Laptop Review
November 30, 2018
How have ultrabooks changed
How have ultrabooks changed
In the world of hi-tech nothing stands still: ultrabooks also change. But at the expense of performance? And are the proportions of price and quality adequate now? And did their dimensions actually change at all? The answer to these questions was looking for ZOOM.
Since the invention of the laptop - a laptop - humanity has stubbornly sought ways to make it lighter and thinner, but not at the expense of performance. Of course, comparable to the performance of the desktop configuration cost two or more times more - and what to do, you have to pay for miniaturization!
Miniaturization reached its climax with the release of not even netbooks, but subnotebooks even earlier; their screen diagonal was comparable to that of modern tablets. Only formally, they looked just like very small laptops, and not like a touch screen with a keyboard - today. Subnotebooks have lived for about 10 years (1996-2006) and today are safely forgotten.
The first ultrabook (which was not really called such) was released on January 15, 2008: this is the Apple MacBook Air I, and it was he who initiated the development of this segment. Actually, this date can be called the date of birth not only of Air, but also of ultrabooks; although Intel and Apple adopted this concept three years later.
The configuration of the first MacBook Air was somewhat similar to the requirements for the first ultrabooks. Its thickness ranged from 4 to 19 mm, the diagonal of the non-IPS screen was 13.3 inches, and another innovative chip was the multi-touch touchpad, which gave rise to a new class of these components - the clickpad. There were no devices for reading optical discs (which was rather critical for laptops at the time), and the price went off scale for $ 3,000.
But formally, this laptop was not an ultrabook for all its innovative essence and thickness, it was called the same “subnotebook”, albeit “ultra-light”.
Since the first requirements for laptops, which may be called “ultrabooks,” Intel announced three years later: at Computex in 2011.
Time
So, the first ultrabooks, which already had the full right to be so called, appeared three years later after the formal release of the first of them. Basic requirements consisted of:
In the thickness of the case depending on the diagonal of the screen. 18 mm for diagonals of 13.3 inches and less, 21 mm for 14 inches and more.
In the platform. This should be the new Sandy Bridge platform.
Battery life: at least 5 hours.
Curious was the requirement to exit from hibernation: 7 seconds maximum. By the way, the second generation hung on the same figures.
What is even more curious, there were no requirements for weight: there is no such parameter in the requirements.
In general, the first generation of ultrabooks, that is, those who received the coveted Ultrabook nameplate, was about universal. Mostly these were models with a diagonal of 13.3 inches and a resolution of 1366x768 (there are also two 14-inch and one 11.6-inch models), they had mostly SSD drives, and also hybrid ones (which were needed for a quick exit from hibernation), 4 GB of RAM and an average weight of 1.3 kg for 13.3-inch models with an average thickness of 14-18 mm for them.
In the 14-inch models, of which it was quite the opposite, the weight was more (up to 1.8 kg) and the thickness reached the maximum 21 mm. They cost from 800 to 1500 dollars, and we are not talking about Apple products right now. By the way, the passport lifetime from one charge from 6 to 8 hours actually ranged from 3 to 5. But, in principle, fit.
What is curious, Intel, as it usually happens, slightly hurried with bright forecasts , assuring that by 2013 ultrabooks will occupy 40% of the mobile computers market. Analysts were skeptical about the initiative - and many of them were right about this, because ultrabooks were already too expensive, and the laptop market by that time was already too saturated for users to happily throw out their inexpensive laptops and start mass purchasing ultrabooks.
In the end, many of these “excesses” in size and weight were simply not important: remember the rather voluminous segments of gaming laptops and “desktop replacement”.
Two
The second generation of ultrabooks followed next year with the release of the Chief River platform and the Ivy Bridge architecture. The specification has already included transformers, which allowed to "grow fat" up to 23 mm. For ordinary ultrabooks, the size requirements remain the same.
But now they already include the minimum values of bandwidth and the availability of modern interfaces; if the first generation could offer at least USB 1.0 (no one did it - but they could), then the second should have at least one USB3 or Apple Thunderbolt.
And if you look at the overall picture, then, surprisingly, it will not differ much from that of the firstborn: the parameters are almost the same for most devices. Here we are talking more about the screen resolution, the amount and type of internal memory, as well as the ubiquitous four gigabytes of RAM.
However, with seemingly similarity, breakthroughs are already outlined in performance: if the first generation used Intel Core i3 and i5 processors, the second generation has already grown to maximum Core i7, as well as to screen resolutions from 1600x900 to FullHD 1920x1080.
Another interesting observation is the thickness. As we wrote above, formally the devices should have the same values, in fact, there appeared such beauty as the Samsung Series 9 13 "with a thickness of 12.7 mm, 15" with a maximum thickness of 16.25 mm, and the list even includes 14-inch 900- dollar ZaReason UltraLap with a thickness of 19 mm (instead of the threshold 21).
In general, we can conclude that the second generation has made a step forward in both performance and size, and therefore it is the largest group that received the coveted Ultrabook nameplate.
Finally, we move on to the last generation - the third (and it really is the last).
Three
Third-generation specifications (2013 release) based on the Haswell architecture (and then Broadwell) have become a little softer: now the thickness of 13.3-inch devices should not exceed 20 mm, and 14-inch or more ultrabooks are still allowed with 23 millimeters. The requirements for the battery have grown (now it should provide at least 6 hours of HD video playback), as well as to exit from hibernation - no more than three seconds. The latter means the fact that hybrid HDDs are no longer “cake”, and the time has come for complete SSD dominance.
And this generation can be called the transition of ultrabooks from the class of “specialized devices with a special sticker” to the category of “another sub-type of laptop”. An indirect proof of this can be a rather meager “list of relevant”, which is even less than that for the first generation of ultrabooks (and more than two years have passed since the release of the specification, by the way).
Yes, if you take a look at this list, it is impossible not to notice that ultrabooks of the last generation do not really appreciate the younger Core i3: most of them offer a minimum of Core i5 as a basic model. The amount of RAM, however, is still hanging out at 4 GB, although there are already models with a possible volume of up to 10 GB (and for whom 4 can basically 8). Traditional and hybrid hard drives are completely supplanted by the SSD, and the thickness of some devices has already overcome the 10 mm bar (for example, Acer Aspire P3 is 9.95 mm). Screen resolution varies already from 1920x1080 to 3200x1800.
From this the conclusion suggests itself: everything is back to square one. The price range from 900 to 1400 and focusing on the highest rates are signs of the first generation.
Four
Formally, there is no fourth generation ultrabook. On the Intel site, the current version of the specification is called “ Ultrabook 2-in-1, ” which can be interpreted as “promoting transformers” instead of classic laptops.
The third generation, apparently, was the last. Ultrabooks have advanced from the innovative "thin and light" to quite ordinary goods. Many vendors have been releasing laptops for a long time, which fit the specifications of ultrabooks by parameters; but now, it seems, everyone cares little about the compliance with the "standard" set by Intel; proof of this can serve as the shortest list of ultrabooks of the last generation.
The conclusion here is pretty simple. Over the past 4 years, ultrabooks have advanced from the specification of one company to a whole sub-segment, whose manufacturers do not bother to meet the specifications of this one company.
And they understand even in Intel itself, without imposing any strict formal requirements on the “Ultrabooks 2-in-1”, but simply naming them so. Although most of the laptops today are built on the platforms of this company, the name “ultrabooks” has already become a household word for “thin and light laptops”.
In the world of hi-tech nothing stands still: ultrabooks also change. But at the expense of performance? And are the proportions of price and quality adequate now? And did their dimensions actually change at all? The answer to these questions was looking for ZOOM.
Since the invention of the laptop - a laptop - humanity has stubbornly sought ways to make it lighter and thinner, but not at the expense of performance. Of course, comparable to the performance of the desktop configuration cost two or more times more - and what to do, you have to pay for miniaturization!
Miniaturization reached its climax with the release of not even netbooks, but subnotebooks even earlier; their screen diagonal was comparable to that of modern tablets. Only formally, they looked just like very small laptops, and not like a touch screen with a keyboard - today. Subnotebooks have lived for about 10 years (1996-2006) and today are safely forgotten.
The first ultrabook (which was not really called such) was released on January 15, 2008: this is the Apple MacBook Air I, and it was he who initiated the development of this segment. Actually, this date can be called the date of birth not only of Air, but also of ultrabooks; although Intel and Apple adopted this concept three years later.
The configuration of the first MacBook Air was somewhat similar to the requirements for the first ultrabooks. Its thickness ranged from 4 to 19 mm, the diagonal of the non-IPS screen was 13.3 inches, and another innovative chip was the multi-touch touchpad, which gave rise to a new class of these components - the clickpad. There were no devices for reading optical discs (which was rather critical for laptops at the time), and the price went off scale for $ 3,000.
But formally, this laptop was not an ultrabook for all its innovative essence and thickness, it was called the same “subnotebook”, albeit “ultra-light”.
Since the first requirements for laptops, which may be called “ultrabooks,” Intel announced three years later: at Computex in 2011.
Time
So, the first ultrabooks, which already had the full right to be so called, appeared three years later after the formal release of the first of them. Basic requirements consisted of:
In the thickness of the case depending on the diagonal of the screen. 18 mm for diagonals of 13.3 inches and less, 21 mm for 14 inches and more.
In the platform. This should be the new Sandy Bridge platform.
Battery life: at least 5 hours.
Curious was the requirement to exit from hibernation: 7 seconds maximum. By the way, the second generation hung on the same figures.
What is even more curious, there were no requirements for weight: there is no such parameter in the requirements.
In general, the first generation of ultrabooks, that is, those who received the coveted Ultrabook nameplate, was about universal. Mostly these were models with a diagonal of 13.3 inches and a resolution of 1366x768 (there are also two 14-inch and one 11.6-inch models), they had mostly SSD drives, and also hybrid ones (which were needed for a quick exit from hibernation), 4 GB of RAM and an average weight of 1.3 kg for 13.3-inch models with an average thickness of 14-18 mm for them.
In the 14-inch models, of which it was quite the opposite, the weight was more (up to 1.8 kg) and the thickness reached the maximum 21 mm. They cost from 800 to 1500 dollars, and we are not talking about Apple products right now. By the way, the passport lifetime from one charge from 6 to 8 hours actually ranged from 3 to 5. But, in principle, fit.
What is curious, Intel, as it usually happens, slightly hurried with bright forecasts , assuring that by 2013 ultrabooks will occupy 40% of the mobile computers market. Analysts were skeptical about the initiative - and many of them were right about this, because ultrabooks were already too expensive, and the laptop market by that time was already too saturated for users to happily throw out their inexpensive laptops and start mass purchasing ultrabooks.
In the end, many of these “excesses” in size and weight were simply not important: remember the rather voluminous segments of gaming laptops and “desktop replacement”.
Two
The second generation of ultrabooks followed next year with the release of the Chief River platform and the Ivy Bridge architecture. The specification has already included transformers, which allowed to "grow fat" up to 23 mm. For ordinary ultrabooks, the size requirements remain the same.
But now they already include the minimum values of bandwidth and the availability of modern interfaces; if the first generation could offer at least USB 1.0 (no one did it - but they could), then the second should have at least one USB3 or Apple Thunderbolt.
And if you look at the overall picture, then, surprisingly, it will not differ much from that of the firstborn: the parameters are almost the same for most devices. Here we are talking more about the screen resolution, the amount and type of internal memory, as well as the ubiquitous four gigabytes of RAM.
However, with seemingly similarity, breakthroughs are already outlined in performance: if the first generation used Intel Core i3 and i5 processors, the second generation has already grown to maximum Core i7, as well as to screen resolutions from 1600x900 to FullHD 1920x1080.
Another interesting observation is the thickness. As we wrote above, formally the devices should have the same values, in fact, there appeared such beauty as the Samsung Series 9 13 "with a thickness of 12.7 mm, 15" with a maximum thickness of 16.25 mm, and the list even includes 14-inch 900- dollar ZaReason UltraLap with a thickness of 19 mm (instead of the threshold 21).
In general, we can conclude that the second generation has made a step forward in both performance and size, and therefore it is the largest group that received the coveted Ultrabook nameplate.
Finally, we move on to the last generation - the third (and it really is the last).
Three
Third-generation specifications (2013 release) based on the Haswell architecture (and then Broadwell) have become a little softer: now the thickness of 13.3-inch devices should not exceed 20 mm, and 14-inch or more ultrabooks are still allowed with 23 millimeters. The requirements for the battery have grown (now it should provide at least 6 hours of HD video playback), as well as to exit from hibernation - no more than three seconds. The latter means the fact that hybrid HDDs are no longer “cake”, and the time has come for complete SSD dominance.
And this generation can be called the transition of ultrabooks from the class of “specialized devices with a special sticker” to the category of “another sub-type of laptop”. An indirect proof of this can be a rather meager “list of relevant”, which is even less than that for the first generation of ultrabooks (and more than two years have passed since the release of the specification, by the way).
Yes, if you take a look at this list, it is impossible not to notice that ultrabooks of the last generation do not really appreciate the younger Core i3: most of them offer a minimum of Core i5 as a basic model. The amount of RAM, however, is still hanging out at 4 GB, although there are already models with a possible volume of up to 10 GB (and for whom 4 can basically 8). Traditional and hybrid hard drives are completely supplanted by the SSD, and the thickness of some devices has already overcome the 10 mm bar (for example, Acer Aspire P3 is 9.95 mm). Screen resolution varies already from 1920x1080 to 3200x1800.
From this the conclusion suggests itself: everything is back to square one. The price range from 900 to 1400 and focusing on the highest rates are signs of the first generation.
Four
Formally, there is no fourth generation ultrabook. On the Intel site, the current version of the specification is called “ Ultrabook 2-in-1, ” which can be interpreted as “promoting transformers” instead of classic laptops.
The third generation, apparently, was the last. Ultrabooks have advanced from the innovative "thin and light" to quite ordinary goods. Many vendors have been releasing laptops for a long time, which fit the specifications of ultrabooks by parameters; but now, it seems, everyone cares little about the compliance with the "standard" set by Intel; proof of this can serve as the shortest list of ultrabooks of the last generation.
The conclusion here is pretty simple. Over the past 4 years, ultrabooks have advanced from the specification of one company to a whole sub-segment, whose manufacturers do not bother to meet the specifications of this one company.
And they understand even in Intel itself, without imposing any strict formal requirements on the “Ultrabooks 2-in-1”, but simply naming them so. Although most of the laptops today are built on the platforms of this company, the name “ultrabooks” has already become a household word for “thin and light laptops”.
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