For years, a more cutting-edge gaming laptop than the Razer Blade has not existed. But at CES 2024, other companies have started pulling ahead in some key areas.
It’s not that Razer didn’t bring updates this year — don’t get me wrong. The Razer Blade 16 now has what Razer calls the first 16-inch 240Hz OLED gaming laptop, and while that is technically true, it’s not as impressive as it sounds. In fact, Razer had a 15-inch 240Hz OLED laptop just last year, which is nearly identical. It comes with Intel’s Raptor Lake Refresh HX chip and still can be configured up to an RTX 4090 for graphics.
But really, there’s just not a lot here that feels exciting or new. The design still looks good, of course, but the external changes are minimal. It’s a tried-and-true aesthetic, but it’s been a while since any changes have been made.
Razer also has a new version of its Blade 18 with a 4K 175Hz display. This is being sold as a desktop replacement, but it’s not using advanced panel backlighting — just standard LED. Laptops like the MSI Titan 18 HX are taking things further, with a 4K 120Hz but using mini-LED for better HDR.
The biggest problem is with the Razer Blade 14, which didn’t get a panel update like the other models. It’s still using a QHD 240Hz LED display and comes with the new Ryzen 8945HS. Meanwhile, laptops like the redesigned ROG Zephyrus G14 have moved to a 2880 x 1800 OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. It can hit 500 nits and should provide some impressive HDR performance. Not to mention — the Zephyrus G14’s new look is starting to encroach on the Razer Blade’s territory for its sleek, minimalist design. Like seriously, Asus is really gunning for Razer with this one.
Again — don’t get me wrong — I still think these new Razer Blade gaming laptops look solid. And until we review any of them, we won’t know important things like performance, battery life, and display quality. But from the vantage point here at CES, these new Razer Blades don’t have the same luster as they used to, especially when lacking proper HDR on the Blade 14 and 18.
The Razer Blade 16 will cost $3,000, with presale starting today and officially rolling out on January 18. The Razer Blade 14 is coming later, with preorders on January 23, while the Razer Blade 18 still seems a way out.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.