About Rich Woods
Hello! I'm the Editor-in-Chief of XDA, and I've been reporting on all things consumer tech since 2013. More recently, I've had more of a focus on Windows, and I've reviewed pretty much every mainstream laptop under the sun. If you see me somewhere, come say hello and let me ask you awkward questions about why you use the tech that you use.
What was your first computer?
I'm not sure of the brand, but back in 1987, my family had a PC with an Intel 8088 processor, 512KB RAM, and 20MB storage. It's fun to think about how I now have photos that wouldn't have fit on that entire hard drive. It ran DOS, and I used it to play games like The Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.
How long have you been interested in technology?
A few years after I got that first PC, I liberated my father's book on GW-BASIC. That was my start with wanting to learn more about how computers worked. By the time I was in high school, I was writing Visual Basic programs to figure out the passwords on school computers. Weirdly, I never actually got into trouble for that.
What tech products or categories are you most passionate about?
Windows! It's the software that I've been using since I was a child and I've always admired the broad range of hardware that uses it. This interest is what led to that passion to understand why people choose the tech that they do, and to help people to make those decisions by reviewing the products that they might end up buying.
Latest Articles
Intel finally details its 12th-gen P- and U-series chips for ultrabooks and foldables
Intel has finally detailed the 12th-gen processors that will go in upcoming ultrabooks, convertibles, foldables, and other premium PCs.
At CES this year, Intel's focus was on chips for gaming laptops, but it did unveil the SKUs of its new 12th-gen P- and U-series processors, which are going to be in new ultrabooks, convertibles, foldables, and more. To be clear, things are changing in the world of Intel mobile processors.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon Review: An OLED screen in a laptop that weighs under 2.5 pounds
Lenovo's new IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon is a delightful device, packing a 90Hz OLED display and it's portable in a 2.43-pound package.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon is a mouthful to say, but it's also a killer laptop. It starts with a chassis that weighs in at under two and a half pounds, but then you add on top of that the beautiful 90Hz OLED display. With AMD Ryzen 5000 performance and a price tag that's $1,239.99, it starts to feel like a bargain.
Android apps are coming to Windows 11 today, with over a thousand apps
Microsoft is announcing availability of several new Windows 11 features, such as Android apps, a clock on a second monitor, and more.
Last month, Microsoft said a bunch of new features are coming to Windows 11, and today, the firm is announcing availability. The biggest news is that Android apps are available for non-Insiders to start using in preview today.
Geekbench scores appear for new Snapdragon-powered Surface device
Geekbench scores have appeared for what's likely to be Microsoft's next-generation Surface Pro X, with a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3.
It's been well over two years since Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro X, its first ARM-based PC since the ill-fated Windows RT-powered Surface RT and Surface 2. Since then, the Pro X has received two very minor refreshes. A year after the first one came out, there was a new one with an SQ2 processor. But while many Surfaces have seen full-gen upgrades over a new chip, the SQ2 was such a minor change that it was just considered a new configuration of the SQ1 model. The second update was a Wi-Fi only variant, lowering the price point for the tablet, where 4G LTE previously came standard.
Surface Laptop SE review: A Chromebook competitor, but Windows 11 SE isn't a Chrome OS
Microsoft's Surface Laptop SE and its new Windows 11 SE operating system is aimed at K-8 students, and we got to review them.
Microsoft's Surface Laptop SE is an excellent laptop for students in a system that sees value in the Redmond firm's ecosystem, thanks to the new Windows 11 SE OS. I know; that's a pretty loaded statement. The key thing is that Microsoft has to sell schools on Windows, and the unique value propositions that the OS can provide that can't be offered by Chrome OS. Otherwise, Chrome OS still has some obvious benefits when it comes to speed on lower-end hardware.
Microsoft outlines what's next for the Windows Insider Program for 2022
Microsoft published a blog post outlining what's next for the Windows Insider Program, and it includes a brand-new logo.
Microsoft is always continuing to evolve how it services Windows, and that means that the Windows Insider Program continues to change. Today, the company's Windows Insider Program chief, Amanda Langowski, penned a blog post outlining what to expect from the program this year.
Core i9-12900HK review: Intel has the best gaming processor, for now
Intel's Core i9-12900HK is the best mobile gaming processor that you can get right now, and it stacks up against the competition.
Intel's 12th-gen H-series processors are the best that you can get in a gaming laptop, and the Core i9-12900HK really shows it off. It's a 45W CPU that can go way farther, especially since it's unlocked for overclocking. From our testing, we've seen in every benchmark that it outperforms the competition.
Acer Swift X (2021) review: A lot of power for a three-pound laptop
Acer's Swift X packs a lot of power into a package that's lighter than you'd think possible, and it's cheaper than it should be.
One of the things that Acer always seems to nail down with its products is value, and it's done that once again with the Swift X (SFX14-41G-R1S6). It comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor, RTX 3050 Ti graphics, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD, all for $1,099.99. On top of that, it lives up to the Swift name by coming in a package that weighs barely over three pounds.
Microsoft's latest Surface Duo 2 update lets you take a screenshot with the pen
Microsoft is releasing the January update for the Surface Duo 2, adding a couple of new features to the dual-screen smartphone.
Microsoft is pushing out the January update for the Surface Duo 2 today, and it's a big one. That's not for its size, which stands at about 559MB. It comes with a couple of key new features.
Windows 11 build 22000.469 is out with a ton of fixes
Microsoft has released a new optional cumulative update for Windows 11, and along with a new page in settings, there are a bunch of fixes.
Microsoft is releasing this month's optional cumulative update for Windows 11, also known as the D week update. This is the preview update before we see the Patch Tuesday update next month.
Microsoft is ahead of schedule on its Windows 11 rollout because people just love it
Microsoft says that since its Windows 11 rollout is going so well, it's ahead of its initial schedule of the middle of 2022.
Today in a blog post, Microsoft talked a lot about the past year in Windows, and what we're going to see moving forward. The firm said that Windows is now on 1.4 billion monthly active devices, although presumably, that number is limited to Windows 10 and Windows 11. It also said that it's moving quicker than expected with the staged Windows 11 rollout. The reason is, well, people just love it, no matter what you might have heard.
Microsoft is force upgrading some Windows 10 users to version 21H2
Microsoft is beginning its process of automatically upgrading users that are on Windows 10 version 20H2 to version 21H2.
Microsoft has updated a page on its Windows Health Dashboard to say that if you're on Windows 10 version 20H2, it's soon going to automatically move you to version 21H2. The news comes as no surprise, since this is typical behavior when a version of the OS is nearing the end of support.
This is what Windows phone could have been if Microsoft actually tried
Before it eventually decided on Android, Microsoft had an OS codenamed Andromeda that it was going to use to reboot Windows on phones.
The story of Windows Phone is a relatively short, but sad one for fans of Microsoft's smartphone efforts. Debuting in 2010 with Windows Phone 7 and gaining a bit more mainstream traction in 2012 and 2014 with Windows Phone 8 and 8.1, respectively, Microsoft had lots of innovative plans.
Call of Duty games in development won't be Xbox exclusives after Microsoft's Activision acquisition
Microsoft has confirmed that it's going to honor existing agreements with Sony after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Yesterday, Microsoft surprised almost everyone by announcing that it's acquiring gaming studio Activision Blizzard for an incredible $68.7 billion. The company is behind loads of popular franchises, from Call of Duty and World of Warcraft to Candy Crush Saga. And now, those are all owned by Microsoft.
Android apps on Windows 11: Three months in, and not much has changed
The Windows Subsystem for Android has been on Windows 11 previews for three months now, so we took a look at how things are going.
When Microsoft announced Windows 11 last June, one of the key new features that it showed was Android app support. However, it didn't arrive at launch, and to date, you still have to be a Windows Insider to run an Android app natively on Windows. The preview launched on October 20, 2021, three months ago today, so let's take a look at the progress.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G review: The perfect on-the-go laptop
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G is the perfect laptop to take on the go. It's super-light, has cellular connectivity, OLED, and more.
I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love the Samsung Galaxy Book 360 5G. My fingers are dragging with each keystroke, because with every character written, I'm just a little closer to sending this stunning little 5G laptop back to Samsung, and it breaks my heart.
Microsoft releases new Windows 11 preview with voice access improvements
It's Wednesday, so it's time for a new Windows 11 Insider Preview build; this time it's build 22538. It has minor improvements and fixes.
It's Wednesday, and that can only mean one thing. It's time for a new Windows 11 Insider Preview build. This week's build is number 22538, and as usual, the changes are pretty modest.
Hands on with HP's redesigned Elite Dragonfly G3 laptop
The new HP Elite Dragonfly G3 comes with a 3:2 display, a clamshell form factor, and a big touchpad, and we got to go hands on with it.
At CES this year, HP announced the third generation of its Elite Dragonfly business laptop. This time around, there's actually a lot that's different. It's not a convertible anymore, for one thing, and you can get it in a Natural Silver color. In fact, it's a lot more like a more traditional EliteBook 1000 series laptop now.
Lenovo ThinkBook 13x review: A thin and light laptop that costs way less than it should
Lenovo's ThinkBook 13x is a phenomenal laptop that ways less than 2.5 pounds, and with great specs, it still costs about a thousand dollars.
New Windows 11 preview finally redesigns the volume and brightness flyouts
Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 Insider Preview, finally redesigning hardware indicator flyouts like volume and brightness.
It's Wednesday, and like clockwork, Microsoft has a new Windows 11 Insider Preview for testers on the Dev channel. The build number is 22533, and while it doesn't have a whole lot of changes, it has some notable ones.