TCL has a new tablet for CES 2021, but while Android iPad rivals aren't exactly uncommon, the TCL NXTPAPER does something Apple's slate doesn't. It's based on TCL's NXTPAPER technology, a transflective IPS panel that promises the best of both e-ink screens and LCD panels for something that's easier on the eyes and on battery life.
It's CES 2021 this week, kicking off a flood of new product announcements both during the event as well as long after it. One of those that may be happening this month is Microsoft's debut of its next-gen Surface products, namely its pro tablets and laptops. Leaks about the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop 4 haven't exactly been encouraging but this latest leak shows at least one change that could be a bit of a positive.
The next iPad was leaked by suppliers in China with a few details on features. The next device will be an iPad mini, that being the 6th Generation iPad mini, complete with a slightly larger display. Where the previous iPad mini featured a 7.9-inch display, this new iPad mini (6th Generation) was leaked to include an 8.4-inch display.
News of the first iPad release of the year for 2021 was revealed over the weekend. This first Apple tablet of the year is tipped to be an iPad Pro of the 12.9-inch variety. This might well be the first iPad Pro with a mini-LED display, delivering a very early high point in the year's offerings from Apple.
Although it still enjoys some popularity as Microsoft's premier hardware product line, it has been quite a while since it has made a big change for its Surface products, especially the oldest of them all, the Surface Pro. It seems that 2021 won't be any different, at least during the early months when Microsoft is expected to launch its next line of portable computers. But while the next-gen Surface Pro 8 will likely see some welcome upgrades, a new leak hints that it won't be spread equally when it comes to LTE support.
Though many of us often devote our attention to flagship devices, budget tablets and phones are particularly easy to find today. Samsung has a robust lineup of more affordable devices itself, and one of the more recent additions to that is the Galaxy Tab A7. As always, the major concern with budget devices is whether or not you’re buying something that can last a reasonable amount of time before its hardware begins to show its mid-tier quality. So, with that in mind, is the Galaxy Tab A7 a winner or is it something to avoid?
Apple iPad turf is overly saturated. If you are in the market for an iPad this holiday season, there are a few options you can instantly close on. For a certain set of users, there is the A12Z Bionic chip-powered 2020 iPad Pro. Then is the recently introduced iPad Air that dishes out ruthless performance and is high on substance. For the budgeted buyer, the fifth-generation iPad Mini is a suggested option. To add to choices, Apple is already working on the next edition of the iPad Pro with improved display, power, and 5G connectivity, and it is slated for an early 2021 release.
Samsung still needs to check off a few things from its list before its foldable phone could be truly considered complete but that isn't stopping it from cooking up other things. Of course, with a company as big as Samsung, it is often working on other things in the background, things that may never see the light of day. Often, we only get glimpses of them in patents but Samsung's display-making arm is more than happy to share its future visions.
Although it's difficult to top the waves that Apple made with its M1 Silicon this year, its early 2021 device lineup won't be slouches either. There will be new iPad Pros that will use a new display technology but that might not be its only claim to fame. According to the latest tip, these high-end iPads won't just have 5G support nor just mmWave 5G even. They will, in fact, be the first to test Apple's in-house 5G antenna-in-package or AiP.
With all that's happening in the Mac market the past weeks, it's almost too easy to forget other manufacturers have their own new wares to show. Intel is, of course, making sure no one forgets by making a lot of noise about its 11th-gen processors and new Intel Iris Xe graphics. One company that has been unusually silent, however, is Microsoft, whose line of Surface products used to be the talk of the PC town. Microsoft seems to be taking a more modest strategy if these leaked photos and information about its upcoming Surface computers are anything to go by.
The tablet market has seen consistently positive figures, mostly in thanks to Apple and the iPad Pro's rapid development pace. The company's prosumer tablet seems to undergo big changes every iteration, even when those changes aren't exactly visible to the naked eye. Case in point will be the iPad Pros coming next year which have already been rumored to be moving to mini-LED displays. That might be a short-lived change, however, as there are now reports that Apple will again switch display technologies before 2021 is over.
2020 will definitely be remembered for the drastic, sometimes very negative, changes that happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has affected all quarters and industries around the world, though not all in the same way. The PC market, for example, has found a bit of reprieve after years of slumping sales and profits. But while PC shipments have gone up, not all categories enjoy that same growth and the computers normally associated with the term "PC" are actually still in the red, perhaps even more than before.