You can expect to see a lot of world firsts at CES, such as the specifications of the new Razer Blade 16 and 18 displays. Inside the soon-to-be-refreshed gaming laptops, you can expect to find never before seen OLED panels. While this would normally be cause for excitement in my life, as a lover of all things self-emissive, I’m more concerned that the company may have axed one of the best things about last year’s models.
The Razer Blade 16 (2023) currently sits at the top of our best gaming laptop list and will remain there until a suitable 2024 successor reveals itself. This could, of course, be the upcoming iteration of the Blade 16, but it’d be a crying shame to see it lose one of its most compelling features in pursuit of OLED.
In a press release, Razer has announced the Blade 16 will feature the “world’s first OLED 240Hz 16-inch display”, while the Blade 18 will feature the “world’s first 4K 165Hz 18-inch display.” Both of these screens will undoubtedly dazzle, but I can’t help but wonder where the next evolution of the company’s dual-mode Mini LED tech is.
Swapping between FHD+ 240Hz and UHD+ 120Hz setups at your leisure remains one of the most attractive strengths of the Blade 16 (2023). While QHD+ 240Hz is naturally a nice middle ground, I’ll be crossing my fingers that Razer hasn’t unwisely cut dual-mode options in its Blade 16 (2024) laptops.
We’ll learn more about the finer details of both the Blade 16 and 18 at CES 2024, where we’ll have boots on the ground for hands-on perspectives on all this shiny new tech. So, be sure to return for our coverage on all the announcements.