The keyboard has undergone several notable updates, now featuring keys with a 1.5 mm travel distance that provide a tactile and mechanical sensation. The key actuation feels heavy, contributing to a sense of precision. Razer has introduced five macro keys located on the right side beneath the power button, in addition to “dual-LED” RGB backlighting. This backlighting illuminates the secondary function of each key when the Function or Shift keys are pressed and held. Though it may be seen as an unnecessary feature, it is an interesting addition. The large glass touchpad has improved significantly, resolving previous issues with misclicks and palm rejection.
Previously, Razer offered two display choices, including a 4K panel; however, now there is a single option available: an OLED 240-Hz screen with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. With the RTX 5090 onboard, this display is poised to deliver better frame rates at high resolution than before.
The image quality of the OLED panel is outstanding, showcasing impressive color saturation (100% sRGB, 94% AdobeRGB) and color accuracy (Delta-E of 0.42). Although it reaches a maximum brightness of 381 nits, which is not the brightest, its high contrast and rapid response times make it superior. While mini-LED displays previously offered by Razer were notably brighter in both SDR and HDR, the advantages of OLED remain compelling. Unverified reports indicate that the 2025 model of the ROG Zephyrus G16, which uses OLED, reaches 500 nits.
However, the Blade 16’s screen is extremely glossy, causing frequent adjustments to the brightness to handle reflections, which can be distracting in certain lighting conditions.
The device’s six-speaker audio system surpasses most gaming laptops on the market, delivering some bass suitable for watching YouTube videos or movies, although it still falls short when compared to Apple’s MacBook Pro. The 1080p webcam is adequate for video calls but tends to produce a noisy image even under decent lighting conditions.
Regarding the hardware configuration, the Razer Blade 16 is equipped with an RTX 5090 Laptop GPU and an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, with a price tag of $4,500. This cost includes 32 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage, as Razer no longer offers a 16 GB model. A starting configuration priced at $3,000 includes the Ryzen AI 9 365, RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. Although the Blade series has typically been expensive, the current prices are particularly steep. Older models remain available starting at $2,400.
This release marks Razer’s first exclusive use of AMD for the CPU in the Blade 16, challenging the notion that Intel is the superior option. Although not as robust as the “desktop replacement” chip in last year’s Intel model, the current CPU configuration provides ample power for gaming needs.
