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Innovative devices from Microsoft partners bring Windows 10 experiences to life

Written By published September 1, 2016



It’s been an exciting last few weeks watching our OEM partners introduce a collection of new Windows PCs at variety of recent industry events including gamescom in Cologne, IFA 2016 in Berlin, and PAX West 2016 in Seattle. Partners including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo have all unveiled their latest Windows 10 2-in-1s, ultrathin notebooks, unique desktop PCs, all-in-ones and gaming rigs.

Nick Parker

Windows 10 is better than ever at helping people and businesses be more productive and secure, and our partners continue to introduce innovative devices that bring the Windows 10 experiences to life. From the world’s thinnest notebooks to the first curved-screen gaming notebook, the devices announced recently are on the bleeding edge of design and performance and highlight just some of the Windows 10 features including Windows Hello, Cortana  and increased gaming capabilities.

Here are just a few of the highlights of the dozens of new products introduced at gamescom, IFA and PAX.

Thin and beautiful, packed with features

For those who seek a thin and sleek PC, Acer is expanding their ultra-slim notebook offerings with its Swift Series, ultra-thin Windows 10 devices designed for a broad range of budgets and lifestyles. The pencil-thin Swift 7 measures just 0.39 inches and weighs just 2.48 pounds.

The Acer Swift 7 with Windows 10

In addition, Acer introduced the Spin Series, which boasts a convertible notebook at 0.43 inches and 2.6 pounds. Ranging in size from 11.6-inches to 14-inches, these new convertible Windows 10 notebooks incorporate innovative 360-degree hinges and can be used as either a notebook or tablet, with a space-saving display mode, or in tent mode for sharing presentations or watching movies.

The Acer Spin 7 with Windows 10

Meanwhile, Lenovo is expanding the Yoga family with the new Yoga 910, an ultra-thin 0.56” convertible laptop that offers up to 15.5 hours of battery life, while harnessing the power of up to Intel’s latest 7th Gen Core i7 processor. The Yoga 910 includes 10 percent more screen area than its previous generations with a 14 percent increase in pixel density for sharper images, 100 percent sRGB color gamut coverage, enhanced music and sound with Dolby Audio Premium, and the choice of a 4K or Full HD display.

The Lenovo 910 with Windows 10

ASUS announced new European pricing and availability for its for ZenBook 3, Transformer 3 Pro, Transformer 3, ZenPad 3S 10 and ZenScreen. The ZenBook 3, an ultra-sleek 0.47” laptop, offers a built-in fingerprint reader with Windows Hello support. The reader provides customers with instant, one-touch access so they can sign in quickly and securely without having to type their password or PIN. The ZenBook 3 also showcases an innovative cooling system with ultra-thin 3mm thermal system design and Intel’s core i7 performance. The Transformer 3 is a beautiful 2-in-1 pc that is 0.275” thin and crafted from aluminum with color options in Icicle Gold and Glacier Gray. The Transformer 3 Pro gives customers an integrated metal kickstand with a step-less hinge that allowing the device to be used at almost any angle up to 170°.

The ASUS ZenBook 3 with Windows 10

Productivity meets entertainment

Lenovo’s latest innovations also include the Miix 510, a detachable that gives users a full-size keyboard when they want it with the freedom to leave it behind when they’re on the go. With the power of up to the 6th Gen Intel Core i7 processor to get work done, the Miix 510 detaches from its keyboard to become a standalone tablet, great for browsing and online entertainment. Combined with a full-size touchscreen, you can take notes, sketch, draw and create in any way you want using Windows Ink in the Windows 10 Anniversary edition. And with up to 7.5 hours of battery life, the Miix 510 also makes a great presentation device, an e-reader or a work laptop.

The Lenovo Miix 510 with Windows 10

Big entertainment in a small package

Acer is bringing Windows 10 to the world of entertainment with the launch of the Revo Base home entertainment hub. This addition to Acer’s award-winning Revo mini PC lineup packs powerful performance into a compact 1-liter chassis that’s ideal for use as a multimedia hub in homes where space is at a premium. The entertainment, browsing and content-serving device features up to Intel Core i7 processor, and up to 8GB of DDR3L system memory, ensuring that it runs smoothly when handling intensive tasks such as decoding high-quality multimedia content. The Revo Base also offers plentiful storage for all your entertainment needs including playing videos, music and pictures.

Thinking outside the box

Innovative design is at the core of the HP Pavilion Wave, a Windows 10 desktop PC for home users that features an iconic triangular form. HP’s new desktop PC is 85 percent smaller than traditional PC towers, but still has the power of a full-sized desktop. The desktop design is built around the central audio system and finished with premium materials including acoustic fabric engineered for room filling sound. A parabolic reflector on top of the PC reflects the sound coming from the speaker grille in parallel from all directions and acts as an outlet vent for hot air to come out. The 360 Degree Multi-Directional Reflective Audio delivers a crisp audio profile at all frequencies and is tuned by B&O Play for amazing sound whether listening to mid, high or low ranges. The HP Pavilion Wave also incorporates dual array microphones to take full advantage of Cortana, allowing users to talk to their computer for hands-free interactions.

The HP Pavilion Wave with Windows 10

HP is also pushing the boundaries of workplace collaboration and productivity with the HP Elite Slice, the first modular commercial desktop with cable-less connectivity. The cable-less design allows for a clean work environment without the need for separate cables plugged into the wall to power each component. Its modular design features stunning curves in matte black with polished copper accents to streamline workplaces. It allows customers to pick and choose a factory cover or stackable options to add functionality including the Collaboration Cover or Wireless Charging Cover (The Wireless Charging Cover is expected to start shipping in the first half of 2017 and requires factory configuration), or additional stackable modules such as the Audio Module or ODD (Optical Disk Drive) Module. These options create a beautiful PC that is unique to each business and its employees. The ultra-small, big power form factor is just 6.5” x 1.38” x 6.5” and weighs 2.31.

The HP Elite Slice with Windows 10

The HP Elite Slice portfolio also includes the new HP Elite Slice for Meeting Rooms solution to help users get more out of their meetings by having seamless technology to drive immersive conferencing and collaboration experiences with integrated audio and full desktop functionality. HP Elite Slice for Meeting Rooms combines HP Elite Slice, the HP Collaboration Cover, HP Audio Module and Intel® Unite™ software to create a unique Microsoft Skype for Business conferencing solution making meeting rooms more intuitive and efficient with crisp, clear sound.

More immersive gaming

In the world of gaming, Acer and Dell are taking the experience to the next level with their new Windows 10 gaming notebooks. Acer is expanding its Predator series with the Predator 21 X, the world’s first notebook to offer a curved display to deliver the ultimate, immersive gaming experience. The Predator 21 X offers a curved 21-inch IPS display that offers wide-angle viewing to ensure smooth and sharp gameplay. The notebook also integrates Tobii eye-tracking technology that tracks a gamer’s eye movement that lets players aim, identify enemies and take cover simply by gazing at objects on the screen.

The Acer Predator 21X with Windows 10

Dell’s new Alienware Windows 10 gaming notebooks are the company’s thinnest and first virtual reality-ready line of notebooks. Offered in 13-, 15-, and 17-inch screen sizes, the Alienware family includes the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-Series family of GPUs, desktop-class graphics performance, and are up to 25 percent thinner than previous versions. Games sound great due to an enhanced new speaker design that includes internal smart amps that monitor audio waveforms, enabling the use of the entire thermal margin of the speaker. All of this in enclosed in new construction materials that improve both heat management and durability. In addition, Alienware also includes support for optional Tobii eye-tracking technology, and an exclusive Overwolf app that can replay gaze patterns so gamers can learn from mistakes and find new opportunities to crush the competition.

The Dell Alienware 17 with Windows 10

ASUS showcased their latest lineup of gaming innovations including the ROG 3DMod PC, which demonstrates the latest synchronized ASUS Aura RGB lighting technology and creative 3D-printed accessories, providing gamers with new options for customization. The PC build features a liquid-cooled system and ASUS Aura RGB lighting with nine programmable lighting effects that can be synchronized across its ROG Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard, ROG Strix GTX 1080 graphics card and attached RGB strips, giving gamers the freedom of customization.

Taking gaming to the next level

As if all these brand-new devices aren’t enough, HP recently announced its OMEN X family of gaming products for “domination-level gaming.” The high-end lineup includes an upgrade to the OMEN 17.3-inch diagonal laptop, OMEN X Desktop, OMEN X Curved Display and OMEN with SteelSeries accessories, delivering aggressive performance, customization, and flexibility for the hard-core gamer.

The HP OMEN X family with Windows 10

Lenovo jumps into virtual gaming with the recently announced IdeaCentre Y710 Cube and IdeaCentre AIO Y910 desktop PCs. Offering portability for the serious player, both devices come in space-saving form factors to give top-of-the-line performance around the home and elsewhere. The compact IdeaCentre Y710 Cube even comes with a built-in carry handle for easy transport. And the sleek IdeaCentre AIO Y910 offers massive gaming power — without the mass — while also filling the bill as a family PC or video entertainment center.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Y710 Cube with Windows 10

These new devices represent some of the most impressive PCs and Windows 10 experiences in the market today, and I couldn’t be more excited with the work our partners continue to do to push the boundaries in modern devices and solutions. Whether at home, work or play, these devices do a fantastic job of lighting up the experiences Windows 10 has to offer.

To learn more about the wide range of powerful devices built on Windows 10, please see our Windows 10 devices website.