Lenovo announces a range of budget Android tablets ideal for families wanting a device for each member-- the E series, consisting of the Tab E7, Tab E8 and Tab E10-- together with the more premium Tab M10 and Tab P10.

The Tab E7 is the entry-level model, being a 7-inch device running on Android Oreo Go. It features a 10.33mm thin frame, and promises to run for 5 hours on a single charge. The Tab E8 is a larger option, with an 8-inch display, Dolby Atmos audio and a battery powering up to 10 hours of local video playback. Finally, the Tab E10 is more powerful, with a 10-inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor and a pair of Dolby Atmos speakers.

MSI announces the availability of the Prestige PS42-- a 14-inch ultrathin business laptop offering a quad-core CPU and discrete GPU (in select models) in a package weighing all of 1.19kg.

The laptop comes in a variety of configurations, with either Intel quad-core Core i5-8250U or Core i7-8550U processors, 8/16GB DDR4-2400 RAM, 256GB to 1TB SSD with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, Nvidia GeForce MX150 discrete GPU (PS42 8RB SKUs only) and a 50Wh battery MSI claims offers up to 10 hours of use on a single charge. All components reside in a brushed aluminium chassis 15.9mm thick.

W. European tablet shipments are down by -10.1% Y-o-Y to reach 6.3 million units, IDC reports, with Apple and Huawei as the only vendors in the top 5 to see some measure of growth during the quarter.

The analyst attributes such declines to market saturation, lengthening life cycles and a lack of innovation, at least in a consumer segment with shipments dropping by -6.1% Y-o-Y. The commercial segment sees a "degree of resilience" through certain niche use-case deployments. Detachables/hybrid devices also see a challenging Q2 2018, with shipments falling by -23.3% Y-o-Y. This is due to premium Apple and Microsoft devices dominating the market, leading price-constrained customers to consider cheaper alternatives such as lower-end convertibles or even traditional PCs.

"Apple repeated last year's successful strategy of positioning the iPad at a more attractive price point to address the erosion of consumer demand for tablets," IDC remarks. "This triggered a wave of renewals of old iPads and some Android tablets which helped Apple to perform above the market average and regain the leading position in W. Europe."

Samsung announces the next Galaxy Tab device-- the Galaxy Tab S4, a convertible tablet complete with stylus and Samsung DeX functionality the company says is "designed for people who want to do more on the go."

Clearly aimed as a rival to the likes of the iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface, the Galaxy Tab S4 features a 10.5-inch 2560x1600 Super AMOLED and runs on an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. Further tech specs include 4GB RAM, 64/256GB storage (expandable via microSD card), Dolby Atmos audio and a 7300mAh battery with fast charging. Connectivity comes through wifi, Bluetooth 5.0, LTE and a USB-C port.