As a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, I can often tear apart keyboards to replace the switches and keycaps or install modifications. Despite customization being a core part of the growing mechanical keyboard community, brands don’t always make it easy to modify or customize their keyboards. 

Drop is embracing customization with the CSTM80, a mechanical keyboard designed to be taken apart and customized. The design is so user-friendly that even mechanical keyboard newbies will find it easy to pop open the CSTM80 and try some beginner mods. 

It’s an approach that seems uniquely aware of what mechanical keyboard fans are looking for today. Mechanical keyboards are no longer just for typing – they’re a hobby and an art, a way to express yourself through artistic keycaps and the perfect sound profile. 

Drop may be the first brand to pin down this trend since it was founded in 2012 to help keyboard enthusiasts find unique product "drops" more easily. In 2023, it was acquired by Corsair, known for its PC gaming gear, but it continues to focus on the enthusiast mechanical keyboard community. 

The Drop CSTM80 aims to make custom mechanical keyboards accessible through a unique modular design — maybe the one thing the mechanical keyboard world needed most.

But, is it too good to be true? I set out to put the CSTM80 to the test through gaming, typing, and hours of customization.

Drop CSTM80: Price and configurations

The Drop CSTM80 costs $149 and comes in two starting configurations: one with tactile Gateron Brown Pro 3.0 switches and one with linear Gateron Milky Yellow KS3 switches. Both versions include the same matte black keycaps and top case. There is also a smaller version of the CSTM80, the CSTM65, which features the same configurations but costs $129. Both versions are wired-only, but you can freely disconnect or replace the included braided USB Type-C cable. 

In addition to the starting configurations, Drop offers a wide array of modular accessories for the CSTM80, including top cases, base weights, and switch plates. These accessories cost between $25 to $149 and come in a variety of colors and materials. 

Our review unit is the CSTM80 with Gateron Milky Yellow KS3 switches. 

Drop CSTM80: Design

By far the CSTM80's most unique feature is its modular design. Rather than a solid aluminum case or a single slab of plastic, the case has three layers you can easily take apart and swap out: a top case, a structural top case, and a structural bottom case. 

The structural top and bottom pieces are screwed together and keep the keyboard in one piece. The top case is mainly decorative. It snaps onto the structural top case with some hidden magnets that are surprisingly strong, shrouding the structural cases so the exterior of the keyboard looks sleek and polished. You can swap out the top case without any tools or disassembly, making it easy to transform the look of your keyboard in seconds with a different colored top case or even an aluminum one. 

At the time of writing, Drop offers several modular top cases for the CSTM80, including a handful of solid color cases, two aluminum cases, a pricey carbon fiber case, and a few cases with artistic designs. The basic solid-color top cases cost $25, less than a typical set of high-quality keycaps. The carbon fiber top case is the most expensive accessory for the CSTM80, priced at $149. I wish the starter top case plastic was a bit thicker, but it looks good and seems relatively sturdy. 

The top case isn’t the only component you can swap out. You can also replace or remove the base weight on the bottom of the case. This allows you to adjust the weight of the CSTM80 and add a bit of extra detail to the bottom of the case. The base weight in the starter configuration is plain silver, but Drop also offers base weights made of carbon fiber, brass, and three different colors of stainless steel (my personal favorite is the chroma mirror PVD stainless steel). 

The switch plate inside the CSTM80 is also replaceable. Drop offers several switch plates made of different materials, including FR4, POM, aluminum, carbon fiber, and brass. The switch plate included with the starter configuration is plain black polycarbonate. 

It’s also easy to customize the CSTM80’s switches and internal components. I’ve reviewed and tested keyboards I fought to pop open and customize. Some weren’t even hot-swappable (the ability to freely remove and replace the key switches on a mechanical keyboard). The CSTM 80 is the polar opposite of that. 

I did a few of my favorite mods on the CSTM80 and found the process quick and easy. The decorative top case slips right off, exposing the structural top case beneath, which has easy-to-access screws you remove to separate it from the bottom case. 

From there, you can simply remove the switches and swap out or tweak whatever you like. I removed the screw-in stabilizers for the larger keys to add the “band aid mod” and applied a tape mod underneath the PCB. I also swapped out the included polycarbonate switch plate for a carbon fiber one for added stability. The Gateron Yellow switches were a little tight in the polycarbonate switch plate, but the disassembly and reassembly process was smooth overall. 

The Drop CSTM80’s design is straightforward and user-friendly. It welcomes customization and DIY enthusiasts, whether you’re new to mechanical keyboards or a long-time fan. Drop knew its audience when it created the CSTM80. 

Drop CSTM80: Switches and keycaps

The Drop CSTM80 includes either Gateron Brown Pro 3.0 or Gateron Milky Yellow KS3 switches out of the box with a set of matte black ABS switches with side-printed shine-through lettering. 

Our review configuration includes the Gateron Milky Yellow KS3 switches, which are a top choice for fans of linear switches. They have a moderate 50-gram actuation force, 4.0mm of total key travel, and come pre-lubricated. They’re smooth, reliable, and a fantastic all-around switch for typing and gaming. 

The CSTM80 is fully hot-swappable and supports three and five-pin switches. So, you can swap out the included Gateron switches if they’re not to your liking or you want to try something new. While the CSTM80 isn’t the best-sounding keyboard I’ve ever tested, the Gateron Milky Yellow switches are tough to go wrong with. They have a smooth, “creamy” sound that isn’t overly loud or metallic. 

The Drop CSTM80’s main weakness is its sub-par stabilizers, particularly in the spacebar. I’ve tested far worse stabilizers, but I was hoping for something better considering the CSTM80’s price. 

The smaller keys, like backspace and shift, sound fine, but the space bar has a somewhat hollow, slightly rattly sound out of the box. A Band-Aid mod and some lubricant helped smooth out the rattling, but the space bar still sounds somewhat hollow and metallic. 

Of course, tuning stabilizers in a custom keyboard can be tricky, and it’s easy enough to swap out the included stabilizers for another set, which only costs about $20 to $30. So, the underwhelming stabilizer sound quality isn’t a critical failure for the CSTM80. 

It’s also important to note that the switch plate can affect how the CSTM80 sounds. I noticed a difference when I swapped the included polycarbonate plate for a carbon fiber one in my CSTM80. 

The carbon fiber plate is stiffer and a bit thicker, which helps solidify the keyboard's sound and feel. The only downside is that its stiffness diminishes the cushioning effect of the CSTM80’s gasket-mounted design. Of course, a few other switch plates are available from Drop if you prefer a different sound or feel for your CSTM80. 

The included ABS keycaps have a semi-smooth texture, although they’re not glossy. I would have preferred something with a slightly rougher texture since the ABS can get a “greasy” look if you have sweaty hands. However, these keycaps get the job done and use a clear, minimalistic font for the side-printed lettering. 

The matte black is also easy to match with the other decorative top cases. When I was customizing my CSTM80, though, I wanted something a bit more colorful, so I swapped out the keycaps. 

Changing your keycaps is super easy, especially since the CSTM80 uses standard key spacing, which means it’s compatible with any standard Cherry-style keycaps set. Drop offers a range of complete keycap sets and artisan keycaps if you want to pick up a second set with the CSTM80. (I added Higround Seafoam OEM-profile keycaps to my CSTM80.)

Drop CSTM80: Performance

I used the Drop CSTM80 as my primary keyboard for over a week, so I got a good idea of how it performs in gaming and typing. Mechanical keyboard performance can depend heavily on the switches in your keyboard, but layout and connectivity also come into play. The Drop CSTM80 performed great across the board. 

I highly recommend the configuration with the Gateron Milky Yellow switches. They are comfortable for long typing sessions but also responsive enough for gaming. I played a few games with the CSTM80, including Immortals: Fenyx Rising, Once Human, and Roboquest. I never found my fingers or wrists cramping up while gaming on the CSTM80. It could even keep up with rapid keystrokes in Roboquest without missing a beat. 

The typing experience on the CSTM80 is superb. It broke my mechanical keyboard typing speed record and nearly matched my laptop keyboard record. On the Monkeytype typing test, I scored 105 words per minute with 98 percent accuracy with the CSTM80, the best score I’ve achieved on any mechanical keyboard I’ve tested. That’s also just shy of my overall record of 105 wpm with 100 percent accuracy, achieved on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x’s laptop keyboard.  

Drop CSTM80: Software

The Drop CSTM80’s software could use improvement. You customize the lighting using keyboard shortcuts. It’s a quick way to get the job done, but doesn’t offer per-key control. Re-assigning keys or creating macros requires Drop’s configuration software, which can be difficult to navigate. 

After downloading it, you need to flash the firmware on the CSTM80. The app provides instructions for this process, so it’s not overly complicated, but it is a bit inconvenient. You also have to choose which version of the CSTM80’s firmware you want to use. The default one is the best for most people, but VIA is also an option for anyone who likes to use the open-source VIA configuration tool. 

After flashing the firmware on the CSTM80, you can “unlock” it in the app to change key binding and create layers and macros. This process is pretty straightforward, particularly for anyone used to making custom macros for their keyboard. However, the interface may be a bit confusing for people who are new to keyboard customization. 

Luckily, you can completely ignore the software if you don’t want to use it and simply use the CSTM80 configured as-is out of the box. My only configuration change was setting the F10, F11, and F12 keys as volume controls. 

Bottom line

The Drop CSTM80 is a mechanical keyboard designed for people who love mechanical keyboards. The unique modular design makes it easy to customize the CSTM80, whether you’re a beginner or a long-time fan of hobbyist keyboards. The CSTM80 is also a high-performing, high-quality keyboard in its own right, even if you never dip into its DIY opportunities. 

I recommend the CSTM80 (or its little sibling, the CSTM65) for anyone looking for a mechanical keyboard they can personalize, from the keycaps and case to the stabilizers and switch plate. The CSTM80 offers one of the easiest modding experiences on any keyboard I’ve tested. I wish the stock stabilizers sounded better, but they’re quick and easy to replace if they’re not to your liking. 

The CSTM80 matches creative design with stellar performance in both typing and gaming for a well-rounded mechanical keyboard that’s welcoming to beginners and veteran DIYers alike. If you’d like to compare it to the competition, you can visit our guide to the best mechanical keyboards to see some alternatives. 

More from Laptop Mag

• Best types of mechanical keyboard switches for gaming, typing and more
• Keycap types: How to choose the perfect keycaps for gaming, typing, and more
• Custom mechanical keyboards vs. pre-built: Should you buy or build your keyboard?

Following the July 2024 Windows security update (KB5040442) released on July 9, 2024 — which was mandatory and would download and install automatically unless you had updates disabled — multiple users became stuck on a BitLocker recovery screen once the computer rebooted.

According to Microsoft, users with Device Encryption enabled are "more likely to face this issue." If you have Windows 11 24H2, the latest version of Windows 11, Device Encryption is on by default, but oddly, this isn't one of the versions affected by the BitLocker issue.

Microsoft lists these client OS versions impacted by the BitLocker issue: Windows 11 23H2, Windows 11 22H2, Windows 11 21H2, Windows 10 22H2, and Windows 10 21H2.

Luckily, if this pesky BitLocker problem plagues you, there's a quick and easy workaround to return your computer to normal.

How to get BitLocker recovery key for Windows

Microsoft says your computer should return to its normal startup practices after you enter the BitLocker recovery key on the screen you're stuck on. But how exactly do you get the BitLocker recovery key you need? It's quite simple.

Step 1. From another computer, log into the Bitlocker recovery screen portal using your Microsoft account username and password.

Step 2. Find your device in the list and locate the 48-number string under the Recovery Key column.

Step 3. Type that Recovery Key into your affected device.

If you don't have access to your Microsoft account, that's a big problem. Microsoft explicitly states that the support team "is unable to provide, or recreate, a lost BitLocker recovery key." 

Without access to your Microsoft account, your only option is resetting your computer using a Windows recovery option, which will result in losing files and data stored on the device.

The KB5040442 Windows update has also been causing a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) loop for some users, though this issue is less common. Microsoft hasn't officially commented on this BSoD issue or paired it with the stuck-on-BitLocker-screen issue, though it is strangely similar to the massive CrowdStrike issue causing a global BSoD panic.

MORE FROM LAPTOP MAG

• We spent over 115 hours testing the battery life on this laptop... we couldn't believe how long it lasted
• Best laptop 2024: 10 best laptops tested and rated
• AMD Strix Halo APU makes a splash with 5.36GHz clock speed in benchmark leak: Does it beat the MacBook?

July's back-to-school sales offer excellent deals and discounts for students, parents, and teachers. So, it's never too early to save if you want to beat the back-to-school rush and prep for the semester with off-to-college essentials. 

We're currently seeing discounts on back-to-school MacBooks at Apple, back-to-school supplies at Amazon, study and dorm room essentials at Best Buy, and back-to-school gear for K-12 students at Walmart. 

Moreover, students, parents, and teachers net extra savings with exclusive discounts at several retailers. See today's best back-to-school sales and deals below.

Best back to school sales 2024

Quick links

• Amazon: back-to-school deals on essentials
• Best Buy: up to $350 off study essentials
• Dell: up to $600 off select laptops
• HP: up to 75% off laptops, monitors, accessories
• Lenovo: up to 70% off laptops, tablets, PC accessories
• Microsoft: up to $850 off Surface devices
• Newegg: up to 60% off laptops and PC components
• Walmart: save on back-to-school gear for K-12 students

Editor's picks

Laptops

Tablets

Monitors

Headphones

Wearables

Phones

PC accessories

Backpacks

Dorm room essentials

Student discounts

Apple Music is Apple's Spotify rival music streaming platform. Since it's exclusively available on Apple devices, it tends to get updates alongside iOS updates. A recent leak hints that that's the case again with iOS 18, which brings a peculiar AI feature to the app. 

Here's what we know about Apple Intelligence on Apple Music and when you can try it out yourself. 

Generative AI is coming to Apple Music in iOS 18

Apple Music is reportedly getting an Apple Intelligence feature in iOS 18 that will allow users to create AI-generated artwork for their playlists, as first revealed by 9to5Mac. The feature was spotted in the iOS 18 beta 4 code, released on the Apple Developer site on Tuesday. 

The feature will use the Image Playground tool in Apple Intelligence to generate custom cover images for playlists. So, when you create a new playlist in Apple Music, you will soon have an option to "Create Image" rather than uploading your cover image or using one of Apple's pre-designed covers. 

As someone with many playlists on my music apps, I can see how this feature might be helpful to some people. However, it will depend heavily on the quality and style of the AI-generated playlist covers. Many users might not want all of their playlist icons to be AI-generated cartoon emojis. 

Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while to see how well this feature works. The code was reportedly spotted in the latest iOS 18 beta, but the feature is not available yet, even in the developer beta. Earlier rumors indicated that Apple is planning a slow roll-out for Apple Intelligence, so some features may not launch until 2025. 

It's unclear where the AI-generated playlist covers feature falls in that timeline. Still, it's likely one of the earlier features we'll see in a public iOS release since it's already in the code for a beta release and seems like a relatively small, low-power feature. 

Is this the type of feature users want from Apple Intelligence?

AI-generated playlist covers aren't exactly a revolutionary application for AI, but that might come as a relief to some. After all, at least Apple doesn't seem to be interested in making AI-generated music, which has been rife with controversy and copyright issues. Even so, it seems unlikely that features like AI-generated playlist covers will be exciting enough to get people interested in Apple Intelligence. 

Tim Cook clarified in an interview during WWDC 2024 that "generative AI was never off the table" for Apple. It also played a central role in the reveal presentation for Apple Intelligence on June 10, with features like AI-generated emojis in the spotlight. 

Are AI-generated images enough to get people to opt-in for Apple Intelligence and use it? After all, plenty of other AI image-generation tools exist today, such as OpenAI's popular DALL-E algorithm. Apple's Image Playground tool will need to be robust enough to compete with existing image generation tools to win users over. 

Of course, Apple Intelligence will be capable of much more than image generation. Apple claims it will also level up Siri and unlock new assistant capabilities like improved language processing, understanding on-screen context, generating text content, summarizing content, finding emails and messages, and more. 

We'll have to wait and see how these features perform in real-world use. Apple hasn't announced an official release date for iOS 18 or the first round of Apple Intelligence features yet, but based on Apple's release date history, we're expecting to see them in mid-September. Laptop Mag will cover all the latest rumors, updates, and news surrounding iOS 18, so stay tuned for more details. 

More from Laptop Mag

• Apple Intelligence: Everything we know so far
• iOS 18: Supported iPhones, features, and expected release date
• 'Generative AI was never off the table": Tim Cook candidly tells MKBHD about Apple's AI philosophy

Gaming laptops like these are phenomenal to behold, and it’s easy to wonder why there aren’t more of them.

Most gaming laptops I test have something in common: They’re unwieldy. Not all of them are built this way, but there's a good reason for it.

Gaming laptops are enormous, a trend in most of the products we test. Unless you’re sporting one of the latest Windows-based handheld gaming devices, like the Asus ROG Ally X, you’re limited to laptops that don’t feel particularly portable.

The cumbrous quality of gaming laptops is often largely due to their display size. While 14-inch gaming laptops are on the market as an alternative to that especially enormous species, the 18-inch gaming laptop, both have additional factors that make them unwieldy, like weight and thickness.

We've reviewed several recent gaming laptops in each weight bracket, including the 14-inch Razer Blade 14 (4.1 pounds, 0.7-inch thickness), the 16-inch Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (5.4 pounds, 0.9-1.1 inches thick), and the 18-inch Acer Predator Helios 18 (7.2 pounds, 1.1 inches thick).

While it may seem like the weight increase depends on size, the 16-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 shattered my expectations for how thin and lightweight a gaming laptop could be. It weighs four pounds and is only 0.6 inches thick, lighter and thinner than the 14-inch Razer Blade 14, even though it’s in a different size bracket.

Its exceptional thinness isn’t just present on paper. When I pulled it out of the box, I was stunned by how slim it felt in my palm. At first, I couldn’t even believe it was a gaming laptop, as it reminded me more of a productivity laptop than anything.

Sure, it’s not quite light and thin enough to rival productivity laptops like the recently reviewed Dell XPS 13 9345 (2.6 pounds, 0.6 inches thick), which is more than a pound lighter. Still, it’s impressive that a gaming laptop could match it in thinness.

Gaming laptops like these are phenomenal to behold, and it’s easy to wonder why there aren’t more of them.

Size is power… for the most part 

We often hear the term “bigger is better,” but that’s not always true. Portability might be important if you want to take a gaming laptop on the go, and that’s an absolutely valid reason to buy a gaming laptop, especially if you’re frequently traveling.

It's the foundation for why I called the Asus ROG Ally my favorite gaming “laptop” last year. There’s so much power in holding a thin and light device and playing your favorite games in the palm of your hand. 

However, in the case of a gaming laptop, portability comes with some serious sacrifices.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is a perfect example. While it is built with an RTX 4070 graphics card, its performance is underwhelming compared to its competitors.

Comparing the Zephyrus G16 to other gaming laptops with the same GPU reveals that it consistently performed worse than all of its competitors to a significant degree. The Zephyrus G16’s performance on Shadow of the Tomb Raider (94 fps), Grand Theft Auto V (89 fps), Cyberpunk 2077 (30 fps), and Red Dead Redemption 2 (60 fps) is not poor by any metric, but it looks pretty dire compared to gaming laptops.

When compared to three other RTX 4070 laptops, with the same games listed respectively, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (109 fps, 98 fps, 37 fps, 71 fps), Lenovo Legion 7i (162 fps, 96 fps, 35 fps, 68 fps), and Razer Blade 14 (121 fps, 103 fps, 42 fps, 73 fps) performed substantially better than the Zephyrus G16.

Most people who want to invest in a gaming laptop will not be OK with reducing gaming performance. To most companies, those sacrifices are not worth making for the sake of portability, which is why products of this kind are less common.

It also expects more money from the consumer for less power. You’ll need to dish out top dollar for a more portable gaming laptop when other laptops easily overpower it at a lower price.

For example, the $1,694 features a far stronger Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and 32GB of RAM. The Zephyrus G16 is $1,999, with the weaker Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and only 16GB of RAM.

The presence of an OLED display slightly boosts that $300 difference, but that alone isn’t fueling such a drastic price gap, especially when the Zephyrus G16 has weaker specs. It’s simply the cost of such an incredible feat of thinness and lightness.

Bottom line

More laptops like the Zephyrus G16 don’t exist because they require feats of engineering magic, and engineering magic doesn’t come cheaply.

More space allows for larger batteries, higher performance, improved thermals, and more. Many modern gaming laptops, like the six-pound MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG, feature their own thermal shelves. These shelves help the laptop stay cool and often come with additional ports, which is something the Zephyrus G16 lacks.

Most gaming laptop buyers aren’t willing to sacrifice everything that makes this hardware worthwhile, whether it’s the excellent performance, thermals, battery life, or port selection, just for a thinner build.

If you are the type of gamer who is OK with making that sacrifice, laptops like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 are perfect for you. They are worth recommending for a niche audience, but you should always understand what you’re giving up.

It took Google time to enter the smartwatch fray, but this second iteration of the Pixel Watch improved on the first generation with improved tracking sensors. It's our choice for the best-looking Android watch among our best smartwatches, and we call out its gorgeous, unique design, intuitive UI, and Fitbit fitness tracking integration. The watch has a modest 41mm size, with a round face and curved edges that look sleek on any wrist. 

Our one wish was for longer battery life, but that doesn't take away from this watch's overall strengths. And there's no questioning its tight integration into the Android ecosystem, regardless of what Android phone you're using. 

For a limited time, save up to $850 off the Surface Laptop Studio 2 at the Microsoft Store. Prices start at $1,899. In our Surface Laptop Studio 2 hands-on review, we liked its versatile design, powerful performance, and haptic keyboard. We also found the magnetic Surface Pen easy to use and its rated 18-hour battery life impressive. 

Students and faculty get Microsoft Office 365 (valued at $70/year) for free. This productivity software bundle includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and now Microsoft Teams, as well as other useful tools. 

If you're looking for a solid MacBook Pro M3 alternative for heavy productivity, creative tasks, and gaming, the Surface Studio 2 is a wise choice. 

See today's best back-to-school Microsoft Surface deals below. 

Today's best Microsoft Surface deals

One standout deal frops the latest Lenovo Yoga 7i to just $699. Traditionmally price at $1049, that's a hefty $350 markdown — its biggest discount yet! Not only is this the lowest price ever for this convertiable laptop, it's also one of the best lapop deals of the season. 

If you want a versatile 2-in-1 laptop for college or remote work, the Lenovo Yoga 7i is worth considering. In our Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 review, we found its good battery life, roomy touchpad, and loud top-firing speakers impressive. 

Our review unit was configured with an Intelc Core Ultra 5 CPU alongside 16GB of RAM. During real-world testing, it easily juggled day-to-day tasks even with 10+ Chrome browser tabs open. We expect the Lenovo Yoga 7i in this deal to pack more punch given its upgraded Intel Core Ultra 7 processor. Expect seamless multitasking whether you're typiing up a term paper, marking up documents or casually gaming in the Cloud. 

Boasting a flexible design, powerful hardware, and a fingerprint reader and IR camera for secure logins, the Lenovo Yoga 7i makes is perfect for students and work professionals.. 

Now just under $700, the Lenovo Yoga 7i is a wise choice if you don't want to spend a fortune on a new laptop. 

Today's best Lenovo Yoga 7i deal

It'd be easy to overlook — unless a few MacBook-competing performance stats emerged. That's what happened this week. The highly anticipated Strix Halo has reared its head.

AMD Strix Halo APU leaked benchmarks

According to a listing on Geekbench posted by the bot @benchleaks on Monday, two different models of a new AMD chip — apparently the AMD Strix Halo — ran through the Geekbench 5.4.1 overall performance test. 

One run featured a multi-core score of 13,993 (single-core score: 2,099), and the run hit a multi-core score of 7,934 (single-core score: 2,099). 

As these chips are in development, Laptop Mag has no way to verify these findings. What's more, the Twitter bio for @benchleaks advises, "Expect spam and don't trust any posted values."

X user and data leaker @HXL linked the test results to an upcoming AMD chip, the so-called Strix Halo, by asserting the CPUID associated with Strix Halo (B70F00).

AMD's new APU (accelerated processing units) chipsets target AI performance, but what does their overall performance mean for the average user? 

Unlike the typical laptop, which separates its CPU and GPU, the APU combines the two chips into a single chip.

This is similar to what Apple does with its M-series chips, except Apple uses a SoC ("system on a chip"), which combines the CPU and GPU and everything between onto a single chip.

Before we jump into comparisons, it's important to note a few things. First, we do not know which models of the Strix Halo these scores represent. Second, these are not a final representation of the performance of these chips. 

We've seen too many times where preproduction units never provide an accurate depiction. Third, Geekbench 5 is an older test that doesn't measure performance as well as Geekbench 6.

On Geekbench 6, the MacBook Air 13 M3 scored 12,087. For additional context, Geekbench 6 tests typically produce higher scores than Geekbench 5. So the Strix Halo beat the M3 even with that disadvantage.

However, jumping to the M3 Pro, it scored 14,357. Again, that's pretty tight, considering the Strix Halo's disadvantage. 

But with the M3 Max, the jump to Geekbench 6 isn't going to help AMD's Strix Halo against the M3 Max's incredible performance score of 20,863.

In May, X user @Olrak_29 created a render of what the Strix Halo may look like, which you can view below:

Outlook

This isn't the final look at the AMD Strix Halo APU, and take every leak — especially from a bot that scans Geekbench tests — you see with a dose of skepticism. 

However, I hope the Strix Halo plans to compete with the Apple M4, especially since the Halo is speculated to launch at CES 2025.

Back in April, there was a claim by a Taiwanese manufacturer that the AMD Strix Halo's GPU is comparable to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. 

That means if the AMD Strix Halo APU is slated to drop into premium laptops similar to the MacBooks, it could mean that regular laptops could be as strong or stronger than some gaming laptops. That's an exciting notion.

And while unlikely, it'd be a gamer's dream to see something like the AMD Strix Halo APU in a handheld gaming PC like an Asus ROG Ally X.

Meanwhile, the AMD Strix Point chips, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and Ryzen AI 9 365, will be available in laptops starting Sunday. (The Asus Zenbook S 16, ProArt PX13, and new ROG Zephyrus G16 among them.)

Google is renovating the sometimes chaotic shopping experience into something more welcoming and organized—a place where the tech giant hopes you will spend much more time. 

It seems the Play store will dramatically change in 2024 and 2025; the updates began in earnest this month when the company announced that scores of sketchy or low-quality apps would be removed from the store on August 31. Google wants to “ensure apps meet uplifted standards for the Play catalog,” the company has announced.

App removal is the first part of the renovation job. The second part was revealed on Tuesday to reporters inside Google's warehouse-styled New York offices on the west side of Manhattan. Google product managers and one marathon-wary executive showed off the new features coming to the Play Store this week and later this month.

Sam Bright, Google Play's Vice President and General Manager, introduced how Google Play would expand "beyond the store" to include new features.

"We know that developers have come up with an app for just about every problem, situation, or interest out there," Bright said. "This is an incredible benefit for users, but many users, including myself, have great apps on their phones that sometimes go unused."

Bright said that Android app users are happy to have a wealth of apps from which to choose but conceded they need help finding them. Moreover, they don’t spend time in the app store. There hasn’t been a good enough reason to.

“App stores today have become a place where people download an app. And in some cases, they don’t visit again until it’s time for them to download the next one. We want to change that here in Play,” Bright said.

“With experiences in Play on your home screen and across apps, we’re taking Play from a destination people visit for apps to an end-to-end experience that’s more than a store.”

Below is how the company hopes users will see Play as more than just a store in the months ahead. Like most things with Google, these new features create more opportunities for the company to learn about its users — their interests, behaviors, shopping habits, and more — to gain insights to help it strike deals with retailers and app developers.

Google Collections debuts

Among the new features is one called Collections, which launched on Wednesday. Essentially, it groups updates from related apps and presents them in feeds. For example, Bright explained that if you’re running a marathon, Collections will group updates from the running app Strava, the fundraising app GoFundMe, and the fitness app MyFitnessTracker into a single feed. If you’re a shopper, it will collect updates from your browsing history on apps like Walmart, Adidas, and Best Buy.

To start, Google is only sorting apps into seven categories for its Collections feature (“watch,” “listen,” “read,” “game,” “food,” “shop,” and “social”), but there are plans for more (“health & fitness,” “travel & events,” “sports,” and “dating”) soon. Users will be able to make their own custom categories in the future—just not quite yet.

If you enjoy being reminded of what's going on in your apps — because, maybe, like me, you forget you have some apps — Collections will be a welcome addition to Play. If you're constantly pulling up individual apps all the time, this may not be that much of a game-changer. But Google rarely rolls out initiatives like this without terabytes of data to support it, and the longevity of recommendation-focused features like Google Discover indicates that Collections may be sticky among users.

Ting Mui Li, a Google product manager, tells Laptop Mag that eventually, Google Discover content—aka web pages—will be recommended in collections if it aligns with the theme of those apps.

“Web will come later, and we could totally see being able to give more content suggestions and recommendations for different collections,” Li said on Tuesday.

For example, if you have the NBA app and the Brooklyn Nets App in your “sports” collection, Google may recommend an article from The Athletic about the Nets in the collection.

Google Comics is coming to Japan

Another new Play feature is Comics, which signals how Google wants Play to become more than a store through content consumption. Comics is a curated manga and webtoons shop and reader that will first be launched in Japan.

Donisha Das, a Google product manager, said users will get personalized recommendations for comics and related content.

Das tells Laptop Mag that entertainment could come next, after Comics. As for when this new feature would move beyond comics, Das says Google wants to move “pretty fast” onto new iterations.

Google Gemini, the generative AI tool that underpinned just about every update the company announced at its annual I/O event a little more than two months ago, is, of course, at the heart of every recommendation that the new Google Play features make (unless you turn it off; more on that below).

Google Play Personalization arrives

A throttle against all these personalized recommendations in the new Play (Google reps rarely — never? — called it the “Play Store” during various demos) is a personalization feature that helpfully allows you to turn off app personalization suggestions. If you don't want to get suggestions or updates from an app (for example: The toilet paper you were eyeballing in the Walmart app has just been put on sale, and you receive a notification about it), you can turn it off.

A Google product manager confirmed that if you don’t want to receive recommendations, Google won’t show them. However, it will still collect your data about your toilet paper interest.

Google Play Games and Google Play Points

Gaming is also getting several cool upgrades. Google Play Games will enable users to switch seamlessly from their Android device to their computer via the Android app Google Play Games on PC. “You can start a mobile game on your commute and then secure the win at home on your tablet or PC,” writes Bright in a post on Google’s Keyword Blog published Wednesday.

“With our new multi-game capabilities rolling out over the next few weeks, PC gamers can play multiple titles at the same time — actively competing in one while keeping an eye on resources in another.” So, how many games could you play at once? Well, that’s likely limited to your computing power, said Google product manager Artem Yudin during a product demo on Tuesday.

Related to gaming is the Google Play Points scheme, which is also getting an upgrade. Interestingly, Google is also letting users redeem those points for physical products. Announced in 2019, the points system gets a little more real as users can cash in their points (earned via purchases in the Play store) for physical Google products like a Pixel Watch or Pixel phone.

How Google will monetize these new features

It’s easy to imagine how Google, which also released its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, intends to monetize these new features through direct deals or data capture. Li and Das offered the same response to Laptop Mag about the new features: Google wants to launch, see what organically sticks and what users like, and then expand.

With the “uplifted” standard Google is implementing and removing violating apps later this summer, plus the rollout of new features to make Google Play a more significant part of your phone, the image of Google Play as an open-air bazaar may soon be replaced by something like a walled garden—something where an Apple might grow.