At $1,399 (as tested), the Razer Blade Stealth (4K UHD) is a high-end ultraportable laptop with a slight build, fast hardware, and some impressive features for gamers. In addition to the attractive 4K touch display, it has the world's first RGB keyboard with individually backlit keys that can be customized. Though its potential as a gaming system isn't realized without Razer's external graphics card amplifier, the Razer Core (price and availability have not been announced), the laptop still features a premium build and strong performance. The latest Dell XPS 13 Touch remains our Editors' Choice for high-end ultraportables, thanks to its superior battery life, super-thin bezel, and better performance, but the 4K UHD Blade Stealth is an attractive alternative, especially if you eventually plan to go all in for gaming with the Razer Core.

Future Core Competencies

Though the release date and price have yet to be announced, Razer plans to launch its external graphics amplifier, the Core, sometime this year. The unit can house virtually any desktop-class Nvidia or AMD graphics card and connects to the Blade Stealth via a USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 port. With its speedy components, the laptop will be able to play demanding games on high settings when combined with a powerful desktop GPU via the Razer Core, but right now, with its integrated graphics, the system is solely a high-end ultraportable. This combination will undoubtedly become pretty expensive if you go for a premium graphics card, but the laptop itself is still impressive—just keep in mind that it's not a gaming system on its own. We'll revisit the pair, and this review, when the Razer Core becomes available.

Design and Features

An attractive system with an all-aluminum body, the Blade Stealth's lid bears two muscle lines on either side of a centered Razer logo, which glows green. The keyboard is bordered by a speaker strip on either side, with the Power button above it. Light and compact, the 12.5-inch laptop measures 0.52 by 12.6 by 6.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.81 pounds. The metal build has a high-quality feel, and it's easy to carry around in one arm. The Dell XPS 13 Touch is slightly bigger and heavier, at 0.6 by 12 by 8 inches and 2.85 pounds, but the difference is fairly negligible. The Apple MacBook is just as thin, but a good deal lighter, at 0.52 by 11 by 7.75 inches and 1.98 pounds, while the current version of the Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch, Retina Display is larger and heavier, at 0.71 by 12.35 by 8.62 inches and 3.41 pounds. The Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 P25W-C2300-4K, a convertible-hybrid laptop with a 12.5-inch 4K display, is smaller, but slightly heavier, at 0.61 by 11.8 by 8.2 inches and 2.9 pounds.

Aside from the sleek form factor, the 12.5-inch, 4K Ultra HD (UHD) display is one of the laptop's major attractions (a less-expensive model is also available with a QHD screen). The 3,840-by-2,160-resolution panel is sharp and vibrant, and features capacitive multitouch capability. It's quite bright, and colors really pop off the screen, thanks in part to the Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide (IGZO) technology. Razer claims 100-percent Adobe RBG color matching for accurate and rich colors. The Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 4K's 3,840-by-2,160-resolution screen has the same features to a similar striking effect. The Dell XPS 13 Touch features a 13.3-inch QHD+ (3,200-by-1,800-resolution) display, which is short of 4K, though it doesn't seem to make a huge difference on screens this size.