When Razer released the original Blade Stealth last year, the company made it clear that the laptop was not a gaming notebook. What it lacked in power, it promised it could easily make up for it with the Razer Core external GPU dock, which was released later. Instead, the Razer Blade Stealth targeted the Ultrabook market, and while Razer claimed that the Blade Stealth was successful, it adjusted this year's model based on the user feedback it gathered.
Thus, the new Blade Stealth was born. One of the original Blade Stealth models had 12.5-inch UHD (3840x2160) IGZO touch display with 100% Adobe RGB gamut, but owners felt that the bezel was too thick for an Ultrabook. The New Blade Stealth will maintain the same dimensions as the original, but with a much thinner bezel, allowing for a 13.3-inch display consisting of a Quad HD+ (3200x1800) IGZO touch screen with 100% sRGB color gamut. Razer will continue to offer the 12.5-inch UHD Blade Stealth alongside the new 13.3-inch models.
As with its predecessor, the updated Blade Stealth is made out of CNC-milled aircraft grade aluminum. In an attempt to deliver an Ultrabook with a more professional appearance, Razer is offering the Blade Stealth in a gunmetal gray finish in addition to the traditional black color. Although the black version offers Razer’s traditional RGB Chroma keyboard and logo lighting, the gray version will feature white LEDs, which the company feels wouldn’t look out of place in a board room or a coffee shop.
The updated Blade Stealth’s port selection includes a Thunderbolt 3 over USB Type-C connection, which allows it to be used in conjunction with the Razer Core dock. The Core costs $500 by itself, but as with the previous Blade Stealth and the latest Blade Pro, Razer will knock $100 off that price if you buy it as a bundle with the new laptop. The Core, though, does not include an actual graphics card, so that's going to be an additional purchase. It supports both AMD and Nvidia GPUs.
For portable battery power, you can also pop on the Razer Power Bank, a 12,800mAh charger that costs $150.
The 13-inch Razer Blade Stealth is available now on the company’s website starting at $1,400, and it will be available at Best Buy, Amazon, and Microsoft Stores at the end of the month. It's a little unclear what exactly that starting price gets you, but Razer stated that it includes the Core i7-7500U, 16GB of RAM, and 13.3-inch display. Presumably, that configuration will also include the 256GB PCIe SSD. The storage appears to be the only configuration variable.
If you opt for the Core--which makes the new Blade Stealth into a de facto gaming desktop (sort of)--your starting price is actually $1,800 plus the cost of whatever graphics card you want to load into the Core.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Razer Blade Stealth (2017) |
|---|---|
| Display | 13.3-inch QHD+ (3200x1800) IGZO capacitive multi-touch display, 100% sRGB color space, Up to 400 nits |
| Processor | 7th Generation Intel Core i7-7500U |
| Memory | 16GB LPDDR3-1866MHz |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| Storage | 256GB PCIe SSD (or 512GB or 1TB) |
| Networking | Killer Wireless AC-1535 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.1) |
| Video Ports | -Thunderbolt 3 via Type-C-HDMI 2.0a audio and video output |
| USB Ports | USB 3.0 x 2 |
| Audio | -Built-in stereo speakers-3.5mm headphone/microphone combo port-Built-in array microphone |
| Camera | Built-in camera |
| Battery | 53.6Wh Li-Ion Battery, Up to 9 hours |
| Power Adapter | Compact 45W USB-C power adapter |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 12.6 x 8.1 x 0.52 inches |
| Weight | 2.93 lbs |
| Colors | -Black-Gunmetal Grey |
| Misc. | -Windows 10 Home-Anti-ghosting keyboard-Compact 45W charging adapter-Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0) security chip embedded |
| Price | Starting at $1,400 |
