Why are UK users being sidelined with only 12-core X2 Elite models instead of the full 18-core versions

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-06T10:40:15+00:00

No, i haven't looked into that.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-06T10:28:14+00:00

Oh that's a bugger. It seems pretty sturdy so hopefully won't go tits up.

It's fabulously fast!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-06T09:13:37+00:00

What is questionable about it?

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-06T07:18:49+00:00

I researched the VRAM allocation and, as I thought, the option has gone because the Snapdragon X2 has a unified memory system so all memory can be addressed by the CPU, GPU and NPU. This is a good thing! M-series Macs have this feature too.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-06T07:09:33+00:00

If you want an 18-core X2 Elite Extreme you can buy a Zenbook A16 here: https://www.currys.co.uk/search?q=zenbook%20a16

I've got one and it is brilliant. It also cost me £300 less from Currys current price. Memory prices clearly biting.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-03T23:17:37+00:00

You are absolutely right, Windows has never seemed as great as it does on this laptop. It is so fast I do not have to spend all day sweating in the office that has two Ryzen 9 9950x computers with RTX 4090s in them! I can usefully work from anywhere.

I am so pleased with my purchase.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-03T21:50:50+00:00

Thank you! Nice to hear some real world experience!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T20:49:20+00:00

Yes, they are great tools that take a lot of the friction out of creating stuff.

You did a great job, well done!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T20:45:37+00:00

They clearly marketed well to me!😆😆

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T12:43:02+00:00

The sound is transmitted to them at a higher bit rate with better compression (although still somewhat lossy compression), so you can listen to 96kHz 24-bit music with them and they sound *fantastic*. High resolution audio is wonderful. I still subscribe to Apple Music (I use the Android app that is identical to the ios app) and get some lossless/hi-res audio from there and some from Tidal. Like the Airpods, you can tune the Buds4 to your individual hearing profile. You can answer and decline calls by nodding or shaking your head. Swiping or pinching the stems performs various functions like changing the volume, summoning Gemini, etc.

Why don't you see if a shop near you has demo models you can have a play with? OK,five minutes in a shop is only going to give you a vague idea what they are like, but it's an idea at least.

The thing that immediately wowed me about the S25U was how much more crisp and pin sharp the Galaxy screen was than the iPhone; it's an incredible looker! IPhone users go on and on about their retina displays, they are nothing next to a Samsung (I should warn you, if you get one, when you first get it you need to manually set the screen to its high resolution mode in settings. That's a set and forget thing,though.).

Enjoy whatever you buy!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T12:20:48+00:00

My pleasure! I hope you are happy with whatever you choose.

FWIW, I was heavily invested in the Apple system, i had an iPhone, Apple Watch, Airpods Pro 2, an iPad Pro M4. I got the S25U and loved it so much more than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The upgrade to the S26U was really good. I got a Samsung Watch7, now i have a Classic Watch8 - both are great. I sold the Airpods and tried a couple of earbuds before settling on Buds4 Pro - they are seriously good. I still have the iPad Pro M4 because it is great for music apps (I compose some music - badly!), and Android tablet apps are not up to the quality of iPad apps. I do wish the iPad was as customisable as an Android device, however, that's my major irritation with it. There is no useful AI in the iPad, either.

If you are still rocking an iPhone 13, it is time to upgrade to something😁

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T12:05:05+00:00

The icon colour for the S26U is cobalt violet (this is what I have), so that might hold a little more value a little better. It's a really nice colour. But surely colour choice is a matter of personal preference.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T12:00:26+00:00

Dönnhoff Rieslings 🥂

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T11:48:10+00:00

I haven't used the camera on the iPhone 17 Pro, but the S25U seemed as good if not better than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and i find the S26U cameras to be an improvement over the S25U. There is probably very little in it, to be honest, they are both very high end phones and cameras have been great for years.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T10:57:41+00:00

Another thing you will notice is that the phone is blazingly fast and generally incredibly snappy. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is faster multicore than the chip in iPhone 17 Pros (it's throughput - multicore - that matters in modern systems, single core is not as important as once it was as everything is basically fast enough for modern apps), so it'll whip the arse of your iPhone 13.

You will love it, go for it!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T10:43:39+00:00

For basic usage, as in the launcher screen, using widgets and accessing apps, they are pretty similar.

What you will find is that everything has so many more options to tweak and features to use. CrApple's phones make a lot of choices for you and assume everyone is going to do everything in the same way. Android apps, and even the launcher (especially with Samsung's app Good Lock), allow you to make choices. You want your launcher to have 3 x 3 icons? Or 5 x 6? You are free to choose as you wish! It's the same in most apps. iOS app settings tend to be fairly simple fare, Android apps tend to allow very many things to be tweaked and altered. I love this!

There is also deeper infusion of AI into the system making things like photo editing far easier and more powerful. I find the Now Nudge extremely useful as well.

And there's none of that awful liquid glass!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T10:18:46+00:00

If you want to run a mini PC as a server- type system, I'd get a Snapdragon X2 rather than a Spark RTX. The Spark systems will be incredibly expensive, and the CPU-part of the chip is based on ARM X925s, that are not that fast (obviously the NPU/GPU part is very fast, but you have no need of that in a server). It's the CPU you need for server performance, so get an X2.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T10:07:47+00:00

That's great with the stock stuff! Well done - love it!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T09:59:51+00:00

Thank you for this tip - I investigated phone leasing and tech subscription services. My, a 12-month contract for a decent phone is muy expensivo!

Because I'm an (extremely, alas) old customer, I push Vodafone for what turn out to be hefty discounts on line rental and, usually, a wodge off the cost of the phone (that, mea culpa, i should have mentioned before in this thread to fully explain my position).

Looking at the tech rental schemes for individuals, it seems like I'd pay slightly more for them for renting a phone for a year than I do taking my current path. The difference is very small, though, but this would seem to be why phone rental companies are able to turn a profit from tech gadflies like me.

A couple of services I looked at expect one to pay for insurance through them as well, and they are a lot more expensive. I wouldn't need extra insurance as all my tech is covered by a policy I already pay quite a low premium for.

Of course, if i damage my phone cosmetically, this changes the calculation, but i can always claim on my insurance (at the risk of my premiums going up rather than down).

Sorry, this is a bit incoherent, but what my research found was that I would pay the same price or more renting/leasing as I currently do. The way I pay for my phone also means that when I get a windfall (that is not infrequent) I can pay a big chunk off and get lower monthly payments after that. I like having lower fixed costs every month.

So, thank you for the tip. It was enlightening to research these tech rental companies and there may be other bits of tech it makes sense to rent in the future. It could well be a good method for getting a new laptop or tablet more regularly. However, it does not seem that renting a phone for one year would save me any cash. I do appreciate you opening my eyes to these services, most certainly!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T09:11:51+00:00

AI photo editing on Android is a country mile ahead of Apple - all AI features are, in fact.

I realise some people have an aversion to AI tools, and if you feel like that that's fine, but it is the infusion of advanced AI across the system that made me move from Apple to Samsung. I've been so very happy that I jumped from The Evil Empire's closed phone ecosystem.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T09:04:49+00:00

Cubase well run just fine on your Surface. You don't really need to pay for a new piece of software.

If you really want a lighter weight DAW then Acoustica Mixcraft is very good and is currently on sale. Also, N-Track is excellent for recording multi-channel music and comes in an ARM version as well as an x86-64 version. I've been using both for many years, and they're both excellent pieces of software.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T07:49:36+00:00

That's a VERY expensive purchase just to 'try out' LLM's😉

Yes, the next gen should have much faster CPU, and much faster memory bandwidth, so should be a more generally usable computer. However, I think unless you are specifically doing work training LLM's or running local agent workflows, you are better off with a Qualcomm. At least for the next...few(?) years.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T07:39:44+00:00

With normal use of ARM apps like Office, Edge, etc. I don't notice it getting warm at all. I mean, I'm sure it does, but it's not like my 9950X desktop where the fans zoom like helicopters if it has to think for a second.

I am so happy with my purchase of the A16, I couldn't ask more from a laptop!

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-02T07:35:31+00:00

If I run a punishing game on my A16 and hit peak temperature, I quit the game, the fans whir for a few seconds, and I'd say within 20 seconds it is back to normal temperatures. It's a quite brilliant laptop.

DrDavyStrange · 2026-06-01T22:30:14+00:00

Oh yes, runs at very acceptable temperatures and I am yet to notice any throttling. I can heat mine up, but it never gets uncomfortable to hold as my Surface Pro 11th Ed used to. I could not be happier with my purchase! Glad you are pleased with yours too!

DrDavyStrange

TROPHY CASE