The Razer Edge is the latest device from the popular gaming company, and while it calls it a gaming handheld, it is practically an Android tablet with a removable controller. A few years ago, Razer dabbled into the smartphone market with a few gaming smartphones following its acquisition of Nextbit, a tech startup. Its first phone, the Razer Phone, was the first smartphone to launch with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The name Razer Edge may sound familiar, and that is because Razer has announced a device with the same name in the past. The Razer Edge (and Edge Pro), released in 2013, was a 10-inch Windows gaming tablet with a removable controller and a dock with various ports. The device was powered by an Intel chipset with a starting price of $999.
The Razer Edge is a fusion of a touchscreen Android tablet and a pro version of the popular Razer Kishi V2 controller. Powered by an unnamed version of Android, it has Razer's Nexus app as a sort of custom UI on top for that familiar gaming interface. The Razer Edge has flat edges and a slightly curved back that doesn't appear to be glass, with six-speaker grilles. It also has buttons at the top and comes in black with matching controllers. Razer says the Edge is the first gaming handheld to support 144Hz Steam Link remote play. It is also optimized for NVIDIA GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Owners will also be able to stream games from their Xbox.
The Razer Edge Has A 5G Version
Razer's new hardware packs some pretty impressive specs. The display is a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with an FHD+ (2400 × 1080) resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. The display has curved corners, and while the bezels are noticeable, they are not super thick, adding a considerable amount to the device's overall footprint. The device also has a 288Hz touch sampling rate and Gorilla Glass protection. Powering the Razer Edge is the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1, a Qualcomm chipset announced in 2021 that is mainly designed for gaming devices.
For those who don't remember, Qualcomm also showed off a handheld developer kit that was made in collaboration with Razer when the chip was unveiled. So it is not surprising that this is the chip inside Razer's own device. The chipset is paired with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM. There is also only one storage configuration — 128GB (UFS 3.1) — but there is a MicroSD card slot for up to 2TB of storage. Unsurprisingly, there are no cameras on the back of the device, but there is a 5MP 1080p camera in front.
There is a 5000mAh battery inside the device, and it charges via USB-C. While there is no headphone jack on the device, the controller has an audio jack. There are also two microphones, two-way speakers, and THX Spatial audio. The Razer Edge also has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. A 5G version of the device will also be available, exclusively sold by Verizon, and work with its Ultra Wideband 5G network. This variant will have an eSIM and support for Sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G. The Razer Edge will start at $399.99 for the Wi-Fi edition. There will also be a Founders Edition priced at $499.99, which will come with the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds. The 5G version of the Razer Edge will launch later at an unknown price. Razer is already taking pre-orders and will start shipping in Jan. 2023.
Source: Razer