Industry observers note that it’s the piece of programs your laptop manufacturer installs to manage and customize your device. One of the unsung productivity heroes of your laptop is the humble utility app.
The report highlights that at its worst, it’s a collection of crapware selling you programs and services that you don’t need. At its best, it’s a fascinating, nerdy collection of tools and functions–things you never knew were possible.
As part of the ongoing story, some, like the Microsoft Surface app, are woefully cursory. Others, like the built-in Asus app, can go into extensive detail, offering you fine-grained control over ports and AI functions. Performance tech industry notebooks often carry their own custom programs that’s entirely different, allowing deep adjustments and monitoring of fan speeds, memory timings, or RGB controls. These utilities vary by manufacturer.
Industry observers note that in an earlier story, I showed what standard functions you can expect to find within most utility apps, regardless of manufacturer. Here, I’m focusing on the more unique functions I’ve found, specific to a single manufacturer. Either way, these are some of my favorite apps to explore on any fresh laptop because you never know what you’ll find.
As part of the ongoing story, instead, use this as encouragement to dig into your laptop and see what these apps can do for you! I think you’ll be surprised. This isn’t an endorsement of the best utility apps.
Industry observers note that some laptops now go far beyond that. You’ve probably heard of the blue-light filter within Windows, which helps minimize eye strain.
In a fresh development, they allow you to push the saturation up for more vivid color or make adjustments for creative work. The MyAsus app on Asus laptops not only lets you reduce blue light more aggressively, but it also gives you the option to remove it completely. You’ll typically find sophisticated color controls within most utility apps, and some of those basic functions have been merged into the Windows display settings, too (Settings > Display > Color Profile).
Industry observers note that it can be just the ticket at the end of a long workday when your eyes are tired. Combine it with something like the Reading Mode in Google Chrome to minimize distractions and provide a more restful background for your eyes. MyAsus calls this “E-Reading” mode, and it does just what it says: it turns your display to grayscale.
According to the latest update, the combination of directional mics and the Asus algorithm (powered by the laptop’s NPU) do an incredible job of filtering out extraneous noise. In my testing, I played loud music and white noise from my phone, and placed it near my head. The mics filtered it all out flawlessly. The AI noise-canceling capabilities of Asus laptops are so powerful I called them out in a separate story.
In a fresh development, i’m just not as sure about noise filtering on speakers, another capability MyAsus and competing utility apps offer. It can distort the output, while my brain does a better job at filtering out background noise. The MyAsus programs goes a little overboard in that it can filter by direction or by speaker (even two), but it does a terrific job either way.
As part of the ongoing story, and Microsoft has followed suit by connecting Android phones and other Windows devices via the Phone Link application. Still, Samsung puts considerable effort into its Samsung Settings (Connected Devices) utility app, adding functions like automatically switching Galaxy Buds between your laptop and phone depending on which one you’re using. Samsung has gone to extraordinary lengths to connect its ecosystem of Samsung devices together, from phones to tablets to Galaxy Book laptops.
The report highlights that and you can control these devices from your PC! To this day, however, it’s the broader ecosystem — in this case, Samsung’s home consumer-electronics ecosystem — that has a leg up on everyone else.
According to the latest update, however, they flash a PIN code that you have to enter on your device to ensure that pranksters don’t hijack the display.). (While our in-office TV is apparently locked down, Samsung TVs in neighboring offices aren’t.
Industry observers note that target Mode leaves your active window at full brightness, but then dims the other windows on your screen. The MyAsus app identifies Target Mode as a power-saving capability, but I see it as another means for reducing eyestrain.
In a fresh development, but Power Display requires a manual adjustment, while Target Mode does not. To be fair, Target Mode could use an patch, as it dimmed my secondary monitor windows appropriately but never returned them to their previous state when I turned it off. It does a nice job on a single laptop display, though. Target Mode is a bit like the most recent addition to PowerToys, Power Display, in that you can dim any display on your desktop to the desired brightness.
In a fresh development, samsung also has a Focus Mode in its Samsung Settings that promises to do the same thing, but it seems to do relatively little.
According to the latest update, (MSI gives it a run for its money.) But, to its credit, it’s the only utility app I’ve seen that allows you to draw a boundary to establish where a touchpad’s “right click” and “left click” are. Microsoft’s Surface app is one of the worst utility apps I’ve seen.
The report highlights that if you do, you can define the right-click region as less than a quarter of your touchpad or subdivide it about as large as the entire right half. You can also set it to use a knuckle, palm, or other body part, as an adaptive setting for those who may lack fingers. Do you rarely right-click on a file?
The report highlights that hP’s collection of utility programs is surprisingly bad, aligned more toward setting up a fresh printer and solving troubleshooting issues than providing capabilities that an average user might take advantage of.
Industry observers note that the problem is that HP’s implementation carves out a significant chunk of your screen to do so — a screen that you might want to use to review documents on or simply see the person you’re talking to. One small exception is HP Enhanced Lighting, which basically turns your screen into a giant ring light, a capability that already works fairly well on most laptops and monitors if you open a fresh document in Windows Notepad and then maximize the display brightness.
According to the latest update, but I do know that it’s free and doesn’t collect personal data. Lenovo just enabled this fresh capability as I was writing this story, so I can’t say for certain what it does or how effective it will be.
According to the latest update, “You’ll receive helpful reminders and quick suggestions to keep your device running smoothly.”. “When enabled, Vantage automatically detects and fixes common issues,” the capability says.
Industry observers note that it scans for issues affecting your screen, camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, battery, touchpad, keyboard, and audio. It also scans a list of about 30 applications (from Chrome to Deezer to Foobar2000 to Teams and Zoom). Self-healing promises to detect potential issues, analyze the potential cause, and then repair them while potentially recommending other solutions.
According to the latest update, but it’s also a capability that might bring peace of mind. I’ve enabled it, just to see what it will do in the real global stage. Honestly, this is a service that I might consider not enabling, simply because I’m not sure what it does or what benefits it would provide on a fresh PC.
According to the latest update, i thought, for example, a Lenovo capability that auto-pauses a video when you walk away would be surprisingly useful. But it was only enabled with on-device local apps, not streaming services. It didn’t really work then, either. But that’s sort of the fun of the utility app, in my opinion — discovering what works and what works best for you. To be fair, some of these functions are better than others.
The report highlights that he has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Highly adopted Science and Electronic Buyers' News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room. Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology.