STACK #219 January 2023

FEATURE TECH

Up to 25.5 hours battery life

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5" Ryzen 5 256GB/16GB (Matte Black) The Surface Laptop 4 retains the distinctive design and details of its predecessors including its signature 3:2 display ratio, which is optimised for a seamless Microsoft experience. Though billed as a laptop, it comes with a PixelSense touchscreen for further versatility. The AMD Ryzen 5 Microsoft Surface Edition processor is 70 per cent faster than before, and with significantly longer battery life - up to 19 hours. It’s teamed with an AMD Radeon graphics processor to deliver faster performance across programs and tasks. For online collaboration or remote learning, a front-facing 720p HD camera is paired with dual far-field studio mics, as well as Omnisonic Speakers with Dolby Atmos. • 13.5” (2256 x 1504) display • AMD Ryzen 5 Microsoft Surface Edition (2.2GHz) • AMD Radeon Graphics • 256GB SSD storage • 16GB RAM • 1x USB port • 1x USB-C port • 1x Surface Connect port • Windows 11 Home • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 ax) • Bluetooth v5.0

LG gram EVO 14" WUXGA Ultra-Lightweight Laptop (256GB) [12th Gen Intel i5] Designed to be your ultra-lightweight, ultra-reliable travel companion, the LG gram EVO weighs less than 1kg, yet still manages to pack up to 25.5 hours of battery life. The 14” (1920 x 1200) anti-glare panel is a nice feature for use outdoors or in brightly lit classrooms. LG Glance by Mirametrix adds additional layers of privacy protection when you’re out and about, by turning off the screen when you leave your laptop. It even warns you if someone is looking over your shoulder and blurs the screen when it senses prying eyes looking at your screen. Video conferencing features include Full HD webcam, plus noise cancelling microphones for ambient sound reduction and voice clarity.

Up to 70 per cent faster than before with AMD Ryzen 5 Microsoft Surface Edition (2.2GHz)

Laptop • 14” WUXGA (1920 x 1200) display • 12th Gen Intel Core Processor i5-1240P (1.7 - 4.7GHz) • Intel Iris Xe Graphics • 256GB SSD storage • 16GB RAM • 1x HMDI port • 2x USB-A 3.2 port• 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports • Windows 11 Home • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 ax) • Bluetooth v5.1 Thunderbolt USB-C

Thunderbolt and USB-C Same but different When checking out the features available on a laptop, you might see ports listed as USB-C, or Thunderbolt. Essentially, they refer to the same looking hardware interface. Thunderbolt 4 offers data-transfer speed up to 40Gbps, and USB-C delivers a transfer speed up to 10Gbps. Thunderbolt is compatible with USB-C, so you can connect from the Thunderbolt port on your device to the USB-C port on your peripheral, such as a monitor. You can also tell a Thunderbolt port or cable as it’s accompanied by a lightning logo. The choice of a Thunderbolt port just gives you that bit of optionality if you plan on intensive gaming or multimedia work, as you can daisy chain your device to multiple 4K monitors. Of course, being able to achieve this depends on the overall performance of your laptop as well, and not the Thunderbolt alone.

9