HORIZON TOP 10
From $2,199, razer.com
Razer means business with its Book 13, and Apple launches its stunning AirPod Max spatial-audio
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Did you miss it? Razer’s slow creep into the non-gaming market has been, if you’ll forgive the pun, something of a stealth move. The Blade line of laptops does all the big flashy gamer stuff, such as the Blade Stealth, but it’s seen entries like the Studio Edition emerge on the side, dishing up high-powered hardware for creatives in a Mac-ish silver shell. Thus far, though, the company’s non game-oriented laptops have always tended towards the very highest end. With the Razer Book 13 comes a laptop for the rest of us, one with its sights firmly focused on matching, or even bettering, Dell’s revered XPS 13.
It has the look, with a super-compact shell and slim bezels on all four sides of the screen. It’s practical, weighing as little as 1.34kg depending on which loadout you pick, and mating a CNC-cut anodised aluminium shell with Gorilla Glass 6 protecting the screen. And vapour chamber cooling should mean that, despite its ultra-thin shell, you don’t hit any thermal throttling unless you’re really pushing things hard.
Extra points, too, for the expansion options: while this is fully equipped with a pair of ultra-versatile Thunderbolt 4 ports, there’s also a USB Type-A socket, a microSD card reader, full-sized HDMI and an audio jack, ensuring you won’t be caught short even if you’re not dragging a dongle around with you. It’s a delightfully well thought-out and absolutely gorgeous work machine, then, with the looks and the power you deserve at a price that might even sneak past the bean counters.
“Razer steps into the ring with a laptop that looks the business”
Josh Russell