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Lenovo has redesigned its flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon with an all-new metal 'Space Frame' case that trims weight to 2.2 pounds while keeping the carbon fiber top's soft-touch feel. A smaller, double-sided system board freed up room for a fan 70% larger than before, enabling support for more powerful 30-watt CPUs alongside a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display at 120Hz.
Battery endurance depends heavily on laptop category: ultrabooks can run 8-12 hours (up to 15 in ideal conditions), standard laptops last 6-10 hours, budget models 4-7 hours, and gaming laptops only 2-4 hours. The charger used also matters, since aftermarket units may deliver imprecise voltage that stresses the battery over time.
WIRED's laptop backpack recommendations have been refreshed for September 2026, adding the Paramount Daypack Lite 20L and Navigator Backpack to its main picks. The guide also expanded its honorable mentions to include the Eagle Creek Tour Lite Travel Pack, North Face Base Camp Voyager Pro, Bagsmart Moss Backpack, Brown Buffalo Conceal Pack, and GoRuck G1, while retaining the Everlane ReNew Transit Backpack as a top budget pick for its 27-liter capacity and sub-$120 price.
HP's HyperX Omen 15 replaces the Victus 15 as the company's mainstream gaming laptop, pairing a Core Ultra 9 processor, 32GB of RAM and a 15.3-inch 1800p OLED screen with strong gaming benchmarks. Tom's Hardware found the as-tested unit costs about $2,100, a few hundred dollars more than its closest rival, and noted the build relies on an aluminum lid but cheap, flexible plastic for the rest of the chassis.
Woot is selling a refurbished Alienware 16 Aurora gaming laptop with an Nvidia RTX 5050 GPU for $927 for new customers using a checkout code, or $1,029 for returning shoppers, undercutting the $1,099.99 new price at Alienware's own site. The refurbished unit still carries a one-year Alienware warranty and includes a 1600p 120Hz 16-inch display, Intel's Core 7 240H processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X chips, unveiled at Computex 2026 with several laptop partners, now have a firmer release window of October rather than a vague 'fall' target. The lineup includes a 20-CPU-core/6,144-GPU-core variant supporting up to 128GB unified memory for laptops and desktops, and an 18-core/5,120-GPU-core version limited to 32GB for laptops only. Nvidia has not disclosed pricing for either chip.
Anker previewed several new chargers before IFA 2026, headlined by the MagGo Power Bank Pro 2, a 25W wireless power bank with a built-in fan that keeps temperatures under 96.8°F during charging. The lineup also includes a Laptop Charger Pro that claims to identify the exact laptop model plugged into it, and a MagStand Charging Station combining three charging modes in one device.
Nvidia reported record quarterly revenue of $96.2 billion, up more than $10 billion from the prior quarter, driven by data center revenue that more than doubled year-over-year to $89 billion. Profits also more than doubled to $59.7 billion, and the company projects revenue will climb to $108 billion in the coming quarter.
MSI's Crosshair 16 HX E14W arrives as a budget-tier gaming laptop that manages to hold down its price despite the ongoing surge in memory costs. Reviewers note the machine delivers expected gaming performance for its class but does so through several noticeable trade-offs in build and features.
USB-C laptop chargers can be safely used to charge phones, and will speed up charging only if the phone supports higher-wattage fast charging via USB Power Delivery. Phones capped at 18-20W input won't charge any faster on a 65W or 100W charger, since the device only draws what it's rated for. Charger safety depends more on certification and build quality than wattage, as counterfeit units can pass dangerous voltage spikes and cheap cables may lack required safety components.