The Razer Blade Stealth isn't a gaming laptop, regardless of the badge on the lid. But, with the addition of a Razer Core eGPU, it can become one, while also then being something you can hit the office with and do boring spreadsheets on and won't scream "GAMER" when you're sat around the meeting table.
Following the launch of the Blade 15 earlier this year, Razer is finishing 2018 by giving the Blade Stealth an upgrade, too, and it's a pretty meaty one. It's still no full-on gaming laptop, but for the first time it comes with NVIDIA dedicated graphics.
The new Blade Stealth shares the design language Razer first brought to the table in the Blade 15. That means super-skinny bezels around the up to 4K touch display, a drop of 60% over the previous Blade Stealth. There is also a 1080p matte display, and both configurations promise 100% sRGB color space.
From the outside the new Blade Stealth looks very much like a smaller Blade 15. You get the same squared-off edges and black finish. It's certainly a looker. The whole laptop is more compact than the old model, while retaining a 13.3-inch display.
As this is a Razer laptop you'll be expecting some pretty impressive specs, and you're not going to be disappointed. The headline feature is the option for NVIDIA MX150 graphics, a first for the Stealth lineup which until now has only ever had Intel integrated GPUs. It's also the 25W 4GB variant of the MX150, so while you're unlikely to be getting max frames on Battlefield V, you will be able to do some kind of gaming on it. And for creators it's a definite win.
Elsewhere the new Blade Stealth comes with an 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8565U quad-core processor, 8GB or 16GB of RAM, up to 512GB of PCIe SSD storage, Thunderbolt 3 so you can still use a Razer Core with it for proper PC gaming, a Windows Hello compatible IR camera and a 53.1Wh battery good for up to 13 hours of use.
Oh, and the keyboard has Chroma. If you were worrying it might have been left out. It's a single zone, the touchpad is now larger and Microsoft Precision, and the keyboard has been redesigned to be more responsive.
So, the price then. The new Blade Stealth will start at $1,399 and is available from Razer's store starting December 4 in the U.S. and Canada, coming soon to Europe and select markets in Asia.
We've only spent a short time with it so far, but it's a nice upgrade to what was already a very good Ultrabook. Razer's styling still stands out, and the upgraded hardware inside should make for a really great experience.
