The 11-12 inch screen size is perfect for mobile productivity and with processing power on the rise and design slimming down it gets more interesting every week. Intel’s Core M has a lot to do with the amount of activity in the sector and it might just be responsible for the new Acer Aspire Switch 11 V that got announced today. There aren’t many details available though as Acer only revealed that it would have improved ergonomics and more processing power. There’s one image available too.

Update: All specifications now available on the Acer Aspire Switch 11 V specifications and information page.

Acer Aspire Switch 11V. More details later in Q2 2015.

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I was working at CeBIT with Mobilegeeks on their Techlounge product last week. If you haven’t heard of them it’s because they’re big in German but not so big in English. I’ll explain more in another post but it meant that my focus was on creating videos (with the talented German, Rob Vegas) that would fill-in between the live sessions. In all we created around 25 videos in German and English and it was interesting to take a look at stuff I don’t normally look at. Curved monitors, for example. More interesting for me though were five Core M-based products that tell me one thing – Core M will move into the low-cost market.

Core M is built for low-cost. Its small die means, when yields are good enough, it’s cheap to produce but initial products, as always, tend to be a little more costly. Did you take a look at that Macbook yet? More mainstream are the Acer Switch 12 (reviewed here) and the UX305 which, at $699-$799 represent good value 2014-era Ultrabook performance without fans. But prices will drop further…

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It’s easy to poke criticism at the new Apple Macbook because it breaks new ground for a laptop but we must pay respect to the incredible engineering and confidence that Apple are showing with this ultraportable. In reality there’s little to worry about with the Macbook, if you can afford it.

Apple Macbook USB-C USB 3.1 connector

Full specifications, videos, information in our Apple Macbook information page.

Macbook USB-C and USB 3.1 standards.

I use a range of ultra mobile PCs in my work and one thing is for sure, whatever ports I have available on my device I’m always carrying adaptors. USB-SD, USB-Gigabit Ethernet, USB-SSD, USB-HDMI, MicroHDMI, MicroUSB and others. If it’s not me using them, it’s someone else in my circle that needs them and you can guarantee that if I haven’t got them with me, I’ll need one of them. It’s why I’m not scared of the new Apple Macbook port choice.  The single USB-C port is, in my opinion, a good signal that we’re converging on USB standards for power, AV and data and beyond that USB-C port with USB 3.1 is a very similar, even more interesting moment. The WiGig dock, now seen on the HP Elite X2 might be $239 but it weighs 400 grams (0.92 lb) and provides all the ports you need. These will get cheaper, smaller and lighter and, if manufacturers don’t implement the vendor-lock feature in WiGig docking, can be universal. USB 3.1 ports will still be needed for fall-back (think of the crowded press room where WiGig would never work smoothly) but as both are coming from the same standards body they should co-work well.

By using USB-C connectors we’re doing two important things. 1 – removing space used for other ports. 2 – converging on a standard for charging and connecting. Both of these will bring improvements with more space for battery, lower costs, lighter weight and it will help to take us to the ‘no-fear’ all-day laptop and that means leaving the power brick at home. It might also generate a better market for WiFi and BT enabled products too. Displays, storage, cameras and keyboards can all work cable-free.

Apple have implemented USB 3.1 Gen 1 which only has a single 1080p 60 FPS max output capability but that won’t stop you being able to add DisplayLink solutions for the third screen if needed. The down-side of USB 3.1 AV profiles is that there aren’t any monitors out there supporting it so the cables you need are actually adaptors. They’ll always be expensive relative to a bulk HDMI cable.

Early pricing will indeed be high for a USB 3.0 converter or hub and the display adaptors but although you’ll need to add $100 to the cost of a Macbook for the adaptors, I’m sure they’ll reach half that price within 6 months.

The USB-C connector on the Macbook isn’t the problem.

Core M Processor

Again, there’s a lot of potential for complaints here. The new Macbook Air is going to offer a full Broadwell-U CPU which will be much more powerful. It’s going to be cheaper too, but not by much. An 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD Macbook Air with Core i5 is $1199. The Macbook is $1299 and it’s quieter, has a bigger screen with higher resolution, has a slightly bigger battery, should be more efficient and is lighter and smaller. Apple are including the 1.1 Ghz Intel Core M 5Y51 too which not only will be faster than the models commonly found on Windows Core M laptops (like the comparable Samsung ATIV Book 9) but you just know that Apple will have squeezed more out of the platform through better OS optimizations and, possibly, better thermal properties that Core M can really take advantage of. The fast SSD means you’ll have no problem editing full-HD videos although rendering highly processed clips will be a big task for the Core M CPU. If Quick Sync optimizations are available to the editing software and you keep edits simple you’ll have no problem. I’ve produced a couple of basic videos on Core M under Windows and it was painless. A 1.3 Ghz CPU option is also available and that should boost power even more. [If it’s the 6W ‘TDP-UP’ Core M version then expect a little warmth but it’s an indicator that there’s going to be good thermal headroom for the 4.5W TDP 1.1 Ghz Core M in the standard build.]

General performance is going to keep most desktop-style users happy. I use a 2012 Ivy Bridge Ultrabook as my desktop at home and it’s never caused me problems. That’s the sort of performance you can expect from Core M. Office, many, many tabs, background programs, anti-virus and music will run concurrently with no issues. 1080p video playback performance is going to be a delight on the new Macbook. 10 hours is claimed and I don’t see why not.

The Core M processor isn’t the problem with the Macbook.

Macbook Battery life.

The new battery inside the Macbook has a 39.7 Wh battery inside. In general, on Core M with a 12-inch screen at medium backlight, a laptop needs about 5W of power to drive a web browsing experience. I expect Apple to do better than this through better software and the new screen.  9-10 hours of web browsing, 10 or more hours of video playback, 3 hours of gaming and, if you’re a typist – and we’ll have to see just how good that keyboard is – expect to be able to use the keyboard for 15 hours straight in offline mode.  Only the Surface Pro 3 with Type Cover, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 (2015) and the Dell XPS 13 (2015) come close in terms of battery capacity / product weight.

Battery life is certainly not the problem with the Macbook.

ID.

Design and style is not a problem with the Macbook. That’s all I have to say!

Macbook Keyboard.

I can’t comment with any authority on the keyboard because I haven’t tried it but feedback from hands-on videos has been good even if you take into account the excitement  generated among journalists and bloggers at the launch event. This is one area where you need to focus on before buying a Macbook.

Maybe the keyboard could be a problem with the Macbook.

All Core M PCs listed here.

Trackpad.

This is interesting. The large trackpad is not only going to be Apple-smooth in operation but it will now incorporate pressure response into software and will even give haptic feedback. Like the keyboard, this new, non-moving design will need some fingers-on but this feature, if well-integrated into software, could be a major advantage for Apple users. I doubt Windows laptops will ever catch-up to the Apple Macbook touchpad experience.

The touchpad isn’t going to be a problem with the Macbook.

Summary and opinion.

The Macbook is a real showcase for Core M. Not only is it fanless but it uses a tiny, highly integrated motherboard and a single data/power connector to give space for a relatively large battery in just 930 grams of weight. The only comparable product is the Samsung ATIV Book 9 but that’s not going to be a global product. In terms of ultra-mobile productivity, Apple have just stolen the show with the new Macbook.

I’m not an Apple fan but I’ve always been able to tip my hat to the Macbook Air which was a leader in mobile PC engineering. The Macbook breaks even newer ground and is so attractive as an ultraportable that it’s now only a matter of money that’s stopping me from buying it. I’ve paid $1200 for ultra mobiles before but times have changed. The Dell XPS 13 with Core i3 will be as powerful and productive at just $799. The ASUS UX305, also fanless on a Core M platform, is only 1.2KG with a 10% bigger battery at just $699. I can’t justify double the price for an engineering showcase and dongles.

It’s the price that’s the problem with the Macbook. If you can afford it though, I tip my hat to you too.

My notes on the differences between the Apple Macbook and the Samsung ATIV Book 9. Select an ultra-mobile PC from 100’s in our database.

I’ve just finished a big in-depth review of the Acer Aspire Switch 12. It’s the first Core M product that I’ve had the chance to review and I came out of it with a very positive feeling about Core M and the products that it will enable. I also loved the Acer Aspire Switch 12 itself.

Acer Aspire Switch 12

Leaving the smoke behind

Core M is a product borne of the feature that was Scenario Design Power (SDP) which itself was an extended ability to monitor and react to processor and product temperature by changing clockrates across CPU and GPU cores. I called it smoke and mirrors at the time because Intel never actually revealed what ‘scenario’ they were talking about. The scenario was actually a continuation of what Intel had done with the Ultrabook project. Touch, 2-in-1, responsive, mobile and, ultimately, fanless systems with Core-class features and enough power to cover mainstream users scenarios were to be the next generation consumer PC.

Early products based on the Y-series Core CPUs were poor. I remember testing the first Yoga 11S and seeing performance levels at half of what an Ultrabook could produce. A Fujitsu Q704 down-clocked by about 50% when you took it out of the keyboard dock to improve battery life and cut case temperature. A fanless HP Pro X2 410 was so sensitive to ambient heat that I could speed it up by pointing a desk fan at the rear of the tablet.

Like the Ultrabook project (which made us suffer with high prices before it finally worked out to be a game-changer,) the road to fanless has been rocky but were there now and Core M is exactly the marketing relaunch that Y-series and SDP needed.

Core M enables

Core M enables more than just new designs. It’s one of the smallest Core processors that Intel produce and with that comes cost reductions. It’s also a gift to designers as it reduces component count and allows flexibility in thermal design.  It enables mainboards to sit close to other components. It reduces the need for big, expensive batteries.

In 2012 we were seeing 45 Wh batteries in Ultrabooks laptops but today’s Core M designs are based around a 35 Wh design and still offer over 5 hours of battery life. In 2007 it took 10-12 watts of energy to drive a web browsing experience. It’s now down to 5-6W now and if someone can work out how to cut the energy required by a screen backlight we’ll be down another 30%. Sealing a battery inside a casing also reduces the need for certified batteries casings and prevents people tinkering. Reducing support costs, shipping costs and storage costs are all part of the plan.

Switch 12

Ideally a consumer tablet is easy to hold and the tablet PCs of the past were a pathetic offering. The Samsung XE700 broke the mold in 2011 with a 826 gram 11.6-inch specification and since then we’ve seen 11.6-inch tablet weights come down to just over 700 grams. In the 10-inch space it’s reached 550 grams which is more than acceptable. As we move towards the removal of most physical ports, a further reduction in battery size, storage size and a slimming of the screen layers we’ll see larger tablets at the same human-friendly weight. With larger tablets comes more space to build a better keyboard and with Core M you reach a point where processing power is at the consumer PC level.  Being able to deliver the perfect consumer tablet along with the most flexible operating system, the power to do everything and a keyboard that is as productive is possible is real 2-in-1. Bigger products generally command a higher price too so the 12.5-inch size we’re seeing are hitting the sweet spot in many ways.

The Acer Switch 12 shows us that there’s another generation to go before we hit all the sweet spots though. This low-cost design (plastics, styling, weight, size) is too heavy to be a consumer tablet but Acer have focused well on making this a very usable tablet in other ways. It’s a great laptop and if you have time you can think of some crazy ways to use it…

The digitizer brings in more tablet value and the removable wireless keyboard is simple but very, very effective. The Acer Aspire Switch 12 is a good product now and a true 2-in-1 that anyone would be happy to have as an office PC but just think about how the design could improve by being lighter and more stylish. This is a $699 laptop today with the power of a basic Ultrabook of 2013 that cost $999. You’ll see this at $649 or less soon and this time next year we’ll be talking about 20% improvements in power, battery life, weight and again, price. We might also be talking about a wire-free experience. That stand could turn into a removable WiGig breakout box.

A few years ago I bought an Acer W510. This Clovertrail-based 10-inch tablet was light but weak. It served well on holidays and I experimented with it as a desktop but for mainstream users it was far from the mark. Today we’ve reached a refinement called Core M that’s making 2-in-1’s extremely attractive as, well, a true 2-in-1. Windows 10 might just get the praise it needs too and if the Windows Store becomes a first-class citizen of the ‘apps’ world then the stars will align.

For me the stars have already aligned. I love the Switch 12 and I want to keep it. If I didn’t have a Surface Pro 3 here (on long-term loan from Intel) I’d probably order one. I’ve tested video encoding, gaming and I’ve seen some excellent AC WiFi speeds in my office. 20 MB/s file transfers from the local NAS? Yes please! It boots Ubuntu from a USB stick without issues and that’s a security bonus in my opinion. I love the ergonomic and presentation possibilities of the removable keyboard and digitizer. I adore the screen. Most of all I love how I can do everything I need without any noise whatsoever.

If you’re thinking about the Acer Aspire Switch 12 too then you need to remember that the ASUS Transformer T300 Chi is coming soon, for the same price. It’s likely to have a better keyboard and it will definitely have a lighter tablet. It will probably perform as well as the Switch 12 and it has a sensible clam-shell design. It looks a lot more stylish. The built-in stand on the Acer Switch 12 does it for me though and there’s one more thing you need to know. The Acer Switch 12 is more lappable than most laptops.

The Acer Aspire Switch 12 is very lappable!

More information on the Acer Aspire Switch 12 in our mobile PC database here. All Core M products under 1300 grams are listed here.

The Intel Core-M based, fanless, 2-in-1 $699 Acer Aspire Switch 12 has arrived for review and my first impressions, written as part of a full review for Notebookcheck, have been posted.

Acer Aspire Switch 12 is available.

Update: The full review is now available. Go give Notebookcheck (and my review) some love!

Think about 2013-level Ultrabook performance with no fans, more flexibility and a good market-start price. The Acer Aspire Switch 12 weighs 1.1 KG…until you add the keyboard which takes you up to 1.4 KG. Because of the always-exposed screen Acer have done the right thing and provided a nice case but when you put the bundle together with the power supply you’re carrying over 2 KG. Despite the weight I like the Switch 12 for a couple of reasons. 1) It’s more stable on the lap than many other solutions because of the rear stand and mid-mounted screen. 2) It’s fanless and is returning performance scores well above what  you’ll find with Baytrail-based solutions. There’s also a fast SATA-connected SSD inside which makes this one of the cheapest full-HD 128GB SATA SSD solutions out there. Add AC WiFi, USB 3.0 and a good keyboard that can be pulled away from the unit and you’ve got a productive setup. Comparisons must be made to the Surface Pro 3, Lenovo Yoga 3 11 and the HP Envy 13 X2 which is even more hot-desking focused.

Acer Aspire Switch 12 and Microsoft Surface Pro 3

A preliminary set of performance results, battery life figures, confirmation that there’s a digitizer and other information can be found over at Notebookcheck.net where I’ll be publishing the full review. Let me know if you’ve got any questions and I’ll try to get them answered in the full review.

Chromebooks and Intel’s Core M platform are a perfect fit so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing rumors of a Google Pixel 2 surfacing along with a mention of Core M.

The rumors are extremely tenuous but worth a discussion because of three important aspects. Intel Core-M, USB 3.1 and Pixel 2 could define a new range of Chromebooks that are, like the original Pixel, medium to high-end. While Baytrail-M is doing a good job of enabling low-end Chromebooks there are people that truly need higher-end multitasking performance. Combine that power with a fanless build – the Acer C720 is so annoying when one has used fanless PCs – and you’ve got a unique combination.

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The Acer Aspire Switch 12 – a Core M-based 2-in-1 laptop – is coming, and it starts at just $649.  Promotional and hands-on videos are starting to appear in YouTube.

There’s one device I didn’t manage to get a good hands-on with at IDF and IFA last year and that’s the Acer Aspire Switch 12. I wish I had because I’m intrigued having read one of the first reviews, watched a number of videos and having just drafted a piece on hot-desking with the Surface Pro 3.  The Switch 12 weighs 1.4KG in total which is above our 1.3KG limit here but as the keyboard is removable there’s an operating weight of well under 1300 grams. Still, you’re unlikely to be carrying this without the keyboard so it sits on the borderline.

Acer Aspire Switch 12 is available.

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The lab-rats at Notebookcheck have just published their full review of the Dell Latitude 7350. This 1.6KG 13-inch device isn’t ultra-mobile but we’ve put it our database as we’re implementing a strict 1.3KG minimum operating weight limit. This is a 2-in-1 detachable with a 13-inch fanless tablet that weighs just 860 grams. There’s also something important inside that we need to know about – the Core M 5Y10. It’s also a 2-in-1 which means you can use the tablet on its own. It weighs 860 grams (1.9 pounds) which is OK for a 13.3-inch Core-based fanless tablet.

Dell Latitude 13 7350. Core M 2-in-1

The Dell Latitude 7350 is business-focused and priced at well over $1000 with entry-level specifications. There’s a split battery (30Wh in tablet, optional 20Wh in dock) and a large number of features and options including ExpressCharge, LTE, VPro and the like. Dell calls it an Ultrabook but with Core M inside, we’re not. Here’s why.

Core M, at best, when the gods of heat and cooling are on your side, performs as well as a Haswell-generation (2014) Core i5 but there’s a huge range of throttling that can kick-in when things warm up. A theoretical maximum clockrate of 2.0Ghz is impressive but the base clock is just 800Mhz.

Notebookcheck, a site I do reviews for, has a strict process when it comes to reviews so when I see their performance test results I take note. They’ve just published the full review for the Dell Latitude 7350 (Core M 5y10, 4GB RAM) and the limits of Core M are clear to see.

The Cinebench Single-Thread tests show that the CPU can maintain a clock of 2 GHz while the Multi-Thread tests are executed with 1.3 up to 1.4 GHz. This behavior is identical for mains as well as battery power. According to the benchmark results, the single-thread performance is between the ULV Core i3 and ULV Core i5 processors of the Haswell generation, but the Core M is beaten by Core i3 processors in multi-thread applications because it cannot utilize its maximum performance.

Have a look at the Sunspider, Cinebench and Peacekeeper scores on the Notebookcheck review and you’ll see sub-Ultrabook performance, at least where 2014 Ultrabooks are concerned. What the Dell Latitude 7350 does bring is 2012-era Ultrabook performance in a fanless design and that’s worth thinking about when it comes to tablets.

In terms of battery life the Dell Latitude XPS 13 does quite well on the 50Wh battery configuration when compared to Haswell-based devices but again note that under load, the Core M CPU won’t be getting as much done as a Core i5 Haswell-generation. The web-browsing performance is a good comparison to use though and here we see the 50Wh battery giving 522 minutes of battery life. Again, web page loads may not be as fast as on a Core i5 but the small delay is probably not going to concern most users.  The average power usage in the web browsing scenario is 5.7W which is slightly higher than I’ve seen on 10 and 11.6-inch Core-based laptops. Again the screen backlight takes more power for the same brightness on a larger screen compared to a smaller screen.

Core M 2-in-1 line up for Q4 215. (Click for more details.)

So what can we learn from this Core M product test? Firstly we have to bear in mind that this is a single reference point form a single device. Core M performance relies heavily on good thermal design and benchmarks will vary a lot across different testing scenarios. Even a few degrees increase in ambient temperature will affect results. Benchmarks themselves can heat up a device such that the following benchmark can be negatively affected and you can see that in the sequence of Cinebench tests done on the ASUS UX305 by Ultrabookreview.  In that review the Cinebench result varies from 140 down to 107 points. In the Notebookcheck review of the Dell Latitude 7350 the CPU score is 139 points. In a full review of the HP Envy X2 15 c000ng, another fanless Core M 5Y10 device, the max Cinebench R15 score is 167 points.  Incidentally the Core M 5Y70 (1.1Ghz base clock) as seen in the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro (which has a fan) is reaching over 170 points on this CPU-only test.

Core M is difficult to test but I believe that the results you see here are representative of a fanless Core M device and although performance isn’t as good as an Ultrabook, Core M is allowing lightweight fanless PCs in the 1KG-class with performance that we’ve never seen before. This brings ‘enough for everything’ and with the Lenovo Yoga 11, Acer Switch 12 and ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi coming with Core M at the $700 price point there’s value in the equation too.

All Core M mobile PCs in our database can be found on this page.

Dell Latitude 13 7350 review (81% review score) at Notebookcheck.net