Table of contents for March 2024 in Tech Advisor

Microsoft and its PC partners plan to add a ‘Copilot’ key to your PC keyboards, making it easy and intuitive to launch Microsoft’s Copilot AI – and avoid using an AI solution from a competitor. PC makers appear to be prepping to replace one of the existing buttons in the no-man’s land grouping of keys to the right of the PC spacebar into a key that will launch Copilot on command. (Currently, you can use the Win + C shortcut instead.) “Over the coming days leading up to and at CES, you will start to see the Copilot key on many of the new Windows 11 PCs from our ecosystem partners, with availability beginning in late February through spring, including on upcoming Surface devices,” Yusuf Mehdi, who now oversees the…

Most of us are used to thinking about, say, a 1440p-capable monitor that runs at a 120Hz refresh rate. In 2024, that’s going to change. New logos and specs will indicate monitors that can run at two different refresh rates at different resolutions. The Adaptive-Sync Display v1.1 update by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) will begin showcasing adaptive-rate displays that already adhere to the standard, but haven’t been highlighted as such, including displays manufactured by Asus and LG, among others. It’s an update to VESA’s 2022 AdaptiveSync logo, which only provided a single, maximum frame rate. It’s a dynamically different way of thinking about displays, reminiscent of how some PCs are being designed for content creation, with moderately powerful discrete GPUs that can be used for video and photo…

Price: £4,799 from fave.co/48PJ7Pz Much fanfare has been made about the HP Spectre Foldable since the laptop’s launch. So, does it live up to all the hype? The simple answer from a design perspective is absolutely it does. This 17-inch laptop does exactly what its name implies, folding down the middle of its continuous OLED display and converting from a laptop to a desktop to a tablet and vice versa. It isn’t a new concept. I’ve seen the same kind of versatility in likes of the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED. But, it does feel a little more refined, from the design heights the Zenbook achieved, the Foldable goes one further, slimming down in size, shedding some weight, and rocking the most unobtrusive fold I’ve seen to date. The one…

Price: £579 from fave.co/48nvJCg Nubia has updated its smartphone gaming line again with the new Redmagic 9 Pro. It looks like we’re just getting one model globally, with no sign of the Redmagic 9 Pro+ being released outside China. So, are there improvements in terms of speed and cooling that make it worth upgrading from predecessors? And is this the new best gaming phone you can buy? I load up some games and see how it handles the chaos. DESIGN If you’re familiar with the Redmagic smartphones, the 9 Pro will look instantly recognizable. It shares much of the design aesthetic used on the previous Redmagic 8S Pro and 8 Pro. This means you get a smartphone that will fill your hand and then some. Here’s how the past few…

Even if you’ve been using Windows for decades, it’s so sprawling and complex that there might be truly helpful, yet more obscure features that can still surprise you. We’ve tracked down 11 little-known Windows features that might just improve your efficiency, your comfort, or possibly even your fun while using your PC. All of them should work on both Windows 10 and 11 alike, and each only takes a few seconds to try out. Here we go, in no particular order: 1. MOUSE HOVER WINDOW ACTIVATION Whenever I use a new PC, this is the very first feature I enable. Technically it’s part of the accessibility tools, but many users might find it useful no matter what their level of mobility. This setting allows you to activate a window simply…

The virtual reality market is in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment. After a mild splash from the Meta Quest 3, everyone is holding their breath to see how Apple’s ambitious and wildly expensive Vision Pro headset will fare. But Microsoft isn’t waiting to throw in the towel on its VR and AR efforts. The Windows Mixed Reality platform is being officially depreciated – that is, no longer actively developed – as of January 2024. Windows Mixed Reality debuted along with the ambitious Microsoft HoloLens headset in a technical demo in 2015 and with the augmented reality hardware releasing to developers the following year and full software integration coming in Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update in 2017. Despite high hopes and heavy investment from Microsoft, HoloLens never…

CES is a big show for laptops, as many of the best models for the coming year appear first at the show. This year is especially notable, as both Intel and AMD are amid launching new generations of mobile processors (though it does seem most laptop makers are leaning towards Intel). Most of the laptops at CES 2024 look rather conventional, with a few exceptions, but dial the performance up to 11. There’s also a dizzying array of Mini-LED and OLED displays at the show. These are the best laptops of CES 2024. 1. LENOVO YOGA 9I PRO 16‑INCH (GEN 9) Lenovo’s Yoga 9i line-up was, for my money, the most impressive Windows laptop line of 2023. It had everything: attractive design, a beautiful Mini-LED display, a nice keyboard and…

Price: £1,299 from fave.co/3TStD8U Intel just presented its new Meteor Lake processors, and the first laptops with the new circuits will soon be on sale. Luckily, I’ve had the opportunity to test one of them in advance. The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED, with its stunning display and solid graphics performance, has been refreshed both inside and out. This new model is a thinner and lighter computer than the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED I tested last year as well as an updated model with the 13th generation Core processor that had the same design and almost the same weight. Now we get down to 14.9mm thickness and a weight of 1.28kg, depending on whether the model has a touchscreen or not. Mine has a touchscreen, but I can’t say the extra…

Price: £369 from fave.co/3H4CRY2 If you have an iPhone and want a smartwatch, then the Apple Watch is an easy choice. It’s not so simple if you have an Android phone. Though the first Google Pixel Watch is a good wearable overall, it has poor battery life and forces you to buy into the Fitbit ecosystem for fitness tracking. I’ve used both an Apple Watch Series 8 and Pixel Watch extensively over the past year and enjoyed both, so I have been pleasantly surprised to find that after a week with it, the Galaxy Watch6 Classic might be my favourite of the three. It’s the best Android smartwatch by a distance, beating Google at its own game. With good design, top hardware including a clever rotating bezel and genuine two-day…

While Windows 11 provides a fine enough out of the box experience – terrible new task bar aside – it handles so much better after tweaking just a handful of settings to make it feel more like the Windows of yore. No, I’m not talking about making Windows 11 look like Windows 10 through an extensive overhaul (though if you’re a Windows veteran that’s worth doing) or tinkering with the new Copilot AI currently infiltrating updated Windows 11 PCs. I’m talking about fast, simple changes that improve the feel of the operating system, turn off annoying ads, reduce the data you send to Microsoft, and more. Better yet, you can do them all in under five minutes – something I did mere weeks ago when I needed to pick up…

In April of last year, Microsoft announced that it was exiting the PC accessory business (mice, keyboards, headsets, and so on). While it is still planning to sell computer accessories under the more stylish (and expensive) Surface brand, its self-titled hardware was sunsetting after nearly three decades on shelves. But it looks like the designs, if not the Microsoft branding, are getting a stay of execution. Incase, a company specializing in laptop bags and sleeves, is reviving many of Microsoft’s products in 2024. So says the announcement page on Incase’s website (fave.co/3Sc9Wb9), which declares that newly manufactured devices in the line will be branded as “Incase Designed by Microsoft”. Existing products in Microsoft’s mouse, keyboard, headset, and speaker line will continue to be sold. The only notable difference from products…

Of course, we knew that AI would figure prominently at this year’s CES. It’s the technology story du jour after all. But as CES veterans, we’ve seen such sparkling promises of the next big thing eventually fizzle. 3D televisions, anyone? Thankfully there was plenty of meat-and-potatoes PC tech on display in Las Vegas to satisfy the cravings of PC enthusiasts here and now. Whether you’re a road warrior, a PC builder, a lover of games both old and new, or a content creator, we saw some truly exciting products for PC users of every stripe, and, yes, some of it even includes AI. 1. MSI MEG 321URX QD-OLED MONITOR MSI could’ve left well alone with the MEG 321URX QD-OLED monitor. I mean, it’s impressive as hell just off pure specs…

Price: £149 from fave.co/3tODr9x Much like a strange mash-up of Deeperlove and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Amazon is back once again to bring you Fire – the latest Fire HD 10 tablet, to be exact. This 12th-gen refresh offers a marginal bump in specifications versus the previous edition, which was released in 2021. It’s powered by a MediaTek MT8186 processor, which Amazon says is 25 percent faster than the 2021 edition’s MT8183. The cameras too – a 5Mp main sensor and 5Mp front-facing camera – now record 1080p Full HD video compared to creaky old 720p. This means Zoom calls will look a little clearer. Finally, the new model is 30g lighter than the 11th-generation Fire HD 10 tablet, so it’s easier to carry around and crash on…

The year 2023 was a roller-coaster ride for Microsoft, as the tech giant faced both triumphs and tribulations in its quest to dominate the industry. From launching new products and services, to dealing with lawsuits and scandals, to making some surprising moves and announcements, Microsoft had its share of wins, fails and WTF moments. Not bad, huh? I asked Microsoft Copilot to write that, saving me a precious minute or two. And then it happily gave me an example: the launch of Windows 11…which, of course, actually happened in October of 2021. So, yeah, that was Microsoft’s 2023 in a nutshell: All the promise of AI, tempered with the reality that it still needs a lot of work. So as we continue our annual tradition, enjoy our recap of where…