The Razer Book 13 and Dell XPS 13 are some of the sexiest 13-inch laptops in the market at the moment, but we’re not here to talk about looks. Instead, we’re going to try and compare them as objectively as we can to see which system comes out on top. After all, hard numbers are hard to argue against at the end of the day.

See our individual reviews on the Dell XPS 13 9310 and Razer Book 13 for more detailed information on each. Note that this comparison deals only between the two FHD configurations listed below as other SKUs have different CPU and display options.

Case

The Dell is slightly lighter, but both are otherwise almost the same in overall dimensions. Nonetheless, the tapered chassis design of the XPS makes the system feel smaller when compared to the boxier design of the Razer.

Ports

Razer has the clear advantage in this category. The Book 13 integrates all the ports on the XPS 13 plus full-size USB-A and even HDMI.

Display

Both utilize the same Sharp LQ134N1 IPS panel and backlight for essentially the same visual experience between them. However, it’s worth noting that our Book 13 display was better calibrated out of the box than our XPS display. Additionally, Razer offers a matte option whereas all XPS 13 9310 SKUs are glossy.

CPU Performance

The Book 13 handily defeats the XPS 13 in terms of raw processor performance. Clock rates are both higher and more consistent to leapfrog over the Dell in all CPU performance benchmarks by quite the margin.

Graphics Performance

The Book 13 comes out ahead again in almost all scenarios. Frame rates are also steadier on the Razer machine since clock rates do not fluctuate.

Keyboard and ClickPad

Razer has the slightly larger clickpad (11.1 x 7 cm vs. 11.2 x 6.5 cm), but clicking on its surface is softer and spongier than on the Dell. Furthermore, the keyboard on the Dell feels firmer and more satisfying to use. Keys along the edges are also larger than on the Razer since there are no speaker grilles to worry about.

A unique advantage on the Razer keyboard is its per-key RGB lighting. Nonetheless, this is wholly aesthetic.

Battery Life

The Dell system is just slightly more power efficient when under medium to heavy loads. Overall battery life, however, still favors the Razer system by almost 4 hours longer when both systems are under the same WLAN conditions.

Additionally, the AC adapter for the XPS 13 is rated for only 45 W compared to 65 W on the Razer which partly explains why the Razer system can outperform the Dell on most benchmarks.

System Noise

Both models utilize twin fans with vapor chamber cooling, but the Razer system will be the louder machine when running high loads for extended periods. 

Temperature

Surface temperatures are warmer on the Dell than on the Razer. Hot spots on the top and bottom can reach 47 C and 46 C, respectively, compared to 38 C and 43 C on the Razer. The overall warmer CPU temperature of the Dell may be responsible for the higher surface temperatures.

Verdict

The Razer Book 13 comes out ahead with faster performance, cooler temperatures, and even longer battery life than the Dell XPS 13 9310. It’s a tad bit heavier and larger, but the aforementioned advantages and additional port options might outweigh the minor size disadvantage for many users. It also just happens to be much more expensive than the Dell XPS 13 9310 when configured with the same CPU, display, RAM, and SSD options.

A key drawback to the Razer is its spongier keyboard keys and clickpad. If you’re already used to typing on Ultrabooks with shallow or light keys, however, then this should shouldn’t be a huge issue.

Apple could be contemplating doing away with the keyboard, or at least incorporating a removable magnetic keyboard, with a future MacBook Pro. A patent spotted by PatentlyApple seems to be stuffed with intriguing ideas for a next-gen MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. Entitled “Device having integrated interface system”, it’s clear to see in the numerous accompanying technical drawings that the keyboard could be replaced with the “integrated interface system”, which could be made from glass, plastic, or ceramic.

This would allow for multi-purpose functionality, as the touch surface could be just a typical keyboard for typing, or it could display different input systems, such as a “button array” or “rotatable dial”. A physical keyboard can be connected magnetically, but even this brings additional novel functions to the next-gen Apple MacBook Pro. Swiping across the keys will register movement on the display without actuating individual keys. It’s basically turning the whole base portion of the laptop into a touch input device or trackpad.

On top of that, the patent shows how a wireless charger could be fitted into the MacBook Pro that would allow the charging of compatible Apple devices and there’s also the presence of a fingerprint sensor and biometric sensors for checking the user’s palms. Peripheral input units, such as joysticks, can also be magnetically attached to this marvelous MacBook Pro and then used to interact with or drive what was happening on the display. Port lovers might not be too enamored with this potential Apple laptop though, as ports seem to be few and far between here.

Samsung has been expanding its range of Galaxy branded products to include the excellent Galaxy Book S Windows laptop and more recently, the Galaxy Chromebook. Although the ‘Galaxy’ name is well-known by consumers, the line is also meant to represent Samsung’s mobile devices family. The Galaxy Chromebook launched earlier this year priced at US$999, putting it squarely in the premium category when it comes to the Chromebook segment (although at the time of writing, this model is now down to US$549 (save $450) on the Samsung USA website). 

Respected leaker Evan Blass has leaked the first images of the sequel, expected to be called the Galaxy Chromebook2. The fundamental design is very similar, except the silver banding that went around the sides of the device has now been changed to include either the Fiesta Red all around, or similarly, the Mercury Gray. Samsung has also tweaked the port locations as well. The biggest criticism of the original was levelled at its poor battery life, which was only good for between 4 to 5 hours on a charge. 

Although we don’t yet know anything about the specs for the upcoming Galaxy Chromebook2, we would be shocked if Samsung didn’t target battery life as a priority. While we hope the stunning 4K display will carry over to the new model, it was unquestionably the primary culprit when it comes to the battery life challenges of the first gen model. Where the OG was fitted with an Intel Core i5-10210U chip, the new model could pick up an Intel Evo 11th gen Tiger Lake processor. This should also help with battery life.

Expect to learn more details about the Galaxy Chromebook2 in January, when it is likely to get an official unveiling.

Performance in laptops usually goes downhill after a short time when high loads have to be maintained for a prolonged period of time. This is also the case with the Honor MagicBook 14, although the drop is only very minor, and performance is still much higher than in other laptops with an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U even after the small drop.

The rest of Honor’s laptop remains high-quality, as usual, and visually unchanged, which also affects the configuration, though. This means that there is still no memory card reader installed, and the webcam is still located in the inconvenient worm’s-eye perspective below the screen. The maintenance options are also mediocre, whereby the SSD and the WLAN module can still be replaced.

For buyers, this means that they have to pay attention to their RAM requirements before their purchase. However, since the Honor MagicBook 14 doesn’t cost more than 700 Euros (~$855) even with 16 GB of RAM, the slightly better configuration can be opted for directly in case of doubt.

Honor’s laptop earns a big plus point for its battery life. Our review sample lasted for over 14 hours in WLAN mode, whereby many optimization options were already disabled here. Therefore, even longer runtimes are possible with the various performance optimization and energy-saving features provided by Windows and AMD.

Thanks to the fast-charging USB power adapter, the battery is back to 100% after just under two hours. Our review shows the deeper impression that the Honor MagicBook 14 left on us.

The Surface Pro 8 has already leaked plenty of times, but now Roland Quandt has revealed the memory configurations of Microsoft’s upcoming 2-in-1. So far, we know that the design of the Surface Pro 8 will remain unchanged from its predecessor, which featured an outdated design itself. The Redmond-based company will switch the Surface Pro to Intel’s Tiger Lake-U platform though, which should bring a healthy graphics boost for the Surface Pro 8 compared to the Surface Pro 7.

According to Quandt, LTE connectivity will return as of the Surface Pro 8, which is unsurprising. We suspect that Microsoft will restrict LTE connectivity to the Business version of the Surface Pro 8 though, as it does with many of its Surface products. Hence, there will be no 5G connectivity for the Surface Pro in 2021. The Core i5-1135G7 and Core i7-1165G7 should be available for business and regular customers, though.

Additionally, Quandt claims that the Surface Pro 8 will be configurable with up to 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. We imagine that the Surface Pro 8 will be just as improbable to upgrade as the Surface Pro 7 though, if it follows the same design. It would be good if the Surface Pro 8 features a replaceable SSD like the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X do, but we doubt that will be the case.

The Surface Pro 8 should debut in early 2021 alongside the Surface Laptop 4. Microsoft will offer the Surface Pro 8 in the following configurations, according to Quandt:

Surface Pro 8 LTE i5 8 GB/128 GB

Surface Pro 8 LTE i5 8 GB/256 GB

Surface Pro 8 LTE i5 16 GB/256 GB

Surface Pro 8 i5 8 GB/128 GB

Surface Pro 8 i5 8 GB/256 GB

Surface Pro 8 i5 16 GB/256 GB

Surface Pro 8 i7 16 GB/256 GB

Surface Pro 8 i7 16 GB/512 GB

Surface Pro 8 i7 16 GB/1 TB

Surface Pro 8 i7 32 GB/1 TB

Another Ryzen 5000-powered laptop has appeared online, this time in the form of an Acer Swift SF314-43 device. This will be good news for fans of the brand or of thin and light laptops that don’t scrimp on performance for design. The Acer Swift 3 SF314-42 laptop we reviewed earlier this year demonstrated how well the OEM combined necessary components with a Ryzen 7 4700 APU. The Renoir processor afforded the Acer device with high system performance, and its integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 GPU (max. 1.60 GHz) allowed for some decent gaming benchmarks: 77.1 FPS in GTA V at medium settings.

Keeping that latter device in mind, it’s fair to start dreaming about what the Acer Swift SF314-43 with AMD Ryzen 5 5500U could deliver. The Lucienne APU is not even the direct successor to the Ryzen 7 4700U: The Ryzen 5 5500U is a 6-core, 12-thread part with a 2.10 GHz to 4.00 GHz clock range whereas the older Renoir chip has 8 cores and 8 threads (no simultaneous multithreading support) and processes at 2 GHz to 4.1 GHz. Comparing the Ryzen 5000 processor with a Ryzen 5 4500U highlights the iGPU difference too, as the latter part relied on a Radeon RX Vega 6 with six compute units and 1.50 GHz clock.

The Acer Swift SF314-43’s Geekbench result reveals the Ryzen 5 5500U’s iGPU as having seven compute units and a maximum clock rate of 1.80 GHz. That’s a handy 20% clock rate increase over the Ryzen 5 4500U’s graphics-processing component, and it should mean that future owners of this Acer Swift laptop should be able to enjoy some light gaming sessions when not utilizing the CPU part of the Zen 2 chip for work or study-related multitasking. AMD’s Ryzen 5000 mobile APUs are starting to look like they could be as big of a hit as the Renoir Ryzen 4000 series chips were.

Samsung may have a new kind of Galaxy Book in the works. The OEM has just filed a trademarking application with the EU’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for the term “Book Go”. It falls into a broad category of electronics that includes VR hardware, smartphones, storage media and display panels; however, based on this new term, it is more likely to be a portable PC of one kind or another.

It, like the Book Flex before it, might also acquire Galaxy branding prior to its launch. Therefore, it is possible that this device is shaping up to be a hybrid of something like that 5G PC and the Microsoft Surface Go. As to its target market, it may now be time that Samsung releases a more affordable member of its possible series.

The “Book Go” has been filed as a trademark on December 11, 2020. Therefore, the hardware behind it just might make a CES 2021 (January 11-14) launch. In this case, it might join the Galaxy S21 series as new potential purchases from this OEM in the same year.

Lenovo launched the X1 Nano as a new kind of 13-inch ThinkPad with an ultra-low weight and up to i7 Tiger Lake silicon. It has just appeared via a new sales avenue in Germany: CampusPoint, an online store ostensibly aimed at students.

Nevertheless, its listings might give consumers in other European countries an idea of how much they might have to pay should they want one of these ultrabooks when they arrive on their own markets.

The site has 4 SKUs of the Nano available, all of which have matte 2K IPS displays. Their base model here has the Intel Core i5-1130G7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD. Their specs rise to encompass the i7-1160G7 CPU, a maximum of 1TB of storage and 4G/LTE support.

They start at €1899 (~US$2300) for the starting i5/512GB SSD model, or €2029 (~$2458) for a version of the same with mobile data. €2149 (~$2603) gets the buyer a non-4G/LTE ThinkPad X1 Nano with the i7, whereas €2249 (~$2725) nets the top-end i7/1TB/SIM card-enabled variant. All of these options also have IR webcams and Windows 10 Pro.

Gamers looking for a current mobile Ryzen/GeForce combination can look forward to some SKUs coming from Asus. An Asus TUF Gaming A17 laptop has been listed on Expert.de (spotted by @momomo_us) that features an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H APU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile GPU. None of these parts have been officially announced yet, but they certainly make for an exciting combination.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800H APU, which is part of the upcoming high-performance mobile Ryzen 5000 range from AMD, has 8 cores and 16 threads with clocks from 3.0 GHz to 4.3 GHz, which as pointed out by VideoCardz, is a very similar range to the Renoir Ryzen 7 4800H (2.9 GHz – 4.2 GHz). The likely Zen 3-based processor has a 16 MB cache according to the retailer listing.

As for the equally intriguing Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile GPU, which comes as a surprise to no-one but will be a welcome addition in a Ryzen 5000-powered laptop, this graphics processor is actually listed as “GN20-E3”. This is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Max-P then, which apparently comes with 6 GB VRAM according to the retailer’s specsheet and a 192-bit memory bus.

A potent combination of Ampere and Cezanne means this Asus TUF Gaming FA706QM-HX011T laptop could end up being on the top of many a mobile gamer’s wishlist over the coming months. Along with a 144 Hz-capable screen, Adaptive-Sync technology, Wi-Fi 6 support, and Optimus graphics-switching technology, the Asus TUF Gaming A17 with Ryzen 7 5800H and GeForce RTX 3060 is a potential head-turner.