If the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is any sign of what's to come, the coming year will truly be the year of the PC. More than any other CES in recent memory, the 2019 event showed off more PCs and PC innovation, and it was truly a PC and Windows user's dream. The show was packed with exciting new hardware, services and other related products, and frankly, picking the cream of the crop was not easy. But we still did it.
These are our picks for the best, standout, simply-cannot-miss products from the 2019 CES.
Best of CES 2019
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This one's a real looker.
There's no doubt that Lenovo's new entry into the ultra-light and slick laptop market is hot. Our most popular hands-on video from CES this year shows that people are still yearning for razor-thin bezels, curved 4K displays, and compact form factors. The Yoga S940 looks to challenge Dell's long-reigning champ, the XPS 13, and even newcomer Huawei's MateBook X Pro. We can't wait to get our hands on this one.
Portable, functional, powerful.
Speaking of Huawei, they have a new smaller version of its MateBook laptop, which looks to challenge Apple's MacBook. Featuring more ports, higher resolution display, lower price, and that whole Windows 10 thing the MateBook 13 could be another Mac-killer for those who want light, thin and that exquisite 3:2 display aspect and Windows 10.
Premium build quality meets regularly updated software at a great price.
Dell's latest gaming laptop is a throwback to the heydays of do-it-yourself gusto. One of the only gaming laptops on the market that lets you take it apart and upgrade the GPU and CPU the Area 51m is screaming at power users for adoption. While not the prettiest or sleekest laptop the Area 51m gives users some choice and flexibility, something that many hardcore users have complained that was missing. Well, time to put your money where your mouth is and plop down some serious cash for this beastly rig.
Move over, Surface Studio.
The Surface Studio is still the prettiest and most enviable all-in-one desktop PC, but its cost is too high for many. Lenovo is addressing that with the Yoga A940, which features up to a 4K display, support for inking, the ability to hide desktop peripherals when drawing on the tiling display, and it does it all for more than $1,000 less than a Surface Studio. Plus you can easily update the RAM and storage drive yourself. The Yoga A940 is a great choice for digital creators who are also on a stricter budget.
Unbelievably light.
LG's gram series of laptops have set the bar for ultra-light and in 2019 that range is expanding to its new 17-inch laptop. With mico-bezels for the display, LG has been able to make a 17-inch laptop that fits in the chassis of a 15.6-inch one. That feat is only surpassed by the 2.95lbs (1.3kg) weight, which would be amazing for any 14-inch laptop let alone one at 17-inches. If you're a creator who ever wanted a super compact 17-inch laptop with a 2K display the LG gram 17 - starting at $1,699 - is your answer. Look for it in early 2019.
Better graphics and performance for laptops.
NVIDIA's latest graphics cards are finally here for laptops, and they're here in a big way. There are 40 laptops that will be shipping with the new powerhouse cards, making it one of the most ambitious launches ever for the company. The new cards use less power (80 watts) but offer at least a 20 percent performance boost - plus you get that neat "raytracing" ability, which can drastically improve the realism of lighting in games that support the feature. Everyone from gamers to graphics professionals will appreciate the new mobile RTX platform and laptop makers seem excited about the tech.
Bottom line
With so many awesome new products revealed at CES 2019, it was not easy picking the best of them. But these six really stood out, and they each earned a Windows Central Best of CES 2019 award.
