Huawei MateBook X Pro
This is the first laptop in the world with an almost borderless display. Unlike other brands that offer slim bezels on two or three sides, Huawei’s latest Ultrabook has super slim bezels on all four sides of its 13.9-inch screen. The bezels are so slim that Huawei had to move the webcam on to the keyboard. The webcam for the MateBook X Pro hides under a dedicated key on the top row of the keyboard. Just tap on the key to bring the webcam out via a spring-loaded mechanism.
The touchscreen has a resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels, 1500:1 contrast ratio, 450 nits brightness making it one of the best screen available on a laptop. In addition, the screen is protected by gorilla glass. The MateBook X Pro comes with Windows 10 and inside the sleek design is 8th generation Intel Core I processor (choice of Core i5 or Core i7), 8 or 16GB RAM, 256 or 512GB SSD for storage and a Nvidia MX150 graphics card with 2GB dedicated memory. Weighing just 1.33kg, the MateBook X Pro has quad speakers, Dolby Atmos support, fingerprint sensor, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 2 x USB type-c ports and a full day’s battery backup. Price starts Euro 1,499 onwards.
Huawei Mediapad M5
Huawei’s latest tablet, Mediapad M5 comes in two screen options. It will be available in 8.4-inch or 10.8-inch screen size, both with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixel. These tablets are the first in the world to come with 2.5D glass on the display as per Huawei and will come in WiFi only or WiFi + LTE connectivity variants. Hardware specifications include Huawei’s own Kirin 960 processor, 4GB RAM, 32/64/128GB storage, a 5,100mAh battery on the smaller tab while the larger variant has a 7,500mAh battery. Both tablets come with USB type-c port with support for fast charging, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front camera and runs Android 8.0. Keep in mind that both tablets do not have a microSD slot for additional storage.
The 8.4-inch version comes with dual speakers whereas the 10.8-inch version has four speakers tuned by Harman Kardon. There is also a special Mediapad M5 Pro version of the 10.8-inch tablet which comes with a pressure sensitive stylus for professional users. Launched at MWC 2018, the Mediapad M5 8.4-inch is priced 350 euros onwards and the 10.8-inch version is priced 399 euro onwards.
Lenovo Yoga 730
The Yoga 730 from Lenovo is the company’s latest offering in their convertible Yoga range. It comes in option of two screen sizes – 13-inch and 15-inch, both have aluminum body and touchscreen. The 13-inch Yoga 730 weighs just 1.12kg and the 15.6-inch Yoga 730 is 1.89kg making them amongst the lightest convertible laptops.
The big additions on the Yoga 730 are the fingerprint scanner and far field microphones. The far field microphones enable interaction with the laptop’s voice assistant. Launched at MWC 2018, Yoga 730 is one of the few laptops to offer support for both Alexa and Cortana. Interested buyers can get it in option of 8th generation Intel Core I processors, up to 16GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics card (only on the 15.6-inch version) and up to 1TB SSD for storage. The 13-inch Yoga 730 is priced Euro 999 onwards while the 15.6-inch Yoga 730 starts from Euro 1,099. Note that the price includes the Lenovo Active Pen 2 pressure sensitive stylus.
Sony Xperia Ear Duo
Open ear wireless headphones have been in concept stage from past two years by Sony. At MWC 2018, the company finally announced the Xperia Ear Duo – the company’s first ‘open-ear’ wireless headset with a price tag of $279.99 and availability in May 2018. This headset has no noise cancelling headphones. It allows the user to listen to their music, notifications as well as sound from their surroundings.
Both the right and left headset have a battery and antenna along with an audio driver that transmits sound directly to the ear-canal. Each unit also has four microphones to minimize background noise, speak on a voice call and interact with a voice assistant (Google Assistant or Siri) on the phone. The right earpiece also has a touchpad for control and interaction. Sony says the headphones have a battery life of up to 4 hours and it comes with a charging case that can charge the headphones 3 times.
