Skip to main content

Dynabook’s new laptop gives you something the new MacBook Air can’t

Dynabook Portégé Z40L-N lifestyle image.
Dynabook

Dynabook (formerly Toshiba PC Company) has announced a new premium Copilot+ PC with a very interesting sales hook. The ultra-lightweight laptop is designed for business use and comes with a self-replaceable battery to extend its lifespan and reduce IT costs.

Japan is famous for its sturdy business laptops and the new Dynabook Portégé Z40L-N is a perfect example. It’s thin and light, weighing less than 1kg, but its magnesium alloy chassis is resilient against drops and extreme conditions. It also has all of the business-practical ports that most consumer laptops leave out these days, including HDMI and USB-A.

Recommended Videos

At the same time, however, the Z40L-N is definitely a modern Copilot+ PC. It has USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports and it’s powered by Intel’s Series 2 Core Ultra processor — meaning it has an NPU ready to handle AI workloads. It supports Copilot features like Live Captions and Windows Studio Effects, and it looks a lot more stylish than the average business laptop.

Consumers are also on the lookout for repairable laptops these days, making the replaceable battery an intriguing feature. People with a love for practical products, an interest in repairable devices, and a preference for sturdiness over stylishness could definitely consider the Dynabook Portégé over mainstream laptops like MacBooks.

The Portégé comes with a 14-inch 16:10 display and Wi-Fi 7, along with enterprise-grade security with chip-to-cloud protection. It even has some nifty AI features that lock the screen when you step away, and alert you when someone is looking over your shoulder.

Both individuals and businesses can purchase the Portégé Z40L-N, which is available starting today.

Willow Roberts
Willow Roberts has been a Computing Writer at Digital Trends for a year and has been writing for about a decade. She has a…
MacBook Air refresh with M4 silicon might arrive within a week
Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air seen from above and the side.

A new version of MacBook Air powered by Apple’s M4 processor is right around the corner, it seems, and might be launched within a week. “Apple is preparing to make a Mac-related announcement as early as this coming week,” reports Bloomberg, adding that the reveal is imminent.

The current-gen MacBook Air with M3 silicon was announced in the first week of March in 2024, and it seems Apple is sticking with its refresh schedule rather strictly for its popular entry-level laptop. The machine will likely arrive in 13-inch and 15-inch formats, just like its predecessor.

Read more
M4 MacBook Air performance almost competes with Pro models
A person holds a MacBook Air at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in 2023.

The M4 MacBook Air is anticipated as Apple’s next light and fast laptop, and a recent benchmark suggests that the device may have mild performance improvements over the lastest MacBook Pro.

Apple is expected to announce the coming laptop in 13-inch and 15-inch models in the March timeframe. A device suspected to be the M4 MacBook Air surfaced on the Geekbench 6 benchmark on February 19, revealing results that experts are comparing to other Apple products, including the M4 MacBook Pro and the 13-inch M4 iPad Pro.

Read more
A new report slams MacBooks’ repairability. Here’s what you can do if you need to fix yours
A person repairing a MacBook on a blue table.

Apple’s best MacBooks have earned a reputation for generous software support and top-tier build quality, two factors that mean they often last far longer than their rivals. But the flipside of the coin is the fact that MacBooks are incredibly difficult to repair, requiring specialized tools, complex disassembly and the enduring patience of a saint.

That idea has been reinforced by a recent report (PDF download) from the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund, which found that Apple’s MacBooks are the second-worst laptops in terms of repairability, with only Lenovo scoring lower. Worst of all, most of Apple’s poor score came from an extremely low disassembly rating, which will be ominous reading for anyone about to undertake the challenge of tearing down their pricey laptop.

Read more