Four new technologies to look for in tablets and computers

Manufacturers somehow keep finding ways to make their tech products faster, longer-lasting, more creative, easier to use—you name it, they've done it. This year is no exception. We found a number of new features that do all that and more for tablets and computers.

If you're in the market for a new device and want the latest capabilities, here's what you should be looking for.

How many times have you tried jamming the connector into your tablet or other mobile device, only to realize you'd been holding it backwards? It's possible you even damaged your device in the process.

A solution is finally on its way. And it's a simple one: A reversible connector. It fits no matter which way you hold it. On top of that, it's supposed to be a speedier connection, at 10Gbps.

It should be available next year.

RealSense camera technology was debuted by Intel at last year's CES, and it's is finally making its way into products in 2015. It's a three-dimensional camera, but not in the way you might think.

It takes into account the depth of the subject, and that allows you to do new things with pictures you take. For example, you can change depth of field, which determines the part of a photograph that's in focus.

After taking a photo, you simply click on the foreground or background to choose where you want to focus. Because it measures depth, you can also see how long a sofa in a photo is, or figure out the area of a room.

Thanks to its depth perception, the camera will pick up hand gestures, so you can move around in games or control applications on your computer.

Another feature allows you to remove the background altogether and replace it with a different image, eliminating the need for a green screen when you're making a video. It's also handy if you're using a tool like Google Hangouts for a meeting, since you can insert a more professional-looking backdrop.

The RealSense camera can be found on Dell's new Venue 8 7000 tablet, among other products.

Take a look at Consumer Reports' computer and tablet buying guides for more info.

We're not talking about the current fifth-generation processors just starting to make their way into computers—Intel is getting ready to launch its sixth generation of processors. They're due the second half of 2015, unusually soon after the fifth generation, which came out later than Intel expected. For consumers, that means even faster performance and longer battery life.

There will also be new Celeron, Pentium, and Atom chips. The advances in these lower-end or lower-power technologies are especially important, since that's where the performance boost that comes with the sixth-generation processors will be more noticeable.

And maybe, once the sixth-gen computers start hitting the market in full force, the fifth-gen models will get cheaper.

This new AMD technology should be of particular interest to gamers.

FreeSync solves the problem of tearing—where an image in a game looks like it has little rips in it—and stuttering—where the graphics don't run smoothly and seem to start and stop.

These glitches occur because games, which refresh sporadically, are often out of sync with your monitor, which refreshes at a constant rate. With FreeSync, the graphics card controls the refresh rate, which helps games run more smoothly.

AMD says it expects 11 monitors to be compatible with FreeSync by March. Of course, you'll also need compatible graphics cards and monitors.

—Donna Tapellini

Click on the image above to find all of Consumer Reports' coverage from CES 2015.