Dynabook Shows Off New G-Series Laptops: Under 2 Pound Ultrabook With 19 Hour Battery Life
by Anton Shilov on January 23, 2019 3:00 PM ESTDynabook, a maker of laptops from Japan, has unveiled its new 13-inch G-series ultra-portable laptops. Based around Intel's 15W dual and quad-core Whiskey Lake-U processors, the G-series aims to offer a high-quality 13.3-inch display and a long battery life without compromising on portability. The new notebooks weigh between 779 and 859 grams – lighter than your average 13-inch ultrabook – with battery runtimes rated for between 9.5 and 19 hours. As an added bonus, the mobile PCs also feature a rare native GbE port.
Dynabook’s G-series family consists of the G8, G7, G6, and G5 models. All of the SKUs come with a 13.3-inch Full-HD non-glossy IGZO display from Sharp in a chassis that measure 308.8 × 211.6 × 17.9 mm. The enclosure features either an Onyx Blue or Pearl White finish and is made of magnesium alloy, which is an extremely lightweight and rigid material that allowed Dynabook to build such a light notebook. All told, Dynabook seems to be rather bullish on the toughness of their alloy and underlying design; the PCs are rated for a drops up to 76 cm, can withstand -20°C and +60°C temperatures, and survive for 10 days under environment humidity of 95%.
Under the hood, the specifications of Dynabook’s G-series laptops are fairly typical for Japanese ultra-portable laptops. The cheapest G5 model is based on Intel’s dual-core Core i3- 8130U processor accompanied by 4 GB of DDR4-2400 memory as well as a 128 GB NVMe SSD, whereas the most powerful G8 model is powered by Intel’s quad-core Core i7-8550U CPU paired with 8 GB of DDR4-2400 DRAM and a 512 GB NVMe SSD. Meanwhile, the G5 and G6 notebooks are outfitted with an “S” battery rated for 9.5 hours, while the G7 and G8 laptops are equipped with an “L” battery rated for 19 hours.
When it comes to connectivity, the Dynabook G-series notebooks feature an 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2 controller, a GbE jack, one USB Type-C connector, two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, an HDMI output, a microSDXC slot, and a TRRS audio jack. The laptops also have a webcam (the G7 and G8 SKUs have IR sensors for Windows Hello), stereo speakers with DTS enhancements, a microphone array, and so on.
Dynabook G-Series General Specifications | ||||||
G8 | G7 | G6 | G5 | |||
Display | 13.3" non-glossy IGZO panel with 1920×1080 resolution | |||||
SoC | Intel Core i7-8550U 4C/8T, 1.8 - 4 GHz, 8 MB Intel UHD 620 15 W |
Intel Core i5-8250U 4C/8T, 1.6 - 3.4 GHz, 6 MB Intel UHD 620 15 W |
Intel Core i3-8130U 2C/4T, 2.2 - 3.4 GHz, 4 MB Intel UHD 620 15 W |
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RAM | 8 GB DDR4-2400 (soldered down) | 4 GB DDR4-2400 (soldered down) | ||||
Storage | 512 GB NVMe SSD | 256 GB NVMe SSD | 128 GB NVMe SSD | |||
Wireless | 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.2 |
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I/O ports | 2 × USB 2.0 Type-A 1 × USB 3.0 (?) Type-C 1 × HDMI 1 × GbE 1 × microSDXC |
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Camera | webcam with IR (w/Windows Hello) | webcam | ||||
Audio | Integrated speakers 1 × TRRS 3.5-mm jack for headset |
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Dimensions | 308.8 × 211.6 × 17.9 mm | |||||
Weight | 859 grams | 779 - 799 grams | ||||
Battery | L Battery - 19 hours | S Battery - 9.5 hours | ||||
OS | Windows 10 Home | Win10 Home/Pro? | ||||
Fingerprint | Yes | |||||
Finish | Onyx Blur | Onyx Blue Pearl White |
Onyx Blue | |||
Availability | January 2019 ¥200,000 (~$1,830) |
January 2019 ¥180,000 (~$1,650) |
January 2019 ¥160,000 (~$1,465) |
January 2019 ¥140,000 (~$1,282) |
Dynabook will start selling its G-series laptops on January 24. The most affordable G5 model will be priced at ¥140,000 ($1,280) w/o tax, whereas the high-end G8 SKU will cost ¥200,000 ($1,830) w/o tax.
Related Reading:
- Fujitsu Announces 13.3" Lifebook U937/P and UH75/B1: 7th Gen Core i5, 8hr Battery, Under 1.77 lbs
- Samsung Updates Notebook 9: Kaby Lake, USB-C, Starts at 816 Grams
- ASUS ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490UA: Kaby Lake, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, TB3, 14" FHD, 2.4 lbs
- Lenovo Reveals Yoga 910 Convertible: Intel’s Kaby Lake Meets 4K Display and Ultra-Thin Form-Factor
Source: PC Watch
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The_Assimilator - Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - link
Soldered RAM and no DisplayPort, ugh.stanleyipkiss - Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - link
Displayport on a 13" ultrabook?Also, most ultrabooks have soldered ram nowadays.
dontlistentome - Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - link
Every generation of Thinkpad T and X has it (via the Thunderbolt ports on the newest). Plus HPs, upper business Dells, MS Surface devices, all Macs. So yeah, pretty common.digiguy - Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - link
Problem is not soldered RAM, problem is only 8GB max... Maybe it's prices that are still too high, but I recently see too often great laptops that don't go over 8GB (which is a deal breaker for me, and probably for a good deal of people spending $1000+ on a laptop...). Stiking to my notebook 9, which has a similar weight (and ports, except the ethernet, but it's too thin for that) as the G5-6 but 16GB of soldered RAM...piroroadkill - Thursday, January 24, 2019 - link
Just because soldered RAM is the norm, doesn't mean we shouldn't stop complaining about it.Prestissimo - Thursday, January 24, 2019 - link
One SODIMM slot can accept 32GB and despite no official support, Intel Kaby Lake and higher can take up to 40GB (1x 8GB + 1x 32GB) from my experience. Soldering that down to either 8 or 16GB is crossing the line.wolrah - Thursday, January 24, 2019 - link
Just because everybody's doing it doesn't mean it's right. See also: Thinness race to the bottom.I take the same approach to soldered RAM as I do to cell phones without SD slots. If you're not going to give me a way to upgrade, you'd better give me enough that I'll never want to.
The entire concept of a laptop with 4GB of non-upgradable RAM in 2019 is absurd. Everyone involved in approving those models should be fired. Out of a cannon. In to the Sun. 8GB is a bare minimum for a budget model, anything with an i7 or a price over $1000 should have at least 16GB and should offer at least a 32GB factory upgrade option.
sleepeeg3 - Sunday, February 3, 2019 - link
Agreed.Valantar - Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - link
It has USB-C, likely supports DP alt mode.Prestissimo - Thursday, January 24, 2019 - link
But no mention of USB-PD and USB 3.1 10Gbps, thus probably no DP support.