appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Paul Mah

The 2019 iteration of the Razer Blade 15 gaming laptop packs Nvidia’s new RTX GPU (graphics processing unit) under the hood in a slimmer “Advanced Model” that shaves a couple of millimetres off the less powerful basic model. We test out this latest version to see how it fares for play – and work.
Hardware
Crafted from a single slab of aluminium and with a black anodised finish, the Razer Blade 15 is a high-end gaming laptop that looks as premium as its price. There is nothing unobtrusive about it, from the backlit, triple-headed snake logo on the lid to Razer’s trademark USB-A ports tinted in neon green.
A range of peripheral ports run along both sides: HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3, 3.5mm audio and those USB-As. Razer says you can connect to up to three monitors at once by using the HDMI, Mini DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 3 ports for a super widescreen experience.
The laptop comes with a matt 15.6-inch, full-HD screen flanked by slim bezels on the top and sides. A 4K OLED touch screen option is also available but currently offered only in selected markets. The display itself is available in 144Hz or 240Hz options, which should eliminate any motion blur and screen tearing.
The inclusion of an infrared camera is a huge convenience, allowing users to log in via Windows Hello facial recognition.
The large glass touch pad supports multi-touch gestures. The backlit keyboard is flanked on both sides by the speakers, with the power button located at the top of the right-hand speaker grille.

What will strike you is the size of the power adaptor, which gives a new meaning to the term “power brick”. Then again, it isn’t every laptop that comes bundled with a 230-watt power adaptor, and Razer has done a respectable job of shrinking it.
It terminates in a convenient but proprietary reversible plug, so you can forget about charging it with an external battery pack.
Software
The pre-installed Razer Synapse software gives you the ability to make various tweaks to the Blade 15.
Configurable options include the backlight for the Razer logo (on, off or pulse), colour schemes for the per-key keyboard lighting, and even the speed of the two 44-blade fans for keeping the laptop cool.
A hidden indicator on the front edge of the laptop lights up when the lid is closed, glowing green when the laptop is running, and white when it’s in sleep mode.
This is useful for those who use their Blade 15 with external monitors and offers a quick way to visually ascertain that the device is in sleep mode before sliding it into a laptop bag.

Performance
As an example of how the Blade 15 fares for gaming, Shadow of the Tomb Raider averaged an impressive 79 frames per second under “high” presets with our RTX 2070 review unit and was silky smooth during gameplay.
The laptop does get very hot when gaming. Parts of the bottom chassis were so hot after a gaming session that I could barely rest my fingers on it.
You won’t notice it during regular desktop use, though, as the hot air is pushed out through the back of the laptop and thick rubber legs help ensure optimal airflow. Just don’t try gaming with the laptop on your lap.
The noise from the fans also gets loud and can be clearly heard, especially in a quiet room.
How to build your own gaming PC: all you need to know
Music playback from the upwards-firing speakers is clean and loud, but completely lacking in bass. Most users will probably use a pair of headphones for gaming, though, and the speakers are certainly adequate for watching the occasional video.
The track pad is buttery smooth and is easily one of the best in my experience with Windows-based laptops.

Don’t expect stellar battery life with the Blade 15, though it is vastly improved from earlier models. The unit we tested came with a 9th Gen Intel i7 processor and averaged between four and five hours when used as a productivity machine. You could probably eke out a few more minutes by moderating the backlight and apps you use.
There are a couple of minor issues with the laptop that you will want to be aware of.
First, to fit everything into such a slim chassis, the keyboard has very shallow keys. I personally found it to be acceptable, though it does admittedly boil down to preference. I thought it felt much better than Apple’s much-derided butterfly keys.
The chassis, meanwhile, proved to be an oil magnet, and it didn’t take long for my prints to appear all over it.
Conclusion
The Razer Blade 15 is a beautiful and extraordinarily powerful laptop that packs the ability to play top-rated games into a sleek, portable device.
You’ll need to plug it into a wall socket to get any meaningful amount of gameplay, and it will run hot and loud at full tilt, but it has enough oomph to run every game out there with good playability.
When not gaming, the laptop works well as a productivity machine, assuming its 2.1 kilogram (4.6 pound) weight is acceptable and you don’t require “full day” battery life.
If you are looking for a supremely powerful device in a laptop and budget isn’t a concern, look no further than the Razer Blade 15.
Review model price (GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, 9th Gen Intel Core i7, 512GB SSD):
Hong Kong: HK$21,499
US: US$2,599.99


Apple’s new AirTag tracker is louder, better connected, but is it worth upgrading?

EV review: BYD’s ‘fun and capable’ Dolphin may be the ideal city car for zipping around

EV review: Nio’s ET7 rivals Germany’s best in some aspects, but at a lower price

M3 MacBook Air review: Apple’s remote-work icon made faster and more efficient, and the most powerful laptop in its weight class

Gadget reviews

Razer Blade 15 Advanced gaming laptop review: extreme power, slim, sleek – and also good for work

The Razer Blade 15 Advanced 2019 model gaming laptop comes with a matt 15.6-inch, full-HD screen flanked by slim bezels on the top and sides. A 4K OLED touch screen option is also available in selected markets. Photo: Razer

Promotional shot of the Razer Blade 15, laptop for gaming. In terms of the unit's design, there is nothing unobtrusive about the laptop, what with the conspicuous, backlit triple-headed snake logo on the lid and Razer’s trademark USB-A ports tinted in neon green

Promotional shot of the Razer Blade 15, laptop for gaming.  A 4K OLED touchscreen option is also available but currently offered only in selected markets. The display itself is available in 144Hz or 240Hz options, which should make motion blur and screen tearing a thing of the past.

Promotional shot of the Razer Blade 15. A range of peripheral ports run along both sides of the gaming laptop: HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and 3.5mm audio – Razer says you can power up to three monitors, by utilising the HDMI, DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 3 ports.

4K laptop, unbeatable value: Chuwi LapBook Plus review – just don’t try to multitask

The Chuwi LapBook Plus with a 15.6-inch 4K display costs US$499. Photo: Ben Sin

The Chuwi LapBook Plus  has a full-sized, backlit keyboard with number pad

On the left side of the Chuwi LapBook Plus are ports for mini-HDMI, USB-A and the proprietary charging port

The Chuwi LapBook Plus has a design and look very similar to Apple’s MacBooks

On the right side of the Chuwi LapBook Plus are ports for USB-A, headphone jack, and a micro-SD card slot.

Samsung Galaxy A80 smartphone full review: no selfie camera, no bezel, good looks, poor hardware

The Samsung Galaxy A80 has no selfie camera on the front, no bezel and a revolving camera. Photo: Ben Sin

Samsung Galaxy A80

The Samsung Galaxy A80 has a 6.7-inch uninterrupted OLED screen with a resolution of 1080p. There is a fingerprint reader underneath the screen, but its slow and not too accurate.

A wide-angle photo captured with the Samsung Galaxy A80. With good lighting, the wide-angle camera produces solid images

The Samsung Galaxy A80 has only one camera system, which by default sits on the device’s back. For selfies, the camera’s top part elevates and the camera module flips over to face the user. The camera module consists of a 48-megapixel sensor, with an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera and a TOF sensor.

In low light situations such as shooting at night or indoors, the wide-angle camera on the Samsung Galaxy A80 produces very soft, muddied shots with a lot of noise

The elevating mechanism on this unit of the Samsung Galaxy A80 sometimes malfunctions, in that the flipping action takes place before the top module has fully elevated, resulting in the camera becoming stuck in an unusual position like in the photo

Samsung A80 fingerprint scanner

OnePlus 7 Pro full review: so fast, you won’t want to go back to another phone

The OnePlus 7 Pro has a 6.6-inch OLED screen with Quad HD resolution that refreshes at 90Hz. It is noticeably more responsive and has lower touch latency than other phones with 60Hz refresh rates. Photo: Ben Sin

The wide-angle image take by the OnePlus 7 Pro has a 117-degree field-of-vision with little distortion. Colour accuracy is good

The OnePlus 7 Pro has curved sides on its front and back, like a Samsung Galaxy flagship. It charges via USB-C and has dual speaker grilles located at the bottom and top of the phone.

The back of the OnePlus 7 Pro is Gorilla Glass 5 with a matte coating

Side-by-side image comparison between the OnePlus 7 Pro and the iPhone XS. In general, the 7 Pro’s camera takes better image than the iPhone XS (but loses to the Huawei P30 Pro).

Three images taken in a near pitch-black room, with lights off and very little outside light. Notice the OnePlus 7 Pro produced an admirable lighted shot, but falls far shot of the Huawei P30 Pro’s low-light wizardry. The iPhone XS image best resembled what the scene looked like to my eyes.

Edge detection on the OnePlus 7 Pro in close-up bokeh images are impressive. The depth-of-field blur around the subject (cat) looks natural.

The OnePlus 7 Pro is so smooth and fast, it’s hard to go back to slower smartphones. Photo: Ben Sin

Lifestyle

Gadgets

Tech

Razer’s 2019 iteration of its Blade 15 gaming laptop comes with Nvidia’s new RTX GPU and is slimmer than ever
Its incredible power delivers silky smooth gameplay, though it does get very hot and loud


Razer’s 2019 iteration of its Blade 15 gaming laptop comes with Nvidia’s new RTX GPU and is slimmer than ever, boasting incredible power that delivers silky smooth gameplay in a sleek, portable device.


Video gaming

Technology