Enlarge / AMD's Ryzen 7600X, nestled into the brand-new Socket AM5. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

AMD's latest Ryzen processors are here , along with the Zen 4 CPU architecture that powers them. And if you don't want to wade through a bunch of words, tables, and charts, the short version is: They're pretty good! Even if we miss the days when AMD prioritized midrange systems as much as it did high-end ones, and even if Intel's offerings now are more compelling than they were in 2020 when Zen 3 was competing against the fifth consecutive iteration of Intel's Skylake architecture , there's a lot to appreciate here.

For those of you prepared to read on, this piece will focus on two Ryzen 7000 CPUs. AMD sent us a $299 six-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 7600X and a $699 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 7950X. These are (respectively) the lowest- and highest-end members of the Ryzen 7000 family as it exists today. (The company also provided a motherboard and DDR5 RAM, as well as travel and lodging for the Ryzen 7000 unveiling and tech sessions we attended in August.)

We'll compare both chips to each other as well as to various members of the Ryzen 5000 and 12th-generation Intel Core CPU families to get a sense of how Ryzen 7000 and Zen 4 improve on their immediate predecessors and their competition. If you're more interested in a high-level overview of the Zen 4 architecture, the AM5 socket and 600-series chipsets that AMD is also launching today, and other Ryzen odds and ends, that info is available in a separate piece for your reference and convenience.

Enlarge / The (customized) lock screen in iOS 16. (credit: Samuel Axon)

For the past couple of years, Apple’s annual iOS updates have laser focused on one feature for an overhaul while making smaller tweaks to everything else. Last year, Focus was the, well, focus. The year before that, it was the home screen.

This time it’s the lock screen. You can now change fonts, add widgets, customize the information displayed, and pick from a wider variety of wallpaper. Apple has also more deeply integrated the lock screen with the Focus modes that were fleshed out in iOS 15 . And it has laid the groundwork for something more than just notifications that third-party apps can show you before you unlock your phone.

Given the increasingly iterative nature of iOS releases today—with many key features not arriving until months after the initial ship date of a new, whole-numbered version—we’re moving to leaner initial iOS reviews, with updates to come in additional articles over time. So today we’re going to look at the main new feature of iOS 16, but we’ll touch on a couple of other key features and changes, too.

• 

  From left to right: the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. [credit: Samuel Axon ]

Whether we’re talking about the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 Pro, or the iPhone 14 Pro Max, this year’s update focuses on the cameras.

Yes, the Pro models have always-on displays and an oh-so-very-Apple approach to replacing the controversial screen notch. But as nifty as those perks are, they shouldn’t be the reasons you buy these phones.

The cameras are now so prominent—in the Pro models especially—that it’s starting to feel like we should call these devices "smartcameras" rather than smartphones.

Enlarge / Dell's XPS 13 Plus clamshell laptop. (credit: Scharon Harding)

Dell's XPS 13 laptop has been a staple among Windows ultralights, typically offering decent performance for the price, extreme portability, and good looks.

Apparently, that wasn't enough for Dell, so it released the Dell XPS 13 Plus . Introduced this year (alongside a more traditional 2022 XPS 13 ), it's a revamped version of the XPS 13 that puts performance over everything else.

Wild design choices allow the system to support a 28 W CPU. With the 2021 XPS 13 carrying a 15 W chip and the 2022 XPS 13 supporting up to a 12 W one, this is a notable achievement. But it's also a case of function over form. To put it simply, using the XPS 13 Plus felt weird. From its tightly spaced keys and capacitive touch function row to its minimal port selection, questionable build quality, and extremely high temperatures, this machine can be frustrating to use for daily tasks.

Enlarge / Dell's XPS 15 9520 is nearly identical to the last-gen 9510, albeit with improved processor performance. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Even as an iterative update to an existing computer, Dell's XPS 15 9520 is pretty mild. It's super-iterative. The only thing that separates it from the XPS 15 9510 we reviewed last year is that it swaps the 11th-generation Intel processors for 12th-gen versions. Everything else, from the design to the screen to the GPU, is the same (unless you count changing the foreshortened Windows 10-era rectangle logo on the Windows key to a square Windows 11-era logo).

So we won't spend much time redescribing things about this laptop that we have already mentioned. Weighing just a bit over four pounds, this is still a computer made for people who want more power than a 13- or 14-inch laptop can provide, but who still care enough about size and weight that they don't want to graduate to a full-size desktop or a bulky gaming laptop.

It still has a nice slim-bezel screen, a huge trackpad, a comfortable keyboard with firm-but-not-too-firm keys and a pleasing amount of travel, and Thunderbolt and USB-C ports for accessories and charging (plus a single SD card reader and a headphone jack). A fingerprint reader, face-scanning Windows Hello-compatible IR camera, and a 720p webcam and speakers (serviceable-but-middling in both cases) round out the basic amenities.

Enlarge / Lenovo's ThinkPad Z13 Gen 1. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

From the basic, boring E-series to the premium X-series , Lenovo's ThinkPads rarely surprise you with their designs. By and large, they are intentionally unremarkable, with straightforward (and sometimes boxy) frames and unassuming black finishes.

So when Lenovo departs from this basic template, as it has for the new ThinkPad Z13 Gen 1 , it's worth talking about. The Z13 is recognizable as a ThinkPad, but it has eccentric flourishes like brushed gold accents and a vegan leather lid. There's also a less-flashy gray aluminum version, if a business laptop with gold accents and vegan leather feels less "stylish" and more "dad's midlife crisis" to you.

Hands-down the most impressive thing about the Z13 is its Ryzen 6000 CPU and integrated Radeon GPU. I began testing the Z13 at around the same time as I was being underwhelmed by the 12th-generation Intel processors in the Framework Laptop and Lenovo's own X1 Carbon Gen 10, and the Ryzen CPU is just better than Intel's by just about any conceivable metric. But my reaction to the laptop that has been built around this chip is more reserved.

Enlarge / HP's 13.5-inch Spectre x360. (credit: Scharon Harding)

HP's 13.5-inch Spectre x360 has a little something for almost everyone. An ultralight build puts it a desirable class of convertibles with a frosted finish and flashy accents. A 3:2 screen stands taller than most and includes an OLED option that's vivid yet natural looking. There are also clever design choices, like a chamfered edge with a charging port, light-up volume/mic mute/camera shutter keys, plus decent port selection.

The Spectre x360 13.5-inch gets an A+ in looks and scores high (but not perfectly) in design details. But it has some room to grow when it comes to productivity, especially when compared against other highly capable ultralights in its price range.

For those who insist on squeezing every ounce of performance out of a sub-1-inch-thick convertible, there are stronger competitors. But for the rest, the 2022 Spectre is near the top of its class.

Enlarge / Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Dell's XPS 13 has been the pace car for the Windows side of the thin-and-light laptop race for years now, ever since it adopted the now-ubiquitous ultra-thin display bezel back in 2015 . Dell was also a step ahead of the competition a couple of years ago when it moved to a slightly taller screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, further improving the design's usability without increasing its size.

But for power users who can afford to spend a few hundred extra dollars, Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon has always been an appealing upsell. It's a little lighter than Dell's ultraportable, but it nevertheless manages to fit in a bigger screen and a better port selection. Lenovo's laptop keyboards and trackpads are almost always best in class. And the ThinkPad's pedigree as a business laptop means that the Carbon's design still makes nods to repairability and upgradability, even if many of its internal components have still been soldered down to save space.

This year's version of the X1 Carbon —we're up to Gen 10, if anyone's counting—doesn't change much on the outside. But it includes new 12th-generation Intel Core processors, which, as we've seen in other laptops , can be a blessing and a curse. Performance in CPU-heavy tasks can be faster, sometimes dramatically so. But it comes at the expense of extra heat and less battery life, and that's a tough trade-off to recommend for a general-use ultraportable.

Enlarge / HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook.

Chromebooks are tired of being treated like second-class citizens.

Over the last decade, the developers of ChromeOS have attempted to evolve the operating system with features that could put it more on par with macOS and Windows. Google has been pushing Chromebooks as business machines, touting the purported simplicity and security benefits of their pared down operating system.

HP's new Elite Dragonfly Chromebook represents a ChromeOS device pushed to the limits, from its appearance to its components.