Author: batteryforpc

LG will present its new Gram laptops in South Korea on December 16, the company has confirmed. The event will commence at 18:00 KST (UTC +9), according to a post on the dedicated LG Gram website. LG is yet to announce anything globally, which suggests that the December 16 event will be limited to South Korea. Nevertheless, LG will probably release its new Gram laptops outside its home market, so the launch event will be relevant to international audiences.

Based on recent findings, LG plans to upgrade its Gram series to Intel’s new Tiger Lake architecture. The timing of LG’s event hints that it will continue to use U-series processors in its laptops, rather than the upcoming Tiger Lake-H series. Currently, LG sells 14-inch, 15.6-inch and 17-inch versions of the Gram, but the company may have added a new model into the mix for its latest refresh.

The FCC and KCC have confirmed that the new 14-inch and 17-inch models will be called 14Z90P and 17Z90P, respectively. LG has recently certified a 15Z95N in South Korea and with the FCC, so a new 15.6-inch model appears to be also on the way. Additionally, LG has registered the model number 16Z90P, which implies that the company plans to release a 16-inch version of the Gram, too. There are hardly any 16:9 and 16-inch displays, so a 16-inch Gram will probably have a 16:10 aspect ratio, like the current 17-inch model.

In short, it seems that LG will release 14, 15.6, 16 and 17-inch versions of the Gram this month. However, the Z95N model number of the 15.6-inch SKU insinuates that it will differ from the 14, 16 and 17-inch variants somehow.

Back in September, Nikon announced its fast ultra-wide zoom lens: the Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8, completing its trinity of fast zooms for Z-mount cameras. How does it perform?

Jared Polin has been waiting impatiently for fast glass from Nikon and is excited to finally get his hands on a lens that, for him, makes Nikon’s Z-mount a truly viable option for professional photographers. Nikon zooms with f/2.8 maximum apertures have taken a while to come to market — and it seems that they’re still proving hard to get a hold of.

Nikon made its announcement in mid-September, stating that the lens would be available to buy in November. As it stands, retailers still list this and the new 50mm f/1.2 S as “Coming Soon.” The 50mm is at least slated to start shipping later this month. Various manufacturers have warned that products might see delays due to supply lines and distribution networks being impacted by the global pandemic. Under the circumstances, the wait is entirely understandable, if a little frustrating.

Polin is clearly impressed. That the huge lens hood can accept 112 mm filters is definitely a nice touch.

Have you placed an order? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

While the iPhone 12 has several color options, the MacBook has remained boring on the design front for several years. At the moment, the darkest MacBook you can buy is ‘space grey’, which isn’t all that dark. This seems like a strange oversight, given our love of black tech products. 

But it looks like Apple is finally planning on catching up if a new patent is to be taken at face value. Interestingly, the patent begins by revealing the reasoning behind the absence of black MacBooks — and it comes down to their metal casing.

“Enclosures for portable electronic devices can include an anodized layer that can be dyed in different colors in order to enhance their cosmetic appeal to consumers,” the patent reads. “However, certain colors are far more difficult to achieve than others,” it continues explaining that a “true black” color often ends up being dark grey thanks to the anodized metal’s high gloss finish that reflects too much light.

Apple describes the material as having a “matte, low gloss finish” which would certainly make for an eye-catching MacBook without the need for an ugly skin. And while a patent application is no guarantee of real-world action, this feels one of the safest bets around, given the world’s lust for black electronics.

The technique Apple describes in its patent is reminiscent of Vantablack paint, created by UK-based Surrey NanoSystems to create a finish that offers the darkest black the human eye can see. Given that artist Anish Kapoor owns the exclusive rights to the color, though, Apple wouldn’t be able to just use Vantablack on its future laptops.

If you’ve got a long memory, you’ll think back to a time when black was an option for Apple laptops. Of course, that was more than a decade ago, when Apple used polycarbonate materials in its laptop casings prior to the switch to metals like aluminum.

It’s difficult to anticipate black MacBook models without thinking about the short lived Jet Black iPhone. Only a color option for the iPhone 7, the pricier Jet Black model was extremely prone to scratches to the degree that Apple added a footnote on its site warning of “micro-abrasions with use”. It’s notable that Jet Black hasn’t found its way to any iPhones since.

The black MacBook color sounds sufficiently different for lightning to not strike twice – and obviously the way people use laptops is completely different to smartphones. All the same, it does highlight one thing: when making cosmetic changes to long running product lines it’s important to ensure there aren’t any unintended consequences along the way.

Earlier this year, the names of two new ThinkPad X1 models were leaked: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano and ThinkPad X1 Titanium. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano is already available in the USA – the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium meanwhile is nowhere to be found. The last time we heard about it were a few leaked promo videos on Youtube.

2020 is drawing to a close and by this point, we expected to see the ThinkPad X1 Titanium in early 2021, maybe with an announcement at the virtual CES. However, there are new signs that at least the public announcement might still come in this year.

Lenovo has recently updated its Accessories and Options Compatibility Matrix (OCM). The newest version (as of December 6 2020) includes the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga Gen 1. Alongside the full-name of the product, the OCM also reveals the model-numbers: 20QA and 20QB. Also, it appears the X1 Titanium Yoga will rely on M.2 2242 SSDs for internal storage, exactly like the ThinkPad X1 Nano.

With the model appearing in the OCM, this might be a hint that an announcement is imminent. At the same time, there is news from China: The Chinese tech-site ITHome reports that Lenovo’s Think division will hold a special event next week, officially launching the ThinkPad X1 Nano in China – and unveiling the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga at the same time. This should be regarded as a rumor at this point, but we might see more of the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga very soon.

Based on prior leaks, we already know that the X1 Titanium Yoga will be a convertible ThinkPad with Intel’s Tiger Lake platform inside. It will be the thinnest ThinkPad laptop yet, with a body completely made out of metal. Judging from the pictures, it looks like the screen will have a 3:2 aspect ratio, though this is not confirmed yet.