This guide can help you buy the right device for the holidays

[Athima Chansanchai]

If you’re shopping for your friends and family this holiday season, we’d like to help you with this guide to devices for everyone in your life – especially those who prefer to work or play on the go. No matter what you choose, you’ll find thinner and lighter devices that deliver flexibility (tablets, laptops, 2-in-1s), voice assistants (Cortana, far-field mics) and enough power to run Windows Mixed Reality. Gamers and creators in your life will also appreciate powerful CPUs and 4K touch displays, and the ability to deftly maneuver between typing on a keyboard and writing, drawing or sketching with a digital pen. For those who need to stay connected – without relying on Wi-Fi – there are more choices with longer battery life. You’ll even find devices do a lot, for less than you’d think you’d have to pay.

For the one who is on the go

• The Acer Swift 5 weighs in at only 2.14 pounds with a sleek magnesium-lithium cover and distinct charcoal blue color. Power through everyday tasks, watch videos or surf the web with Intel’s latest 8th Generation Core i7 processor and tackle things on your to-do list with your digital assistant Cortana. Utilize the power of Windows Hello with the integrated fingerprint reader for more secure logins on the Swift 5, available from Amazon.com starting at $899.99.

• Surface Laptop 2 provides personalized style in a sleek and accessible device with all-day battery life, same stunning touch screen as the Surface Go, and four tone-on-tone colors: Burgundy, Cobalt Blue, Platinum and Matte Black. Starting at $999 at the Microsoft Store.

• Surface Go, now available with LTE Advanced, offers all the comforts of a laptop with the convenience of a 10-inch tablet. Surface Go delivers a small, 1.15 pound portable 2-in-1 form factor that adapts to the way you live. Whether at work, home or on the road, Surface Go runs Office365 and offers built-in Windows Hello for a more secure sign-in. Available from the Microsoft Store starting at $399.99.

• The Huawei MateBook X Pro opens new horizons with its FullView design, a 91 percent screen-to-body ratio ideal for watching movies and videos in 4K. It’s powered for creativity with the latest 8th Generation Intel Core Processors and up to 12 hours per charge* to create and play all day. Packed with great Windows features like Cortana and Windows Hello for more secure logins, you can get the MateBook X Pro on Amazon.com starting at $1,509.99.

For the creators

• The ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 gives you the power to do whatever you want to do, wherever you want to do it. Powered by Intel’s 8th Generation Core processor with a 4K UHD NanoEdge touchscreen display, it is a creative’s delight. Use the innovative ScreenPad as a second display to use apps, play music, look at your calendar and more. Get it from Best Buy starting at $1,749.99.

• The Samsung Galaxy Book2 keeps you productive without the dependency of Wi-Fi, thanks to its LTE connectivity. With Instant On, it starts up quickly so you can work and stream your favorite content while on the go. With its multi-workday battery life, S Pen and keyboard that come included in the box, you can get more work done from just about anywhere. Available on Samsung.com starting at $999.99.

For someone who needs to be hands-free

• Surface Pro 6 offers all-day battery for up to 13.5 hour of work, fun or both. With best in class keyboard and trackpad and 67 percent faster than its predecessor, Surface Pro 6 offers the versatility you need to create and be productive from anywhere. The 12.3-inch PixelSense Display and multi-screen docking presents content beautifully and Surface Pro 6 now includes an 8.0 MP auto-focus camera and far field microphones, so you can ask Cortana questions from the next room. Now with new color options like matte black, check it out at the Microsoft Store starting at $899.99.

• Lenovo’s Yoga Book C930 rewrites the rules of mobile productivity and creativity as the world’s thinnest and lightest dual-display laptop including a display built with E Ink. The versatile E Ink screen serves as a keyboard, notepad and eReader. It’s ultraportable at just 9.9mm at its thinnest when closed, and has up to 10-hour battery life and a Precision Pen for easy sketching and inking on either screen. Starting at $949.99, it is available on BestBuy.com and Lenovo.com.

For someone who enjoys flexibility

• Get versatility and mobility with the ASUS ZenBook Flip 13. Its 13-inch display has ultra-narrow bezels on all four sides, giving a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio that allows a much more compact chassis design. With its 360°-flippable ErgoLift hinge, the latest Intel Core processors, active-stylus support, ZenBook Flip 13 is versatile, powerful and portable. Get it from Best Buy (model Q326FA) starting at $1,099.99.

• The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is elegant at every angle, with a 360-degree hinge that allows you to work in four flexible positions: tablet, tent, laptop and stand modes with up to 8th Gen processors. Turn thoughts into actions with Windows Ink that allows you to capture notes, make edits and create content with the Dell Active Pen. Enjoy password-free sign-ins with Windows Hello using one touch or your face for recognition. Available from Dell.com starting at $999.99.

• Enjoy a bold, new design with the HP Spectre Folio, crafted from leather and able to adapt to three different positions – laptop, tablet or tilted forward. With up to 18 hours of battery life and more than 4,000 levels of sensitivity with stylus support, you can create and play all day. Starting at $1,299.99, you can grab one on HP.com.

For the gamer who seeks superior performance

• Optimized for performance, the Alienware m15 provides quality and maximum mobility with its sleek design features a narrow side bezel to maximize screen space to view explosive action first. The new Alienware mSeries keyboard even features 1.4mm of key travel, anti-ghosting keys and four Alien-FX enabled zones to light up the room during any gameplay, while also supporting in game lighting reactions for over 150 game titles. Powered by 8th Generation Intel processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 and 1070 Max-Q graphics, this gaming rig is capable of VR and beyond. Available starting at $1,379.99 at Dell.com.

• The Razer Blade 15 is powered by Intel’s 8th generation Core i7 6 core processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 Series graphics with Max-Q design for amazing gaming performance. Precision milled from solid aluminum, it has one of the smallest footprints of any 15.6-inch gaming laptop and is as thin as 0.66-inch making it lightweight and ultra-portable. It also features a Full HD display and dual storage in the Base Model versions, or users can step up to 144Hz refresh rates and a thinner design featuring a vapor chamber cooling system in the Advanced Model. Available from Razer.com starting at $1,599, and includes a digital copy of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ” until the end of the year.

• Experience true 4K gaming with Xbox One X, the world’s most powerful console and smallest Xbox ever built With Xbox One X, features like a built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, 4K streaming with High Dynamic Range and Dolby Vision, premium audio with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support and services unique to the Xbox platform like Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Live and Xbox One Backward Compatibility are at your fingertips, making Xbox One the best place to play. Get $50 off yours for a limited time, starting at $449 at Microsoft Store.

For the person who is always-connected

• Lean, light and crafted from premium aluminum, the Lenovo Yoga C630 WOS (Windows on Snapdragon) 2-in-1 convertible offers smartphone-like integrated LTE Advanced Pro connectivity and up to 25 hours of local video playback thanks to the power-efficient architecture of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform. Get creative with the optional Lenovo Pen and use the laptop as your canvas or notepad, with drawing and editing capabilities with Windows Ink. The Yoga C630 WOS is available at BestBuy.com and in store for $699 or $599 with a Verizon contract.

• Be on the move but stay always-connected with the HP Envy x2. With up to 22 hours of battery life and 4G LTE connectivity, you get the best PC and tablet experience no matter where life takes you. Its detachable keyboard and magnetic hinge enables seamless transition from laptop to tablet mode. Enjoy note taking, drawing and more with Windows Ink and ask Cortana to tackle your to-do list. Get it from HP.com starting at $799.99.

Devices that do a lot for a little

• Enjoy all day productivity and entertainment with the slim ASUS VivoBook Flip 14. With its 14-inch ASUS Nano Edge bezel, a full HD display fits into a larger frame. It’s packed with great features like one-touch logins with Windows Hello and an optimal ASUS pen for writing, drawing and more. The durable hinge rotates 360-degrees to change to the way you want to work. Available from Amazon.com starting at $635.99.

• Colors come alive with the Acer Spin 1, which has FHD IPS display and Acer Color Intelligence and a 10-point touch feature that keeps you creative with the Acer Active Stylus. Lightweight and portable, it has a 360-degree hinge that provides four modes to create at every angle. Buy it from Acer.com starting at $329.99.

*Data is obtained by HUAWEI laboratories using continuous local 1080p video playback, 150 nits brightness, auto-dimming off, system audio level at 67 percent, Windows Update off, OneDrive off, pre-installed applications removed. Actual battery life will vary depending on configuration and maximum capacity will naturally decrease with time and usage.

Editor’s note: Added footnote for Huawei’s battery life after publication.

The post This guide can help you buy the right device for the holidays appeared first on Windows Experience Blog.

Continue reading...