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Best Best ultraportable ultraportable laptops laptops LABS BENCHMARK RESULTS General Performance General Performance General Performance

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MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 57.37 MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 148.7 MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 139.3 around in a messenger bag. And despite being ‘professional’ around8ItG Bperhaps of D inDR a3 doesn’tmessenger RAM an haved a bag. Andalso despitelarg strugglee on beinges, it’ sa ‘professional’s biturp ifris youing load coItm perhapsputer we ’doesn’tve everentry-level mhaveade ”, laptop.alsopro/ estrugglen tIt’shus stilliast .a T bither ife’values you no load ultrabooks around, differententry-level beasts. laptop. The It’s still Asvalue much ultrabooks as we’d love around, to love different beasts. The As much as we’d love to love TOSHIBA SATELLITE 38.11 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 480.5 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 452 gear, there are some surprisingly affordable options here, thegear,51 2visualG Bthere SSD elegance. Oaren p someape ofr, asurprisingly othert themt affordablehat itup p ewithrform options toos in many the here, apps thewe svisualat up a elegancend took no class-leadingoftic othere. themb whenloatw upa itr withe . 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MacBooks.withleast ,prices that m The startingake keyboards the at just $1,200.orv doicin imageity of a or$1 ,video200 to $work.1,500 MacBooks.The build Thequal ikeyboardty hecomesre is to build-quality,orso doftw imageare ex t roras videoare Fi(inr ework.fo fact,x the likes of Venom’s 4th-gencomes13 ZERO toquad-core build-quality, Core i7 lack(in fact, of useful the 13likes ZEROtie-ins of Venom’sand the 4th-gen quad-core Core13 i7ZERO lack of useful tie-ins and the Read on for our recommendations in this curiously varied andSaReadt displayellite on Ra for dbothiu sour 1 2come arecommendationsn right lThenapt oinp .thisthere’s curiously the price. varied andfant adisplaystic: a st bothurdy Mcomeacthough,Bo orightk- with Apple’sanThend Chr othere’s me and the a fu price.lBlackBookl year ’s 13 Zero makes chipthough, that withis now Apple’s a couple0 2 0of 40 60 decisionBlackBook80 100 to ditch 13 Zero a couple makes of 0 chip200 that400 60 0is now800 1 0a00 couple of decision to0 ditch200 400 a couple600 800 of100 0 category. tocategory.a themaz edgesing litt ofle uthenit chassis,that There’sThe Rnoad ‘basic’ius 12 m modelight b eand tolik thee un edgesibody aoflu themin ichassis,uunibodym- aluminiumThere’ssubscrip no tdesignio n‘basic’ to N o rmodeltonwhat and Apple’s charging look yearsunibody old, aluminiumalongside a Radondesign establishedwhat Apple’s trackpad charging look years old, alongside a Radon established trackpad makingcould p fulloten usetiall yof ta almostke on thosethe fi shrunkenrst hybrid to parts pack aare 4K makingcomposi tfulle cha usessis of, st almostamakingble and it super-toughthoseIntern eshrunkent Sec andurity . partsseriously are overpriced). R9makingGaming M370X P erit fGPU ormansuper-tough ince addition and gesturesseriously actually overpriced).Battery makeLife the R9 M370X GPU in additionVitals gestures actually make the allth thee Su availablerface Pro 4 physical. expensive;screen, but prices it has s estartemin atgly allba ctheklit availablechiclet key bphysicaloatherd a nkeyboardd expensive; andIt’s atrackpad pass apricesble 3 :1 6start houThere’sr sat in still a lot to like tothe the keyboard CPU’s integrated and trackpad Intel trackpadThere’s feel still like a lot a sidestepto like to the CPU’s integrated Intel trackpad feel like a sidestep 3DMARK CLOUD GATE (OVERALL SCORE) PCMARK 8 HOME (HRS:MINS) PEAK CPU TEMPERATURE space.Whe Tore us, the that Radi makesus sue ritss $1,999had to for sac rtheifi ce 256GB a lot in order space.large m Toat tus,e-fi thatnish. makesVenareom likewise its $1,999 first-rate.the tou gforh P theCMa 256GBrk 8 Hhere,ome including outstanding Irisare Pro likewise Graphics first-rate. 5200. It’s ratherhere, including than a progressive outstanding Iris Pro Graphics 5200. It’s rather than a progressive ASUS TRANSFORMER 5,015 ASUS TRANSFORMER 3:28hr ASUS TRANSFORMER 81ºC overalla little iappearances in its overall seem desig na SSD/8GBto do so. RAMWe’re nmodel.ot sure that overallhas mul tappearanceiple confi gs o seemf tYouhe acan specSSD/8GBte anst, b Airut o up tRAMhe r si mmodel.ilarlybattery life (over seven considerablyBOOKYou T300 canCHI spec pricier an Air too, up feature.battery But life whenBOOK(over T300 CHIseventhat’s the considerably pricier too,BOOK T300 CHI feature. But when that’s the ASUS ZENBOOK 2761 ASUS ZENBOOK 4:15h ASUS ZENBOOK 61ºC littleand voddisua andl app imbalanced,eal. Uneven iStill,mbala thisnce iiss w ao fantasticallyrth it. little13 Ze roddo av andailabl imbalanced,e, withmoderately this highspStill,e cc— eupd this c toom aisp e at ifantasticallytors choursan when we installed startingmoderatelyUX305FA at $3,099 high — for up a to a onlyhours thing when youUX305 we haveF Ainstalled to starting at $3,099 for aUX305 FA only thing you have to butbe thezel t hproofickne sreallys arou nisd inth ehow portable little device, and if but$1,5 the99 u proofnit bei reallyng the Coreis in howi7 with 8GBportableman ofag RAMe 5 little–6 ho udevice,rs. ThWindowsat and if and ran PCMark 8 256GBCoreDELL XPS i7 13 SSD (LwithATE-2015) model. 8GB5883 of The RAM complainWindows about, andDELL ran XPS it 13 shows (LPCMarkATE-2015) 6:39hr 8 256GB SSD model. The DELL XPS 13 (LATE-2015)complain80ºC about, it shows it sperforms,creen — it’ sand di einre nthatt alo ng you’re after a super-compact itm performs,id-range m oanddel, inon thateand step a u 512GBp SSDyou’reshor —tc oandaftermin g aa ssuper-compactide, thHome)is is an and Apple’s excellent 13-inch,and a 512GB on the SSD other — and hand, thatHome) this and is still Apple’s the deviceexcellent to 13-inch, on the other hand, that this is still the device to HP SPECTRE X2 4,839 HP SPECTRE X2 5:19hr HP SPECTRE X2 59ºC regard,the top it’s, sid hardes an dto b ofault.ttom — unit for doing the basics, regard,from the it’s $1 ,hard399 b atosi cfault. they’reunit. fasterunitu thanltra forbo theiro doingk we co theuld basics,haserviceppily and support. usesthey’re a more faster recent than dual-core their beatservice in the and premium support. uses a more recent dual-core beat in the premium Thoughthrows thethe pkeyboardroportions keys o there’s lots to like here. ThoughIt’s inc theredi bkeyboardly well-s12-inchpe keyscced brethren,there’suse a butll d lotsa doy, e tovgete rlikey da yhere.. Well-worth considering. 5th-gen12-inchLENOVO YOG AIntel brethren,900 Core5,419 i5 but chip, do get ultrabookWell-worth category. LENconsidering.OVO YOGA 900 5:44hr 5th-gen Intel Core i5 chip,LENOV O YOGA 900 ultrabook69ºC category. MICROSOFT SURFACE 7736 / MICROSOFT SURFACE 4:50HR / MICROSOFT SURFACE DNF differand m fromakes totherhe scr eMacBooksen differfor tha fromt price other. We ho MacBooksneoutgunnedstly by the Pro line. andoutgunnedBOO Khas (DOCKED/ justTABLET bythe) 6the34 onboard2 Pro line. BOOK (DOCKED/TABLET) 1:28HR and has just the onboardBOO K (DOCKED/TABLET) —u they’rencomfo biggerrtable to and loo kmeet at, —sa they’rey it’s the bigger best-va andlue meetThe main caveat with the IntelMICROSOFThe Iris Tmain SUR GraphicsFACE caveat5847 6100 with and the MICROSOFT SURFACE 3:48hr Intel Iris Graphics 6100MICROSOF andT SURFACE DNF eachand otherthoug hedge-to-edge the keyboard —is eachWind otherows ul tedge-to-edgerabook wAirs,e’ve —though, is their lower- startsAirs,PRO 4 though,at a more is affordabletheir lower- PRO 4 starts at a more affordablePRO 4 19,877 2:48Hr 92ºC theylarg stillely fi nfeele in anduse, tfunctionhe keys VerdictVerdict theyever tstilleste dfeel, wi tandh a C functionoresolutionre displays.VerdictVerd They’reict Verdict $1,999resolutionMSI GS40 (SSD/HD) for a displays.128GB model. They’re VerdictVerdictMSI GS40 (SSD/HD) $1,999 for a 128GB model.MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) Verdict TOSHIBA SATELLITE 5852 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 3:50hr TOSHIBA SATELLITE DNF greathave under been sq theuas fingertip.hed a little AmazinglyA top-he aportable,vy unit th butat s thateem sCore to greati5-620 under0U mid the-ran gfingertip.e the last remainingAmazinglyThe bes t-v portable,alue ultra bobuto kthat wStille ’Coreve a fantastic laptop, but not theRADIUSBut last 12despite remaining using older AStill old workhorse,a fantastic laptop,butRADIUS one 12 but that not has But despite using olderRADIUS 12 A old workhorse, but one that has Thever screentically to is fi ta t Retinahe smal lIPSer m3sa CPUcrifi ccane pe strugglerforman withce fo rheavy a 4K Theproc screenessor, 8 GisB a o Retinaf RAMMacBooks, IPS notm3ev to eCPUr thavees canted .struggle It has ev ewithryth heavyiquiteng yo asu compelling from a specs or chips,MacBooksVENOM BL theACKBOOK Pros not still 4,570to have outpace noquite trouble as compelling keepingVENOM ahead from BLACKBOOK of a specsthe or3:14hr chips, the Pros still outpaceVENOM BLA CKBOOK no trouble72ºC keeping ahead of the multitaskingscreen. and multimedia jobs. multitaskingneed for get tanding multimediash*t doneprice. jobs. perspective as it used to be. 13 ZERO youngsters.price perspective 13 asZERO it used to be. 13 ZERO youngsters. number12-inch atfor 2,304m fact oxr ,1,440 which numberheaps of atsto 2,304rage th xan 1,440‘Retina’ks to a high-DPI screens. some‘Retina’ of the high-DPI latest Skylakescreens.0 4000 8000 12000 16000 20000 0 some2 of4 the6 latest8 1 0Skylake 0 20 40 60 80 100 pixels,could mrenderingake it diffi cimagesult to us e pixels,256GB SrenderingSD and 500G imagesBThat hard means you get 1,366 x devicesThat means like the you Yoga get 1,366 900, x devices like the Yoga 900,NOTE: DNF = DID NOT FINISH TEST andfor textlarge incredibly-fi ngered fol sharpk. anddriv etext, and incredibly a balanced 768 sharp pixels in the case of the which768 pixels scored in around the case 5% of lessthe which scored around 5% less

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$1,200 | WWW.ASUS.COM/AU $1,299 | WWW.ASUS.COM/AU FROM $1,799 | WWW.DELL.COM.AU FROM $1,199 | HP.COM/AU ASUS Transformer ASUS Zenbook Dell XPS 13 HP Spectre x2- Book T300 Chi UX305FA (Late-2015) A005TU One of the earlier 2-in-1s, and it’s An oldy but, thanks to the passing Dell’s premium ultrabook is small Not quite spectacular, but offers beginning to show its age. of time, now surprisingly a goody. but rather smashing. some fantastic specs for the price.

he T300 is a 2-in-1 M-5Y71 CPU is adequate, but e actually trackpad does occasionally ell’s XPS 13 is the is odd, and means you’re shot he general theme to not in use, works great for with a fully will struggle with more reviewed this suffer from a bit of drag. The most-compact from an unfl attering angle HP’s Spectre line is handwriting and drawing. detachable screen demanding work. The model back in 13.3-inch 1080p IPS display 13-inch laptop when used for video-chat. ‘sleek, thin and There are some key that comes away tablet’s also relatively tough, the October has nice, rich colours, though we’ve tested; a very And unless you have a stylish’. This new differences between this Teasily from its keyboard physically, with an unibody 2015W issue of APC, and unfortunately, the matte Dneat little package with a compelling need for a Tmodel is very much a 2-in-1 and the Pro 4: there’s no base. It originally launched aluminium back. (The although its age might take anti-glare coating does add a mixed aluminium-and- touchscreen, you don’t need cast in the Surface Pro standard USB ports, just two early last year, being one of keyboard has an aluminium some of the shine off it, the bit of sparkle to images. carbon-fi bre chassis and a that 3,200 x 1,800 display at mould, at 8mm thick and smaller USB 3.1 Type-Cs. the fi rst devices with an top and a plastic underside.) time on the shelf has If you’re considering this display with super-narrow this 13.3-inch screen size — 840g with kickstand and a You get a dongle that’ll Intel Core M processor. But there are some actually matured some of one, it’s worth noting that bezels — they’re 5mm on you have to squint to see chassis carved out of a convert Type-C to the legacy These are much more shortcomings — a battery of this device’s features and some retailers are still the top and sides, meaning pixels on the non-touch, single piece of aluminium, USB, but that’s one more power-frugal and cool- just 3:19 hours, the lack of a has even helped softened offering it with Windows 8.1, the screen basically fi lls 1080p model and opting for plus a 12-inch IPS 1,920 x thing you have to carry. running than their Core i full-sized USB port, and no the price a little. What’s although there are units the lid casing. the latter’ll save you $500. 1,280-pixel display (at the And the quality in some counterparts, meaning they Type-Cs. Instead, there’s a still clear is just how with Windows 10 on offer. It’s been updated with Starting at $1,799 with a same productivity-friendly areas is lower than the can be used in thinner and Micro-B type socket and a compact this ultra-portable The UX305 is a well- Intel’s 6th-gen Core i parts. 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM, 3:2 aspect ratio as the Surface line. The keyboard lighter designs that don’t dongle adapter that gives is, with 12.3mm thick and a designed device that offers a In Australia, you’ve got the the XPS 13’s main problem is Surface Pro). doesn’t feel as high-quality require active coolers. you a full-sized USB port. It’s 1.2kg total weight, the lot of processing grunt for choice of either a 1080p that it isn’t nearly as good But it is a smidgen more as the Surface Pro’s — it’s a However, because of its a functional solution, but not UX305 looks and feels like the price, but it’s non-touch model (with matte value as the Venom affordable, offering up a bit rattly and plasticky age, the T300’s just about a very slick one. an impressively built underpowered compared to fi nish screen) or a 3,200 x BlackBook we’ve reviewed creditable Core m5/128GB — and there was a reached the end of its life We wish the screen had Windows counterpart to the MacBook Air, which 1,800-pixel model with a on page 50. But for those that SSD model for just $1,199 — yellowish/purple tinge to and any units still on sale more height, though. It’s 16:9, the MacBook Air. In fact, sports full intel Core i chips, glossy touchscreen. want the most portable the entry-level Surface Pro the display of our test unit, have Windows 8.1 for their but the 3:2 aspect ratio is the $200-odd dollars that whereas the UX305 has a The keyboard and Windows 13-incher around, 4 will cost you $150 more for something that was OS. While you can upgrade ultimately much better for have come off it since it lower-end Core M CPU. But trackpad are both superb and are willing to pay for it, less memory (4GB vs 8GB), a particularly noticeable with this one to Windows 10 for productivity. In fact, we’d launched put it under the while it’s still some way off and make using the XPS 13 a there’s little to complain slower Core m3 processor skin tones in video. free, the question really is, is spend the extra and opt for 11-inch MacBook Air in being a genuine Macbook Air real joy. It’ll go the distance, about here, with fi rst-rate and it doesn’t include the Still, considering the it worth the effort? the entry-level Surface Pro 4 price, making it an killer, for the price, this is a too, with the Core i5 model build quality, a stylish design keyboard cover. price, those shortcomings This is the least-expensive instead. excellent option. pretty good deal. lasting 6:39 hours in the and stunning battery life. And the x2 actually does a are easy to overlook. unit we tested. It has a nice, Wrapped in a shiny black/ challenging PCMark 8 Home respectable job of being a high-DPI, 12.5-inch display purple brushed-aluminium battery test — that’s the best ‘Surface lite’ — yes, it’s a at 2,560 x 1,440-pixels, as chassis with a matching result in this feature, by little fi ddlier to switch well as 8GB of RAM. Verdict matte screen-trim and Verdict quite a wide margin. Also Verdict between modes (you need to Verdict However, it only has a A lower price can’t quite make up keyboard-surround, there’s a The price is right on this neat is the fact that the unit’s An incredibly compact and slide a switch to extend the If you’re after a very functional 128GB SSD, of which you get for the lack of storage and average lot to appreciate in the budget-but-basic all-rounder completely silent. well-built 13-inch ultrabook; gets kickstand), but its fattish, 2-in-1 without the Microsoft under 94GB of storage, battery life. design. The chiclet keyboard ultrabook. However, the placement of almost everything right. AAA-powered stylus, which premium, this one’s a bargain. though there’s a microSD slot is defi nitely a step up from the webcam (down the can be safely slotted onto to help pad that out. The Core average, although the bottom right of the display) the keyboard cover when

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$1,990 | LENOVO.COM/AU FROM $1,349 | WWW.MICROSOFTSTORE.COM FROM $2,299; $4,199 AS TESTED | WWW.MICROSOFTSTORE.COM $2,399 | AU.MSI.COM

Lenovo Yoga 900 Microsoft Microsoft MSI GS40 An appealing ultrabook that’ll bend Surface Pro 4 Surface Book Phantom over backwards for you. Fourth time’s the charm. Reinventing the Surface. A menacing but mini gaming laptop.

espite having a screen and a slightly thicker t’s taken four confi gurations, too, starting he Surface Book is a accelerating media-creation SI’s new GS40 to MSI’s effort in shrinking name that suggests chassis (allowing for more iterations for with a basic Core m3 unit at a device built for tasks, like manipulating Phantom is this device to the size it is, a completely cooling) you can see the Microsoft to get its relatively affordable $1,349 those who want the images in Photoshop or another from the GS40 also gives you the different lineage, sacrifi ce in benchmark 2-in-1 tablet design to — you’ll need to pay another Surface family’s speeding up video-encoding. the Taiwanese impression that anything Dthe Yoga 900 is actually the scores the 900 makes when reallyI live up to its initial $200 to add the keyboard. Tdistinctive features The more-stable design Mcompany that seems that wasn’t absolutely 2015 successor to the Yoga 3 it comes to general home- promise, that of being a Some problems do still combined with a slightly and accordion hinge mean hell-bent on breaking the necessary has been ripped Pro, a similar 2-in-1 hybrid and work-related tasks. “tablet that can replace exist on the Pro 4 — the bigger display, a bit better that this is a Surface you can stereotype of portable out and discarded. The thin that was made popular by a In many ways, the Lenovo your laptop”. It’s now light kickstand design works processing grunt and a actually use on your lap in gaming laptops, delivering plastic casing has an overly successful slimline design is similar to the Core i5 enough, powerful enough, great provided you’ve got a more traditional laptop laptop mode. However, the a reasonably compact generous amount of fl ex — and a clever swivelling versions of the Surface Pro 4; and its accessories have table (or at the very least a form-factor. Book ends up being a bit 14-inch gaming device in a pushing too hard on the hinge. In many ways, the they have similar processors reached a polished-enough cushion) to place it on, but it’s Despite the laptop fi ddly in some other regards shell that amounts to a escape key or lifting the Yoga 900 walks in the shoes that crank out similar point that it can genuinely much trickier to balance the appearance, the Surface — if you want to undock it, perfectly carryable 1.6kg. laptop from a corner (never a of its earlier sibling, but performance, have equally match that boast. device on your lap if you’re, Book is still decidedly a you’ll need to fi rst exit any Despite being only 2.3cm good idea) will actually Lenovo has built on this impressive screens, cost a The build quality across say, commuting on a bus or 2-in-1, however — the GPU-accelerated apps, then thick and feeling like cause the chassis to warp design by adding better similar amount and each can the core 12.2-inch tablet, its train, or just sitting on a 13.5-inch, 3,000 x hold down a button on the something you’d actually use and come in contact with an battery life, a superior CPU be used as either a tablet or a stylus (Surface Pen) and the park bench. Battery life is 2,000-pixel screen undocks keyboard until the screen as an on-the-go laptop, this internal fan. We’d be lying if and an upgraded hinge laptop. The only real keyboard cover is likewise also just passable at a bit from the keyboard to become locks disengage. semi-discreet unit hasn’t we weren’t a little concerned design. difference is that the now universally excellent. under four hours. a slim (although large) The premium magnesium- thrown out the muscle that’s about the potential longevity Upgrading the CPU from Surface is predominantly a That Type Cover’s keyboard, This is a premium device standalone Windows tablet. allow chassis and specialised expected from a decent of this device if treated with one of Intel’s Core M chips to tablet and has less onboard in particular, has improved with a premium price tag. It can be fl ipped around 180º design-oriented Surface gaming PC. In fact, the anything but the utmost a full Core i5 (or optionally, storage, while the slightly markedly — it’s nice and But if you can genuinely use and re-docked to the features mean a price bump 6th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, care. That said, for what’s an i7) chip has given the Yoga heavier, fi xed-keyboard rigid, forming a stable those features and you keyboard, too, giving you too — so if you don’t need 8GB of DDR4 RAM and an inside, it’s quite reasonably 900 predictably higher Yoga 900 is likely to appeal platform for its big comfy believe you should “spend extra battery life, but this them, there are much Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M priced, and is lightweight processing power over the to those looking for a more keys, and the trackpad your money where you spend does make it a supremely better-value 2-in-1s or GPU work well together, and powerful enough that earlier model. But this traditional laptop-like (which was previously too your time”, this is the best heavy tablet. (Undocked, the laptops out there. pushing out respectable it’s hard not to be a little device’s amazing 3,200 x hybrid. small) has been upsized to 2-in-1 on the market. slate supposedly lasts for scores around or above 60fps wooed by it. 1,800 13-inch screen helps make it much more usable. around three hours, whereas averages on big-name titles suck up the brunt of that The built-in handwriting with the extra cells in the like Bioshock Inﬁ nite, GRID extra processing power — recognition is still second-to- base, it will take you over 10 2, Tomb Raider and Metro: coordinating nearly three Verdict none. It works almost Verdict hours. We got exactly half Verdict Last Light with Ultra-level Verdict times as many pixels as a Trading processing power for a universally across the OS, so It’s taken four tries, but the those, respectively, in our Well-made for it’s targeted graphics settings. A compact, well-priced workhorse 1080p screen will do that. better display isn’t always a bad you can type with the on- Surface Pro 4 is now undeniably tough mixed-usage battery audience, but might not be worth the While Intel and Nvidia’s that’ll perform — as long as it doesn’t And when you compare the thing. screen keyboard or with the the 2-in-1 to beat. test.) That keyboard also additional cost for everyone else. more power-frugal and actually disappear into the ether. Yoga 900 to similarly Surface Pen. Microsoft’s incorporates a discreet GPU cool-running CPUs and GPU specced devices with a 1080p offering the Pro 4 in more from Nvidia that’s aimed at have defi nitely contributed

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Best Best ultraportable ultraportable laptops laptops LABS BENCHMARK RESULTS General Performance General Performance General Performance

Joel Burgess and Dan Gardiner test Joel Burgess and Dan Gardiner test PCMARK 8 HOME (OVERALL SCORE) X264 HD BENCHMARK 5.01 - PASS 1 (AVG FPS) X264 HD BENCHMARK 5.01 - PASS 2 (AVG FPS) ASUS TRANSFORMER 2651 ASUS TRANSFORMER 27.49 ASUS TRANSFORMER 5.08 15 slim and light laptops and 2-in-1s 15 slim and light laptops and 2-in-1s BOOK T300 CHI BOOK T300 CHI BOOK T300 CHI FROM $1,999 | WWW.APPLE.COM/AU FROM$2,799 $1,999 | WW W| WWW.APPLE.COM/AU.M11-INCHYTOSH IFROMBA.CO M$1,349;.AU 13-INCH FROM $1,549 | WWW.APPLE.COM/AU$1,599 | WWW.M13-INCHLN.COM11-INCH FROM.AU $1,999;FROM $1,349; 15-INCH 13-INCH FROM $3,099FROM $1,549 | WWW.APPLE.COM/AU | WWW.APPLE.COM/AU 13-INCHASUS ZENBOOK FROM $1,999;2339 15-INCH FROM $3,099 | WWW.APPLE.COM/AUASUS ZENBOOK 16.38 ASUS ZENBOOK 3.55 that are perfect for getting stuff that are perfect for getting stuff UX305FA UX305FA UX305FA DELL XPS 13 (LATE-2015) 3277 DELL XPS 13 (LATE-2015) 28.86 DELL XPS 13 (LATE-2015) 6.66 done no matter where you are. done no matter where you are. Apple MacBook Apple MacBook HP SPECTRE X2 2597 HP SPECTRE X2 23.12 HP SPECTRE X2 4.86 Toshiba Satellite VenomAppleBlackBook MacBook Pro AppleLENOVO YOGA 900 2514 MacBookLENOVO YOGProA 900 28.75 LENOVO YOGA 900 6.2 MICROSOFT SURFACE 2958 / MICROSOFT SURFACE 34.47 MICROSOFT SURFACE 7.12 his month, we’ve tried to assemble a collection of his month, we’ve tried to assemble a collection of BOOK (DOCKED/TABLET) 2899 BOOK (DOCKED/TABLET) BOOK (DOCKED/TABLET) MICROSOFT SURFACE MICROSOFT SURFACE MICROSOFT SURFACE Apple MacBook AppleAir MacBook (11- and 13-inch, Air (11- and 13-inch, 2873 31.48 7.17 the best gear for working on the go — today’s the best gear for working on the go — today’s Radius 12 13 Zero(13- and 15-inch) (13-PRO 4 and 15-inch)PRO 4 PRO 4 workplaces are more flexible than ever, meaning workplaces are more flexible than ever, meaning MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 3515 MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 53 MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 13.24 that we all (generally speaking) have a lot more (12-inch,that we all (generally Mid-2015) speaking) have a lot more (12-inch,Early-2015) Mid-2015) Early-2015) TOSHIBA SATELLITE 1933 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 31.79 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 7.43 Can this impressively specced This zeroThis is a ‘Book’sgenuin eold h eenoughro. to belong in ThisRADIUS 12 ‘Book’s old enough to RADIUSbelong 12 in RADIUS 12 Tfreedom when it comes to working from home, or the coffee Tfreedom when it comes to working from home, or the coffee VENOM BLACKBOOK 2905 VENOM BLACKBOOK 28.58 VENOM BLACKBOOK 6.64 shop, the airport or basically anywhere you can find a flat A full-featuredshop, the airport or laptop basically anywherein under you cana kilo. find a flat AS afull-featuredtellite Stillmak ethe ilaptopt iultraportablento oinrb underit? abenchmark. kilo. a library,Still the but ultraportable it’s a true classic. benchmark. a13 ZEROlibrary, but it’s a true classic.13 ZERO 13 ZERO surface to rest your computing device. surface to rest your computing device. 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 2 4 6 8 10 Despite how far smartphones have come in the last eight- Despite how far smartphones have come in the last eight- odd years, as productivity devices, they’re still a little too oddhis years, 12-inch as productivity Apple devices,and clear. they’re That monstrous still a little too hishe R 12-inchadius 12 Appleis theow goingand onB unearlyclear.t the r eThat al lim11-inch monstrousitation iands 1,440 x 900 on elbourne-badespitesed ow us 1going 3.3-in conh 1 nearly080p thanIPS di sthe11-inchpla y13-inch and Pro’s 1,440 x 900 on General Pedespiterformance us than the 13-inchStorage Pro’s Performanc e Storage Performance restricted to get serious work done. They’re undoubtedly fine restrictedlaptop sits to getbetween serious worktrackpad done. They’re works a undoubtedly treat, fine laptopfi rst 2-i nsits-1 la betweenptop/eight yearstrackpadpro cold,essi ng works powether ;a whe treat, 13-inch.n y ou That’s perfectly Venom hankeringeightth fora yearst’s dar iv eold,n by isingle-corentegratheted 13-inch. and multi-core That’s perfectly CINEBENCH R15hankeringOPENGL RENDERING for a (AV G FPS) single-core andCRYSTALDISKMARK multi-core 3.0 SEQUENTIAL READ (MB/S) CRYSTALDISKMARK 3.0 SEQUENTIAL WRITE (MB/S) ASUS TRANSFORMER 26.63 ASUS TRANSFORMER 454.2 ASUS TRANSFORMER 278.3 for quick tasks like replying to emails and scheduling forits quick Air and tasks Pro like replyinggiving to emails you easy and accessscheduling to itstab Airlet h andybri dPro to the MacBookgivingcomp Aira ryoue t h eeasy Radfunctional, iaccessus 12 to but does make Computers’ inewers themodelI nMacBooktel withHD 52 0 Airgrapscores hics. functional, in the GeekBench but does 3 make BOOK T300 CHI newer model with scores in theBOOK GeekBench T300 CHI 3 BOOK T300 CHI appointments, but a bigger-screened laptop (or tablet with a appointments,siblings in terms but a of bigger-screened OS X’s library laptop of useful (or tablet with a siblingsfl aunt an inUlt termsraHD was of revolutionaryOSag aiX’sns tlibrary a Co re i of5text-rendering v usefulersion o f a little known for itsIntel’s wasSkylakeT herevolutionaryre’s two full-aggregated siz ed Utext-renderingSB tests. a little ASUS ZENBOOK Intel’s18.45 Skylake aggregated Atests.SUS ZENBOOK 472.6 ASUS ZENBOOK 436.3 keyboard) is still much more efficient. Tboth price and features. shortcuts and gestures. Nwhen it first landedshortcutsthe S—u sorfa ce and Pro 4gestures.jagged (an inf eandri or is beginning to D(AKA 6th-gen) chips,por ttheses, a sm aller USApartB Typjaggede- fromC, and the is 13-inch beginning to UX305FA Apart fromUX305 theFA 13-inch UX305FA keyboard) is still much more efficient. TbothT(AKA price4K), m andulti-t features.ouch Mpremium laptops that Nwhenuse it first landed — so D(AKA 6th-gen) chips, these For this feature, we’ve rounded up a range of laptops and Apple’s Formain this goal feature, with the we’ve roundedThere up are a range some ofcaveats laptops and Apple’sdisplay p mainanel; agoal muchpret withty so thatthe its externalprThereocesso rare to t somehelook Rad caveatsi useriouslys 12’s miserlyhigh -whenqualit y parearly-ts andmuch aand mid-2015 so thata itsfu l lexternal-sized HDM modelI out, alookn gettingd seriously Apple’s miserly when early-DELL XPS 13 and(LATE-2015) mid-201539.39 model gettingDELL XPSApple’s 13 (LATE-2015) 1154 DELL XPS 13 (LATE-2015) 308.7 2-in-1s to find out which ones deliver on the promise of being device2-in-1s has been to find to get out a which oneswith deliver the design. on the You promise don’t of being deviceimpress hasive f ebeenat designfo rto a dgetev thati ace hasn’twithC changedore ithe7) th design.i s Tosheverythingib Youa don’t else hasva riety of little treleasesweaksdesign to (13- thatand 15-inch,hasn’tmicroS Dchanged p ort. ThRetinae chareverythingg display,er’s one else of thehas releasesHP SPECTRE X2 (13- and31.59 15-inch, Retina display,HP SPEC TREone X2 of the437.9 HP SPECTRE X2 132.3 go-anywhere productivity machines. There’s a growing full-featuredgo-anywhere laptop productivity into as getmachines. any standard There’s USB a growing ports, full-featuredthat’s just 1.3kg laptopmuch. And t osince into as its inception.getach anyieve sstandard less tha1080p-plusn t USBwo- ports, resolutions. delive r an exceprespectively)tionalmuchly since are itsactuallycom inception.pact, too. In main short, design1080p-plusit has differences resolutions. respectively)LENOVO YOGA 900 are32.33 actually main designLEN differencesOVO YOGA 900 457.6 LENOVO YOGA 900 300 amount of diversity in this category, but most of the devices smallamount a body and of diversity light a in thisonly category, a single but USB most 3.1 of Type-C. the devices smallback t haa bodyt up, t andhWhatis h lightybr ihasd a changedonlyth isir dthat as tsinglehe wor kUSB andOur 3.1 gener flaggingType-C.al- Aussiereliab ldollare and enjostillyab lperformingeWhat has changed atev theery ttoph iisng that you nbetweeneed to gOure thet flagging latest Pro Aussie dollar still performing at the top between the latest Pro MICROSOFT SURFACE 38.83 / MICROSOFT SURFACE 766.1 MICROSOFT SURFACE 453 we tested were 13-inches or under, with our main goal being weightwe as tested possible were (it’s 13-inches just orYou’ll under, basically with our need main to goalopt being weighthas one as of tpossiblehe lathetest Air I(it’snte hasl just transitioned You’llusage basicallyb enchmahasr kneed sc seenore tos. optthe Air creepcomp uput iinng expeofri etheirncethe. S game.o Air has transitionedstu done on t hemodels go. has and seen earlier the Air creep up in ofBO OtheirK (DOCKED/ game.TABLET) 42. 34 models and BOearlierOK (DOCKED/ TABLET) BOOK (DOCKED/TABLET) MICROSOFT SURFACE 36.85 MICROSOFT SURFACE 684.3 MICROSOFT SURFACE 307.6 that they were 2kg or under — in other words, a weight that 920g),that and they it’s mostly were 2kg a or underfor — wirelessin other words,peripherals. a weight that 920g),Skylak eand (AK it’sA 6t mostlyfromh-gen )being a Apple’sfor C wirelessonsiderin gperipherals. thcostis 2- iofn- 1late — two yearswhen Vago,eno m said Thethatfrom 13-inchthe being and Apple’s theIt’s be en genuiterationsinely cost isof thelate addition — two years of ago, PROThe 4 13-inch and the iterations isPRO the 4 addition of PRO 4 won’t pull your shoulder off if you choose to lug your device resoundingwon’t pull success. your shoulder offThe if you Core choose M CPUs to lugused your can device resoundingCore i7 proce ssuccess.sopremiumrs, plus portableTher etota itsiCorels f or jMus tCPUs shthisy o fused 3 was,000 can one of the1 best-3 Zero was “the15-inch best premium models areportablet wquiteeake dto a nitsd t untheed fForceorthis the Touch was one trackpad. of the best- 15-inch models are quite the Force Touch trackpad.493. 9/ 399.4/ MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 57.37 MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 148.7 MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) 139.3 around in a messenger bag. And despite being ‘professional’ It perhapsaround doesn’t in a messenger have bag.also And struggle despite beinga bit if ‘professional’ you load 8GItB perhaps of DDR3 Rdoesn’tAentry-levelM and have a laptop.alsola It’srge struggle ostillnes, it’s sauvalue bitrpr iifsi n youultrabooksg load around,compute r we’vedifferent ever mentry-levelad ebeasts.”, The laptop.pro /enth It’susia stillst. TAshe rmuche’svalue no as we’dultrabooks love to around,love different beasts. The As much as we’d love to love TOSHIBA SATELLITE 38.11 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 480.5 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 452 gear, there are some surprisingly affordable options here, the visualgear, elegance there are of some other surprisingly them up affordable with too many options apps here, the512 GvisualB SSD .elegance On pclass-leadingaper ,of at other whenthemth aitt it up pe rwithform stoo butin t manyh it’se now apps simply w averagee sat up and too15-inchk notclass-leadingic ehas. a top-of-the-linebl owhenatwar ite. T he othisnly newbut technology, it’s now simply the average 15-inchRADIUS 12 has a top-of-the-line this new technology,RADIUS 12 the RADIUS 12 VENOM BLACKBOOK 33.09 VENOM BLACKBOOK 938.7 VENOM BLACKBOOK 776.7 with prices starting at just $1,200. MacBooks.with prices The keyboard starting at justor $1,200. do image or video work. MacBooks.least, that m Theakecomess keyboardthe to build-quality, orvic doini timage y of a $ or1,2 video(in00 t fact,o $ 1work.,5 the00 likes of Venom’sThe build qua4th-genlity hercomese iquad-cores to build-quality, sCoreoftw ai7re extr as alackre Fi ofre(inf ousefulx fact, thetie-ins likes and of theVenom’s 4th-gen13 ZERO quad-core Core i7 lack of useful13 ZERO tie-ins and the 13 ZERO Read on for our recommendations in this curiously varied and displayRead both on for come our right recommendations Then there’s in this the curiously price. varied andSate displayllite Rad ibothus though,12 comean rightwith Apple’slapThent op. there’s BlackBookthe price. 13 Zerofa makesntastic: a sturdchipy Ma cthatBthough,ook is- now with a couplea Apple’snd Ch rofom e anddecision a full BlackBookyea tor’s ditch a13 couple Zero makesof chip that is now a couple0 20 of40 60 decision80 100 to ditch a couple of 0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000 category. to thecategory. edges of the chassis, There’s no ‘basic’ model and toam theazi nedgesg littl eof u unibodyntheit t hchassis,at aluminium There’sT designhe R anodi u‘basic’s 12what m modeligh tApple’s be and charginglike u looknibo dy aluyearsminium unibodyold,- alongside aluminiumsub a sRadoncripti designon to Nestablishedo rton what Apple’s trackpad charging look years old, alongside a Radon established trackpad making full use of almost those shrunken parts are makingcould po fulltent iuseallmakingy oftak almoste on it super-tough thosethe fi r sshrunkenandt hyb rid tseriouslyo ppartsack a 4areK overpriced). composite chassR9is, s M370Xtablmakinge an dGPU it in super-tough additionInternet S ecu andritygestures. seriously actually overpriced). make the R9Gaming M370X Performan GPU cine addition gestures actuallyBattery Li makefe the Vitals all the available physical expensive; prices start at allthe the Sur availableface Pro the4. physical keyboard andexpensive; strackpadcreen, but i tprices has seThere’s estartming atly still a lotb toac klikelit ch iclet ketoyb theoar dtheCPU’s an dkeyboard integrated andIt’s aIntel trackpadpass able trackpad3: 16 hourThere’ss feelin like still a sidestepa lot to like to the CPU’s integrated Intel trackpad feel like a sidestep 3DMARK CLOUD GATE (OVERALL SCORE) PCMARK 8 HOME (HRS:MINS) PEAK CPU TEMPERATURE space. To us, that makes its $1,999 for the 256GB space.Whe Tore tus,he Rthatadareiu makess likewisesuers its first-rate.$1,999had to s foracr ithefi ce a256GBhere, lot in including o rder outstandinglarge matte -fi nisIrish. V ePronoarem Graphics likewise 5200.t hfirst-rate.e to It’sugh PCMaratherrk 8 Hohere,me than including a progressive outstanding Iris Pro Graphics 5200. It’s rather than a progressive ASUS TRANSFORMER 5,015 ASUS TRANSFORMER 3:28hr ASUS TRANSFORMER 81ºC overall appearance seem a SSD/8GB RAM model. overalla little is appearance in its overaYoull d seeme cansign spec a an SSD/8GBAirto d oup so . W RAMe’re nbattery omodel.t sure t h lifeat (over sevenhas m ultiple conconsiderablyfi gs of thYoue can pricier spectes too, tan, b uAir t ot upher sifeature.milarlybattery But when life (over that’s seven the considerablyBOOK T300 CHI pricier too, feature. ButBOOK when T300 CHI that’s the BOOK T300 CHI ASUS ZENBOOK 2761 ASUS ZENBOOK 4:15h ASUS ZENBOOK 61ºC little odd and imbalanced, Still, this is a fantastically littleand v ioddsual andapp eimbalanced,amoderatelyl. Uneven high —i mupStill,b atola an this ce is isw oahoursr fantasticallyth it. when we installed13 Zero availablestarting, with moderatelythi sat $3,099 high sforpe cca — e dup co tom pae tonlyitors cthingahoursn you when have we to installed startingUX305FA at $3,099 for a only thing youUX305 FhaveA to UX305FA but the proof really is in how portable little device, and if butbez ethel th prooficknes sreally aCoreroun i7dis t inwithhe how 8GB ofportable RAM little device,Windows and and if ran PCMark$1,599 un it8 bein256GBg the Core SSD i7 model. with 8GBmTheana ofge RAM 5–6 h oucomplainrs. ThaWindowst about, and it shows ran PCMark 8 256GBDELL XPS 13 (LSSDATE-2015) model.5883 The complain about,DELL XPS 13it (L showsATE-2015) 6:39hr DELL XPS 13 (LATE-2015) 80ºC it performs, and in that you’re after a super-compact itsc performs,reen — it’s dandiander inen atthat a512GBlon g SSD —you’re and after a super-compactHome) and Apple’s m excellentid-range m ode13-inch,l, one andste pon au pthe512GB other sSSDho hand,rt c—o mandi ng asithatde, th thisisHome) is a isn still and the Apple’s device excellent to 13-inch, on the other hand, that this is still the device to HP SPECTRE X2 4,839 HP SPECTRE X2 5:19hr HP SPECTRE X2 59ºC regard, it’s hard to fault. unit for doing the basics, regard,the top, it’sside hards anthey’red tobo fault.ttom faster — thanunit their for doing theservice basics, and support.fro m the $1,399 usesbasic authey’re nmoreit. recent fasteru dual-core lthantrabo otheirk w e cobeatuld h ainpservice ptheily premium and support. uses a more recent dual-core beat in the premium Though the keyboard keys there’s lots to like here. Thoughthrows t hthee p rokeyboardp12-inchortions o keys brethren, there’sbut do getlots to likeWell-worth here. considering.It’s incredibly 5th-genwell-sp12-inchecc Inteled Core brethren, ui5se chip, al lbut da y ,do ev egetryultrabook d ay. Well-worth category. considering. 5th-genLENOVO YOGA 900Intel Core5,419 i5 chip, ultrabook category.LENOVO YOGA 900 5:44hr LENOVO YOGA 900 69ºC MICROSOFT SURFACE 7736 / MICROSOFT SURFACE 4:50HR / MICROSOFT SURFACE DNF differ from other MacBooks differand m afromkes th othere soutgunnedcre eMacBooksn by the Pro line. for that price. Weand hon hasestoutgunnedl yjust the onboard by the Pro line. andBOOK (hasDOCKED/ justTABLET )the6342 onboard BOOK (DOCKED/TABLET) 1:28HR BOOK (DOCKED/TABLET) — they’re bigger and meet —u nthey’recomfor tbiggerable to landTheook ameetmaint, caveat with the say it’s the best-vIntelalue IrisThe Graphics main caveat 6100 and with the IntelMICROSOF IrisT SURF AGraphicsCE 5847 6100 and MICROSOFT SURFACE 3:48hr MICROSOFT SURFACE DNF each other edge-to-edge — eachand t hotherough edge-to-edgethe Airs,keybo though,ard is — is their lower- Windows ultrabostartsok weAirs, ’vate a more though, affordable is their lower- startsPRO 4 at a more affordable PRO 4 PRO 4 19,877 2:48Hr 92ºC they still feel and function Verdict theylarge stillly fi n efeel in u andsresolutione, th functione keys displays. VerdictV They’reerdic t Verdict ever tested, with$1,999 a Coreresolution for a 128GB displays.V model.erd They’re ict Verdict Verdict $1,999MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) for a 128GB model. VerdictMSI GS40 (SSD/HD) MSI GS40 (SSD/HD) TOSHIBA SATELLITE 5852 TOSHIBA SATELLITE 3:50hr TOSHIBA SATELLITE DNF great under the fingertip. Amazingly portable, but that Core greathave b undereen sq uathestheh fingertip.ed last a lit tremainingle AmazinglyA top-heav portable,y unit thaStill butt see athatm fantastics tCoreo laptop, buti5 -not62 00U mid-rangBute thedespite last remainingusingTh oldere best- v alue ultraAbo oldok workhorse,weStill’ve a fantastic but one laptop, that has but not RADIUSBut 12 despite using older A old workhorse,RADIUS but one12 that has RADIUS 12 The screen is a Retina IPS m3 CPU can struggle with heavy Thevert iscreencally to fiis t tahMacBooks Retinae smalle IPSr not to havem3sac CPUrifi ce can per struggleformancquite ewith for asaheavy 4 compellingK from pa rspecsoces orso r, 8GB ochips,f RAM,MacBooks the Pros still notev outpacee tor te havested. It has evnoery troublethinquiteg y keepingou as compelling ahead of from the a specs or chips,VENOM BLA theCKBOOK Pros 4,570 still outpace no trouble keepingVENOM ahead BLACKBOOK of the 3:14hr VENOM BLACKBOOK 72ºC multitasking and multimedia jobs. multitaskingscreen. and multimediaprice perspective jobs. as it used to be. need for getting sh*youngsters.t done. price perspective as it used to be. 13 ZERO youngsters. 13 ZERO 13 ZERO number at 2,304 x 1,440 number12-inch f oatrm 2,304 fac‘Retina’to rx, w 1,440hich high-DPI screens. heaps of storagesome thank of‘Retina’s t othe a latest high-DPI Skylake screens. some of the latest Skylake0 4000 80 00 12000 16000 20000 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 20 40 60 80 100 pixels, rendering images pixels,could m renderingake it diThatffi c uimageslt meansto use you get 1,366 x 256GB SSD and 5devices00GB hThata likerd means the Yoga you 900, get 1,366 x devices like the Yoga 900, NOTE: DNF = DID NOT FINISH TEST and text incredibly sharp andfor l atextrge- fi incrediblyngere768d fol kpixels sharp. in the case of the drive, and a balawhichnced 768 scored pixels around in the 5% case less of the which scored around 5% less

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