Razer Blade 16: A Sneak Peek at Gaming Elegance for 2025

A fresh iteration of the Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop has been introduced at CES 2025, with the streamlined device now competing with the MacBook Pro for slimness.

The Razer Blade 16 stands as the company’s slimmest gaming laptop ever, measuring 0.59 inches thick at its narrowest point. For reference, the latest MacBook Pro 16-inch is 0.61 inches thick.

In contrast to the MacBook Pro, the Razer brings dedicated graphics, leveraging Nvidia’s newly launched RTX 5090.

There’s additional unfortunate news for Intel, as Razer has opted for rival AMD for this latest iteration. The Razer Blade 16 will feature up to an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU, which aids the laptop in acquiring Microsoft’s Copilot+ status — something Intel reportedly could not achieve, as per a Razer spokesperson.

The AMD processor also provides superior performance per watt, the spokesperson elaborated, which enables the company to reduce the chassis size without sacrificing the necessary power for a premium gaming device.

The Razer Blade 16 can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM, but dissimilar to prior versions, this will be soldered onto the motherboard, making it non-upgradable by users.

Razer Blade 16 Design

There seem to be minimal other trade-offs in designing the new Razer Blade 16 to be roughly one-third slimmer than its predecessor. The keyboard travel has actually enhanced, with each key featuring around 1.5mm of travel. During my very short hands-on session with the laptop, that keyboard felt as satisfying as the one on the MacBook Pro.

Ports have not been compromised as well, with full-sized HDMI, USB-A, USB-C, and even Kensington lock ports available.

The display is a joy to behold. A QHD+ 240Hz OLED screen, it appears exceptionally sharp and vibrant, and although we weren’t permitted to play games during the CES presentation due to an ongoing Nvidia embargo, Razer asserts it has a minimal response time of 0.2ms.

Audio should also impress, featuring a six-speaker configuration for both downward and upward firing sound.

At the time of this writing, the price for the new Razer Blade 16 had not been confirmed, but don’t anticipate it to be less than $2,500 for the base model, increasing considerably if you aim to upgrade the processor, RAM, and storage. It will be released in the first quarter of this year.

If the gaming performance meets the criteria and there are no cooling issues from the compact chassis, it might just be the gaming laptop of the year, even at this preliminary stage.

Razer Monitor Stand Chroma

If you’re considering connecting your gaming laptop to a monitor, you may also be interested in another innovative Razer product, the Monitor Stand Chroma.

This 20-inch wide metal platform elevates the monitor off the desk and projects RGB lighting onto the area beneath it, where you could place a keyboard if connected to a desktop PC.

It can support screens weighing up to 20kg, and includes a four-port USB hub (2 x USB 3.2 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Type C, and 1 x HDMI 2.0) to help keep cables organized on the desk.

Priced at a punchy $199, but if you’re already spending a few thousand on a Razer Blade 16, that might feel like a minor expense.