Razer, you remember teased recently a 5G handset aimed at cloud gaming. The company took the opportunity at RazerCon to officially announce what it calls the Razer Edge — yes, Razer he finally went there with his branding.
The Edge has a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate and a 2400 x 1080 Full HD+ resolution. Razer claims the screen has 87 percent more pixels than competitors’ devices. The Steam deck the screen, for example, has a resolution of 1280 x 800. The Edge’s Gorilla Glass touchscreen also has a 288Hz sampling rate, making it quite responsive.
Razer has worked with Qualcomm and Verizon on this device. working on it Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 Gaming Platform, made exclusively for Edge. The device features a 3Ghz octa-core Kryo CPU and Adreno GPU along with active cooling and six air vents. Razer says early benchmarks show the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 is two to three times faster than typical mobile platforms. Snapdragon 720G.
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The device has a battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh, as well as 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128 GB of storage. On the audio front, there are two-way speakers with Verizon Adaptive Sound and a pair of digital microphones. There’s also a webcam – you’ll have the option to stream your gameplay live.
The Edge consists of an Android 12 tablet embedded in the new Razer Kishi V2 Pro controller. It has the same analog triggers as the last one Male V2, micro switches, programmable buttons, and what Razer claims is an “ultra-precise” D-pad. What sets the Kishi V2 Pro apart is its HyperSense haptic feedback and, happily, a 3.5mm headphone jack. The tablet and controller together weigh 400.8 grams, which is just under a pound.
As for games, the Edge, which will initially be available only in the US, will come with pre-installed launchers for Epic Games, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now. You’ll also be able to access remote gaming services like Steam Link, Moonlight, and Parsec.
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Since this is a cloud gaming-centric device, connectivity is key. Razer says the Edge has WiFi 6E, which operates on a “congestion-free” 6GHz channel and supports multi-gig bandwidth for fast download and upload speeds. When you’re on the go, you’ll be able to connect to cloud gaming services via 5G as long as you have the right model.
The 5G version of the Razer Edge is a Verizon exclusive. Pricing and exact availability will be confirmed later, but it should be out in January, around the same time as the WiFi model. This version will set you back $400 and will be available from the Razer website and RazerStore locations. You can reserve one For a $5 refundable deposit. Razer has not announced pricing or availability for the standalone Kishi V2 Pro controller.
That’s not an insignificant price for a WiFi model, and it’s likely that the 5G version will cost more, but the specs seem solid for the money. If you don’t want to plug your phone into a controller and lug around a Steam Deck, this looks like an option worth considering for cloud gaming on the go.
The Razer Edge isn’t the only handheld aimed at cloud gaming. Logitech’s $350 G Cloud Gaming Handheld, which lacks WiFi 6 or 6E support, will be available next week. Other prominent manufacturers are also focusing on cloud gaming. Google this week Acer introduced three Chromebooks from ASUS and Lenovo designed for streaming games.
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The Edge was far from Razer’s only product announcement at RazerCon. Along with the Kraken Kitty V2 Pro wired headset (which has interchangeable rabbit, bear and cat ears with Chroma RGB lighting) and some other hardware, the company showcased the Hammerhead HyperSpeed headset.
The headphones feature Chroma RGB, active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 5.2 and 2.4GHz connectivity (you can connect to your console or other device via a USB-C dongle) to minimize lag. Razer claims you’ll get up to 30 hours of total battery life, including extras from the charging case. Hammerhead HyperSpeed is available in PlayStation and Xbox branded variants. The headphones cost $150 and will be available in November.
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