Samsung released its next-generation series of solid-state storage drives with capacity up to 8 TB. Read speed is 560 MB per second and write speed 530 MB per second, it said. Prices are $129 for the 1TB model; $249 for 2TB and $499 for the 4TB version. The company didn’t give a price for the 8TB model 870 QVO, due in August. The consumer SSDs come with a three-year limited warranty.

Asus bowed the Republic of Gamers Zephyrus Duo 15 laptop in an “ultraslim” form factor. It has a 14-inch panel with a screen pad that tilts up at a 13-degree angle for comfortable viewing and touch screen interaction, said the company. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 graphics processor has a peak clock speed of 1330 MHz in turbo mode, it said. Other features include an eight-core Intel Core i9 processor, 48 GB memory and 3840 x 1100 resolution. Prices start at $2,999 from Amazon and Newegg.

Demand for PCs soared in Q1, driven by remote working and global lockdown measures, but the coronavirus caused “severe delays in production and logistical issues," leading to a global decline of 8% in shipments year on year, said Canalys Friday. Vendors shipped 53.7 million desktops, notebooks and workstations. PC makers started 2020 facing a constrained supply of Intel processors caused by a “botched transition to 10-nanometer nodes," said analyst Rushabh Doshi. The outbreak exacerbated the shortage when factories in China temporarily shut. The analyst predicts PC vendors report “healthy profits,” with operating margins for most reaching highs. Lenovo continued to lead, shipping 12.8 million units, followed by HP with 11.7 million and Dell with 10.5 million. Apple was hit hardest, tumbling 20% to 3.2 million.

Asus bowed the latest Chromebook Flip, a 14-inch design with Intel 10th-generation Core processors, up to 16 GB RAM, a 512GB solid-state drive, four-speaker Harman Kardon sound and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. The 2.58-pound Flip has an integrated fingerprint sensor, stylus support and up to 12 hours’ battery life, said the company. Prices start at $799.

Asus refreshed its Republic of Gamers gaming laptops with 10th-generation Intel Core processors, said the company Thursday. It highlighted Nvidia GeForce RTX Super graphics and intelligent cooling. The flagship of the lineup is the Zephyrus Duo 15, with a secondary touch screen. The 14-inch IPS ROG ScreenPad Plus sits above the laptop’s keyboard and below the main panel and can be used for second-monitor interaction or primary screen continuation. The 17-inch Zephyrus S17’s chassis allows extras, including a full desktop-style keyboard with per-key LED backlighting; combination touchpad and numeric keypad; and integrated volume roller. Availability is slated for Q2.

Exploiting Intel’s “significant opportunities” in computing “requires improved execution, starting with delivering more supply,” said CEO Bob Swan on a Q4 call Thursday. The “added capacity” from capital spending in 2018 and 2019 “allowed us to increase our second half 2019 PC CPU supply by double digits relative to the first half,” he said. Demand “has continued to outpace PC supply,” he said. “We are continuing to add capacity so are not constraining our customers' growth.” Adding 25 percent more “wafer” capacity in its 14- and 10- nanometer “nodes” will “deliver a high-single-digit increase in our PC unit volume,” said Swan. “This will enable us to meet market demand, deliver our 2020 financial plan and increase inventory to more normalized levels. Our near-term challenge is working with our customers to support their desired product mix.” Intel’s short-term goal is to “begin to build the inventory levels to a more natural position so that the mix dynamics of what product we sell and when, we can manage the volatility in that much better than we have been able to in the fourth quarter,” said Swan. “We are maniacal about eliminating” CPU shortages “so that we can meet customer demand and never have to worry about it,” he said. The stock closed 8.1 percent higher Friday at $68.47 after Intel beat Q4 revenue expectations by $1 billion and forecast an 18 percent year-over-year Q1 revenue increase.

Dell unveiled new products and software Thursday in its Latitude and XPS laptop lineups. Artificial intelligence, 5G and innovative design are the latest introductions, which the company will showcase at CES at the Sugarcane restaurant at the Venetian Las Vegas. Dell’s latest XPS 13 (starting at $999), for consumers, boasts Gorilla Glass, narrow bezels, a 16:10 display and an XPS InfinityEdge10 display said to be 25 percent brighter than its predecessor. For TV viewing, Dell launched Dell Cinema Guide to help customers find streaming entertainment. Windows users download an app to find TV shows and movies from more than 200 streaming services with the content guide, it said. The new Latitude 9510 (starting at $1,799) for business users has a battery life target of up to 30 hours, 5G-ready design, Wi-Fi 6 and an InfinityEdge display. The 9510 model is the smallest and lightest commercial 15-inch laptop at 3.2 pounds, Dell said. Automated AI-based optimization technology is said to work behind the scenes to help reduce lags and delays.

Though Intel increased its 14-nanometer chip capacity 25 percent this year, the expansion “hasn't been sufficient” to satisfy global PC demand, said CEO Bob Swan on a Q3 call Thursday. “We're letting our customers down, and they're expecting more from us,” he said. PC demand “has exceeded our expectations and surpassed third-party forecasts,” he said. “We now think the market is stronger than we forecasted back in Q2, which has made building inventory buffers difficult. We are working hard to regain supply demand balance. But we expect to continue to be challenged in the fourth quarter.” Most analysts pegged Q3 global PC shipment growth in the low-single digits and said the growth would have been stronger if not for Intel’s chip shortages. Intel said it expects its Q4 “PC-centric” business to be flat to slightly down compared with Q4 a year earlier. Intel grew the PC-centric business 20 percent in the past three years, “and the practical reality is, we didn't anticipate that kind of explosive growth three years ago,” said Swan. “So we didn't have the capacity in place to deal with it and we've been working our tails off for the last 12 months to ensure for our customers that we wouldn't be a constraint on their growth.” Intel has “more work to do to meet our customers' demands in the fourth quarter and going into 2020,” said Swan. “As we see fourth quarter, we're still going to be a constraint in our customers' growth, which is absolutely where we do not want to be.” With another 25 percent capacity expansion next year, “we expect to be able to rectify things” in 2020, he said. Intel's Q3 PC-centric revenue declined 5 percent, while total revenue of $19.2 billion, though flat from a year earlier, was $1.2 billion better than the company's July forecast. The stock closed 8.1 percent higher Friday at $56.46.

Easing processor shortages and improved graphics processor inventories led to 17 percent year-on-year growth for gaming desktops, notebooks and monitors in Q2, said a Monday IDC report. Fear of tariffs on Chinese imports also helped boost overall device shipments in the U.S., it said. Gaming notebooks grew 13 percent, boosted by models that may support ray tracing across a wide range of price points, said the report. Gaming desktops “finally recovered” after several “tough” quarters, with 3.3 percent year-on-year growth in shipments; monitor shipments remained “strong,” rising 3.3 percent, it said. IDC increased its short-term outlook for the category based on strong monitor demand, but it lowered the long-term forecast for desktop and notebooks. IDC forecasts “steady, if modest” gaming device adoption through 2023.

Asus bowed a limited-edition 30th anniversary version of its ZenBook 13 laptop Wednesday. The pearl-white model has an Italian leather cover and matching accessory set, said the company. The $1,399 PC, weighing 2.84 pounds, has the company’s 5.6-inch ScreenPad 2.0 secondary screen, said the website.