Razer Blade 16 hands-on: a dream gaming laptop

Razer has given us a primary have a look at the Razer Blade 16 and Razer Blade 18, which will likely be launched within the subsequent few months. And I’ll say proper now: I’m impressed.

The Blade 18 is the most important and strongest Razer Blade that has ever been launched, which is neat in itself. However I’m truly much more excited in regards to the Blade 16, which is debuting some never-before-seen on a Razer Blade.

First, there’s a Mini LED display. And it appears to be like nice. On the display, some shades appeared blindingly shiny towards black backdrops, the place they could’ve appeared washed out on different gaming shows. Black areas, talking of, appeared gorgeously black.

Subsequent to the Blade 16 mannequin in its demo space, Razer truly had a separate panel made from Mini LEDs that mirrored what the Blade 16 was doing. When native dimming zones brightened and dimmed on the Blade, the corresponding diodes brightened and dimmed on the panel. (I do know it’s onerous to image, however you’ll be able to see what I’m speaking about within the photograph under.) We had been advised that the Blade 16’s display had 1,000 native dimming zones, and that seems like a giant quantity on paper — however this panel actually highlighted (heh) simply what number of teensy, unbiased lights are crammed into that laptop computer, and the way a lot work they’re all doing.

We weren’t truly in a position to play any titles on these Blade fashions, since they had been pre-production models — Razer solely confirmed us a video of recreation footage. This meant I used to be not in a position to strive the intriguing toggle characteristic (which lets you simply swap between 4K/120Hz and 1920 x 1200/240Hz modes), however my colleague Cameron Faulkner wrote about that earlier right this moment if you wish to know extra.

I’m additionally thrilled — thrilled, I inform you — that these laptops have 16:10 screens; it actually does make the 16-inch panel appear limitless in comparison with Blades that I’ve used prior to now. As a bonus, the taller display makes for an extended chassis, which gave Razer room for a big 95.2Wh battery — which, with all the flowery display options this machine must energy, could also be an actual necessity.

I used to be additionally in a position to take the keyboard and touchpad for a spin, and I can affirm that they’re the identical outdated massive, sturdy keyboard and touchpad that we’ve seen on Razer Blades previous. Inside, configurations include Intel’s Thirteenth-Gen Core i9-13950HX and as much as Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4090 graphics. The Blade 16 begins at $2,699.99.

Now, all of those additions do include a grand complete of 1 change that I think about a compromise. That’s the dimensions. The Blade 16 is 5.4 kilos and 13.98 x 9.61 x 0.87 inches. That’s nearly a full pound heavier and over a tenth of an inch thicker than final 12 months’s Blade 15 (which this isn’t changing, per se, however they’re clearly in an identical class).

This can be a heavy machine; it was a ache for me to carry up, and it definitely doesn’t really feel fairly as slim and modern because the Blade 15 did final 12 months. However that’s a compromise some of us will likely be keen to make with a view to get this Mini LED display (in addition to the improved efficiency the Blade 16 brings), and that’s honest sufficient.