According to DigiTimes Research, Apple plans to launch a "new entry-level MacBook" by end Q2 2018-- one the analyst predicts will ship around 4 million units in 2018.

The MacBook is said to sell at a pricetag at "about the same level" of the existing MacBook Air or "slightly higher." It will feature a 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 resolution (the same as the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro) display panel from LG, following issues with lower-cost panels from a "China-based maker."

Dell launches four new models of the Inspiron 17 5000 laptops-- all 17.3-inch models featuring the latest AMD processors, the Ryzen 5 and 3 with onboard Vega graphics.

Two of the laptops carry the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U APU with Vega 8 graphics, while the remaining two feature the Ryzen 3 2200U with Vega 3 graphics. All feature the same 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display, a platinum silver finish and connectivity via x2 USB 3.1 ports, x1 USB 2.0 port, x1 HDMI 1.4b interface and SD card reader. Also included are a DVD optical drive, 802.11ac dual-band wifi and a 42WH 3-cell battery.

MWC 2018 is all about notebooks for Lenovo, as the company presents no less than 6 examples of the form at Barcelona-- 3 powered by Windows 10, and 3 "E-class" Chromebooks.

The Windows 10 Lenovo offerings come in Flex and Yoga flavours. All feature hinges supporting Laptop, Tent, Stand and Tablet modes (making them convertible devices), carry Intel Core i7 processors and support the Lenovo Active Pen stylus. The Flex 14 is a 14-inch number with GeForce MX130 graphics, up to 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD storage and a battery promising up to 10 hours of use on a single charge.

Huawei uses Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 to launch a laptop-- the MateBook X Pro, a super-slim offering featuring thin bezels with what the company claims is a 91% screen-to-body ratio.

The MateBook X Pro features a 13.9-inch 3000 x 2000 resolution touchscreen with a Surface-style 3:2 aspect ratio. It is covered in anti-fingerprint coated Gorilla Glass with 260ppi, 100% sRGB gamut, 450 nits maximum brightness and 1500:1 contrast ratio. The aforementioned thin bezels do not allow for a webcam, meaning the camera is hidden between the keyboard's F6 and F7 function keys. It pops up at when pressed, and promises visual privacy when not in use.

Panasonic announces an update of its iconic-- at least in its home Japan-- Let's Note business laptop line, with 12.1-inch CF-SVF series featuring quad-core 8th generation i5/i7 CPUs.

Being Japanese, Let's Note laptops are somewhat quirky devices. Most notable is the circular trackpad, but there's also an optical drive, a rarity in this day and age. The chunky chassis is in plastic (and tough enough to withstand drops of up to 76cm, Panasonic says), and carries a big "S" battery promising up to 21 hours of use on a single charge through the addition of a removable "L" accumulator.

Asus announces an update of the ZenBook 13 Ultrabook-- the UX331, featuring 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution touchscreen and discrete Nvidia graphics inside a chassis just 14mm thick and weighing 1.12kg.

The graphics card inside the machine is a GeForce MX150 with 2GB GDDR5 RAM, providing plenty of grunt for some graphics and GPU-intensive tasks. Further specifications include an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, 8GB LPDDR3 RAM, 256GB SSD and a 50Wh lithium-polymer battery the company says allows for up to 14 hours on a single charge (and charging to 60% capacity in 49 minutes).

Acer has a Chromebook addition-- the Chromebook Spin 11, a convertible number with a 360-degree hinge, 11.6-inch touchscreen, x2 USB-C ports and Android app support.

If the Spin 11 looks familiar, that's because it, well, is. The laptop was actually first launched in the education channel last year as a convertible variant of the ruggedised Chromebook 11 N7. As such, the "new" Spin 11 is the same thing, only available via the regular retail channel.

Microsoft announces the 13- and 15-inch Surface Book 2 notebooks are now shipping in a number of European markets, following an initial US launch back in November 2017.

Customers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK can preorder the Surface Book 2 now. The notebook will also be available in Bahrain, Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, S. Arabia, Spain and UAE from March-April 2018.