At Computex 2017 Asus ROG shows off the Strix GL702ZC-- the first gaming laptop featuring an AMD Ryzen CPU, as well as a Radeon Polaris GPU and a FreeSync display panel.

As something of an AMD flagship, the laptop comes in cofigurations including an 8-core Ryzen 7 1700 CPU, 6-core Ryzen 5 1600 or the Ryzen 3 1200. The CPU is paired with a Radeon RX 580 GPU with up to 8GB GDDR5 memory, while the motherboard offers dual SO-DIMM slots with support for up to 32GB DDR4-2400 RAM, an M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs up to 512GB (throughput to 2200MB/s) and a 2.5-inch drive bay.

The machine is built around a 17.3-inch display (in either 4K or 1080p resolution) featuring a matte coated IPS panel and MAD FreeSync support. The chassis is 33mm thick and weighs around 3.2kg, and carries a Hyper Cool duo-copper cooling system and a backlit keyboard with 1.6mm travel and 30 key rollover.

Asus Chairman Jonney Shih took the stage at Computex 2017 to present The Edge of Beyond, an introduction to a new line-up of thin-and-light ZenBook and VivoBook laptops.

The star of the event was “the world’s thinnest convertible notebook,” the ZenBook Flip S.

Shown at Computex 2017, ASUS ZenBook Flip S is one of the world’s thinnest and lightest convertible laptops, weighing 1.1kg and 10.9 mm thin. The 13.3 inch display works either in full HD or 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution.

Available are versions with Intel processors i5-7200U or i7-7500U and with 8 or 16 GB RAM.

Samsung announces the Notebook 9 Pro at Computex 2017-- a Windows 10 convertible laptop with a built-in slot for the stowing of an included S Pen stylus.

Available in 13.3- or 15-inch sizes, the Notebook 9 Pro features a 360-degree hinge, allowing the users to switch between notebook and tablet use modes. It carries a 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor and 256GB SSD storage, with the 13.3-inch model including 8GB RAM and the 15-inch model featuring 15GB RAM and Radeon 540 graphics.

The Microsoft Computex 2017 stand hosts what is described as the first "crowd-developed computer"-- the Eve V, a Windows 10 2-in-1 device very similar to the Microsoft Surface Pro.

The Eve V is a crowdfunded product, having first appeared on Indiegogo back in October 2016. However, it also received a "six-figure" investment from no other than Intel, making it more legitimate. The result is a hybrid device running on Intel 7th generation i5 or i7 Y-series (aka Core M) processors, as paired with 48Wh battery and a cooling system allowing the processors to run at top speed for longer without need for fans.

According to IDC the W. European tablet market sees a "slight" -1.7% Y-o-Y decline in Q1 2017, with shipments reaching 7.1 million units-- performance described as above expectations after many quarters of decline.

Driving the market is the recovery of Android-based consumer tablets, as well as the progress of the device form factor in enterprise. Also leaving a positive impact is detachable/hybrid tablets, with shipments growing by 5.8% Y-o-Y over and 16.6% Y-o-Y in the commercial segment.

In fact, the commercial segment sees 5.4% Y-o-Y tablet shipment growth thanks to Android- and iOS-based devices with keyboards. Enterprises use such device to address the specific needs of users in various sectors. However Windows-based detachables slowed down in Q1 2017 due to growing focus on convertible notebooks by major OEMs, sluggish Windows 10 adoption in large and very large corporations, and the lack of a Surface Pro refresh.

HP presents the latest generation of Elite x2 notebook-tablet hybrid-- the 1012 G2, a Microsoft Surface Pro rival featuring the usual tablet-plus-keyboard form factor.

The 1012 G2 features a 12.3-inch 2736 x 1824 resolution display complete with Gorilla Glass 4 protection and Active Pen support. Inside the aluminium chassis is a choice of 7th generation Core i3, i5 or i7 CPU (maxing out at the Core i7-7600U), up to 16GB LPDDR3-1866 RAM, up to 1TB SSD storage and a 47 watt-hour battery promising up to 10 hours of use on a single charge (with quick charging powering the battery to 50% capacity in all of 30 minutes).

Connectivity comes through UCB-C with Thunderbolt 3 port, USB-A 3.0 port, microSD reader and a SIM slot for cellular connectivity. Also included are dual-band 802.11ac wifi, Bluetooth 4.2 and various options for connecting to 4G LTE and WiGig networks. Security comes through 5MP front-facing camera with IR for facial recognition and a fingerprint reader.

The global tablet market continues to contract in Q1 2017, IDC reports-- shipments are down by 8.5% Y-o-Y to 36.2 million, marking a 10th straight quarter of tablet decline.

The analyst divides the tablet segment in two "very different" categories. The first is detachables, which are packaged with a 1st party keyboard and are actually growing, at least for the most part. The second is slates/traditional tablets, which lack a keyboard and are on "steep" decline following a 2014 shipment peak.

"As far as most are aware, the tablet market was created in 2010 with the launch of the original iPad, despite unsuccessful product attempts by other OEMs in the years leading up to this," IDC says. "The rate at which the tablet market grew from 2010 to 2013 was unlike many other consumer-oriented device markets we've seen before. However, it appears for many reasons consumers became less eager to refresh these devices, or in some instances purchase them at all. We continue to believe the leading driver for this was the increased dependency on smartphones, along with rather minimal technology and form factor progression."

After the Surface and Surface Book, Microsoft takes on a classic form factor with the Surface Laptop-- a MacBook-style premium laptop with no frills of the detachable variety.

Unveiled at a New York event, the Surface Book is aimed at students and the education sector. As such, it is a thin and light ultraportable, with a metal body and a keyboard area draped in Alacantara, a cloth-like material commonly used in cars. The backlit keyboard is similar to that found in the Surface Pro 4, while the touchscreen is a 13.5-inch PixelSense number with a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Inside the Surface Laptop are either Intel Core i5 or i7 CPUs, together with 4/8GB RAM and 128/256/512GB SSD storage. It is compatible with the Surface Dial, and Microsoft also offers a Surface Arc Bluetooth mouse. Since connectivity comes via single USB-C port an additional dock accessory allows one to charge the device while adding x2 HDMI, x1 ethernet and x4 USB 3.0 ports.