Alexa and Cortana Will Duke It Out in the Update to the Best Laptop Under $1,000

Alexa already dominates a long ton of living way and kitchen thanks toAmazon ’s vast line of Echo smart speaker unit . But there ’s still one major family of devices Alexa has yet to suppress : microcomputer . However , at CES 2018 , Amazon announce thatAlexa would be make its way onto computers too . That brings us to now , at MWC 2018 , where Lenovo is showing off its line of novel Yoga 730 2 - in-1s , which are get to be one of the first system sporting Alexa ’s newfangled PC integration .

The Yoga 730 is the follow - up to last twelvemonth ’s Yoga 720 , which was ourfavorite laptop computer under $ 1000 , and will hail in 13 , 14 and 15 - column inch flavour . ( Though for us in the US , the 14 - in Yoga 730 will actually be called the Flex 14 . )

For 2018 , the Yoga 730 ’s specs are n’t changing much . You ’ll still get to choose from a range of eighth - gen Intel C.P.U. , up to 16 GB of RAM and hefty 1 TB SSDs , count on the model . And aside from the fresh Alexa app , Lenovo says it has trimmed down the bodies off all three systems , result in by and large sharper , and more edgy flavor designs .

Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)

Size smart , the 15 - column inch 730 ’s weight has dropped to just 4 pounds ( 13 - per centum less than before ) , while the Flex 14 is now 11 - percentage dilutant at 17.6 mm . Even the bezel around the filmdom have slimmed down a bit , though its hard to tell unless you ’re attend at both old and new models at the same time .

Other differences between various sizes of the Yoga 730 include USB - deoxycytidine monophosphate charging on the modest 13 - column inch 730 , while the larger two still trust on proprietary Lenovo power bricks . But what the Flex 14 and 15 - in 730 deficiency in charging flexibility , they make up for in connectivity , with both large mannikin sporting HDMI and extra USB Type - A porthole . The Flex 14 and 15 - inch 730 can also be equipped with optional GPUs , with the 14 offering up to a Nvidia MX 130 , and the 15 - inch Yoga 730 a GTX 1050 . Strangely , the Flex 14 is the only one of the bunch with a built - in SD card one-armed bandit .

As for the new Alexa app , Lenovo is taking advantage of the far - field mics that debuted on last twelvemonth ’s model for purpose with Cortana to ensure Alexa can understand you clearly too — even from across the room . However , at least ab initio , Alexa on PC will have a few limitations that its loudspeaker - based counterpart do n’t suffer from .

Photo: Sam Rutherford

Depending on the model, you’ll also have the choice between silver and a darker gray color.Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)

At launch , due to some legal issues around music cyclosis , Alexa wo n’t be capable to make for music from services like Spotify and others , and you may not be able-bodied to see some chic home gadgets using Alexa on PC either . That sounds like a big egress for some , but Lenovo says its work with Amazon to bring full Alexa functionality down the road .

While it might seem that Alexa would be at betting odds with Cortana , which is already built - in to every version of Windows 10 , that may not inevitably be the fount . Late last year , Microsoft and Amazon decide to working together tointegrate Cortana with Alexa and vice versa . The idea of the two megacorps cooperate on AI and digital assistants still voice a little strange , but if it leads to better voice control for PC exploiter , that ’s probably a good thing .

All three versions of the Yoga 730 will be useable in April , with the Flex 14 being the cheapest featuring a start price of $ 600 , while the 13 and 15 - inch model bulge out slightly higher at $ 880 and $ 900 , respectively .

Photo: Sam Rutherford