Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G Review: A strikingly familiar all-rounder

When the Realme 11 Pro launched in India, it was an easy recommendation for me given the great design, dependable performance, and improved camera. The Realme Narzo 60 Pro, priced starting at ₹23,999, offers the exact same experience – so I cannot say that I don’t love the device. The Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G is truly fantastic for the price; one that will draw in most people’s attention. However, it makes it difficult to decide which one to recommend to people now, since they sport the exact same specifications. If you are going for the 12 GB + 256 GB variant, it would be prudent to go for the Realme Narzo 60 Pro since it is cheaper than the same storage version of the Realme 11 Pro. And of course, if you need a LOT of storage, go for the Narzo 60 Pro since it comes with that 1 TB model for ₹29,999. 

The Realme Narzo 60 series is finally here; the company has launched two phones in this lineup – the Realme Narzo 60 and Realme Narzo 60 Pro. I got the latter for review and upon opening the box, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the phone feels very familiar. In fact, all the specifications were also oddly familiar. Finally, it hit me that the phone shares the exact same specifications as the newly-launched Realme 11 Pro (review). Save a few. For instance, the Realme Narzo 60 Pro comes with a 1 TB storage variant unlike the Realme 11 Pro and it sports a slightly altered design. When we recently spoke to a Realme executive about the latest Narzo 60 Pro, they denied that the phone is a rebranded Realme 11 Pro, you can read that interview here. However, it certainly looks and feels like a rebrand, in my opinion. With that said, the world of smartphones is no stranger to redesigned/rebranded phones, but let’s see if the Realme Narzo 60 Pro is actually worth its asking price.

Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G Review: Build and design

The design of the Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G is extremely eye-catching for the price. Then again, as with all other specifications, the design is very reminiscent of the Realme 11 Pro. The phone is available in two colourways – Mars Orange and Cosmic Black. The former, which we got for review, sports a luxurious-feeling vegan leather back, while the Black variant comes with a matte-textured rear panel. 

The vegan leather material looks very premium, and we’re seeing more and more phones adopt this texture on their mid-range offerings. There’s a circular camera module – much like the Realme 11 Pro – which houses two camera lenses and a flash. The words “100 MP OIS Camera” are etched on the bottom of this lens module. The design is beautiful but it misses out on an IP rating, which could be an issue for some. 

The sides of the front and the back are curved, adding to the premium factor. The phone’s leather variant weighs 189 g, so it is quite comfortable to hold for hours on end. The display has minimal bezels and they look well-balanced. There’s a small punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera. The curved display, however, is prone to some mistaps being registered.

Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G Review: Display

Moving on to the display, let's dive into the details. The Realme Narzo 60 Pro boasts a 6.7-inch curved AMOLED screen with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and a touch sampling rate of 360 Hz. The display is protected by AGC DragonTrail Star glass. Realme claims a 1,260 Hz instantaneous touch sampling rate. The optical in-display fingerprint sensor, although slightly slower than ideal, performed adequately during testing.

With its FHD+ resolution, the display offers plenty of crispness for its price point. The colours are vibrant, and the details are crisp. The display supports over 1 billion colours, ensuring a rich visual experience and overcoming the colour banding issues found in its predecessor. The AMOLED panel is surrounded by thin bezels, providing an immersive viewing experience.

Brightness levels are impressive, leaving little room for complaints. Realme claims a peak brightness of 950 nits, and in our tests, we measured a reading of 923 nits under direct sunlight in Auto-Brightness Mode. This is quite impressive. Additionally, the AMOLED display can dim significantly, allowing comfortable usage even in low-light conditions.

The Realme Narzo 60 Pro supports HDR10+. Although HDR10+ is a welcome addition, it's worth noting that some streaming services like Netflix do not currently support HDR on the Realme Narzo 60 Pro. 

Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G Review: Performance

Priced below ₹25,000, the Realme Narzo 60 Pro delivers decent performance. However, the overall performance is significantly hindered by excessive bloatware. The number of pre-installed apps is quite overwhelming. On top of that, there are excessive pop-up notifications, unremovable "suggested apps" folders, and more, resulting in an unpleasant user interface experience.

The phone runs on Android 13 with Realme UI 4.0 on top. Realme promises 2 years of OS updates and 3 years of security updates, which is commendable. Now, let's delve into the hardware that powers the phone.

The Realme Narzo 60 Pro is equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC – the same as the Realme 11 Pro. It is manufactured using the 6 nm process and clocked at a maximum speed of 2.6 GHz. The phone comes with up to 12 GB RAM and up to 1 TB storage. This is one of the first, if not the first, phones to offer 1 TB storage at this price, so that’s commendable. Considering its price range, the processor delivers admirable performance, outperforming a couple of similarly priced alternatives. We compared the Realme Narzo 60 Pro to the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite and POCO X5 Pro.

In both the AnTuTu and GeekBench Single-Core tests, the Realme Narzo 60 Pro outperformed the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite and POCO X5 Pro. However, in the Multi-Core test, the POCO X5 Pro pulled ahead. One area where the Realme Narzo 60 Pro excelled was in the PCMarkWork test, which simulates day-to-day tasks such as spreadsheet usage and photo editing. The Realme Narzo 60 Pro easily outperformed most competitors in this benchmark.

In GPU tests, the Realme Narzo 60 Pro falls behind the POCO X5 Pro, which achieved better scores in GFXBench and 3D Mark. Nevertheless, real-world gaming performance was smooth. We experienced consistent frame rates at High Graphics settings, and the phone didn't heat up significantly during extended gaming sessions. 

Realme has done a decent job in terms of thermal management. Even under peak load, the phone exhibited minimal throttling, maintaining 83 per cent of its peak performance in the CPU Throttling Test. Overall, the Realme Narzo 60 Pro delivers smooth and reliable performance in the sub-₹25K price segment. While it may not be a game-changer, it provides a decent experience, albeit one marred by excessive bloatware and push notifications. 

Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G Review: Cameras

The Realme Narzo 60 Pro features a 100 MP Omnivision camera paired with a 2 MP depth lens – the same as the Realme 11 Pro. The primary camera comes with Optical Image Stabilisation support, and Realme heavily emphasizes its 2x lossless zoom or "in-sensor zoom" feature. The phone also offers an Auto Zoom feature that crops onto a subject and centres it in the frame.

For selfies, the phone sports a 16 MP Sony IMX471 lens. The 100 MP camera defaults to saving 12 MP shots, and in daylight, the photos look fantastic for the most part. The dynamic range is solid, detail retention is good, and colours appear vivid, albeit slightly oversaturated, which some users may enjoy.

The 2x lossless zoom shots are packed with detail, although they can appear a bit oversharpened. There's also an option to capture full-resolution 100 MP shots, which produce natural colours but exhibit slightly inadequate dynamic range.

Portrait images, assisted by the 2 MP depth lens, generally look good with decent edge detection, but the accuracy of skin tones could be improved. Selfie photos from the 16 MP shooter appear slightly soft and struggle with dynamic range in challenging lighting conditions.

In low-light conditions, the 100 MP camera performs impressively. The colours remain good, the dynamic range is decent, and the level of detail is adequate. Some noise is present, although it is not excessive considering the price range. Enabling Nightscape mode reduces noise but can introduce a slightly unnatural look to the photos.

Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G Review: Battery Life

The Realme Narzo 60 Pro is equipped with a 5,000 mAh battery, the same as the Realme 11 Pro. It boasts 67 W fast charging. Wireless charging is absent, but that is not surprising for a mid-range smartphone.

The battery life of the phone is impressive and long-lasting. In our 4K video loop test, the device lasted 14 hours and 12 minutes on a full charge. During 15 minutes of Call of Duty: Mobile gameplay, the battery level dropped by only 6 per cent and an hour of GPS navigation on Google Maps resulted in a 6 per cent drop. Charging the phone from zero to full using the bundled 67 W charger took 46 minutes, while reaching 50 per cent charge only required 18 minutes.

Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G Review: Verdict

When the Realme 11 Pro launched in India, it was an easy recommendation for me given the great design, dependable performance, and improved camera. The Realme Narzo 60 Pro, priced starting at ₹23,999, offers the exact same experience – so I cannot say that I don’t love the device. The Realme Narzo 60 Pro 5G is truly fantastic for the price; one that will draw in most people’s attention. However, it makes it difficult to decide which one to recommend to people now, since they sport the exact same specifications. If you are going for the 12 GB + 256 GB variant, it would be prudent to go for the Realme Narzo 60 Pro since it is cheaper than the same storage version of the Realme 11 Pro. And of course, if you need a LOT of storage, go for the Narzo 60 Pro since it comes with that 1 TB model for ₹29,999. 

If you are simply looking for another powerful device under ₹30K, and don’t care about the storage, the POCO F5 is a fantastic performer and great for gaming. Overall, the Realme Narzo 60 Pro is a great device, but it seems like the company is just pitting its own products against each other. Honestly, if you’re just confused between the two, scour Flipkart and Amazon before buying (Narzo 60 Pro is on Amazon and Realme 11 Pro is on Flipkart), see which one has a better discount or better offers, and go for that one.

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Threads is different from Twitter and that is both a good and bad thing

It’s the day after Instagram Threads debuted and the microblogging app has already soared to the top of the app store charts. We have used it and we do see it is inspired by Twitter. However, it has some semblance to Instagram. Also, soon it will get features that put it in comparison to Mastadon and Blue Sky. Here, primarily, we will focus on what’s different between Threads and Twitter. So, let’s get on with it.

Instagram Threads vs Twitter

1. Since both of these are microblogging websites, the character limit is a key thing to know that impacts your experience. That is how much you can write in a post on these platforms. Threads allow for 500 character count while Twitter lets you write only until you hit 280 characters.

pic.twitter.com/MbMxUWiQgp

— Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) July 6, 2023

2. Another form of content that you can post is videos. Threads support up to 5-minute long videos while Twitter lets you post only 2-minute 20-second videos.

Also Read: Instagram Threads memes are so funny it will make Elon Musk cry

3. You have to tap enter thrice to start a line of threads on Instagram Threads. Meanwhile, you just have to tap on the Plus icon to start a thread on Twitter.

  Post by @backlon View on Threads

4. I realized Threads doesn’t support hashtags only when I cross-posted a tweet from Twitter. You can’t search for content based on hashtags and that’s a major feature that’s available in most other social media platforms.  

5. Threads doesn’t feature the option to search for posts/content on the platform. So, a major cutback on discoverability. We hope this would make its way to Threads soon, especially because Instagram and Facebook have it.

6. Threads doesn’t have an option yet to save a draft of the post to attend to it later. Whereas on Twitter, when you hit the cancel button, you get an option to save the draft.

  Post by @sagarcasm View on Threads

7. The privacy and notification settings are different on Twitter and Threads. The latter seems to have imported these settings from Instagram.

To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits: - Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day - Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day - New unverified accounts to 300/day

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2023   Post by @0xjessel View on Threads

8. There are no ads on Threads for now. Mark Zuckerberg has said Threads will get ads only when it hits a 1 billion user base. Twitter, on the other hand, has an ad machinery in the works. But, since Meta is much better at this game, it won’t be long before you see ads on Threads too.

  Post by @zuck View on Threads

9. Threads will soon work with Fediverse and employ the ActivityPub protocol. It will then be a decentralized social networking platform like Mastodon (also AcitivtyPub-based) and Blue Sky. Twitter is part of the OG social media club that’s centralized.

Also Read: Instagram Threads: Here’s how it could be better than popular social media platforms

10. There are no trending topics page, no user-generated alt texts, and other elements of Twitter. What it has however is a massive community from the get-go as users sign up with their Instagram account and can also quickly bring Instagram followers with a single click. Not just that, if you are an Instagram subscriber, you get paid verification on Threads.

All your Threads are belong to us https://t.co/FfrIcUng5O pic.twitter.com/V7xbMOfINt

— jack (@jack) July 4, 2023

So, it's been only a day and a half at this point and the platform still doesn't look or feel fully baked. Folks coming from other platforms may find many things missing. They may even struggle to carry over their follower base from say, Twitter. And since it's a Meta app, one may be concerned about data privacy too. However, it's too early to tell. We may see many changes in the app going forward which may change our opinion. So, let's see. 

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Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Good bang for your buck

The Samsung Galaxy M34 gets a lot of the basics of a smartphone right. You get speedy performance, astoundingly good battery life, and a decent primary camera that should cover all your basic needs. Priced below ₹20,000, the Samsung Galaxy M34 offers great bang for your buck and stands strong in the face of competition. Its battery life is near unparalleled, and if that is your primary concern when buying a smartphone, don’t hesitate to buy it. There are a few misses though – the dynamic range of the primary and ultrawide lens could be better, there’s no HDR support on the display, there’s plenty of preinstalled bloatware, and the teardrop notch looks extremely dated at this price in 2023.

Samsung’s 2023 portfolio of smartphones has been fascinating to review. The company is consciously attempting stylistically homogenize its various smartphone series – be it their budget offerings or their premium launches. The newly-launched Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is a prime example of that. The design language – of the rear panel, at least – is extremely reminiscent of the flagship S series. The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is impressive. It features the tried and tested Exynos 1280 SoC, it houses a ludicrously large 6,000 mAh battery, and its primary camera produces some impressive results in daylight. But the overbearing question remains – how does the phone perform and is it worth your hard-earned money? I answer that and more in my detailed review of the Samsung Galaxy M34 5G.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Build and design

As I mentioned before, the Samsung Galaxy M34 fits right into the 2023 portfolio of Samsung phones – you’ve got that recognisable, distinct look with the vertically-placed circular camera modules that sets it apart from most others in the market. However, while I appreciate the consistency, I still do not believe that this is the best design on a smartphone in its price range.

The rear panel of the Samsung Galaxy M34 is made of polycarbonate that looks very similar to glass but the surface is an absolute fingerprint and smudge magnet. We found it extremely tricky to keep the rear panel clean enough to take good product shots. The fingerprints accumulate within seconds of cleaning the device, which is aggravating. The camera modules look classy, just as they do on other Samsung devices we’ve reviewed this year. The Samsung branding on the bottom is also nice and subtle.

The sides of the phone are made of plastic as well. The bottom houses the USB C port, 3.5 mm jack (yay!), and the sole Dolby Atmos-enabled speaker. The speaker is loud but doesn’t compare to the experience you get with stereo speakers. The right side houses the volume rockers and power button. The power button also doubles as a capacitive fingerprint sensor, which proved to be speedy and accurate. The left side has the SIM tray which can hold 2 nano SIMs, or 1 nano SIM and an SD card. We’ll talk about the front of the device in the next section.\

At 208 g, the phone is pretty hefty by 2023 standards. It is also 8.8 mm thick. Samsung has done a good job distributing the weight though and the phone is quite comfortable to hold. It is awfully slippery though, so we advise buying a protective case since Samsung doesn’t provide one in the packaging.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Display

The Samsung Galaxy M34’s aesthetic appeal takes a major fall when you look at the screen. The outdated waterdrop notch and chunky chin bezel make it look like a phone from the yesteryears – or at least ₹5-10K cheaper than it is. This is a shame because this shell houses a gorgeous 6.5-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display with 120 Hz refresh rate support. There’s no HDR support though, which is disappointing, but you do get Widevine L1 support to view HD content on streaming platforms. The display is topped with Gorilla Glass 5 for protection against scratches and accidental drops.

The M34’s screen packs a punch with vibrant colours and good viewing angles. The screen is quite bright as well, rated at 1000 nits of peak brightness. In my testing, the phone maxed out at 802 nits of brightness under sunlight with Auto Brightness turned on. So, screen legibility in sunlight is a non-issue. Content consumption on this device is good and the screen is capable of producing stunning and immersive visuals. But the immersion is marred by the massive teardrop notch.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Performance

Housing the Exynos 1280 SoC, the Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is a speedy performer. This is a 5 nm chipset that comes with two Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2 GHz. I found this chipset to provide a good mix of power and efficiency. My review unit came with 6 GB LPDDR4X RAM (+ 6 GB Virtual RAM) and 128 GB of onboard UFS 2.2 storage with the option to expand it via a microSD card.

The phone performed admirably well in benchmarks against competitors such as the iQOO Z7 and the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite. In AnTuTu, the Samsung Galaxy M34 flew past the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite’s score and it even did slightly better than the iQOO Z7. The Galaxy M34 proved its mettle in the Geekbench as well – scoring considerably higher than both the iQOO Z7 (review) and OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite (review) but these phones beat it out in the Multi Core test, as you can see below. But it regained its lead in PCMark Work, meaning it will do a great job at productivity tasks such as Excel sheets, photo editing, and more.

In GPU Benchmarks, once again, the Samsung Galaxy M34 showed off its dominance scoring higher than the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite in both 3D Mark Wild Life and GFXBench tests. The Galaxy M34 beat the iQOO Z7 in 3D Mark Wild Life but the iQOO Z7 slipped slightly ahead in GFXBench tests. Overall though, this proved to be a beast of a phone in the sub ₹20K price segment; excelling at both CPU and GPU benchmarks. However, in storage benchmarks, the Galaxy M34 falls behind since it is using the older UFS 2.2 memory standard, so transfer speeds won’t be as fast as the iQOO Z7 or OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite.

In real life, the phone is smooth and fluid in day-to-day tasks with no lag whatsoever. 120 Hz refresh rate makes actions such as scrolling between screens feel even more fluid and seamless. Gaming is also stutter-free on the Galaxy M34 on Medium Graphics at High Frame Rate. We played COD: Mobile for over half an hour and didn’t face any major frame drops, however, the phone did heat up slightly. In the CPU Throttling Test, the phone got a great result – it throttled to merely 85 per cent of its peak performance, so it can sustain heavy workloads without throttling too much.

Moving on to software, the Samsung Galaxy M34 comes with Android 13 out of the box with Samsung’s OneUI 5.1 skin on top. OneUI has plenty of features and customisations, and the overall aesthetic is pretty decent as well but it is rife with bloatware in the form of Samsung or third-party preinstalled apps. There’s also the annoying Glance feature that shows up on the lock screen. You can disable it, but it’s hidden deep in Settings under Wallpaper Services.

The best thing about the latest Samsung phones is the updates cycle where the company even has Google beat! The phone promises a whopping 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates, which is fantastic.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Camera

The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G packs a triple rear camera stack consisting of a 50 MP primary camera with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) support, an 8 MP ultrawide shooter, and a 2 MP macro camera. The primary camera usually snaps detailed photos in daylight or bright indoor light with vibrant colours and decent dynamic range. The camera tends to prioritise highlights and sometimes crushes shadows in the process though. In fact, we even saw some instances where the highlights were overblown. Here are a few image samples; do note that they've been compressed for the web.

Close-up shots look great with a natural-looking bokeh effect. There are some instances when these shots can get a bit soft, usually when the light levels are not adequate. Portrait photos look good but if you look closely, the phone doesn’t do a great job cutting out subjects’ hair. There’s also a strand or two that it misses out on entirely. 

The 8 MP ultrawide shooter clicks good images with similar colour science to the main lens, but there’s some loss of detail in the corners. Dynamic range is still decent, with instances of shadows being crushed. There’s a token 2 MP macro lens that clicks acceptable shots – there’s not a whole lot of detail but the results are usable, at least.

For selfies, the Samsung Galaxy M34 5G brings a 13 MP lens that clicks natural-looking selfies (IF you turn off Beauty Mode) with good colour and detail retention. Portrait mode selfies look the same, but the edge detection could be improved. 

Samsung has also introduced the Nightography feature in the budget segment with the Galaxy M34; a feature that is usually only available on Samsung’s higher-end models. It allows you to take slightly brighter pictures in low light but I still feel like the low-light photography could be improved on this phone. The dynamic range is not the best and some images appear very soft.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Battery Life

Equipped with a monstrous 6,000 mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is a phone that can last most users two days without having to reach for the charger. To reach for the charger, you would first need to purchase one since the retail box skimps out on a charging adapter. The phone supports 25 W wired charging, with no support for reverse wired charging or wireless charging.

In our 4K video loop test, the Samsung Galaxy M34 lasted an astounding 21.5 hours! That’s almost twice as much as the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite! Fifteen minutes of playing Call of Duty: Mobile only drained the battery levels by 3 per cent, and that should show you just about how power-efficient this device is. If battery life is your primary concern, and your budget is below ₹20,000, then this phone is a no-brainer. However, do note that 25 W charging in 2023 is quite slow. The device charged from empty to full in a little over 2 hours.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy M34 gets a lot of the basics of a smartphone right. You get speedy performance, astoundingly good battery life, and a decent primary camera that should cover all your basic needs. Priced below ₹20,000, the Samsung Galaxy M34 offers great bang for your buck and stands strong in the face of competition. Its battery life is near unparalleled, and if that is your primary concern when buying a smartphone, don’t hesitate to buy it. There are a few misses though – the dynamic range of the primary and ultrawide lens could be better, there’s no HDR support on the display, there’s plenty of preinstalled bloatware, and the teardrop notch looks extremely dated at this price in 2023. But if you’re willing to overlook these nitpicks, the Samsung Galaxy M34 is a steal deal. An easy to recommend product for most individuals!

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Razer Blade 14 Review: Small body big power

The Razer Blade 14 is a solid step-up from last year's variant, with better internals, a larger 16:10 display, removable RAM modules, and better cooling as well. The accompanying display is excellent, and the new 7000 series AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS performs exceptionally with the RTX 4070. The 14-inch form factor makes this an extremely portable laptop offering, and the port options are also decent. It's quite a bummer that the laptop isn't officially available in India.

In this review, we're going to be taking a look at the 2023 variant of the Razer Blade 14. While there was no significant upgrade between the 2021 and 2022 variants of the Razer Blade 14, the 2023 variant sees some major changes, both with the hardware and the externals of the laptop. The unit we received came with the new 7000 series AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor, paired with the NVIDIA RTX 4070. Other than that, it came with 16GB of DDR5-5600 RAM, 1 TB of SSD storage, and a 14-inch 2560 x 1600 resolution, 240 Hz IPS panel. We should point out that this laptop is not officially available in India, but if you are planning to pick the laptop up abroad, it will set you back by USD 2,699. Definitely not cheap, but as you can see from the specs, it certainly packs a punch, at least on paper. Let's dive into the full review to see just how well the new 7000 series Ryzen 9 and the RTX 4070 perform.

Razer Blade 14 2023 specs breakdown

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS

TDP: 35W

GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4070

TGP: 140W

RAM: 16GB DDR5-5600

Display: 14-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240 Hz IPS panel

Storage: 1 TB SSD

Ports: 2 USB-A, 2-USB-C, 1 HDMI 2.1

Razer Blade 14 2023: Build and Design

I personally have not tested the previous model of the Razer Blade 14, however, a cursory glance will tell you that they look pretty similar, at least on the outside. The new Razer Blade 14 uses the same aluminium body as last year's model with similar branding. The overall look and feel of the laptop remain the same; you know that this is a Razer Blade laptop without a doubt. The laptop features excellent build quality, it felt very sturdy and reliable in our hands. The base is strong with little to no flex upon application of pressure, and even the laptop lid and hinge feel extremely reliable with barely any flex or wobble.

With the display now being 16:10 instead of 16:9 from the previous Razer Blade 14, the laptop is slightly larger to accommodate the extra screen space. As such, we see that even the touchpad on the new Razer Blade 14 is slightly larger than last year's model. Another new thing Razer has incorporated in the Razer Blade 14 starting this year is a webcam shutter slide and removable RAM modules. This is fantastic from a consumer's point of view, and while the Razer Blade 14 ends up being around 1mm thicker than last year's variant, it's a minor sacrifice.

Razer Blade 14 I/O

With this being a 14-inch laptop, ports are understandably limited. There are no ports on the front or back of the machine. On both the left and right side you have a single USB-A and USB-C 3.2 Gen. 2 port for a total of two each. On the right side, you have an HDMI 2.1 port and a Kensington lock and on the left side, you have the AC adapter port, and the combo audio.

Razer Blade 14 2023 - Display

The display on the Razer Blade 14 is great. The 16:10 240 Hz IPS panel offers high peak brightness. We tested 552 NITS average peak brightness during our display test. It's also very colour accurate making it excellent for your content creation needs on the go. We tested an sRGB coverage of 99.6 percent and a DCI-P3 coverage of 98.3 percent. The only drawback we would say is that it's not an OLED panel, which honestly isn't all that much of a drawback.

Also read: MSI Cyborg 15 A12VE Review: RTX 4050 for under Rs 1 lac (digit.in)

Razer Blade 14 2023 - Performance

With that, we come to the performance on the Razer Blade 14 2023. Quickly going through the specs once again, the new Razer Blade 14 comes with the new 7000 series AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor with a base TDP of 35W, which is paired with the NVIDIA RTX 4070 with a TGP of 140W. For this review, we'll be comparing it with the HP OMEN Transcend 16, which also features an RTX 4070 (with a TGP of 130W), and an Intel Core i7-13700HX, which features a base TDP of 55W.

Starting things off with processor performance, looking at general productivity with the PCMark 10 benchmark, we can see that the new Ryzen 9 actually performs better than the 13th gen i7 almost across the board, save one field.

We use the Cinebench R23 benchmark to test single-thread and multi-thread performance. Here, while the 13th gen Core i7-13700HX performs better in single-thread performance, the Ryzen 9 ends up scoring higher in multi-thread performance.

When it comes to encryption and decryption, for which we use WinRAR and 7-Zip's benchmark tools, the 13th gen Core i7 slightly inches ahead of the Ryzen 9 in the WinRAR benchmark, but with 7-Zip, the Ryzen 9 takes the win by a landslide.

Overall, the Ryzen 9 7940HS comes out as the better-performing processor of the two.

Razer Blade 14 2023 - Gaming performance

Next, we come to gaming performance. Both laptops feature NVIDIA RTX 4070s, however, the TGP on the HP OMEN Transcend 16 is slightly lower at 130W compared to the 140W on the Razer Blade 14.

That said, the difference in scores isn't all that big. As you can see, the 3DMark scores for both laptops are very close, but the higher TGP on the Razer Blade 14 does seem to have made a difference.

The same translated to real-world gaming as well. We tested both laptops across a range of games, both CPU and GPU intensive. The FPS numbers for the most part are very close, but the Razer Blade 14 inches ahead in most games. Except for Valorant. Valorant is weird.

Either way, the NVIDIA RTX 4070 is an excellent laptop GPU, and you should have no trouble running the latest AAA games with ease, even at the higher resolution display offered by the Razer Blade 14.

Also read: Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 Review: The premium gaming laptop experience (digit.in)

Razer Blade 14 2023 - Thermals and Battery

Usually, laptops with small form factors, like the Razer Blade 14, tend to heat up a lot more than their larger gaming laptop counterparts. Surprisingly, the Razer Blade 14 handles heat exceptionally well, especially when compared to last year's model. This is thanks to both the slightly larger size, and the presence of the new Max Fan mode profile in Razer Synapse, which keeps the laptop surprisingly cool under stress. Of course, the Max Fan mode also makes the laptop pretty loud.

During our CPU stress test, we recorded a peak CPU temp of 76 degrees Celsius, which is great. Similarly, surface temps across the laptop never went across the 40-degree Celsius mark. Do keep in mind that all of our thermal testing is done in an air-conditioned environment, so the laptop would run hotter sans the AC.

At approximately 90 minutes, the 68Wh battery on the Razer Blade 14 has the best battery life we’ve tested in a gaming laptop this year. That’s 90 minutes of just gaming. This is of course with the refresh rate set to 60 Hz. At 240 Hz, the battery drains a LOT quicker. General productivity tasks, web browsing, etc will net you a lot more time on the Razer Blade 14 while unplugged.

Razer Blade 14 2023 - Verdict

The Razer Blade 14 is a solid step up from last year's variant, with better internals, a larger 16:10 display, removable RAM modules, and better cooling as well. The accompanying display is excellent, and the new 7000 series AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS performs exceptionally with the RTX 4070. The 14-inch form factor makes this an extremely portable laptop offering, and the port options are also decent. It's quite a bummer that the laptop isn't officially available in India.

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Exclusive: HPs new AI-Powered Macbook Killer leaks - to cost under Rs 1 lakh

In an exclusive scoop, I have the information that HP is preparing to shake up the tech sector with a "Macbook killer." Leveraging their 33.8% market share (as per Q1 '23 IDC report), HP is reportedly readying a 15-inch Envy laptop aimed squarely at the content creators' community—an audacious bid to unseat the Apple MacBook Pro from its lofty perch.

My sources indicate that this device will not merely challenge but outdo Apple's offering, packing in features specifically tailored for the dynamic, hybrid lifestyle of modern creators. And the bombshell? It's expected to be priced under 1 lakh, substantially undercutting the MacBook Pro—a bold gambit that could send ripples through the market.

The new HP Envy is planning to score where the MacBook Pro couldn't. It will incorporate a touch screen, a glaring omission in Apple's premium laptop. Designed to support the ever-evolving demands of content creation, HP's move is a clear nod to the changing preferences of the creator community.

It is also clear from the leaked image that the laptop will have upward-firing speakers, a big trackpad, a full-size SD card slot, and a 360-degree hinge. There is also a good chance that the stylus will come included with the laptop itself. The laptop's keyboard will also feature a 60% layout, which a lot of creators and productivity enthusiasts prefer. 

But that's not all. The new Envy laptop is rumored to be loaded with AI features aiming to enhance security, audio, video, and overall user experience. The standout is HP's Presence 2.0 technology, designed to enhance video calls by adjusting lighting conditions and reducing background noise—a handy feature for all the remote workers and freelancers out there. 

Furthermore, the laptop is engineered to support heavy content creation and multitasking. But will it unthrone the much coveted Macbook Pro? I'll let you know soon once I get my hands on the device. 

Also Read: HP Pavilion x360 14 (2023) Review: Portable, efficient, and versatile

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