Asus launched a new entry-level gaming laptop called the V16 as well as a grab bag of new Vivobooks. Many of them are configurable with a last-gen RTX 4050 GPU and now available in the US.
The V16 starts at $949.99 for a 16-inch 144Hz display, Intel Arrow Lake chip, and older RTX 3050. Meanwhile, the Vivobooks come in various sizes and styles with AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm processor options.
9
Verge Score
Small improvements and a price reduction go a long way for the MacBook Air and Macs as a whole.
This is the new Dynabook Portégé Z40L-N, and it’s not quite what I’m asking for — while it does unusually have its own dedicated compartment, this 56Wh battery is more user-serviceable than swappable. Some other laptops offer that too. But what if you could carry a second battery with you, charge it outside of the laptop (maybe integrated USB-C), then toollessly swap at a moment’s notice?
Or are external batteries just better for that now?
The Lenovo ThinkBook Flip concept has another fun trick up it’s sleeve besides its foldable display. Its trackpad has hidden LED icons built into it, allowing you to summon three layers of controls and handy shortcuts.
My favorite was using it as a number pad and calling up the calculator app on the laptop’s giant 18.1-inch screen, but it has other (more useful) features too — including custom user-defined ones.
Lenovo announced two concept AI accessories at Mobile World Congress 2025. The pair of devices, creatively named AI Display and AI Stick, have built-in NPUs capable of 32 TOPS, allowing users to do local AI work on just about any computer plugged in via USB.
Like other Lenovo proofs of concept, we don’t know if the AI Display or AI Stick will ever come to market — but there’s a chance.
Lenovo’s new ThinkBook 3D Laptop Concept and Hybrid Dimensional 34-inch Curved Monitor Concept, announced at Mobile World Congress 2025, use directional backlighting and head tracking to simultaneously show 2D and 3D content without glasses. An accompanying AI Ring concept can be worn to control them with gesture-based spatial controls.
It sounds like Leia’s tech, but Lenovo reps would not confirm during my short demo.
Maybe 3D is coming back? (I doubt it.)
8
Verge Score
The niche gaming tablet makes the switch to integrated graphics and, amazingly, is better for it.
Can Framework fix budget laptops next? That’s the goal, and Framework CEO Nirav Patel says he’ll be dogfooding it himself, making this 12-inch laptop his daily driver for the foreseeable future. He wouldn’t tell me just how budget it’ll go yet.
I guess people are pretty interested in Framework’s new Strix Halo desktop, Strix Point 13-inch (it’s translucent!) and 12-inch convertible laptop, because I’ve never been put on hold to visit a dang website before.
My colleagues who are veterans of the PS5 restock wars tell me this is normal. Y’all are really out here waiting in line online?
CEO Nirav Patel tells The Verge:
“Because we manufacture Framework Laptops and Mainboards in Taiwan, we have limited impact from the additional recently introduced tariffs. Some of our modules are manufactured in China, so we are taking this into account for future module pricing for US customers in the Framework Marketplace as we also continue to diversify our supply base.”
Acer just announced 10 percent laptop price increases. Framework will announce new mystery products next week.
Asus’s new ROG Flow Z13 is available for preorder. I tested a preproduction model as a ridiculous gaming handheld, and I’m working on a review of the final hardware.
As a 13-inch gaming tablet starting at $2,099.99 ($100 more than announced), the Z13 is a pricey, niche machine that falls somewhere between the Steam Deck and a full-sized gaming laptop. But it’s charming, with impressive real-world performance.
Stay tuned for the review.
Lenovo is about to release a folding laptop called the ThinkBook Flip, according to leaker Evan Blass. And yes, we know every laptop folds, but this one does it twice: once at the regular hinge, and then again halfway down the display, which folds outwards when the laptop shuts.
It follows the $3,499 ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, a laptop with a rollable screen that goes on sale in June.
4
Verge Score
A capable Lunar Lake chipset and great screen would have made this a killer laptop, if it weren’t for several unforced errors on Dell’s part.
Nvidia announced in a post on X that laptops running RTX 50-series GPUs will go up for preorder on February 25th. It’s likely that laptop manufacturers will announce shipping dates and further details beyond this small tease soon.
Originally announced last June, the open source RISC-V mainboard that Framework developed with DeepComputing is now available for $199. It’s compatible with Frameworks’s 13-inch modular laptop, as well as the $39 Cooler Master case that can turn it into a desktop PC.
It’s powered by a StarFive JH7110 SoC processor instead of chips from Intel or AMD, but it’s not recommended for most consumers. It’s targeted at developers and early adopters not focused on performance.
