Credit: David Imel / Android Authority
This year’s CES has been a bit different, but that didn’t stop new product announcements from pouring in. We saw a ton of tech at the show, and that goes double for laptops. With literally dozens of options, we’ve rounded up ten of our favorite new laptops announced at CES 2021.
In this list, we tried to be fair and include a variety of differing laptops for many use cases including mainstream, business, and gaming. There’s even a new Chromebook we felt worthy of inclusion. Read on to see our picks.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga
Lenovo is refreshing many of its existing ThinkPad models at CES 2021, but the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga stands out as something new and impressive. The newest member of the Yoga family uses real titanium on the lid, magnesium for the chassis, and carbon for the lower portions. The result is a 2.54 pound convertible laptop that’s just a bit over 11mm thin.
Aside from being astonishingly thin and light, the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga offers an Intel 11th Gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB SDD space, touch and ink support via an included smartpen, and a 13.5-inch display with a 2256 x 1504 resolution and a 3:2 aspect ratio. There’s even an optional 5G model that falls back to LTE when 5G speeds aren’t available.
At $1,899 the X1 Titanium Yoga isn’t cheap but it is stylish, thin and light, and has plenty of specs that make it a great choice for those looking for a high-end laptop perfect for productivity.
HP Elite Folio
HP Elite Folio has won Android Authority‘s CES 2021 Top Picks Award for Best Tablet/Convertible. Check out all the awards here.
The HP Elite Folio isn’t your everyday consumer laptop, opting for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 processor over a more conventional x86 chip from AMD or Intel. While Windows on ARM support is still somewhat in its infancy, the Folio takes aim at business users who need great battery life and constant internet connectivity.
Thanks to its ARM chip, the Folio sips power and reportedly gets up to 24.5 hours of battery life when watching local media. Of course the actual day-to-day results are likely to be lower, but it can easily get through a workday. That is, until you turn on 5G.
The HP Elite Folio has 5G and LTE support through the X20 and X55 modems included in the laptop. While we don’t have any data on how quickly 5G/LTE will drain the battery, we expect it to take a notable toll.
The Folio could be a road warriors dream, helped along by its portable convertible laptop form factor. A 13.5-inch 3:2 1920 x 1280 display is small, but not so tiny it can’t be used for general productivity. And the ability to turn into a tablet helps add to the device’s versatility.
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 has won Android Authority‘s CES 2021 Top Picks Award for Best Chromebook. Check out all the awards here.
Last year’s Galaxy Chromebook was easily one of the most impressive Chromebooks to date, with a stunning design and equally impressive specs. The only downside was the $1000 price tag. The new Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 keeps the DNA of its predecessor while dropping the specs to achieve a much more palatable $549.99 starting price.
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 drops the original’s 4K display for a 13.3-inch full HD QLED touchscreen display. This time around there are two SKUs, one with an Intel Celeron 5205U and another with a 10th-gen Intel Core i3-10110U processor. Both SKUs come with 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM and either 64 or 128GB storage (expandable via microSD).
See also: The best Chromebooks
Although the specs aren’t as strong, you still get a beautiful 2-in-1 device with stylus supported (sold separately). There are also several improvements including 5W stereo speakers with Smart AMP technology and improved battery life.
Considering Chrome OS isn’t a resource-intensive OS, we feel the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is much more practical than the original.
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE
You’d likely expect the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE to be nothing more than a minor upgrade to the original Triton 300. You’d be wrong.
The 300 SE features an all-new industrial design, instead of the usual black-and-light blue color scheme found with other Predator laptops. The new look makes the laptop feel much more modern and is the perfect fit for gamers bored with overly flashly gaming laptops.
The Predator 300 SE makes the jump to new Intel Tiger Lake-H processors, including the high-end Intel Core i7-11375H with an upper clock speed of 5GHz. There’s also plenty of GPU power, thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. Aside from a killer CPU/GPU pairing, the Triton 300 SE also offers a 14-inch 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate.
While the 300 SE might have a more serious look than other Predator models, it still offers a 3-zone RGB keyboard for those looking to add a splash of color.
The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE will go on sale in February with a starting price of $$1,399.
Razer Blade 15 Advanced
Razer Blade 15 has won Android Authority‘s CES 2021 Top Picks Award for Best Gaming Laptop. Check out all the awards here.
The latest iteration of the Razer Blade 15 is now official, and the big news is the 15.6-inch QHD display with an impressive 240Hz refresh rate.
Most laptop gamers still seem to prefer 1080p gaming because of higher refresh rate options, but the Blade 15 QHD 240Hz model finally catapults gaming laptops to a new level. Don’t want QHD? There’s also an HD 360Hz or a 4K 60Hz option.
Beyond the display, the Razer Blade 15 has all the latest specs you’d want. There’s a 10th-generation Intel Core H-series processors inside, along with Nvidia’s Geforce GTX 30 mobile graphics. The laptop will also include up to 1TB of SSD and 32GB of RAM that’s expandable to 64GB total. The new Blade 15 supports the company’s customizable Chroma RBG backlighting for its keyboard, with the base model supporting zone lighting, and the advanced model using per-key lighting.
The new Razer Blade 15 will go on sale this month, with a starting price of $1,699.99. It was definitely one of the best upcoming laptops at CES 2021.
Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE
Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE has won Android Authority‘s CES 2021 Top Picks Award for Best Laptop. Check out all the awards here.
It’s rare that you find a laptop with a 4K display and a high refresh rate, but that’s what you get with the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE.
The laptop features a 15.6-inch 4K display with a 120Hz resolution. 4K has never been great for gaming, but this new display should allow for a really high-end gaming experience with all the benefits of 4K. The SE also offers an HD option with a refresh rate of 300Hz, if that’s more your jam. Besides an incredible 4K display, the Duo includes a secondary 14.1-inch display beneath the main screen, which can be tilted up to 13 degrees and has either a full HD or 4K resolution. This second screen is useful for in-game chat, game streams, and more.
Two displays require a lot of processing power, which the Duo 15 SE isn’t lacking. The notebook is powered by AMD CPUs, with Ryzen 7 5800H or Ryzen 9 5900HX options. For graphics you can choose between the GeForce 3060, 3070, 0r 380. There’s also 16GB of RAM that’s expandable up to 32GB total, and then there are SSD storage options up to 2TB.
All this power doesn’t come cheap, as the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE starts at $2,899.99. Asus has not announced a release date for the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE just yet. However, it’s still one of the best upcoming laptops at CES 2021.
Lenovo Legion 7 16
While mainstream laptops are adopting taller displays, gaming laptops are mostly stuck on 16:9. This changes with the Lenovo Legion 7 16.
The new Lenovo Legion 7 ditches the original’s 15-inch full HD display in favor of a 16-inch QHD display (2,560 x 1,600) with a unique display ratio of 16:10. Aside from a display that gives you a bit more visual room, there’s also a solid 165Hz refresh rate and support for Dolby Vision HDR. Like the new Blade 15, the Legion 7 16 makes QHD gaming much more compelling for laptop gamers that previously felt refresh rate options were just too limited.
Read more: Best laptops
As you’d expect, the Legion 7 16 has impressive specs including an AMD Ryzen 9 5900H option, and the latest GeForce RTX 30 series graphics with support for Nvidia Gsync.
The Lenovo Legion 7 16 will launch in June 2021 with a starting price of $1669.99.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17
Like big displays and you cannot lie? The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 is for you, thanks to its massive 17.3-inch display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. More importantly, the display packs a very high 360Hz refresh rate for smoother graphics. There’s also a QHD option, though it has a slightly less impressive 165Hz refresh rate.
Inside you will find either AMD Ryzen 7 5800H or Ryzen 9 5900HX processor and support for up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Nvidia powers the GPU with your choice of an RTX 3070 or RTX 3080. For those who prefer mechanical keys, you’ll be happy to know that’s what you get with the Strix Scar — offering an impressive .2ms response time.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 will launch sometime later in the first quarter of 2021, but no price tag has been announced. It’s one of the best upcoming laptops at CES 2021.
Acer Chromebook Spin 514
Acer Chromebook Spin 514 has won Android Authority‘s CES 2021 Top Picks Award for Best Affordable Laptop. Check out all the awards here.
AMD has been slowly eating away at Intel’s dominance recently with its Ryzen chips, especially in gaming. Now AMD has its sights on Chromebooks as well, as the new Acer Chromebook Spin 514 has AMD power inside.
The Spin 514 will come in your choice of an AMD Ryzen 7 3700C or the Ryzen 5 3500C. Both variants will use AMD’s Radeon Vega mobile graphics chips. The other specs are pretty much what you’d expect including up to 6GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 256GB of SSD storage, and a battery that offers up to 10 hours on a single charge. The display does manage to stand out a little, as the 14-inch 1,920 x 1,080 touchscreen can be rotated 360 degrees.
Read more: Best Acer Chromebooks
The Chromebook Spin 514 has rather impressive specs for a Chromebook but it also looks great and should be fairly durable, at least judging by its MIL-STD-810H rating. There will also be a Chromebook Enterprise Spin 514 model for businesses, with higher end security for IT workers.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 will go on sale in February in the US for a starting price of $479.99. The Enterprise model will go on sale in March, starting at $749.99. It’s one of the best upcoming laptops at CES 2021.
HP Envy 14
HP has announced a hardware refresh for its popular Envy 14 laptop. The biggest change is that the 14-inch notebook now has a 16:10 aspect ratio display. The 1,920 x 1,200 resolution display will also support 400 nits of brightness.
Inside the notebook will have an Intel 1th-gen Intel i5 CPU, along with up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of SSD storage. You also have the option of putting in an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU for some extra gaming performance. But what really stands out with the Envy 14 is the battery life, which reportedly can last up to 16.5 hours.
The HP Envy will start at $999 and goes on sale later this January.
Those are the best new upcoming laptops at CES 2021. We will be looking forward to checking them out when they are released over the coming weeks and months ahead. Looking for more of the best from CES? Check out the other great roundups below:
