The Blade family is getting even bigger. Razer just announced two new additions to its laptop library: the Blade Stealth 13 Mercury White Edition and the Blade Stealth 13 Graphics Edition. Available starting toward the end of September, the laptops will start at $1,499 and $1,799, respectively.
Blade Stealth 13 Graphics Edition
Razer is billing the Graphics Edition Blade Stealth as the “world’s first gaming ultrabook.” That’s because the laptop is outfitted with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB of VRAM coupled with a 10th Gen Core i7-1065G processor. That means you can play games like Far Cry New Dawn and Battlefield V, just not at the highest settings.
In addition to the Core i7 processor, the laptop is stacked with 16GB of RAM and 512GB PCIe SSD. The $1,799 configuration of the notebook features a 1920 x 1080 display that features Intel’s Lower Power Display technology, which is supposed to help extend battery life. Razer also has a $1,999 version with a 4K touch panel. Either system would work for a gamer on the go, but if frame rates and battery life are a big concern, I’d recommend the 1080p iteration.
Speaking of battery life, Razer claims that the Graphics Edition will last between 10-11 hours on charge. Most gaming laptops rarely last longer than 6 hours on the Laptop Mag Battery test, so I’m not optimistic about their chances.
MORE: Which Razer Laptop Is Right for You? Blade vs Stealth vs Pro
Blade Stealth 13 Mercury White Edition
The first thing you’ll notice about the Mercury White Edition of the Blade Stealth is... that it’s white. But just like every other Blade laptop, the entire chassis is made of CNC aluminum and sports that boxy frame we’ve come to know and love. It’s just a really pretty laptop all around. As the name suggests, this version of the Stealth will only be available in this color.
Targeting college students, the laptop has one of Intel’s new 10 Gen Ice Lake processors (Core i7-1065G7 CPU), 16GB of RAM and an Intel Iris Pro integrated graphics card. Intel is promising better overall and graphics performance with this new round of chips as well as some AI functionality. I’m excited to see whether or not the components will live up to the hype.
The laptop has been outfitted with a 13.1-inch, 1980 x 1080 matte panel with the capability to reproduce 100% of the sRGB gamut thanks to factory calibration. And for storage, you have a 256GB PCIe SSD, which should translate into fast transfer speeds.
The company is estimating 13 hours of battery life. Razer has been steadily working on the battery life, with the last Stealth lasting 8 hours and 5 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. Do I think the Mercury White Edition will last 13 hours? No, but I’m hoping it can clear 9 hours and maintain the company’s positive trend.
