high a risk. As soon as Windows 10 is no longer supported, the developers of third-party software will also stop releasing updates for Windows 10 at some point. This will also make these programs less secure and in some cases no longer usable. This will not happen immediately, but it is an inevitable development. It therefore also makes sense to update your software for reasons of compatibility and security. Cyber criminals will focus heavily on Windows 10 According to Statcounter, Windows 10 still has a large market share of over 60 percent compared to just over 30 percent for Windows 11. The security company ESET estimates that 32 milion PCs are still running Windows 10 in Germany alone. This means that cyber criminals will increasingly focus on Windows 10 security vulnerabilities after the end of support because it will be worth it. As soon as these gaps are publicly known, tools and programs will appear that exploit them. From this moment on, users of the outdated operating system risk losing their data. Windows 10 blue screen Mashka/Shutterstock.com At the end of support for Windows 7 in 2020, the operating system only had a market share of 20 percent. It is therefore to be expected that many criminals are already working on attacks on Windows 10, if only because of the enormous spread of the operating system. Get Windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro If malware has infiltrated a PC in the home network, all data is at risk, including that on internal network storage such as NAS devices.“It’s five to twelve to avoid a security fiasco in 2025. We strongly advise all users not to wait until October, but to switch to Windows 11 immediately or choose an alternative operating system if their device cannot be updated to the latest Windows operating system. Otherwise, users expose themselves to considerable security risks and make themselves vulnerable to dangerous cyber attacks and data loss,” explains IT security expert Thorsten Urbanski from ESET. Can you continue to use Windows 10 safely? Of course, it is not advisable to panic and immediately disconnect your PC from the internet or network in October. If you want to continue using Windows 10, you can book the Extended Security Updates program from Microsoft. This costs around $60 for the first year until October 2026. In this case, you will continue to receive updates from Microsoft. This extension runs a total of three times until October 2028, after which updates will also stop. An alternative that you can already use now is the 0Patch security solution. This is a company that provides security updates for Windows 10 until 2030. However, the company’s cloud-based software does not update the Windows 10 system files, but activates the patches in the computer’s RAM. This means they have to be reloaded every time the computer is started. The software is even free to use. If you want more comprehensive protection, you can book the paid version for a little more than $25 per year (25 euros). Thomas Joos There are many tips on the internet about using the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 operating system. This basically corresponds to Windows 10 Enterprise with all functions and will receive updates until 2032, but its use as an office PC is not permitted under licence law. Technically, however, you can safely use the operating system after purchase until 2032. There are also enough solutions for protection against malware that you can use in parallel, some of which are completely free of charge. For most people, updating to Windows 11 is the easiest option Of course, not all hardware supports Windows 11, but where installation is not a problem, you should carry out the free update. The operation of Windows 11 is still very similar to that of Windows 10 and you will continue to receive security updates and new functions. Before updating, check that all the applications and tools you use are compatible with Windows 11. In general, it is also very useful to make a complete backup of the operating system on an external hard drive and create a rescue disc beforehand. This can be done free of charge in Windows 10 and Windows 11 with on-board tools. The data snooping of Windows 11 can be deactivated with on-board resources and free tools, for example with ShutUp10 . Run “tpm.msc” to check whether your PC has a TPM module. This is necessary for the update. If the tool does not display the TPM, check the BIOS to see if it is switched off. If your PC’s hardware has problems with Windows 11, it may be time to buy a new PC. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Sleek, sturdy design Sharp OLED screen Pleasantly tactile keyboard Good battery life Cons AI features still lacking Some keyboard keys too cramped Too many pre-loaded apps Our Verdict The Acer Swift 16 AI is a capable machine with a big, beautiful screen, but its AI chops are still unproven. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Acer is all in with AI computers, having now released half a dozen machines with the AI oomph to qualify for Microsoft’s in-development Copilot designation. The largest of them so far is the Acer Swift 16 AI, which sports a lovely 16-inch OLED screen and the latest Intel Lunar Lake CPU. This laptop is thin and light with a gorgeous display and ample connectivity options. The keyboard and trackpad are solid, notwithstanding the rather unnecessary LED AI indicator. However, there are faster computers out there for the same price, and the AI features could be more robust. It’s good for the MSRP but even better if you can find it on sale. Further reading: Best laptops 2025: Premium, budget, gaming, 2-in-1s, and more Acer Swift 16 AI: Specs and features Acer has used several different chipsets for its AI PCs, and some machines have multiple options across the various SKUs. The Acer Swift 16 AI, however, plays it straight with an Intel Lunar Lake CPU, paired with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. There are no other versions of the machine, which is available at Best Buy, but it does have an expansive OLED screen, which is a big step up from the IPS displays on Acer’s cheaper AI PCs. CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 256V Memory: 16GB LPDDR5X Graphics: Intel Arc 140V Display: 16-inch 2880×1800 OLED Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD Webcam: 1440p IR Webcam Connectivity: 2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4, 40Gbps), 2x USB-A (5Gbps), 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI 2.1 Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Battery capacity: 70Whr, 65W charging Dimensions: 14.02 (W) x 9.92 (D) x 0.58-0.69 (H) inches Weight: 3.37 lbs (1.53 kg) MSRP as tested: $1,199.99 The Acer Swift 16 AI is a competent laptop for all your general computing and productivity needs. Acer Swift 16 AI: Design and build quality IDG / Ryan Whitwam Given the large footprint, I was surprised how thin and light the Acer Swift 16 AI is. It’s always a balancing act with larger laptops, but Acer threaded the needle fairly well here. The machine is barely half an inch thick, and the entire chassis is aluminum. However, the metal body isn’t very thick. There are places like around the fan grilles where you can see the frame flexing a bit too much, but the build quality is noticeably improved versus the smaller Acer Swift 14 AI. When closed, the Acer Swift 16 AI looks elegant in an industrial way. The flat black lid is free of branding, save for a small acer logo and the AI “dots” badge in opposite corners. The edge of the machine is flat where the ports are, but it tapers along the rest of the body, making it easy to pick up this sizeable laptop. It’s not too hard to wrestle into a bag, though, weighing in at 3.37 pounds. That’s a bit less than the average 16-inch laptop. The hinge on this machine feels appropriate for its $1,200 price point. The laptop stays closed securely, but it only takes one hand to open the screen, which swings smoothly into place. There’s a small lip around the camera that helps open the laptop, too. The rear edge of the display frame has feet that boost the rear of the laptop a few millimeters, giving it a slight incline that makes typing more comfortable. The camera lacks a privacy shutter, which I’d like to see at this price. The 1440p webcam supports Windows Hello biometric login, and the video quality is good but not better than the 1080p cameras on most laptops. The Acer Swift 16 AI has a good selection of ports, including two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, as well as two legacy USB-A ports. There’s also a full-sized HDMI port and a headphone jack. I don’t love that both USB-C ports are on the left side, meaning the charging cable has to be on that side. The right side has just one USB-A and the headphone jack. Acer Swift 16 AI: Display and speakers IDG / Ryan Whitwam The Acer Swift 16 AI looks great, but it’s not quite the showstopper it could be. The 2880×1800 resolution is very sharp at normal viewing distances, and the touch response is fast and precise. It also supports an optional 120Hz refresh rate if you want smoother animations at the expense of battery life. As an OLED, the colors are gorgeous if slightly unrealistic. You can also enable HDR content on this display, but it might not pop quite like you expect. The brightness tops out at 340 nits, which is a bit on the low side for HDR. It is, however, a good bit brighter than the LCDs and IPS screens you normally see at this price. The brightness is good enough for use in all indoor settings, but the highly reflective screen makes outdoor use questionable. The speakers are on the underside near the front, a common location for speakers on notebooks. They sound good at low and mid volume levels, but there’s distortion and very little bass when you crank it up. They’re very average for a laptop in 2025 in spite of the DTS audio certification. Acer Swift 16 AI: Keyboard and trackpad IDG / Ryan Whitwam The quality of Acer laptop keyboards varies hugely across its product line. In the case of the Acer Swift 16 AI the typing experience is overall very good. The keys are stable, quiet, and quite tactile. The power button is in the far upper right corner, and despite the lack of any visual identification, it’s also a fingerprint sensor. It’s very accurate but sluggish like all Windows Hello biometrics. Most of the important keys are a good size, but I don’t care for having the up and down arrows crammed into a single key unit. There is a full number pad on this machine, but it’s quite squished. These keys are only about 75 percent as wide as the alphas, which makes it hard to rely on muscle memory to enter numbers on the pad. It’s still better to have it than not, given the ample surface area of this laptop. The trackpad doesn’t take full advantage of all that room. It’s a bit on the small side, though it is sturdy and accurate. The overall feel of the trackpad, as well as the click mechanism, are a big step up from the Arm-based Acer Swift 14 AI, which felt quite off to me. The trackpad has the same light-up AI logo in the corner as the company’s other AI-branded laptops. It blinks when you access AI features. It’s totally unnecessary, but you can turn it off in the Acer settings. Acer Swift 16 AI: Performance Acer loads its PCs with more software than most PC vendors—that has the potential to be good, but it’s mostly bad. There’s the McAfee suite, a few settings apps, a photo editor, a collection of third-party games, and several custom AI tools. It will take a bit to clear away the bloatware, but even Acer’s software won’t get much use. On one hand, I applaud Acer for actually bundling AI tools on its AI laptops. On the other, they don’t work very well. Apps like Acer Assist and VisionArt load an AI model locally to provide a chatbot and background generation, respectively. The model is about 5GB gigabytes in size, so it’ll leave you with very little free memory on this 16GB system. The model output is also extremely slow, and I wasn’t impressed with the chatbot’s capabilities or the lack of options in the wallpaper app. It’s also odd that these tools don’t use the Lunar Lake chip’s NPU—all the AI work is done on the GPU. Acer says it is planning to improve the on-device models soon, which will include support for running them on the NPU. The general system performance with the Core Ultra 7 is good. While Intel’s latest chips aren’t ideal for heavily multithreaded applications, the GPU is among the best you’ll see short of a dedicated chip. Thermal performance is also good, but Acer’s default power state is a bit slower than competing machines. When in high-performance mode, the laptop does get noticeably louder. It’s whisper-quiet in Normal mode. To give you a better idea of how the laptop performs, here are our standard benchmark tests. IDG / Ryan Whitwam PCMark 10 is designed to test a machine across a variety of metrics like web browsing, video chat, and photo editing. The Acer Swift 16 AI easily bests Meteor Lake chips here, but its default performance tuning makes it slightly slower than other Lunar Lake-based machines with a score of 6,539. The latest AMD Ryzen chips are also running ahead in this system benchmark. IDG / Ryan Whitwam Cinebench is a CPU-focused test that shows how a PC handles heavy but brief multi-core workloads. More CPU cores grant higher scores in Cinebench and cooling doesn’t matter very much. With Intel’s move away from hyperthreading, the Core Ultra 7 doesn’t do as well in this test, bringing up the rear with even the Meteor Lake TravelMate P4 ahead. However, switching to the Acer performance mode boosts the score to about 10,000, which is more in line with competing laptops. IDG / Ryan Whitwam The Handbrake test is similar to Cinebench in that it shows how a computer handles multithreaded tasks, but this is a longer-duration test where thermals matter more. While we don’t have any concerns with the laptop’s thermal performance, the eight-core/eight-thread design keeps this machine near the bottom of the heap. Switching to performance mode does shave a few hundred seconds off the encode, but AMD’s AI 300 parts run away with this one. IDG / Ryan Whitwam Our main gaming test is 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. This isn’t a gaming computer, but Intel’s latest iGPUs are quite good. Here, the Acer Swift 16 AI is near the top at 3,988, besting even the Ryzen AI 9 with its Radeon GPU. The Acer Swift 16 AI is fast enough to play simple modern games or titles that are a few years old at lower settings. Acer Swift 16 AI: Battery life The Acer Swift 16 AI sports a 70Wh battery, which is average for a laptop of this size. It charges over USB-PD via either of the USB-C ports, with a peak speed of 65W. That’s standard for productivity laptops these days. The machine comes with a clunky charger, but we tested more compact third-party options, all of which charged the Acer Swift 16 AI just as well. IDG / Ryan Whitwam The Acer Swift 16 AI will last you an entire work day and then some. To quantify that, we ran our standard battery rundown test, which consists of playing a 4K video on a loop at set brightness until the machine dies. The Acer Swift 16 AI lasted 1,053 minutes (about 17.5 hours), which is very competitive. The display was in the default 60Hz mode for this test—switching to 120Hz will reduce battery life. Acer Swift 16 AI: Conclusion Like its smaller incarnation, the Acer Swift 16 AI is a competent laptop for all your general computing and productivity needs. Acer is trying as hard as any OEM to justify the AI hype with features like Acer Assist. However, even all this effort does not guarantee a good AI experience. Microsoft’s Copilot+ features are still barely there in Windows 11. Beyond all the marketing, the Acer Swift 16 AI is fast enough for almost everyone with a Core Ultra 7, but I wish Acer made this laptop in a Core Ultra 9 variant. Even then, the machine’s multithreaded performance would be lacking. If you’re going to be editing video, an AMD-based machine is your best bet right now. While this laptop shares a lot with the 14-inch Acer AI PC, it looks nicer. The step up to an OLED screen, with its vibrant colors and deep blacks, is appreciated as well. The keyboard is a delight to use, and it’s nice to see a full number pad, even if the keys are a bit cramped. The $1,200 MSRP feels slightly high for what you get, particularly when machines like the HP Omnibook Ultra regularly sell for around the same price. The Acer Swift 16 AI has dropped below $900 on sale, which is a steal. If you happen to catch it on sale for a few hundred off, this is a great purchase. Read...