• Original review date: July 2022
• Launch price: Starts at $599 (about £490 / AU$865)
• New models now out
Update – September 2024: The 2022 model reviewed here is now pretty outdated - especially when it comes to the graphics card. The good news is that since we reviewed this model, HP has continued to launch updated HP Victus gaming laptops, which remain some of the best cheap gaming laptops money can buy.
The most recent model, the HP Victus 16, was released earlier in 2024, and while its starting price is a bit higher than the Victus 15, it still represents brilliant value for money. Its graphics card is the RTX 4050, an excellent budget GPU that punches well above its weight thanks to DLSS 3.0 upscaling, and it's a marked improvement over the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 that comes with the Victus 15 from 2022.
So, while you might still find this model selling for temptingly low prices at some retailers, I would recommend spending a bit more on the Victus 16 - you'll get a much better gaming experience without having to spend the kind of money some of the best (and most expensive) gaming laptops demand.
Original review follows.
HP Victus 15: Two minute review
The HP Victus 15 is what you should envision when you think about what a budget gaming laptop should be.
One of the latest models in HP’s growing lineup of low-cost gaming machines, the Victus 15 starts off extremely affordable without compromising too much on specs and only moderately increases in price as the specs climd higher. It's certainly a no-frills option that lacks a lot of refinement, but you at least get three simple colors options (mica silver, performance blue, and ceramic white) for the chassis, so it's not a bad looking laptop either.
The Victus 15 is sturdy and a bit chunky, so bags that aren’t made to carry around larger gaming laptops will have a harder time fitting it. The HP Victus 15 has a good assortment of ports and its 15.6-inch display is pretty good for the price, with solid viusuals and resolution even in higher settings, and the 144Hz refresh rate is surprisingly good.
The bezels are perfectly fine but nothing particularly noteworthy, and the webcam is pretty clear, so it’ll treat you well during streaming sessions. The keyboard is just as basic as its laptop's exterior and there’s no key backlight, which makes gaming in the dark a bit harder. On the plus side, there is a tenkey numpad on the right. Meanwhile, the keys are a good size and would be easy to type on but are a bit too smooth, which can trip you up occasionally and result in more typos.
The Victus 15 comes with either an AMD Ryzen 5 or an Intel Core i5 for the CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 mobile GPU, the latter of which really helps keep the price down. Despite the lower spec, it runs graphically intensive games pretty smoothly, even if it doesn't play something like Cyberpunk 2077 at Ultra settings very well.
Its battery life is similar to many of the other best gaming laptops, which is to say not great at all. If you’re lucky, you can keep it alive for about four and a half hours but it’s much safer to simply keep it on the charger. Its charge time is fairly decent at least so you won’t be waiting too long if you stick with the out-of-the-box charger, but it might be worth investing in a USB Type-C charger if you need something faster.
For those looking for the best cheap gaming laptop that brings a great gaming experience at a seriously affordable price, the HP Victus 15 is one to check out for sure. Though it’s simple in design and a bit bulky, its specs will run nearly any title in your Steam library at 30 FPS at least, as well as balance other work or school-related tasks.
HP Victus 15: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
Excellent price
Limited availability outside the US at this time
The HP Victus 15 starts at an incredibly low price of $599 (about £490 / AU$865) in the US with the lowest specs. The price increases with additional upgrades like an AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, 16GB memory, or a 512 GB SSD, with the highest price coming in at about $1,200 (about £980 / AU$1,730). Don't forget to take a look at HP promo codes available to potentially save more.
In the UK and Australia, this laptop appears to have very limited availability at this time, and we aren't sure if or when it will become available in those regions. We've reached out to HP for clarification and will update this review if we hear back from the company.
Value: 4 / 5
HP Victus 15: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Hefty and well-built
Solid display and keyboard
Good port selection
If you need an exterior that’s made of sturdy material and has a solid weight, then the HP Victus 15 is definitely up your alley. At five pounds, it has some heft to it which is great since it can take quite a beating, but it can also be a downside when you need to carry it around. This is a laptop that, thanks to both its weight and size, will most likely challenge the bags of most users.
HP Victus 15 Key Specs
Here is the HP Victus 15 configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
CPU: Intel Core i5-12450H Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 RAM: 8GB Screen: 15.6-inch FHD IPS LED Display, 144Hz Storage: 512GB SSD Ports: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1 x Power port, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x SD Card Reader, 1 x Combo Jack, 1 x Ethernet port Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 Camera: 720p Weight: 5.06 pounds (2.3 kg) Size (W x D x H): 14.09 x 10.04 x 0.93 ins | 357.89 x 255.02 x 23.6 mm
An interesting feature of the HP Victus 15 is that it’s partially made of post-consumer recycled and ocean-bound plastic, uses water-based paint, and has wholly recycled packaging.
Yet the recycled parts don’t seem to impact the all-around quality of the laptop’s build. The paint job is well-done and of good quality, which is rather disappointing considering how basic the three color choices are.
There are a good range of ports including two USB Type-A ports, a Type-C port, an Ethernet port, an SD Card slot, an HDMI port, and a combo jack. It makes for a versatile laptop that is not only great for gaming but for work-related tasks as well.
The display itself is 1080p, and it looks great when playing on High and Ultra settings with other graphical features enabled, especially thanks to its 144Hz refresh rate.
Image 1 of 5
The lid of the HP Victus 15 (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 5
The underside of the HP Victus 15 (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 5
The HP Victus 15's webcam (Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 5
A view from the HP Victus 15's webcam (Image credit: Future)
Image 5 of 5
The ports of the HP Victus 15 (Image credit: Future)
The bezels offer decent screen real estate but aren’t particularly thin or efficient in terms of preserving screen space. Its webcam is unfortunately 720p HD, and though it’s not the best resolution it still gets the job done.
It displays your face clearing while streaming during a gaming session, as well as for video meetings. There’s no backlight for the keyboard, which otherwise is a very simple and sensible one with a good sized trackpad, limiting gaming to well-lit areas.
Design: 4 / 5
HP Victus 15: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Can play most demanding games just fine
Good ventilation for heat disipation
Works great as a school or work laptop
Though it’s a budget gaming laptop, the HP Victus 15 takes air circulation seriously, with a dual-fan setup and a much larger air vent at the bottom of the laptop than in previous models. Even during more intensive gameplay segments, it barely generated any real heat.
In terms of gaming performance, this is a budget laptop and as such there are certain concessions to be made when dealing with lower specs. For instance, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Laptop GPU that the lowest spec HP Victus 15 laptops are outfitted with only comes with 4GB VRAM.
During our test run with Dirt 5, both benchmark and normal gameplay, error messages would occasionally pop up to warn about the VRAM getting too low. And this was despite the game itself running at 30 FPS on the highest setting and at around 75 FPS on the lowest.
Cinebench R23 Multi-core: 10,082
3DMark Night Raid: 30,805; Fire Strike: 8,935; Time Spy: 3,645 GeekBench 5 (single-core): 1,596; (multi-core): 6,897
PCMark 10 (Home Test): 6,361
PCMark 10 Battery Life: 4:33
Battery Life (TechRadar movie test): 4:14
Total War: Warhammer III (1080p, Low): 82 fps; (1080p, Ultra): 34 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Low): 48 fps; (1080p, Ultra): 24 fps
Dirt 5 (1080p, Low): 76 fps; (1080p, Ultra): 31 fps
The issue of low VRAM didn’t show up in other test runs with titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Total War: Warhammer III, and Hitman 3. On the lowest setting Cyberpunk ran at 48 FPS, which sounds bad but the game still looks and runs impressively. But you definitely won’t be maxing out your settings on this title.
Total War: Warhammer III runs at about 34 FPS on average at Ultra and 82 on Low, so if this kind of game is more your jam you can feel free to crank up the settings, but Medium is where you’ll get the best balance of framerate and graphics.
Hitman 3 was a true surprise, considering how demanding it is to run. During our test, we were able to crank up the setting to the second-highest preset and the VIctus 15 still ran above 60 FPS on average. This machine loves Hitman 3 and it shows.
The HP Victus 15 performed below other gaming laptops in the standard benchmarks like Cinebench, Geekbench, PCMark10, and 3DMark. But there wasn’t a huge discrepancy between those scores despite the machine we tested running far less powerful tech compared to other budget laptops.
In other non-gaming related tasks, the HP Victus 15 performs well. It’s able to juggle multiple tasks like streaming movies, voice/video conference calls, editing documents, and more. If you’re looking for a well-balanced laptop, this is a good option.
Performance: 4 / 5
HP Victus 15: Battery life
(Image credit: Future)
As with many gaming laptops, the battery is the worst aspect by far and the HP Victus 15 is no exception. In both our battery tests, the laptop only lasted a little over four hours, which is half of a full work day. When we used it for non-strenuous daily tasks, it lasted about the same amount of time. For gaming the battery dies much faster, which would limit sessions to maybe two hours at most.
However, its charge time isn’t bad when using the charger it comes with, taking around an hour to get to a little over 60% charged. That time would be faster if using a USB Type-C charger, and something we’d recommend if that option is available.
• Original review date: June 2022
• Launch price: Started at $999 / £1,099 / around AU$1,600
• Target price now (updated model): Starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,500
Update – July 2024: Acer's Nitro budget gaming brand is still truckin', though the humble Nitro 5 is no longer the star of the show as new Nitro 16 and Nitro 17 laptops have now arrived on the scene.
The exact Core i5 model from 2022 reviewed here is no longer available to buy directly from Acer (although it can still be found at some third-party retailers), though there are newer models still available - hence the lack of a significant price drop in the above target pricing. The current-gen configuration comes with a newer Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card, making it a straight upgrade without a bump in price; always a welcome sight.
While the Nitro 5 isn't the best laptop on the market, it was never trying to be. Instead, it aims to be the best cheap laptop - and indeed, for a while in 2022 it occupied the 'best budget' spot on our ranking of the best gaming laptops. It might be starting to show its age a bit now, but the Acer Nitro 5 is still a solid choice of gaming machine for buyers on a budget.
Acer Nitro 5 (2022): Two minute review
The Acer Nitro 5 (2022) is an excellent option for anyone looking for a budget gaming laptop, considering how the current market demand for more affordable gaming PCs and laptops has soared in recent months.
For the most part, the Nitro 5 is one of the best cheap gaming laptops around thanks to its great performance, offering a well-rounded gaming experience for its price point. In terms of specs, the Acer Nitro 5 sports some beefy specs for a budget machine, which means it runs most games at 30 FPS at least with maxed-out settings and much higher under more reasonable settings.
The screen is a 15.6-inch display with thin bezels to maximize the space but unfortunately no anti-glare, which means it’ll be that much harder to game when you’re outside in direct sunlight. The keyboard is simple but smooth and easy to use, with wide keys and a tenkey numpad on the right side. It’s also backlit for easy gaming in the dark or dimmer lighting. The touchpad is also smooth and very responsive with no noticeable input delays.
The chassis feels solid and well-built and while it’s not thin and lightweight by any stretch of the imagination, it’s still lighter than many other bulkier gaming laptops and relatively easy to carry around. It’s also well ventilated, using a dual-fan and four-exhaust setup to keep the temperatures low.
Its battery life is easily the worst feature, as it runs out of power in about four hours with regular, non-gaming use. The cable it comes with is a very slow charge, so you’ll have to splurge for a fast charging one yourself to take advantage of the built in Thunderbolt 4 support. The second worst is the 720p webcam with an average-at-best clarity, but unlike some other budget laptops you at least have one built in.
It supports Wi-Fi 6E, which means a much faster internet connection whether at home or on the go. This is a great option for streaming games when you can’t tether your laptop, though it does hinge on whether the Wifi used supports it.
The Acer Nitro 5 is a well-rounded gaming laptop that has some solid performance falling right in line with its competition, except when it comes to its below average battery life. Though not the sexiest, it’s fairly portable with a large screen size and very affordable as well, which is a definitely a bonus nowadays.
Acer Nitro 5 (2022): Price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
How much does it cost? Starting at $999/£1,099
When can you get it? It is available now in the US and UK.
Where can you get it? You can get it in the US through Best Buy, and in the UK through the Acer online storefront.
The Acer Nitro 5 is available in the US through Best Buy and in the UK through the Acer online store, with Australian availability yet to be announced. The configuration on offer features a 12th-Gen Intel Core i5-12500H, Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti dedicated graphics, 16GB DDR4 RAM, and a 512GB PCIe SSD. Look out for any Acer promo codes that could bring the cost down.
Value: 4/5
Acer Nitro 5 (2022): Design
(Image credit: Future)
A very no-frills, sturdy design
Well-designed and practical keyboard
When you think of the best gaming laptops, the first thing that pops in your head might be one on the thicker side, with a simple black metal exterior, and a bezel that’s thin but nothing out of the ordinary. In other words, a fully functional design that does little to stand out. And the Acer Nitro 5 fits that to a T.
Spec Sheet
Here is the Acer Nitro 5 (2022) configuration sent to TechRadar for review: CPU: Intel Core i5-12500H Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti RAM: 16GB DDR4 Screen: 15.6-inch IPS, FHD, 144Hz Storage: 512 PCIe SSD Ports: 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1 x Thunderbolt 4, 1 x power port, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x SD Card Reader, 1 x Combo Jack, 1 x Kensington Slot
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 Camera: 720p Weight: 5.51lbs | 2.5kg Size (W x D x H): 14.19 x 10.67 x 1.06 ins | 360.4 x 271.0 x 26.9 mm Battery: 57WHr
It has a sturdy and high quality build that’s fitting for a gaming computer. It has a good amount of heft to it, so you’ll definitely feel its weight if you carry it around with you, but its size isn’t excessive enough to cause genuine stress either. As long as you have a good quality laptop bag with some decent space, it doesn’t take up too much room and won’t overburden you either.
If there’s anything about the Acer Nitro 5 that stands out, it’s the keyboard. The keys are black with a white outline, lay mostly flat, and are wider than a standard keyboard’s keys. This gives it a very distinctive look that may be visually polarizing but serves a more practical purpose, which is to make typing on them much easier for those who have thicker fingers or generally shaky hands.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
The smooth and flat surface also means it’s easier for fingers to glide from key to key, which is extremely important when in an intense gaming session that requires fast input. There’s also a numlock pad on the right, putting number keys in an easy to reach position.
The thin bezels are somewhat notable, as they help to maximize the screen real estate while also preventing the screen itself from having to increase in size and make the whole laptop larger and clunkier.
Its port selection is standard but in a good way, with a nice variety of ports and slots to suit most needs. There are three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-As and one Type-C, an HDMI port, an SD Card Reader, a headphones jack, and a Kensington Slot for added security. It also comes with a Thunderbolt 4 port, which is excellent for fast charging though you’ll have to purchase the cable yourself.
Design: 3/5
Acer Nitro 5 (2022): Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Performs well graphically for its configuration
Good quality HD screen
One of the most important yet underrated features of any gaming laptop is the circulation. No matter how cutting edge the specs are, if the airflow is terrible your PC is heading down to crash town. But the Acer Nitro 5 has a solid setup which includes dual-fan cooling, quad exhausts located on each side, and even an upper air intake situated above the keyboard. This translates to a very well cooled machine that hasn’t overheated in the countless hours I played around with it.
3DMark: Night Raid: 35,782; Fire Strike: 13,238; Time Spy: 5,831 Cinebench R23 Multi-core: 11,085 points GeekBench 5: 1,691 (single-core); 8,596 (multi-core)
PCMark 10 (Home Test): 6,536 points PCMark 10 Battery Life: 2 hours and 31 minutes Battery Life (TechRadar movie test): 3 hours and 56 minutes Total War: Warhammer III (1080p, Ultra): 52 fps; (1080p, Low): 130 fps Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra): 76 fps; (1080p, Low): 135 fps
In terms of performance during a gaming session, it runs most graphically demanding titles pretty smoothly. We tested it using both Total War: Warhammer III and Cyberpunk 2077 and without any of the magic of ray-tracing and integrated graphics, both games are able to maintain about 30-50 FPS in Ultra settings and between 70-130 FPS in Low settings. And considering that this laptop’s benchmarks are actually a bit higher than two of the other budget competitors, it makes sense that it’s able to hold its own.
Complementing the visuals is a competent sound setup made of dual 2W speakers. While not groundbreaking in any way, the music and sound effects are immersive and support the graphics well. The keyboard is smooth, responsive, and feels satisfying to use; not to mention the red backlight is always a nice touch, especially during late night gaming sessions.
Also complementing the visuals is the 15.6-inch QHD screen, with a resolution of 2560 X1440. This is further supported by the 165Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time, meaning that not only do the graphics look nice but the visuals are crisp and smooth.
The webcam is nothing to write home about, as it’s a substandard 720p resolution that looks okay but not super crisp and clear. It’s good for Zoom meetings and will manage during streams, but don’t expect anything polished either.
All around this laptop performs pretty well for a budget machine, passing nearly every benchmark handedly. Framerate is better than you’d expect from the hardware it has, which is no doubt the CPU carrying its full weight. It has a great circulation setup, which no doubt contributes to its overall performance, and the sound supports the visuals perfectly with no breakups or other quality issues.
Performance: 4/5
Acer Nitro 5 (2022): Battery Life
(Image credit: Future)
Does not last long at all
Has a Thunderbolt option for charging
If there’s one thing that weighs down the Acer Nitro 5 and it’s the abysmal battery life. Even under normal working conditions the battery can’t seem to go past a few hours before needing a recharge, and the charge time itself is rather slow. Do yourself a favor and buy a Thunderbolt 4 charger instead.
When we ran a standard 1080p movie test, which involves looping a movie at normal settings until the battery life runs out, the battery didn’t even make it to the four hour mark before dying. The results of the PC Mark 10 Battery Life benchmark were a bit more surprising, as the laptop matched its two competitors pretty closely with its score of 6536. This is despite the other two laptops having a battery life of at least eight hours.
• Original review date: June 2022
• Newer Aspire 5 with 13th-gen Intel CPUs available now
• Launch price: $600 / £450 / AU$1,399
• Official starting price now: $549 / £599 / AU$1,199
Updated: January 2024. It's been a year and a half since we reviewed this version of the Acer Aspire 5, and you can now snap up a few different configurations (which vary between regions) equipped with newer 13th-gen Intel processors. You can still snap this exact model up from retailers like Amazon - where it's now a fair bit cheaper than the latest version - and we still think the Aspire 5 is one of the best cheap laptops out there, regardless of version. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
Acer Aspire 5: Two-minute review
When looking at Acer’s website, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Acer Aspire 5 is an expensive, high-end laptop that includes a 12th generation i7 processor and powerful GeForce graphics card. But, as we’ve found with Acer in the past, the company’s website tends to just focus on its top-of-the-range models, and leaves you to find out about other options that might be available.
In this instance, it turns out that the Aspire 5 is available with a wide range of different models and specifications - in fact, there are more than 60 different configurations listed on Acer’s US website, including 17.3-inch and 15.6-inch displays, with both Intel and AMD processors. And, if you search long enough, you may even find the entry-level 14-inch version of the Aspire 5 that we review here, which is based on an older 11th generation i5 processor.
That’s clearly not the powerful laptop “for accelerated photo and video editing performance” that Acer promises, but if you judge the Aspire 5 on its own merits then it undeniably is one of the best cheap laptops for routine web browsing and productivity tasks.
Spec Sheet
Here is the Acer Aspire 5 configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
Available now in the US and UK, with limited availability down under
Wide range of models, some from Acer, some from online retailers
Acer’s pricing and sales information can also be a bit confusing. Some of the models listed on its web site can be bought direct from Acer, while others are sold through online retailers and high street stores - such as Currys in the UK - so you may need to search around online if there’s a specific model that you require.
As mentioned, we tested an Aspire 5 model with 14-inch screen, which also includes Windows 10 Home, a quad-core i5-1135G7 processor running at 2.4GHz (up to 4.2GHz with Turboboost), along with 8GB memory and 512GB solid-state drive. Acer’s US web site actually lists two different prices for that specification - $669.99 or $599.99, depending on which web page you look at.
You can’t buy that model direct from Acer in the UK, although it is available from a number of online retailers for around £450.00. Australia, oddly, just gets a single Aspire 5 model with a larger 15.6-inch display and i7 processor for AU$1399.00.
Value: 4/5
(Image credit: Future)
Acer Aspire 5: Design
Bright 1080p display
Wi-Fi 6 and Gigabit Ethernet
Just one USB-C
You’re not going to get cutting-edge design at this price level, and the Aspire 5 has a fairly conventional clamshell design, with chunky borders around the edge of the screen that look a little dated. Acer’s website - unclear as ever - indicates that it’s available in a variety of colors, but the models sold on its website all seem to just be either black or silver.
It gets the basics right, though, with a sturdy chassis that should be able to cope with a few bumps in a backpack or bag when you’re traveling. And while it’s no ultrabook, the Aspire 5 only weighs 1.7kg and measures 18mm thick, so it’s perfectly portable when it needs to be. The keyboard feels firm and comfortable for typing, and there’s a fingerprint sensor on the trackpad for security. The only real weakness here is the thin L-shaped power connector, which sticks out from the side of the laptop and looks a little vulnerable.
The 14-inch screen only provides 1920x1080 resolution, but it’s bright and clear, with good viewing angles. We’re also pleased to see that it has a matte finish that helps to reduce glare and reflection. The 720p webcam is a bit basic, but the image quality was better than we’d expected - it gets a bit grainy if the light is low, but some decent daylight produces an image that’s sharp enough for video calls.
The built-in speakers are a bit feeble, though. The sound is fine for just watching some videos on YouTube, but if you want to listen to some decent music then you’ll need to plug some headphones or speakers into the audio socket on the right-hand edge of the laptop. However, connectivity is a bit of a mixed bag, with just a single USB-C port, and three USB-A (3.2) for connecting peripherals and other devices. Thankfully, the Aspire 5 does include Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity, with Gigabit Ethernet also available for wired networks, and HDMI for an external display.
Design: 3.5/5
(Image credit: Future)
Acer Aspire 5: Performance
Respectable performance for office software
Casual gaming only
Benchmarks
3DMark: Night Raid: 12,300; Fire Strike: 3,015; Time Spy: 1,280 Cinebench R23: Multi-core - 4,800 GeekBench 5: 1,417 (single-core); 4,440 (multi-core) PCMark 10: 4820 points PCMark 10 Battery Life: 6 hours, 35 minutes Battery Life (TechRadar movie test): 6 hours, 37 minutes
Rather than the i7 processor and GeForce graphics that Acer boasts about on its website, this entry-level model is equipped with a more modest i5 processor, with integrated Iris Xe graphics. Even so, it still provides respectable performance for a laptop in this price range, with a score of 1,417 for single-core performance and 4,440 for multi-core. For real-world applications, the PCMark 10 test suite gives the Aspire 5 a score of 1280, which qualifies as a perfectly respectable ‘office laptop’. Admittedly, that score leaves it just below the halfway mark in the PCMark 10 results tables, but that’s not bad going for an i5 laptop in this price range, and the Aspire 5 will be fine for web browsing and running productivity software such as Microsoft Office.
The Aspire’s integrated Iris Xe graphics won’t win any awards either, with 3DMark scores that generally leave it in the ‘less than 20fps’ category. But, to be fair, 3DMark does use very high graphics settings, so if you don’t mind turning the graphics quality down a little you might even be able to get a bit of casual gaming done every now and then.
Performance: 3.5/5
Acer Aspire 5: Battery Life
6.5 hours for movies
6.5 hours for productivity software
Acer’s website goes typically overboard, boasting up to 10 hours of battery life for the Aspire 5. In fact, our tests recorded very similar scores of just over 6.5 hours for both playing movies and the applications-based PCMark test suite.
Even so, that’s not too bad for a low-cost laptop such as this, and if you’re not using wi-fi then the Aspire 5 should give you a full day’s work when you’re on the move.
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
It's hard to write a Samsung Galaxy S22 review without making reference to its big brother, the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Now there's a phone with a radical new idea. Okay, it's an idea borrowed from the Galaxy Note line, but still, the Ultra stands apart from the S22 and S22 Plus. In fact, it makes the Galaxy S22 feel a bit less-than.
But these are also more expensive phones, so we’d be comparing apples to oranges to an extent. So let’s focus on what makes the Samsung Galaxy S22 such a fun, attractive, and palm-friendly device.
Put simply, the S22 has enough of everything. It pushes no boundaries in terms of photography, screen size, and battery life, yet it still compares favorably to Apple's $799 / £849 / AU$1,339 iPhone 14.
Samsung's flagship phone provides more megapixels and sensors for photos, and gives you 3x optical zoom. To get something similar on the iPhone, you'll have to jump up to the pricier Pro models.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 is the kind of phone you get if your tastes are upscale but your budget is a bit downrange. Its 6.1-inch screen can feel cramped if you’re coming from virtually any similarly-priced Android phone from OnePlus and Xiaomi. However, placed side-by size with an iPhone 14, the dimensions are similar – and the resemblance is uncanny.
It's a handset that will quickly become a trusted companion. The cameras should satisfy most average mobile photography users, and the image quality is excellent. The adaptive screen-refresh technology does a nice job of keeping everything from fast scrolls to action games looking smooth, and you’ll have no trouble shooting and editing 4K, 30fps video. The Galaxy S22 can also shoot 8K, but the screen stuttered while shooting it so we’re not ready to say this is an 8K-winner.
Like the rest of the S22 line, the Galaxy S22 is running Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the US, or Samsung’s own Exynos chip in the UK and elsewhere,) and both are backed by 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. The mobile CPU is snappy and capable, but that storage limit without the ability to add a microSD card is frustrating.
Overall, if you like Samsung and Android together, this is an affordable and familiar (we see you, Galaxy S21) way to get in at the top of the Galaxy line, making it one of the best Samsung phones and even one of the best Android phones. For those who want a 5G Samsung Galaxy but want to pay hundreds less, they should look at the Galaxy A Series, including the attractive Galaxy A53.
If you're looking for the perfect Samsung Galaxy S22 audio partner, you may want to check out our Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro review.
Samsung Galaxy S22 price and availability
Samsung Galaxy S22 specs
Weight: 167g Dimensions: 146 x 70.6 x 7.6mm Display size: 6.q-inch Resolution: 1080 x 2340 Chipset: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 / Exynos 2200 RAM: 8GB Storage: 128/256GB Rear camera: 50MP + 10MP + 12MP Front camera: 10MP Pre-installed software: Android 12 Battery: 3,700mAh Charging: 25W wired, 15W wireless
The Samsung Galaxy S22 went on sale on February 25, 2022, in the US, March 3, 2022, in Australia, and March 11, 2022, in the UK.
You can pick up the Galaxy S22 with 128GB storage for $799 / £769 / AU$1,249, or with 256GB for $849 / £819 / AU$1,349. That pricing has not changed since the Galaxy S21 line.
Note however that while those are the standard prices, you can now often find the Galaxy S22 for less than that, and now that the Samsung Galaxy S23 series has arrived the price is likely to keep on dropping.
Samsung Galaxy S22 design
Not a huge redesign over its predecessor
Comes in a few attractive color designs
Has a strong glass rear
The Gorilla Glass back of the Samsung Galaxy S22 (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Samsung evidently opted not to stray far from the Galaxy S21 design from the previous year, but there are two differences - one is noticeable, the other not so much.
The Galaxy S22 has a 6.1-inch display, making it 0.1 inches smaller than its predecessor, but it’s not something you’ll notice. What is noticeable is the new Gorilla Glass Victus Plus back – the rear was plastic last year. This change gives the phone a much more premium feel, and the Galaxy S22 now feels every bit as solid, and looks as elegant, as the iPhone 13.
This is a phone that’s small enough to slip into your pocket or bag and forget about. In today's world of oversized phones (like the larger Galaxy S22 Ultra), the S22's 70.6 x 146 x 7.6mm, 168g chassis feels puny.Apple's iPhone 13 mini, which Apple is discontinuing, previously held the ‘small flagship’ crown, though.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Where Apple now favors a smooth flat metal band around its phones, the Galaxy S22's aluminum frame offers a small, albeit pleasing curve, which some may find slightly more comfortable to hold for long periods than the iPhone 14. The phone is IP68 rated, which makes it water and dust-resistant. In practice, a drop in the sink is no big deal.
We’re glad Samsung left the contour-cut camera module untouched. It's attractive and efficient. The brushed glass back looks and feels great, and does a nice job of highlighting our test unit's Forest Green color – it also doesn’t show fingerprints. Other color options include Phantom Black, Phantom White, Pink Gold, and Bora Purple.
There are just two buttons – power and the volume rocker – along one edge of the phone. On the top edge is a tiny hole for a microphone. The bottom houses one speaker (the other half of the decently-loud stereo speaker system is hidden along the top edge of the display), the SIM slot, another microphone hole, and the USB-C charging port (note that the S22 doesn’t support the 45W charger that Samsung sells for theGalaxy S22 Plus).
Samsung Galaxy S22 display
6.1-inch screen, smaller than on the S21
Has a 2340 x 1080 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate
Bright and attractive display
The edge-to-edge Dynamic AMOLED display has a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, which is good, though it is lower than the iPhone 14's Super Retina XDR 2532 x 1170 display. Samsung makes up for that deficit by having a smaller black bezel around the screen, and no intrusive notch.
To accommodate the 10MP front-facing camera, Samsung has cut a small circle in the display. It's not distracting, and didn’t break our immersion through long games of PUBG Mobile.
The screen is as bright and attractive as any we’ve seen. The adaptive refresh rate (10Hz to 120Hz) makes every movement in scrolling, videos, and games look smooth. High refresh rates can burn through charge quickly, so you can lock the refresh rate at 60Hz if you want to extend battery life, or at 120Hz if this isn’t a concern for you.
The screen also promises to boost touch sampling (the speed at which it will recognize and respond to touch) for Game Mode. We had no responsiveness issues, but we also haven't noticed any gaming sluggishness in other flagship phones we've tested this year.
Underneath the display is the ultrasonic fingerprint reader. This lets you register your finger (or fingers) of choice and is an effective biometric security tool. The phone also supports face recognition, though there's also a warning that it's less secure on this device than fingerprint unlocking is.
While the Samsung Galaxy S22 looks a lot like the S21, right down to the contour-cut camera array, Samsung has mixed things up a bit. There are still three lenses, but some of the sensors backing them are different.
The 12MP ultrawide f/2.2 camera is virtually unchanged, but it's now grouped with a new 50MP f/1.8 main camera and a 10MP f/2.3 telephoto. That last camera has far fewer pixels than the S21’s 64MP sensor but keeps the zoom at 3x (the S21 listed the zoom as hybrid; this is optical zoom). You can enjoy digital zoom up to 30x, which is fun, but not as good or exciting as the S22 Ultra's 100x Space Zoom. Still, it's nice to get 3x optical on a sub-$800 phone.
On the front is the 10MP selfie camera, which appears unchanged from the Galaxy S21.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
You can adjust the bokeh effect before or after you take a portait mode photo.
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Photography across a range of styles (wide, ultrawide, portrait, night mode) and the available lenses are good. Samsung's over-bright colors are still in evidence; they have a tendency to make, for instance, the sky too blue, and the results almost never match what you see with the naked eye. Looking back at the photos, you can't help but be pleased, but if you want absolute color fidelity, you might look elsewhere.
Portrait mode photography, which lets you adjust the bokeh effect before or after you take the shot, is a strong point. The software does an excellent job of separating subjects – human, or otherwise – from their background for professional-looking results.
The 10MP, 3x optical zoom does a good job, though its capabilities break down when it comes to 10x and 30x. We’re not sure there are enough pixels to support this level of digital (even AI-backed) interpolation.
The camera app includes a rather deep set of shooting modes and controls, many of them hidden under ‘More’ (typical of an Android phone). There's Pro mode, for instance, which gives you control over shutter speed, ISO (film speed in old-school camera-speak), focus point, and white balance.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 doesn't include a Cinematic mode, as Apple does in the iPhone 13, but you can adjust the depth of focus while shooting video if you use the Pro Video mode setting. With that on, you can tap on any subject and the camera will refocus on them. It's a shame Samsung hides such a useful feature in this way.
Camera samples
Image 1 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 5 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 6 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 7 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 8 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Image 9 of 9
(Image credit: Future)
Samsung Galaxy S22 performance and specs
Uses Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip in the US and Asia
Uses Exynos 2200 everywhere else
Powerful, with a fair amount of storage
Samsung has equipped all members of its S22 line with one of its latest mobile chipsets. In the US, that’s the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, while outside the US and Asia the Galaxy S22 runs on Samsung’s own Exynos 2200. Both processors are paired with 8GB of RAM, and either 128GB or 256GB storage.
When we benchmarked the Galaxy S22 against the S22 Ultra, we found the Geekbench scores to be essentially equal. Both phones’ scores are still generally lower than Apple's A16 Bionic’s, though.
None of this is to say the Galaxy S22 feels slow. It has more than enough power for casual mobile tasks (web browsing, app work) and extra juice for videos, games, 4K video shooting, and editing. The 8K video shoot was a stuttering disaster, but otherwise, we were pleased.
We wish Samsung didn't skimp on storage (256GB max without the option of a microSD upgrade is simply not enough) and leave out WiFi 6E (it has WiFi 6), but these are relatively minor quibbles.
Samsung Galaxy S22 software
Android 12 with Samsung's One UI over the top
Lots of pre-installed Samsung apps
Has 5G connectivity
Samsung Galaxy S22 front hole punch for 10MP selfie camera. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The entire Samsung Galaxy S22 phone family runs on Samsung's One UI 4.1, laid over Android 12.
We like One UI because it mostly doesn't get in the way of a clean Android 12 experience. Yes, it still has its own web browser, which you can happily ignore (along with Samsung's Calendar and Contacts apps), and Bixby (which is tied to the power button for no good reason), but the Gallery app for photos and videos is passable (Google Photos, which is also present, is better).
This is also a 5G phone, which means you can enjoy blazing-fast mobile connectivity where you can get a decent signal. Indoors, however, that's often impossible. Even in the suburbs of most big cities, 5G coverage is spotty. But we did have fun streaming HD Netflix on the train ride home until we moved out of 5G range and back into LTE.
Samsung Galaxy S22 battery life
3,700mAh battery - 300mAh smaller than before
USB-C cable, but no wall plug, included
Charges at 25W - also supports wireless
It's not clear why Samsung shrunk the Galaxy S22's battery down by 300mAh, from a capacity of 4,000mAh on the S21 to 3,700mAh here, but it doesn't appear to have much of an impact. We got roughly 12 hours of battery life with varied and almost constant use. Your mileage may vary.
The phone doesn’t ship with a charging adapter – just the USB-C cable – but you can use any compatible 25W adapter or charge wirelessly via a Qi adapter.
Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy S22?
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
If this Samsung Galaxy S22 review has you wondering what else is out there, here are some other similar mobiles that might also tempt you.
iPhone 14
The iPhone 14 is a capable smartphone with a seriously snappy CPU, lovely screen, and good cameras. It pales in comparison to the iPhone 14 Pro, but then you’re also saving $200 / £250 / AU$350. If you’re not looking for a big screen on a budget (for that, see the new iPhone 14 Plus), this solid, if unspectacular iPhone – with a couple of really cool next-gen features that you may never use – might be for you.
OnePlus 10T review
The OnePlus 10T is a worthy mid-range Android phone. Its good-looking screen, powerful chipset and fast charging make it a tempting buy for certain users. It’s not perfect – corners have clearly been cut in the camera, battery life and design departments to keep the price lower than it needs to be – but some users will find the lower price and different features make this a solid buy over the premium 10 Pro.
If we were to judge the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra on nothing but its cameras and, in particular, the optical and digitally-enhanced zoom capabilities, we might call it the best smartphone ever.
Of course, even before its successor landed, it wouldn't have been fair to judge the S22 Ultra as the best based on its cameras alone – every handset is the sum of its design, features, components, utility, and value – but taken as a whole, this Samsung Galaxy Series-Galaxy Note hybrid is an excellent, albeit massive Android handset that not only ticks all the important boxes, but delivers more features than you may ever want or use.
The design is an echo of, but also more forward-leaning than, Samsung’s last Note device. It really is a hybrid. There will be no complaints about the ultra-high-resolution, 6.8-inch screen, which offers brilliant colors and smooth motion at 120Hz, but is smart enough to stop down all the way to 1Hz, when that’s all you need, to save on battery life.
The camera array is strong. Sure, it’s not a complete overhaul of the Galaxy S21’s camera system, but that was already pretty darn good. This is arguably better – the Optical and Space Zooms are simply marvels of modern technology.
We also love the thin and light S Pen, and we’re thrilled that it’s finally integrated – literally – into the Galaxy line. It does so many things so well, and for productivity-focused mobile users it could be a godsend.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's back is black, satin Gorilla Glass Victus+ (Image credit: Future)
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Specs
Display: 6.8-inch, Quad HD+ Dimensions: 77.9 x 163.3 x 8.9 mm Weight: 229G Screen refresh: 120Hz Screen brightness: 1750 nits Glass: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ Water resistance: IP68 Selfie camera: 40MP resolution Main camera: 108MP resolution Telephoto camera: 2 10MP resolution sensors Ultrawide: 12MP resolution Battery: 5000mAh Memory: 8GB or 12GB available Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB available
Samsung’s One UI 4.1 software is mostly good, even if it does create some duplication of browsers, photos, and messages apps. Other tools, like Expert Raw, a freely downloadable Samsung app that gives you full access to all the camera controls and lets you capture and save RAW format photos, and the video-conferencing app Google Duo, which both do an excellent job of showing off the phone’s power and versatility, are the real highlights here.
Performance-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor acquits itself nicely (no, it doesn’t beat Apple’s A15 Bionic). The point is, we couldn't find a single app that was sluggish or disappointing on the mobile monolith.
Battery life was more of a mixed bag. We did get a full day of solid use (18 hours or so), but we thought we might get more out of the massive 5,000 mAh battery and high-performance, energy-efficient CPU.
Ultimately, though, this is the kind of device that can make you forget what’s come before it. If you were used to a smaller-screen device, you’ll feel cramped if you ever go back to it. If you struggled in the past to take photos of the moon, you’ll wonder why Apple hasn’t figured this out yet. If you wished that your device had just a little more power to complete those raw image-editing tasks, your wish has been granted.
Part of Samsung’s new S22 lineup, but looking nothing like its siblings, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is to the casual observer a Galaxy Note in a shiny, new coat. It does have a much bigger and bolder camera array (lifted pretty much intact from the S21 Ultra), but it’s otherwise a canny adjustment of the Note aesthetic or, as Samsung might call it, the “Note Experience.” Still, this adjustment leaves it as easily the best Samsung phone.
If you're looking for the perfect Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra audio partner, you may want to check out our Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro review.
Starts at $1,199.99 / £1,149 / AU$1,849 for 128GB storage and 8GB of RAM
Storage options up to 1TB, no microSD slot for expansion
A device that combines the best of Samsung’s S Series and the Note’s more industrial design and capabilities doesn't come cheap. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra starts at $1,199.99 / £1,149 / AU$1,849 for 128GB storage and 8GB of RAM.
There are naturally bigger storage options (that also include more RAM), which can take you all the way to a 1TB model ($1,599.99 / £1,499 / AU$2,449 ). 256GB will run you $1,299,99 / £1,249 / AU$1,999, and 512GB is $1,399.99 / £1,329 / AU$2,149.
(Image credit: Future)
Choose your storage options wisely, because none of the Samsung Galaxy S22 phones come with a microSD card slot for upgrading your storage space.
The good news is, prices are often lower than that now that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is getting on a bit - and they're likely to drop further now that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has arrived.
An inarguably beautiful device, the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – owing to its Note roots – doesn’t look much like the Galaxy S22 Plus. It starts from the original Galaxy Note 10 design but takes it forward with even more premium materials.
The frame is a solid Armor Aluminum that rigidly resists bends. Polished on the outside to a near-chrome finish, the metal is sandwiched between two Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ plates. The front glass is high-gloss, and the back is a warm satin finish; both do a decent job of repelling fingerprints. The phone’s IP68-rated body also handily resided the water we ran over it.
The above finishes come in seven color options: Phantom Black, Phantom White, Burgundy, Green, Graphite, Sky Blue and Red. The dark green is sexy, but we’ve fallen in love with the inky Phantom Black of our test device.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
Did we mention that this is a big phone? Its dimensions are 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mm, which is taller than a 6.7-inch Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, but, somewhat surprisingly, at 229g, lighter than Apple’s biggest handset. Small hands will struggle with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. The curved edges make the Galaxy S22 Ultra comfortable to hold, but the lack of edges also makes it feel slippery as a fish – albeit a fish made of hard glass and metal.
There are two flat surfaces, on the top and bottom of the device. The top plane is a mostly unbroken slab of metal, with one tiny drill-through hole for a microphone. The bottom surface houses the SIM slot, USB-C charging port (the phone ships with a USB-C cable but no charging brick- BYOB is a thing now), speaker grille, and the S Pen.
If you’re in any doubt that this is a Note in S Series clothing, you need only to press that slight bump on the base and pop out the familiar and light S Pen. It’s all the things a Samsung S Pen should be, giving up nothing for its new Galaxy S22 Ultra home. More on the stylus later.
The 6.8-inch AMOLED screen is another highlight. It supports up to 3088 x 1440 pixels (WQHD+) resolution, which works out to 500 ppi. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, by contrast, has 458ppi on its 6.7-inch 2778 x 1284 screen. It’s worth noting that the S22 Ultra’s default resolution is 2316 x 1080 (FHD+), which Samsung says uses somewhat less battery life – although halfway through our testing we switched to WQHD+ and didn’t notice much, if any, battery performance loss.
Everything from games and videos to apps looks fantastic on the display, which now has the ability to smoothly shift from a 1Hz refresh rate all the way up to a butter-smooth 120Hz. Such adaptive technology can be hard to notice because, for instance, 1Hz might be used for the home screen or a word processor, while 120Hz might be called on for gaming.
The point is, when the imagery should be clean and smooth, it is. The lower refresh rates primarily help to conserve battery – there’s no need to update the screen more than a hundred times per second if nothing is moving.
With a peak brightness of 1750 nits and Samsung’s new Vision Booster technology, the screen does a decent job of maintaining visibility even in direct sunlight. Naturally, though, this means the brightness gets turned up to 100%, which will impact your daily battery life.
Hidden under the screen, roughly a third of the way up from the bottom edge, is the effective ultrasonic fingerprint reader. We found it easy to both register a finger and use it to unlock the phone. The other biometric security option is facial recognition, but Samsung warns that this isn’t as secure as other options, like a PIN or fingerprint.
There’s also a small drill hole through the screen for the 40MP front-facing camera.
Put simply, this is a lovely screen for viewing and writing.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Cameras
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera array (Image credit: Future)
Main camera is 108MP with f/1.8 aperture and an 85-defree FOV
Two telephoto lenses with 10MP sensors, one ultrawide 12MP sensor
Optical zoom up to 10x, Space Zoom enhanced up to 100x
When people say, “So, it’s basically a new Samsung Galaxy Note, right?” we have to flip over the phone to show them the camera array, which is a dead ringer for the one on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Don’t worry, though – this is not some Frankenstein’s monster of smartphone design. Because Samsung has done away with the contour box that popped the whole thing up a millimeter or so above the back of the S21, the S22 Ultra’s array of five lenses looks perfectly at home.
The cameras don’t just look similar – they’re almost the same. There are two 10MP telephoto lenses: one is f/2.4 with a 36-degree field of view (FOV) and the other is f/4.9 with an 11-degree FOV. There’s also a 12MP ultrawide with a 120-degree FOV, and then there’s the 108MP main wide camera (f/1.8) with an 85-degree FOV.
However, the technology backing these lenses has gotten an upgrade. While the image sensors haven't changed since the S21 Ultra, Samsung has done some work on optical image stabilization, digital image stabilization (for a better Super Steady system), and image processing. The result is better performance from all the lenses, but especially in the zoom arena.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s zoom capabilities simply blow away anything we’ve ever seen before from a mobile phone camera. Obviously, the 3x and 10x optical zoom are not only solid but offer clear images of distant objects with enough clarity that you can crop in on details without seeing much pixelation.
The 30x and especially 100x Space Zoom is where, at least in previous iterations of Samsung’s technology, you’d see significant artifacts in your photos.
Now, however, these images are shockingly good, at least at first glance. Sure, you can’t crop in too much without the images breaking down into a Picasso-like mess, but untouched, these can be perfectly shareable images.
Part of this has to do with the stabilization, which at 100x, basically takes control of the lens and holds a subject (like the moon) in the frame. It can feel a little like you’re no longer in control of the lens, but it does do a good job of countering your shaky hands.
Wide and ultrawide images also benefit from some new pixel sorcery. With the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung introduced Adaptive Pixel. This takes nona-binning (first introduced with the S21 Ultra), which takes nine pixels of information and combines them for better color and contrast, and combines it with the full resolution of the 108MP wide-angle original. That lens also gets an auto-focus assist from what looks like a fifth lens on the back of the phone - it's actually a Laser Auto Focus sensor. If you look closely, you can see the little red laser light peeking out from behind the glass.
Virtually every image we shot looked great, even if we did detect a hint of over-saturation (it wouldn’t be Samsung if they didn’t over-saturate the image).
The front-facing camera, meanwhile, uses tetra-binning to combine four pixels into one for a high-quality 10MP image.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Samsung’s lenses, stabilization, image sensors, and algorithms also make what the company calls ‘Nightography’ possible. While we don’t like the marketing term, the phone’s night-time and low-light photographic skills are clear. It can brighten a night sky to near daytime, capture the moon or your face in poor lighting, and has some long-exposure skills too.
The front and rear cameras do a nice job with portrait photography, courtesy of a Portrait mode that’s getting good enough to separate stray hairs from a bokeh background. Samsung told us this is due, in part, to its new depth map technology. The presets, which include the ability to create a virtual backdrop (a chromakey color is used so that you can easily substitute some other background later) are pretty good, as well.
You can also shoot some high-quality 4K video at 60fps, and up to 8K at 24fps. We were pleased with the results.
We were less impressed with the phone’s Portrait Video capabilities, which come nowhere close to the magic of Apple’s iPhone 13 line’s Cinematic mode video (it needs a face in frame to work). The auto-framing capability, which literally zooms the camera in and out to keep people in frame, doesn’t seem all that useful – we suspect it needs more refinement.
One thing we do appreciate about Samsung’s video shooting capabilities is that, unlike an iPhone, it lets you shoot video, hit pause, and continue shooting while keeping the entire shoot in one video file. Apple should add this feature ASAP.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Camera samples
Image 1 of 10
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Space Zoom photo of almost full moon (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 10
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Space Zoom shot of the moon through trees (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 10
(Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 10
(Image credit: Future)
Image 5 of 10
(Image credit: Future)
Image 6 of 10
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra optical zoom test (Image credit: Future)
Image 7 of 10
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra front facing camera Portrait Mode test (Image credit: Future)
Image 8 of 10
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra portrait mode test (Image credit: Future)
Image 9 of 10
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Space Zoom photo Freedom Tower from 3 miles away (Image credit: Future)
Image 10 of 10
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Pro Camera test full control shutter speed ISO (Image credit: Future)
Aside from the awesome cameras, the main reason you’d spend all that extra dough on a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is for the integrated S Pen. The light and versatile stylus is hidden inside the phone’s body; it’s small, thin, and feels so easy to lose that you’ll wish there were magnets in the S Pen and on the body of the S22 Ultra to hold these companions together when you don’t slip the stylus inside the phone.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra S Pen (Image credit: Future)
With the S Pen, you can take notes on a lock screen (they’re white ink on a black background), or open the phone and access a slide-in menu of eight customizable options.
These include taking notes, viewing them, making smart selections of anything on the screen, drawing on a screen capture, live messages, doodling in augmented reality, translations, and PenUp, a community space where you can learn how to draw with the S Pen and share your creations with others.
All of these features work as advertised, and offer fast ways of grabbing content, marking it up, and sharing with friends and coworkers.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
In our estimation, the S Pen is a wildly useful implement and, despite its small size (small for this reviewer’s hands anyway), it’s an effective drawing implement. We opened Sketchbook and had a great time drawing, especially because the pen and screen recognize pressure and angle.
The S Pen is also a solid productivity tool. We scrawled some notes in Samsung Notes and then let the system convert the scribbles to real text. It didn’t miss a word.
Overall, there’s a lot you can do with the S Pen, but it also follows the 80/20 rule – most of us will use 20% of the features, 80% of the time.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Software
Android 12 with Samsung One UI 4.1
Some apps, like Messages, are duplicated with Samsung and Google versions
While the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is an Android 12 phone - and one of the best Android phones at that - it’s also running One UI 4.1, the latest version of Samsung’s Android interface software. Like most Android overlays, this one isn’t primarily there to enforce a bespoke design aesthetic on top of pure Android; rather, it duplicates some utilities, like the web browser and photos apps, and adds tons of smart software touches and useful tools, like Samsung’s new Wallet, that should enhance the Android experience
Samsung’s onboard photo and video-editing capabilities, for example, are strong. We especially like the ability to magically remove an object from a photo, which worked like a charm on a photo of a dozen donuts – instead of eating them, we just selected them one by one and removed them from the original image. The software did leave behind a few telltale artifacts, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell what was there before we digitally removed a donut.
There’s also a freely downloadable Expert Raw app, which gives you access to all the pro shooting tools (ISO, white balance, focus, shutter speed) and lets you shoot raw images, which we then edited on the phone in Adobe’s Lightroom app.
It’s not great, however, that there’s both a Messages app and a Samsung Messages app. The icons look similar, but they’re two distinct apps. It’s this kind of nonsense that will always keep the Android messaging system slightly behind iOS’s iMessage. We want one system – the new RCS (Rich Communication Services) is fine – and complete cross-app compatibility.
Samsung has made a lot of noise about Google’s updated Google Duo video conferencing utility, which makes its debut on the S22 Ultra, and it does work as advertised. We made a Duo call to a friend, which looked and sounded good on both sides, and then quite effortlessly shared views of our screen, apps like Twitter, and played a YouTube video that we were both able to enjoy.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra connecting phone to Windows 11 (Image credit: Future)
Samsung is also strengthening its partnership with Microsoft, and we had no trouble adding our Microsoft account, which includes OneDrive and the Office Suite. It was also easy to connect the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to our Windows 11 PC.
We started the process on the phone, and then we had to visit a URL on the PC (it was supposed to pop up automatically, but didn’t) where we found a QR code. We pointed the S22 Ultra camera at the code, and the phone then guided us through the rest of the set-up process.
With the connection complete, we were able to control our phone through the desktop using our mouse; we even ran Asphalt 9 for a hot second before the connection crashed.
While, in our tests, it wasn’t immediately clear how having these platforms blended in this way benefits the user, we think the ability to quickly access on-phone data, messages, and calls is surely part of the attraction.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Specs and performance
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with camera app open (Image credit: Future)
A 4nm processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in most of the world
UK and Australia get Samsung Exynos 2200 chipset
Over almost a week of intense testing, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra never let us down. It’s a fast and powerful phone. The 4nm processor (in our test phone it’s the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset – UK or Australia will get Samsung’s own Exynos 2200 chipset.) doesn’t outperform Apple’s A15 Bionic in Geekbench benchmarks, but raw numbers never tell the full story.
For what it’s worth, here are the numbers for our device, which shipped with 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage).
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Geekbench benchmarks
CPU:
Single Core: 1236
Multi-Core: 3417
GPU
OpenCL Score: 5866
Apple’s numbers are better, but the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra didn’t feel any slower across all tasks. Perhaps the only situation where we detected a small stutter was on 8K video playback (that’s 8K video that we shot with the very same phone).
This is also a gorgeous and quite powerful gaming phone, and handled my Asphalt 9 race through Barcelona without a single hiccup.
Call quality was generally excellent. We could hear our caller clearly, and they told us we were coming through equally clear. The 5G performance (we were on T-Mobile in the US) was, by turns, excellent and average – it seemed to depend on how close we were to a decent 5G tower.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Battery life
Large 5,000 mAh battery and wireless charging
Could not meet our expectations for battery life
Like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the S22 Ultra features a beefy 5,000mAh battery and wireless charging. In our tests, the battery was good for a full day of varied activity (roughly from 7am to 11pm) but not much more (this was the same for mid-range and high-resolution screen settings).
We were a little surprised that such a large battery didn’t provide a day and a half of battery life. Perhaps the new 4nm chip isn’t as efficient as Samsung had hoped.
(Image credit: Future)
The phone has a built-in vapor champer and heat-sync material. Even so, we detected some warmth on the back of the phone when performing a variety of tasks, including web browsing, photography, and gaming, for extended periods. We wonder if Samsung might be able to improve battery performance with some software tweaks.
As noted above, the phone doesn't ship with a charger, just the USB-C cable to connect to one – a potential shock for people upgrading from the previous Note. Also, the in-the-box package no longer includes a set of earbuds, and while this at least makes some sense, as the phone no longer has a 3.5mm headphone jack, you start to feel like Samsung is asking for more money while giving you less.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is probably not for everyone. It’s giant, expensive, and might be overkill for people who simply want a nice screen, decent photos, and a good on-screen social media experience. For those who want more, say a phone that is ready to run Raw photo editing apps, mark up screens and images, create detailed works of art and take zoom photos that will make you the envy of all your iPhone-carrying friends, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is worth every dime.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra?
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra?
(Image credit: Future)
Buy it if...
Don't buy if...
Also consider...
If the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review has you curious about the fastest smartphones on the market, you can read our full roundup of the best phones you can buy.
• Original review date: February 2022
• Launch price: Starts at $1,649 (about £1,250, AU$2,300)
• Target price now: N/A
Update – September 2024: R.I.P. to 14-inch Alienware laptops, I guess. Yes, Dell has killed off the X14 gaming laptop line entirely since we reviewed it back in 2022, with the company now focused only on 16- and 18-inch models. It's no longer available for purchase, although you might be able to pick one up second-hand.
Back in 2022, the Alienware X14 certainly was worthy of standing among the ranks of the best gaming laptops around, so it's a shame to see it disappear from Dell's gaming lineup. It's doubly sad given that there's no obvious replacement here either; Dell's own-brand G-series gaming laptops only come in 15- and 16-inch flavors.
Original review follows.
Two-minute review
Thin and light gaming laptops like the Alienware X14 are becoming more common as mobile PC components become more power efficient and PC makers get better at designing cooling systems that don't take up as much space. We've already seen a few laptops try to pack high power and light weight in a single chassis, but now Alienware is throwing its legendary hat - and design into the ring.
And, it ends up with one of the thinnest and lighting gaming laptops we've ever used. This laptop is just 0.57 inches thick and weighs just under 4lb, making it easy to carry in your backpack. But it doesn't sacrifice power to fit in that chassis. The model we reviewed comes with an Intel Core i7-12700H, 32GB of RAM and an RTX 3060. That's not the most powerful hardware on the market, but its more than what you'll find in most laptops this size.
But with that high power in such a portable chassis, you're going to have to pay. The model we got in for review will cost a whopping $2,299 (about £1,700, AU$3,200) in the US, quite a bit more expensive than an equivalent Razer Blade 14, though it is a bit thinner and lighter. With the high price of entry, the Alienware X14 really is a gaming laptop for people that want something that can play the best PC games at high settings, but without weighing them down. And the fact that it uses USB-C charging instead of a giant power brick definitely helps, too.
Price and availability
SPEC SHEET
Here is the Alienware X14 configuration sent to TechRadar for review: CPU: 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-12700H (14 cores, 24MB cache, up to 4.7GHz Turbo) Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 RAM: 32GB Screen: 14-inch 1080p LED, 144Hz, 7ms Storage: 1 X 2TB M.2 SSD Optical drive: N/A Ports: 1x USB-A,2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, 1 x USB-C with DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI, 1 x microSD card reader, audio combo jack Connectivity: Killer WiFi 6E AX1675 (2x2 ), Bluetooth 5.2 Camera: HD 720p Webcam Weight: 4.06 pounds (1.8 kg) Size: 12.66 x 10.35 x 0.57 inches (321 x 263 x 14.5 mm; W x D x H)
The Alienware X14 is available today, starting at $1,649 (about £1,250, AU$2,300). That will get you a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050. That would be enough for most esports games, and should be more than capable of handling most AAA games, especially if you use DLSS.
If you want a bit more gaming power, though, you can up the GPU to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for $1,849 (about £1,360, AU$2,580) . This is the configuration we'd recommend for most people, and the price is actually pretty good, and about what you would pay for other gaming laptops with similar specs - including our favorite low-profile gaming laptop, the Razer Blade 14.
The configuration reviewed here will set you back $2,299 (about £1,700, AU$3,200), and comes with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. This is definitely an overkill amount of RAM and storage space, especially in a gaming laptop that maxes out with an RTX 3060. But as far as Alienware laptops go, this max configuration is actually pretty tame.
In fact, we wish Alienware pushed a little further with the X14. Even if it just included a 3070 configuration for people that want to play some Cyberpunk 2077 on the go or something. But it's likely that would have added to the bulk of the device, and it would have lost some of its charm.
(Image credit: Future)
Design
It is immediately striking how thin the Alienware X14 is when you pull it out of the box and look at it. And then, when you pick it up and notice how light it is, it's easy to forget that this is, in fact, a gaming laptop.
This is a laptop that measures just over half an inch thick and weighs just around 4lb. In a lot of ways, it's a similar profile to a MacBook Pro or a Dell XPS 15, just with a little bit of extra gaming juice behind it. The one thing that does bulk up the laptop's profile a bit, though, is the protrusion on the back.
A lot of the hot air is channeled through the vents back here, and this is also where every single port is found. However, while it's convenient in the moment when you have it on a table or something, it does unfortunately add to the footprint of the Alienware X14. This protrusion makes it a bit more difficult to fit in a bag, and if you were just barely fitting a 14-inch laptop in your bag before, you might need to get a bigger backpack. This packs away more like a 15-inch laptop than a 14-inch laptop.
However, the smaller charging cable makes up for it. This is the first Alienware laptop we've ever used that uses a USB-C charger as its primary method of charging. The charger that comes in the box is exactly the same one as comes with the XPS 15, and it works just fine with our MacBook Pro charger as well. With more and more devices using USB-C charging, it's nice having a gaming laptop that we don't have to also pack a special charger for.
As far as the ports around back that we mentioned earlier, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one standard USB-C for charging, an HDMI, one USB-A port and a microSD card reader - and of course a headphone jack. As far as most gaming laptops go, this would be a bit lacking, but considering the size of the laptop, it's more than we were expecting. Luckily we haven't reached a time when gamers have to live the dongle life as well - at least not yet.
And for such a thin laptop, the keyboard is surprisingly solid. Travel is nice and deep, and bottoming out on the keys isn't as solid and shocking as on other chiclet-type keyboards. The trackpad is also surprisingly good, accurate and has a nice clicking mechanism.
Even the speakers are pretty good considering the size of the device. The only place they're lacking is in bass response. Listening to "Billions" by Caroline Polachek, the entire song comes through loud and clear. However, the deep bass in the background gets muffled by the weak woofers on the Alienware X14. In games, this means things like explosions and gunshots aren't as clear as they should be, but you should be using a gaming headset for stuff like that anyway - a shame there's only one USB-A slot though.
The display is also very good. It's a 14-inch 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate. It hits an average of 377 nits of brightness, which should be plenty for most people. It also manages to reach 109% of the sRGB color spectrum, which means it's extremely colorful. It's definitely not the most beautiful or bright display on the market, but it's fast, and it's accurate enough that gamers are going to love it.
Finally, because this is a gaming laptop in 2022, there is of course some delightful RGB lighting. The fan exhaust on the back of the laptop is surrounded by an RGB light bar and the Alienware logo on the lid of the laptop also features user-adjustable lighting. The keyboard also features RGB lighting, and by default comes in a gorgeous static blue setting.
Alienware is definitely a company that wants you to show off your laptop, and trust us, you're going to want to show off the Alienware X14.
(Image credit: Future)
Performance
Benchmarks
Here's how the Alienware X14 performed in our suite of benchmark tests: 3DMark: Night Raid: 41,366; Fire Strike: 15257; Time Spy: 6716 Cinebench R23 Multi-core: 13686 points GeekBench 5: 1567 (single-core); 13531 (multi-core) PCMark 10 (Home test): 6830 points PCMark 10 Battery life: 5 hours and 27 minutes Battery life (Techradar movie test): 6hours and 13 minutes Total War: Three Kingdoms (1080p, Ultra): 52 fps; (1080p, Low): 177 fps Metro Exodus (1080p, Ultra): 46 fps; (1080p, Low): 150 fps
While this is a thin and light gaming laptop, it definitely isn't specced out like one. This is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, and unlike the one you would find in, say, the XPS 17, this is a 75W version of the mobile GPU - which is very nearly the full-fat 80W maximum for this piece of silicon.
Dell was able to do this by utilizing a similar cooling solution to what's found in the X15 and X17, just with a two-fan configuration rather than four fans. That's likely why this laptop is limited to just an RTX 3060 and a Core i7, but it's definitely effective. While the laptop does get loud under load, temperatures are kept in check, and it allows the laptop to perform admirably.
In Metro Exodus at Ultra settings at 4K, the Alienware X14 manages just under 50 fps, and as soon as you turn on DLSS (which you should), that will easily hit 60 fps. Likewise, in Total War: Three Kingdoms, this laptop manages 52 fps on the Ultra preset.
This gaming laptop can absolutely play the latest AAA games at high settings at 1080p, but you are going to have to fiddle around with some of the settings if you want to hit the magical 60 fps mark. This is why we would have loved an RTX 3070 configuration. Maybe next time around, Dell will find a way to fit a slightly more powerful GPU in here.
As for the CPU in here, Alder Lake-H continues to impress. This is a Core i7 configuration and has no problem absolutely wiping the floor with its 11th-generation equivalent. It even manages to match an 11th-generation Core i9 processor in much thicker laptops like the Dell XPS 17 and the Alienware x17.
CPU heavy workloads like photo and video editing are going to be a breeze, and the Efficiency Cores in the Core i7-12700H will make sure that pesky background tasks don't get in the way of you getting things done.
(Image credit: Future)
Battery life
Battery is, simply put, the Achilles Heel of the Alienware X14. This gaming laptop just lasts around 5 and a half hours in the PCMark10 battery benchmark, and just about 6 hours in our video playback test.
This is likely because there is only an 80Whr battery in the X14, rather than the 99WHr batteries found in most gaming laptops these days. That was probably in interest of keeping the laptop as thin and light as it is, but it does mean that you're likely going to need to carry around a charger. But, again, the bright side of that is that you can charge this laptop with pretty much any USB-C charger you have lying around.
It's definitely a compromise we wish we didn't have to make. We don't really go anywhere where we can't plug a laptop in, but if you're hoping to have this thing last you through an international flight - it's probably not going to manage that.
Camera
Good webcams are more important than ever before now that telecommuting is becoming more common, and the Alienware X14's camera is pretty lackluster. It's a 720p sensor, and the images it captures aren't very detailed. The lighting is pretty awful as well, which means it's probably not a laptop we'll be taking video calls on any time soon.
It does have IR, so it supports Windows Hello, but that's pretty much the only good thing about the webcam here. Dell has been putting better webcams into its other laptops, we don't know why this laptop was neglected, especially since livestreaming has become so popular.
(Image credit: Future)
Features and software
Just like any other Alienware or Dell laptop, the Alienware X14 is loaded with Dell's own software. However, it is all conveniently contained in one launcher this time around, called My Alienware. From here, you can get updates, launch Alienware Command Center, and other various support-flavored tasks.
Alienware Command Center continues to be where you're going to find all the performance profiles and controls for RGB lighting. It also will let you scan your PC for games, so you can launch your whole library from that one app instead of juggling around a bunch of different storefronts. Definitely a nice touch, though you can get the same effect by just downloading GOG Galaxy.
• Original review date: February 2022
• Launch price: Starts at $1,149 / £1,199 / AU$3,399
• Target price now (updated model): Starts at $1,099 / £1,249 / AU$3,148
Update – September 2024: While it was one of the best ultrabooks on the market at the time we reviewed it, the HP Spectre x360 now faces fiercer competition than ever in the convertible ultrabook space - like the fantastic Lenovo Yoga 9i.
Truth be told, though, I adore this laptop - I've been using a high-spec model as my daily driver since way back in 2019 - and I'm pleased to see that it's recently received a hardware update from HP. That means you can currently pick up a Spectre x360 (at the base prices listed above) equipped with one of Intel's next-gen Core Ultra processors.
While I haven't personally tested those new configurations, I can stand by the tried-and-true performance of my 10th-gen Intel model, so I'd be shocked if the new iterations didn't perform highly. We'll be reviewing a new model soon, so watch this space!
Original review follows.
HP Spectre x360 (2021): two-minute review
It’s hard to improve on a winning formula but the HP Spectre x360 (2021) has done just that. It raises the bar of what to expect out of these laptops now that it comes with Intel’s Evo certification.
To meet Intel’s standards, HP had to not only improve upon the laptop’s performance but its design and battery life as well. In fact, it lasted almost 13 hours in our PCMark 10 battery life test.
This makes the 2021 refresh of the Spectre x360 one of the best laptops out there right now, building on everything we loved in our HP Spectre x360 (2020) review. Whether you’re concerned about battery life and want something that can hang with Chromebooks and MacBooks during long workdays, need something portable enough to easily take on the go, or want something powerful, the HP will be able to satisfy just about any user outside of hardcore gamers.
With that said, the HP Spectre x360 takes some missteps. It’s a bit clumsy when in tablet mode since it’s a bit too big to comfortably use in that mode. If that’s a crucial feature for you and you want a laptop that’s as easy to use no matter what form factor it’s in, you might want to consider a Surface Pro 7 or iPad instead, which are thin and light tablets that can be used with keyboards.
Our other issue is that the fans become quite loud when you’re using the laptop – and, on occasion, even when you’re not. A few times we heard the fans kick even when the Spectre x360 was closed. It’s the one area of the design that doesn't feel completely premium.
Aside from those issues, this is a supremely accomplished laptop that’s great for day-to-day use, including work. However, with starting prices of $1,349/£1,199/AU$3,339 (various markets have different starting configurations), it's pricey. If you have the budget for it, though, you won’t be disappointed.
HP Spectre x360: price and availability
The HP Spectre x360 remains one of the most eye-catching laptops around. (Image credit: Future)
How much is it? Starting at $1,149 / £1,199 / AU$3,399
When can you get it? The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is available now
Where can you get it? The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is available in the US, UK, and Australia
The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is available in a variety of configurations and prices. Prices start at $1,149.99 in the US, for a model with an Intel Core i5 -1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.
In the UK, the base model costs £1,199.99 and comes with an Intel Core i5 -1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Then there’s a version with an Intel Core i7 -1165G7 processor, 16GB of R AM and a 512GB SSD, which is the version on review here. It costs $1,349.99/£1,399.99.
There's also a model with the same CPU and RAM, but with a 1TB SSD and a 4K OLED screen for £1,699.99.
In addition, the Spectre x360 comes with various screen sizes: 13 inches (the version we’re testing), 15 inches, and 13.5 inches (which has a taller 16:10 aspect ratio).
HP Spectre x360 (2021) key specs
Here is the HP Spectre x360 (2021) configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7 (quad-core, up to 4.7GHz Boost) Graphics: Intel Iris Xe RAM: 16GB LPDDR4 (3200MHz) Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1080p) touch Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Ports: 1x USB-A 3.1, 2 x Thunderbolt 4, microSD card reader, combi audio jack Connectivity: Intel Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 Camera: HP TrueVision HD 1080p IR Webcam Weight: 2.8 pounds (1.3kg) Size (W x D x H): 12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 ins (306 x 194.5 x 16.9 mm)
In Australia, you can get the 13-inch model with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for AU$3,399. It's also available with the Core i7, 16GB of RAM, a 4K OLED screen and a 2TB SSD for AU$4,599.
Like models in the UK and US, there are numerous configurations available, including models with 14-inch and 15-inch screen sizes.
So, as you can see, there's plenty of choice available for those in the market for a new HP Spectre x360 – but we'd hesitate to say there's a model for every budget. Even the cost of the base models exceed those of many other laptops. This is a seriously premium laptop – which means it needs to work hard to justify its high price.
HP Spectre x360: design
The Bang & Olufsen audio is decent, especially for a 2-in-1 audio system. (Image credit: Future)
Stunning design
Good amount of ports
A better laptop than tablet
With a premium price you expect a premium design, and HP certainly delivers with the HP Spectre x360 (2021). To be honest, we never had any doubt that it would; the previous model was one of the nicest-looking laptops we've had the pleasure of reviewing.
So, it comes as little surprise that the new model is yet another gorgeous laptop from HP. Design-wise, the Spectre x360 is basically identical to the previous model – which is no bad thing, considering how impressed we were with its looks.
The Spectre x360 arrives with a brushed-metal design that's available in several color combinations. The 360-degree hinge, which allows the screen to flip back completely, turning the Spectre x360 into a tablet-like device, feels solid and reliable. The right-hand side is engraved with the word ‘Spectre’ – a nice touch that further cements the Spectre x360’s overall premium feel.
In terms of connections, you get an audio-in jack and full-size USB port on the right (the inclusion of a full-size USB port is a nice touch for such a thin and light laptop), plus two USB-C ports, a microSD port and a physical webcam kill switch on the left.
The latter allows you to turn off the webcam when it isn't in use; it's a great feature for people concerned about their privacy. It’s definitely a big selling point, and that – along with the full-size USB port and microSD slot – show that it is possible for a thin and light laptop to incorporate multiple connections without compromising design. It certainly puts the two USB-C ports of the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) to shame.
The Spectre x360 is Intel Evo certified, thanks to Intel's 11th-gen Core i7 processor. (Image credit: Future)
Open up the HP Spectre x360 and you’re presented with a bright and vibrant screen, surrounded by extremely thin bezels. This gives the device a modern look, while keeping the overall size of the laptop down.
It’s another case of a Windows 10 laptop looking more stylish than an Apple MacBook – something both HP and Intel will be pleased to learn, and is yet another reason for Apple to consider updating its MacBook designs.
The keyboard is large and enjoyable to use, with the keys offering decent travel. They’re also backlit, so you can comfortably use them in the dark.
The touchpad is nice and responsive. It's wider than you’d expect on a 13-inch laptop, providing a bit more room to move your fingers. There’s also a fingerprint scanner to the right of the touchpad for logging into Windows 10.
The LED backlit keys on the Spectre x360 help you work in low light conditions without making things look like a carnival. (Image credit: Future)
Similar to HP's provision of ports, the company has found a way of cramming a large keyboard and trackpad into a small body. It’s a seriously impressive design feat, and means the HP Spectre x360 doesn’t only look good, it feels good to use as well.
Flipping the screen entirely back, using the Spectre x360 as a tablet-like device, the large touchscreen works well. However, while this is a thin and light laptop, compared to tablets such as the iPad, the Spectre x360 actually feels heavy and bulky.
Having the option to use the laptop in this way is certainly welcome, but it isn't an ideal replacement for a standard tablet. The Spectre x360 is far more successful as a laptop.
HP Spectre x360: performance
Given the thin chassis of the laptop, we found the number of ports to be about as good as could be expected. (Image credit: Future)
Upgraded 11th-gen Intel processors
Not really good for gaming
The biggest upgrade on the HP Spectre x360 (2021) over the previous model are its components and performance, with the laptop being a showcase for Intel’s latest mobile processors.
The review unit we were sent in for review features an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor. This is a quad-core unit that can achieve boost speeds of up to 4.70GHz, which marks a decent leap over the Intel Core i7-1065G7 (the previous generation CPU) included in last year’s model.
As you can see in our Cinebench and Geekbench results, the new Spectre x360 delivers a lift in performance compared to last year’s model, with a single-core score of 1,317 compared to the previous model’s 1,259. It isn't a huge leap, but it’s an increase nonetheless. The Intel Core i7-1065G7 was a pretty great mobile processor anyway, so it’s good that Intel has built on its solid foundation.
Overall, as a result of the new CPU, along with a hefty 16GB of RAM, the HP Spectre x360 is a great little performer, with Windows 10 feeling fast and responsive. Multi-tasking, with numerous apps open at once, alongside plenty of Edge tabs too, didn’t really serve to slow down the Spectre x360’s performance, either.
For day-to-day use, then, the Spectre x360 delivers the sort of performance you'd expect of a premium laptop at this price point. You certainly won’t be disappointed.
However, one of the biggest upgrades to come alongside the new Tiger Lake CPUs such as the Intel Core i7-1165G7 is the inclusion of Intel Iris Xe graphics. This is an integrated GPU that promises to offer vastly improved performance compared to previous integrated graphics, and could even rival some discrete GPUs.
While the Spectre x360 certainly isn't one of the best gaming laptops out there, it could feasibly run some of the best PC games that don't have especially steep hardware requirements and will definitely do better than a lot of other thin and light laptops out there.
While Cyberpunk 2077 at full graphical settings isn't on that list, Intel has claimed it could play GTA 5 at over 60fps, while esports games such as Rocket League, League of Legends and CS:GO – which are less graphically demanding, but require fast performance – could be playable on the right settings.
(Image credit: Future)
So, of course, we attempted to play a few games on the HP Spectre x360. As we've mentioned, this definitely isn't a gaming laptop, but we wanted to see if it would be possible to play games at the end of the day, when you want to unwind after a hard day at work.
The answer is: sort of. Total War: Three Kingdoms managed only 30fps on low settings. Anything more demanding was unplayable. We also fired up Ori and the Will of the Wisps – a visually stunning 2D platform game, which despite looking great, is less taxing than a lot of other modern games.
Unfortunately, we had to drop graphical settings to low, and scale down the resolution, to achieve smooth gameplay. As such, while it was possible to play modern games such as Ori and the Will of the Wisps, it was only with big sacrifices to graphical fidelity. So, don’t give up the day job, Spectre x360.
One thing to note, is that even while performing relatively low-powered tasks, such as downloading an app, the fans of the Spectre x360 will kick in. In a way, it’s understandable, since this is a super-thin laptop that needs to keep its components cool.
However, it proved annoying, and was in sharp contrast to the silent operation we saw in our Apple MacBook Air (M1) review, which has a fanless design.
HP Spectre x360: battery life
(Image credit: Future)
Solid, half-day battery life
Fast Charging capable
Intel Evo Certified
One of the biggest quality of life improvements Intel is pushing with its Intel Evo platform is long battery life, and the HP Spectre x360 (2021) doesn’t disappoint here. It lasted an excellent 11 hours and 22 minutes in our own battery life test, which loops a 1080p video file at 50% brightness until the battery dies.
The previous HP Spectre x360 also performed well in this test, scoring 10 hours and 55 minutes. Nevertheless, the extra half an hour is welcome, and it means the more powerful components haven’t come at the cost of battery life.
We also ran the intensive PCMark 10 battery life test on the laptop, which replicates day-to-day use such as web browsing and video calling. Here, the Spectre x360 managed almost 13 hours – again, a very impressive achievement and a big leap over the previous model’s four-hour result (on PCMark 8).
As such, the Spectre x360's battery is nice and balanced; it's able to last equally well in both light- and medium-use cases. You’ll easily get through a full work day on this laptop, which makes it an excellent tool for business users who are looking for a device that offers superb performance, fantastic looks, and won’t need to be plugged in until they return home.
HP Spectre x360: software and features
The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is premium enough that it isn't overwhelmed by bloatware, and – being a 2-in-1 touchscreen – also comes with an HP Tilt Pen. There is also a physical webcam killswitch, which is something that should be standard on every laptop in 2021, but many still haven't gotten with the program.
Even better, the HP killswitch is a physical shutter over the camera rather than a software webcam deactivation, since in the latter case, malicious actors can reactivated your webcam remotely with a little bit of malware. Software killswitches are really only good enough to let you easily shut off your camera when you need to step away from the meeting, but that's about it.
HP has been a real leader on the physical shutter front (along with Lenovo), and as such, we will never miss an opportunity to commend either company for caring about its customers' privacy and consistently implementing privacy shutters. More manufacturers need to follow their example.
Should you buy an HP Spectre x360 (2021)?
(Image credit: Future)
If you're still seriously considering the HP Spectre x360 (2021), we can safely say you're almost certainly not going to be disappointed, but even though it's one of the best 2-in-1 laptops you're going to find anywhere, it's not going to be the right fit for everybody.
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
This review was originally published on February 1, 2021.
• Original review date: February 2022
• Launch price: Starts at $1,149 / £1,199 / AU$3,399
• Target price now (updated model): Starts at $1,099 / £1,249 / AU$3,148
Update – September 2024: While it was one of the best ultrabooks on the market at the time we reviewed it, the HP Spectre x360 now faces fiercer competition than ever in the convertible ultrabook space - like the fantastic Lenovo Yoga 9i.
Truth be told, though, I adore this laptop - I've been using a high-spec model as my daily driver since way back in 2019 - and I'm pleased to see that it's recently received a hardware update from HP. That means you can currently pick up a Spectre x360 (at the base prices listed above) equipped with one of Intel's next-gen Core Ultra processors.
While I haven't personally tested those new configurations, I can stand by the tried-and-true performance of my 10th-gen Intel model, so I'd be shocked if the new iterations didn't perform highly. We'll be reviewing a new model soon, so watch this space!
Original review follows.
HP Spectre x360 (2021): two-minute review
It’s hard to improve on a winning formula but the HP Spectre x360 (2021) has done just that. It raises the bar of what to expect out of these laptops now that it comes with Intel’s Evo certification.
To meet Intel’s standards, HP had to not only improve upon the laptop’s performance but its design and battery life as well. In fact, it lasted almost 13 hours in our PCMark 10 battery life test.
This makes the 2021 refresh of the Spectre x360 one of the best laptops out there right now, building on everything we loved in our HP Spectre x360 (2020) review. Whether you’re concerned about battery life and want something that can hang with Chromebooks and MacBooks during long workdays, need something portable enough to easily take on the go, or want something powerful, the HP will be able to satisfy just about any user outside of hardcore gamers.
With that said, the HP Spectre x360 takes some missteps. It’s a bit clumsy when in tablet mode since it’s a bit too big to comfortably use in that mode. If that’s a crucial feature for you and you want a laptop that’s as easy to use no matter what form factor it’s in, you might want to consider a Surface Pro 7 or iPad instead, which are thin and light tablets that can be used with keyboards.
Our other issue is that the fans become quite loud when you’re using the laptop – and, on occasion, even when you’re not. A few times we heard the fans kick even when the Spectre x360 was closed. It’s the one area of the design that doesn't feel completely premium.
Aside from those issues, this is a supremely accomplished laptop that’s great for day-to-day use, including work. However, with starting prices of $1,349/£1,199/AU$3,339 (various markets have different starting configurations), it's pricey. If you have the budget for it, though, you won’t be disappointed.
HP Spectre x360: price and availability
The HP Spectre x360 remains one of the most eye-catching laptops around. (Image credit: Future)
How much is it? Starting at $1,149 / £1,199 / AU$3,399
When can you get it? The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is available now
Where can you get it? The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is available in the US, UK, and Australia
The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is available in a variety of configurations and prices. Prices start at $1,149.99 in the US, for a model with an Intel Core i5 -1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.
In the UK, the base model costs £1,199.99 and comes with an Intel Core i5 -1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Then there’s a version with an Intel Core i7 -1165G7 processor, 16GB of R AM and a 512GB SSD, which is the version on review here. It costs $1,349.99/£1,399.99.
There's also a model with the same CPU and RAM, but with a 1TB SSD and a 4K OLED screen for £1,699.99.
In addition, the Spectre x360 comes with various screen sizes: 13 inches (the version we’re testing), 15 inches, and 13.5 inches (which has a taller 16:10 aspect ratio).
HP Spectre x360 (2021) key specs
Here is the HP Spectre x360 (2021) configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7 (quad-core, up to 4.7GHz Boost) Graphics: Intel Iris Xe RAM: 16GB LPDDR4 (3200MHz) Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1080p) touch Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Ports: 1x USB-A 3.1, 2 x Thunderbolt 4, microSD card reader, combi audio jack Connectivity: Intel Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 Camera: HP TrueVision HD 1080p IR Webcam Weight: 2.8 pounds (1.3kg) Size (W x D x H): 12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 ins (306 x 194.5 x 16.9 mm)
In Australia, you can get the 13-inch model with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for AU$3,399. It's also available with the Core i7, 16GB of RAM, a 4K OLED screen and a 2TB SSD for AU$4,599.
Like models in the UK and US, there are numerous configurations available, including models with 14-inch and 15-inch screen sizes.
So, as you can see, there's plenty of choice available for those in the market for a new HP Spectre x360 – but we'd hesitate to say there's a model for every budget. Even the cost of the base models exceed those of many other laptops. This is a seriously premium laptop – which means it needs to work hard to justify its high price.
HP Spectre x360: design
The Bang & Olufsen audio is decent, especially for a 2-in-1 audio system. (Image credit: Future)
Stunning design
Good amount of ports
A better laptop than tablet
With a premium price you expect a premium design, and HP certainly delivers with the HP Spectre x360 (2021). To be honest, we never had any doubt that it would; the previous model was one of the nicest-looking laptops we've had the pleasure of reviewing.
So, it comes as little surprise that the new model is yet another gorgeous laptop from HP. Design-wise, the Spectre x360 is basically identical to the previous model – which is no bad thing, considering how impressed we were with its looks.
The Spectre x360 arrives with a brushed-metal design that's available in several color combinations. The 360-degree hinge, which allows the screen to flip back completely, turning the Spectre x360 into a tablet-like device, feels solid and reliable. The right-hand side is engraved with the word ‘Spectre’ – a nice touch that further cements the Spectre x360’s overall premium feel.
In terms of connections, you get an audio-in jack and full-size USB port on the right (the inclusion of a full-size USB port is a nice touch for such a thin and light laptop), plus two USB-C ports, a microSD port and a physical webcam kill switch on the left.
The latter allows you to turn off the webcam when it isn't in use; it's a great feature for people concerned about their privacy. It’s definitely a big selling point, and that – along with the full-size USB port and microSD slot – show that it is possible for a thin and light laptop to incorporate multiple connections without compromising design. It certainly puts the two USB-C ports of the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) to shame.
The Spectre x360 is Intel Evo certified, thanks to Intel's 11th-gen Core i7 processor. (Image credit: Future)
Open up the HP Spectre x360 and you’re presented with a bright and vibrant screen, surrounded by extremely thin bezels. This gives the device a modern look, while keeping the overall size of the laptop down.
It’s another case of a Windows 10 laptop looking more stylish than an Apple MacBook – something both HP and Intel will be pleased to learn, and is yet another reason for Apple to consider updating its MacBook designs.
The keyboard is large and enjoyable to use, with the keys offering decent travel. They’re also backlit, so you can comfortably use them in the dark.
The touchpad is nice and responsive. It's wider than you’d expect on a 13-inch laptop, providing a bit more room to move your fingers. There’s also a fingerprint scanner to the right of the touchpad for logging into Windows 10.
The LED backlit keys on the Spectre x360 help you work in low light conditions without making things look like a carnival. (Image credit: Future)
Similar to HP's provision of ports, the company has found a way of cramming a large keyboard and trackpad into a small body. It’s a seriously impressive design feat, and means the HP Spectre x360 doesn’t only look good, it feels good to use as well.
Flipping the screen entirely back, using the Spectre x360 as a tablet-like device, the large touchscreen works well. However, while this is a thin and light laptop, compared to tablets such as the iPad, the Spectre x360 actually feels heavy and bulky.
Having the option to use the laptop in this way is certainly welcome, but it isn't an ideal replacement for a standard tablet. The Spectre x360 is far more successful as a laptop.
HP Spectre x360: performance
Given the thin chassis of the laptop, we found the number of ports to be about as good as could be expected. (Image credit: Future)
Upgraded 11th-gen Intel processors
Not really good for gaming
The biggest upgrade on the HP Spectre x360 (2021) over the previous model are its components and performance, with the laptop being a showcase for Intel’s latest mobile processors.
The review unit we were sent in for review features an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor. This is a quad-core unit that can achieve boost speeds of up to 4.70GHz, which marks a decent leap over the Intel Core i7-1065G7 (the previous generation CPU) included in last year’s model.
As you can see in our Cinebench and Geekbench results, the new Spectre x360 delivers a lift in performance compared to last year’s model, with a single-core score of 1,317 compared to the previous model’s 1,259. It isn't a huge leap, but it’s an increase nonetheless. The Intel Core i7-1065G7 was a pretty great mobile processor anyway, so it’s good that Intel has built on its solid foundation.
Overall, as a result of the new CPU, along with a hefty 16GB of RAM, the HP Spectre x360 is a great little performer, with Windows 10 feeling fast and responsive. Multi-tasking, with numerous apps open at once, alongside plenty of Edge tabs too, didn’t really serve to slow down the Spectre x360’s performance, either.
For day-to-day use, then, the Spectre x360 delivers the sort of performance you'd expect of a premium laptop at this price point. You certainly won’t be disappointed.
However, one of the biggest upgrades to come alongside the new Tiger Lake CPUs such as the Intel Core i7-1165G7 is the inclusion of Intel Iris Xe graphics. This is an integrated GPU that promises to offer vastly improved performance compared to previous integrated graphics, and could even rival some discrete GPUs.
While the Spectre x360 certainly isn't one of the best gaming laptops out there, it could feasibly run some of the best PC games that don't have especially steep hardware requirements and will definitely do better than a lot of other thin and light laptops out there.
While Cyberpunk 2077 at full graphical settings isn't on that list, Intel has claimed it could play GTA 5 at over 60fps, while esports games such as Rocket League, League of Legends and CS:GO – which are less graphically demanding, but require fast performance – could be playable on the right settings.
(Image credit: Future)
So, of course, we attempted to play a few games on the HP Spectre x360. As we've mentioned, this definitely isn't a gaming laptop, but we wanted to see if it would be possible to play games at the end of the day, when you want to unwind after a hard day at work.
The answer is: sort of. Total War: Three Kingdoms managed only 30fps on low settings. Anything more demanding was unplayable. We also fired up Ori and the Will of the Wisps – a visually stunning 2D platform game, which despite looking great, is less taxing than a lot of other modern games.
Unfortunately, we had to drop graphical settings to low, and scale down the resolution, to achieve smooth gameplay. As such, while it was possible to play modern games such as Ori and the Will of the Wisps, it was only with big sacrifices to graphical fidelity. So, don’t give up the day job, Spectre x360.
One thing to note, is that even while performing relatively low-powered tasks, such as downloading an app, the fans of the Spectre x360 will kick in. In a way, it’s understandable, since this is a super-thin laptop that needs to keep its components cool.
However, it proved annoying, and was in sharp contrast to the silent operation we saw in our Apple MacBook Air (M1) review, which has a fanless design.
HP Spectre x360: battery life
(Image credit: Future)
Solid, half-day battery life
Fast Charging capable
Intel Evo Certified
One of the biggest quality of life improvements Intel is pushing with its Intel Evo platform is long battery life, and the HP Spectre x360 (2021) doesn’t disappoint here. It lasted an excellent 11 hours and 22 minutes in our own battery life test, which loops a 1080p video file at 50% brightness until the battery dies.
The previous HP Spectre x360 also performed well in this test, scoring 10 hours and 55 minutes. Nevertheless, the extra half an hour is welcome, and it means the more powerful components haven’t come at the cost of battery life.
We also ran the intensive PCMark 10 battery life test on the laptop, which replicates day-to-day use such as web browsing and video calling. Here, the Spectre x360 managed almost 13 hours – again, a very impressive achievement and a big leap over the previous model’s four-hour result (on PCMark 8).
As such, the Spectre x360's battery is nice and balanced; it's able to last equally well in both light- and medium-use cases. You’ll easily get through a full work day on this laptop, which makes it an excellent tool for business users who are looking for a device that offers superb performance, fantastic looks, and won’t need to be plugged in until they return home.
HP Spectre x360: software and features
The HP Spectre x360 (2021) is premium enough that it isn't overwhelmed by bloatware, and – being a 2-in-1 touchscreen – also comes with an HP Tilt Pen. There is also a physical webcam killswitch, which is something that should be standard on every laptop in 2021, but many still haven't gotten with the program.
Even better, the HP killswitch is a physical shutter over the camera rather than a software webcam deactivation, since in the latter case, malicious actors can reactivated your webcam remotely with a little bit of malware. Software killswitches are really only good enough to let you easily shut off your camera when you need to step away from the meeting, but that's about it.
HP has been a real leader on the physical shutter front (along with Lenovo), and as such, we will never miss an opportunity to commend either company for caring about its customers' privacy and consistently implementing privacy shutters. More manufacturers need to follow their example.
Should you buy an HP Spectre x360 (2021)?
(Image credit: Future)
If you're still seriously considering the HP Spectre x360 (2021), we can safely say you're almost certainly not going to be disappointed, but even though it's one of the best 2-in-1 laptops you're going to find anywhere, it's not going to be the right fit for everybody.
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
This review was originally published on February 1, 2021.
• Original review date: January 2022
• Launch price: Starting at $1,599 (about £1,280/AU$ 2,320)
• The MSI Raider GE76 2022 is still available, but availability might be limited
Update – September 2024: The MSI Raider GE76 2022 is a fantastic gaming laptop, but at current prices, you might be better off with one of MSI's other gaming laptop offerings, many of which are going to feature updated specs and possibly better pricing.
Still, if you can find the MSI Raider GE76 2022 model for substantially cheaper than its launch price, this could be a fantastic bargain come Black Friday or other holiday shopping sales in the months ahead.
Original review follows.
For years, the MSI Raider GE76 has been a great gaming laptop for showcasing what the latest mobile hardware from Intel and Nvidia is capable of. And now, in 2022, with the launch of the Intel 12th-generation Alder Lake processors and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, we have a laptop that's basically on the level of a full-fledged gaming PC, but fits in a (large) backpack.
While the high power of this gaming laptop means it doesn’t have the best battery life in the world – only reaching about five hours – it is one of the first gaming laptops we’ve used that we would genuinely call a '4K gaming laptop'. In fact, with DLSS, this laptop should have no problem playing even Cyberpunk 2077 with high settings at 4K with ray tracing enabled. But because this is a 1080p gaming laptop with a 360Hz display, all that power is instead directed to providing an incredibly smooth gaming experience.
However, this much power comes at a price. The configuration we reviewed, with an Intel Core i9-12900HK, 32GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, will set you back a whopping $3,999 (about £3,000, AU$5,600). That’s a lot of cash to throw at a gaming laptop, but at least you're getting something that’s both incredibly powerful and fits in your bag.
(Image credit: Future)
Price and availability
SPEC SHEET
Here is the MSI Raider GE76 configuration sent to TechRadar for review: CPU: 2.4GHz Intel Core i9-12900HK (20 cores, 16MB cache, up to 5.0GHz Turbo) Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti RAM: 32GB Screen: 17-inch LED, 360Hz, 3ms Storage: 2 X 1TB M.2 SSD Optical drive: N/A Ports: 3x USB-A,1 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, 1 x USB-C with DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI, 1 x MiniDisplayPort, SD card reader, audio combo jack Connectivity: Killer WiFi 6E AX1675 (2x2 ), Bluetooth 5.2 Camera: FHD 1080p Webcam Weight: 6.9 pounds (2.5 kg) Size: 15.63 x 11.18 x 1.02 inches (397 x 283 x 25.9mm; W x D x H)
The MSI Raider GE76 will be available in early February 2022, and will start at $1,599 in the US. The spec that’s going to be available at that price hasn’t been announced yet, so we can’t speak to whether or not it’s going to offer good value.
However, the price goes all the way up to a whopping $4,199 (about £3,120, AU$5,900), for which you're getting an absolutely overkill spec sheet. We didn’t review quite the top-end configuration, and the configuration listed to the right will cost you $3,999 (about £3,000, AU$5,600).
That’s about $500 more expensive than the top-end spec for last year’s model goes for in the US right now, though that’s likely due to the fact that it includes a more-powerful RTX 3080 Ti, rather than its non-Ti equivalent. But due to the chassis design, you’re getting no-compromises gaming performance, which may be worth the large price increase, especially if you really want to play the latest and best PC games without having to worry about upgrading anytime soon.
(Image credit: Future)
Design
One look at the MSI Raider GE76 and there's no mistaking that it is a gaminglaptop. There are plenty of sharp angles, a gunmetal-gray lid, and more ports than you can shake a stick at. Oh, and there’s the giant RGB light bar on the front of the keyboard deck that we can’t figure out how to turn off.
The laptop looks like a tank, and it’s kind of built like one too. The entire chassis is made from metal, from the lid to the bottom of the laptop where all the ventilation is found. The MSI Raider GE76 is definitely a laptop that can withstand a beating, although that does mean it’s quite heavy.
The laptop is about an inch thick and weighs 6.9lb, which means it’s definitely noticeable when it’s in your bag. To add to the weight, you’ll need to carry the charger around with you, which is also quite heavy and bulky. So while this is definitely more portable than a gaming tower, it’s still not something you’re going to want to carry with you as you commute to work every day – unless you really want a workout.
But thanks to the size of this laptop you do get a full keyboard with a numpad. There are some compromises to fit it in this chassis, with the buttons on the numpad being quite narrow. It takes some getting used to, especially if you don’t want to accidentally hit the right arrow key when you’re going for the 0 key, but that’s something that will come with time.
The keyboard is also quite comfortable to type on, with plenty of travel. They’re still chiclet keys, but they feel much more substantial than on most laptops. However, we do notice that sometimes the spacebar will repeat, and we’ll have to hit backspace a few times to get back to where we were. It’s a small issue, but something that does get annoying after a while.
Perhaps more impressive, though, is that even with that full-sized keyboard, MSI was able to fit top-firing speakers. They sound incredible for a laptop, and listening to Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge we could clearly hear the bass guitar, even when all the other instrumentation (and even the vocals) are bassy themselves. As for games, Guardians of the Galaxy sounds more clear than on many gaming laptops, and loud enough to render the fans inaudible.
The display, meanwhile, looks incredible. While it is just a 1080p panel, the colors here are bright and accurate. Everything looks absolutely vibrant, whether you’re blasting aliens in Guardians of the Galaxy or digging around the colorful new menus in Windows 11, and you don’t have to worry about compromising on image quality just to get that 360Hz refresh rate.
And of course, because this is a thick gaming laptop in 2022, there are plenty of ports on offer. You get two USB-C ports, one of which is Thunderbolt 4, three USB-A, an Audio Combo jack, a dedicated charger, HDMI, Mini-DisplayPort, and an SD card reader. Basically, you don’t have to worry about a dongle further weighing you down here; MSI has all of its bases covered.
(Image credit: Future)
Performance
Benchmarks
Here's how the MSI Raider GE76 performed in our suite of benchmark tests: 3DMark: Night Raid: 53016; Fire Strike: 27515; Time Spy: 12615 Cinebench R23 Multi-core: 16345 points GeekBench 5: 1847 (single-core); 13451 (multi-core) PCMark 10 (Home test): 7892 points PCMark 10 Battery life: 4 hours and 39 minutes Battery life (Techradar movie test): 4 hours and 54 minutes Total War: Three Kingdoms (1080p, Ultra): 104fps; (1080p, Low): 310fps Metro Exodus (1080p, Ultra): 92fps; (1080p, Low): 187fps
The MSI Raider GE76 reviewed here is packed with an Intel Core i9-12900HK, 32GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. So, in essence, it’s a behemoth of a gaming laptop.
This thing absolutely tore through our benchmark suite, blowing away every other laptop we’ve reviewed, and even came within reaching distance of some of the most powerful gaming desktops we’ve reviewed. The Core i9-12900HK is just 48% slower than the desktop version of the Core i9-12900K. That sounds like a huge difference, but we’re talking about a desktop chip with a PL1 (power level 1) that’s 2.7x higher than the 12900HK. Intel knocked the scaling out of the park, basically.
But it’s not just the CPU that’s impressive. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is capable of some blisteringly fast speeds, too. In Metro Exodus with Ultra settings, this laptop was 41% faster than the Razer Blade 15 with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, and was only 19% slower than the Alienware Aurora R13 – a desktop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090. This is truly desktop-level gaming performance.
Even in Guardians of the Galaxy, with the graphics absolutely maxed out – including ray tracing – we're constantly seeing framerates hovering around 120 fps. And that's without any form of DLSS or FSR running. This laptop is that powerful.
There isn’t a game out there, especially with a 1080p or 1440p panel, for which you won’t be able to just crank the graphics preset up to maximum and let it ride. Yes, this is an expensive laptop, but if you want no-compromises gaming performance, and you don’t mind dropping a small fortune on a gaming laptop, the MSI Raider GE76 is the device for you.
(Image credit: Future)
Battery life
While battery life in gaming laptops has come quite a long way in the last few years, you’re still going to take a massive loss when you’re running components that are this power-hungry.
The MSI Raider GE76 falls just short of five hours in both of our battery tests. That would be appalling performance if this was an Ultrabook, but really it’s about what we expect out of a gaming laptop of this caliber.
You won’t be able to take it with you to work without the power cable and just forget about it, but it should be able to get you through a short Netflix binge without dying on you. Yes, that charging cable is a bit heavy, but you’re going to want to pack it if you’re going to be carrying this laptop around with you.
(Image credit: Future)
Features and software
As far as modern gaming laptops go, MSI doesn’t pre-install a lot of software on the Raider. MSI center does come pre-installed, but you can go through and manually pick which optional programs you want, rather than them all being shoving onto the SSD out of the factory. That’s the way we'd like it to be with more laptops.
On the other hand, it does come with Norton Antivirus preinstalled, which is something that’s absolutely unnecessary on such an expensive device in 2022. You do get a bit of a free window before it starts begging you to buy an expensive subscription, but our advice is to just uninstall it and get one of the best free antivirus programs instead.
(Image credit: Future)
Camera
Webcams are more important now than they’ve ever been, but the one in the MSI Raider GE76 is just, you know, there. It’s a 1080p sensor, but images look sort of flat, and it doesn’t pick up lighting super-well.
Then again, as this is a gaming laptop you’re probably not buying it to be in video meetings all day, so it probably isn’t a deal-breaker. You’re still going to be able to show up in a Zoom call relatively well – just don’t go thinking it’s going to use any kind of software to enhance the image, as the latest laptops from Lenovo or Apple are doing.
• Original review date: January 2022
• Launch price: Starts at $349 / £349 (around AU$490)
• Target price now: Starts at $349 / £349 (around AU$490)
Update – September 2024: Well, it looks like our reviewer was bang on the money back at the start of 2022; Windows on Arm really did just need some more time in the oven, as I noted that Samsung's new Galaxy Book4 Edge was able to play modern games thanks to its powerful Snapdragon X Elite chip.
There was an interstitial update to this laptop in February last year with the Galaxy Book2 Go, but that model still used the older Snapdragon 7C+ chip and suffered from the same Windows compatibility issues as the version reviewed below. With no new iteration this year, it's possible that the Book Go series might be dead - never say never, though.
You can still pick up the original Samsung Galaxy Book Go from most retailers (chiefly Amazon) for roughly its original launch price, since the Book2 Go arrived with a higher entry price. But at this point, there's little reason to recommend it over any of the best ultrabooks.
Original review follows.
Two-minute review
We have to imagine that, some time in 2016 or 2017, Samsung gleefully signed on to the Windows on ARM program, a move which eventually led to the Samsung Galaxy Book Go. We'd also have to imagine that Samsung is not feeling nearly as gleeful right now, because whatever Windows on Arm is supposed to be, the Galaxy Book Go just isn't it.
Its failures aren't only the fault of the Snapdragon processor at its heart. That chip sure does its darnedest, and works at a decent clip when running things which are pre-baked to support it. It runs cool, the machine is super-quiet, and the phone-esque features that such a chipset brings (notably instant-on and ridiculous battery life) are a real highlight here. But challenge it in any way and it crumples.
Whatever compatibility layer Windows 11 has implemented for x86 apps is generally pretty poor, which we somewhat expected. But we expected slightly more snappiness on the desktop; the 4GB RAM package in this laptop just isn't enough to do more than one or two things at a time. This is a machine that looks for all the world like a normal Windows laptop, but doesn't have the pop where it counts - even at the very reasonable price point.
Samsung's attempts to hit that price have also led to some serious sacrifices in the hardware department. The screen, notably, reaches a commendable 1080p resolution, but is utterly terrible in every other way. The case is bouncy plastic which does not exactly fill us with confidence. The ports are passable but honestly pretty lacking in options. The LTE connectivity is not 5G, and if Samsung's own Galaxy A13 can manage it for far less money, it's a real shame that this can't. Admittedly Qualcomm's exclusive contract for Windows on ARM means Mediatek's cheaper chipsets don't get a chance to shine, but we're still annoyed.
Ironically, it's only the familiarity of Windows that really saves this. You can, with luck and a big asterisk, run whatever Windows apps you need, something a Chromebook can't offer. If you're careful with your tab management you might even find this to be a reasonable tool for using online apps. But the Galaxy Book Go is far from a productivity powerhouse. Pick one up and we'd imagine you'll feel the same kind of buyer's remorse as Samsung must be feeling for going down this path in the first place.
Price and availability
Spec Sheet
Here is the Samsung Galaxy Book Go configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
CPU: Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 (Kryo 468 Octa-core CPU, up to 2.55 GHz) Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno RAM: 4GB LPDDR4x Screen: 14-inch 1920 x 1080 Storage: 128GB eUFS Ports: 2x USB 3.0 Type-C ports, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A port, micro SD reader, nanoSIM, audio combo jack Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1, 802.11 ac (2x2), 4G LTE Camera: Built-in 720p webcam Weight: 3.04 pounds (1.38 kg) Size: 12.75 x 8.85 x 0.59 inches (32.3 x 22.4 x 1.49 cm; W x D x H)
While it's not the most ultra-cheap laptop in the world, the 4GB spin of the Galaxy Book Go supplied to us for review lands squarely in the budget bracket at $349 (£349, around AU$490). That said, we can find no evidence of it being officially available in Australia - though stocks seem plentiful elsewhere.
That's a magic number: it puts the Galaxy Book Go head-to-head both with a good number of Chromebooks, including Samsung's own Galaxy Chromebook Go, with which it shares much of its hardware design. It also puts it up against the lowest reaches of the x86 market - somewhere a Windows-on-ARM laptop might not really want to be.
It's more pricey than, say, the Lenovo Ideapad Duet, a double-duty tablet which realistically offers a lot more flexibility; it's also fairly equal with the Microsoft Surface Go which, even a year on, remains a solid performer.
So the Samsung Galaxy Book Go has its work cut out for it. It has to throw around Windows on a platform which might better suit a Linux or Android environment - something those two competitors don't have to worry about. It has to offer enough non-touch laptop to be worthy of a price point which can get you a fairly solid two-in-one machine. Can it do it? Well, no. And here's why.
Samsung has been generous with the control surface, though it is a little squishy (Image credit: Future)
Design
Samsung hasn't gone mad with the Galaxy Book Go's design: this is pure, plain, silver'n'black functionality laid bare.
That's absolutely fine. It's thin enough, inoffensive, and sized just right, with reasonably thin side bezels giving it an impressively compact footprint - and we'll forgive its chunky chin and forehead, as the extra vertical reach stops the control surface ending up too cramped.
There's even a discrete power button, in these days of all and sundry moving that function to the top right of the keyboard. It feels sad to offer points for such a minor feature, but here we are.
It's very difficult to capture the washed out screen on camera, but it doesn't look much better than this in real life (Image credit: Future)
The matte-finish screen is, even considering that its 1080p resolution tops most other machines of this price, absolutely horrendous. It is so low-contrast it feels like you're peering through smoke to look at it, the colors are terrible, and while it's not overly smeary at speed you can absolutely feel the 60Hz refresh rate.
It's also attached to such a weak and flexible lid that touching it - or even typing particularly vigorously - causes little LCD wobbles in the bottom corners suggesting the panel is under some serious tension.
The 180-degree hinge is one of Samsung's key selling points - but we think it's of questionable usefulness (Image credit: Future)
Its hinge is somehow both stiff and wobbly. It's slightly too rigid to open one-handed, fixes the position nicely when open, but allows enough play that using it on your lap sees it bouncing around. On a desk things aren't so bad, however.
There's similar cut-corner flexibility on the base. The keyboard deck is soft and springy (though there's some solid travel on its keys) and the trackpad is standard cheap-and-cheerful fare. None of this affects the Galaxy Book Go's functionality, and we had no problems typing this review or mousing around, but there's no getting around the downsides of the price point: magnesium alloy stiffness this ain't.
Image 1 of 2
On the left, a USB Type-C port, an audio jack and SD reader (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2
On the right you'll find a full-size USB 2.0 port, as well as a second Type-C and the SIM slot (Image credit: Future)
In terms of ports, things are fairly basic. The left edge offers up a USB 3.0 Type-C port (for charging and data) along with a combined audio jack and a microSD reader, while the right edge contains another Type-C port (the only one capable of video output) as well as a USB 2.0 Type-A port, a Kensington lock slot, and a NanoSIM cradle for LTE connectivity.
An extra Type-A port might have been nice - and HDMI output is sorely lacking - but modern problems require modern solutions, and you'll have to work with Type-C if you want to hook up an external display.
The unit itself is, given its mostly flimsy plastic outer, surprisingly weighty. We'd have to presume there's either a heavyweight passive cooler or a huge battery inside, or perhaps both. This feels like every bit of its 1.38kg - it's not a shoulder-breaker by any means, but you'll notice it in your bag.
Viewing angles on the 1080p panel are basically non-existent (Image credit: Future)
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: 1927.3ms JetStream 2: 55.851 Geekbench 5 CPU Benchmark: 508 (Single-Core); 1399 (Multi-Core) Cinebench R20 Multicore: 359 Battery life (Techradar Movie Test): 11hrs 30mins
Windows on ARM, then. Frankly, simply knowing that this is a Windows on ARM device, you'll probably have formed your own opinion about what the Galaxy Book Go is capable of - the good news is you're right, whatever you might think. Except when you're not.
Do you think ARM is more at home on phones, tablets, or operating systems built around it like macOS? Bang on: while Windows 11's core functions are snappy enough if the processor isn't overburdened, it's very easy to find ways to push the Galaxy Book in the wrong direction and fall foul of the not-so-quick translation layer.
Sometimes things get very syrupy; Google Chrome, for example, doesn't yet have a native app, and ran terribly. Few things we tried entirely refused to run, meaning this is a far cry from the dark days of Windows RT, but we'd suggest you shouldn't buy this if there's something you specifically want to do outside of a web browser which isn't Chrome, which is a pretty ridiculous statement to make of a Windows laptop.
On the flip side, certain things genuinely surprised us. For example, less demanding 2D indie games built for traditional PC processors ran pretty smoothly, though 3D is something of a test too far.
Think Windows on ARM basically turns a laptop into a phone? Right again, kinda: Qualcomm's mobile processor expertise makes phone-adjacent functions work superbly well.
This is a machine meant for monumental battery performance, something we'll get to shortly, but also one which instantly wakes from sleep with all of your radios already connected. It runs silent and stays cool even when you're doing entirely too much. For a functional budget laptop, that's ideal - and almost unique to this category. Samsung also includes a whole bunch of ecosystem apps which tie this nicely to its own phone line, though you'll find a lot more performance with your phone docked in DeX mode, which renders them somewhat moot.
Think scaling up what is essentially phone hardware to run a full laptop isn't going to work? First, you shouldn't overlook the MacBook, which makes magic with its M1 chip, but in the case of the budget-priced Galaxy Book Go you're not entirely wrong.
4GB RAM gives this less memory to work with than even many budget phones, and it's not hard to push it to the cap if you're not frugal with your browser tabs. But again, we were relatively surprised: whatever the middling benchmarks might suggest, there's enough power here to see you through your day-to-day browsing, work and mild entertainment, as long as you're happy to stay in your lane.
That's where your expectations should end; were you to ask more than that from this, you'd be as disappointed as you would be of a basic x86 machine at the same price. Passable is the word of the day. The down-firing speakers are loud but lack clarity, making Samsung's choice to license Dolby Atmos confusing at best. The webcam is fine, but completely unspectacular and easily blown out by bright lights. The LTE connectivity is a nice touch, but it's a clear generation behind.
The benchmark results bear our real-world experiences out. Cinebench, running through what it internally calls a Virtual CPU (the ARM-to-x86 translation layer, in other words) crawled its way to one of the lowest scores we've ever seen it produce. Geekbench similarly struggled, particularly compared to the kind of results we'd expect from a similarly-specced standard Windows machine. Even the browser benchmarks, run through the native Microsoft Edge app, didn't blow us away.
Battery life
We have to give the Galaxy Book Go its due: it does have a really massive battery. This thing goes and goes; it burned through our movie test for nigh-on half a day.
The fact that you wouldn't actually choose to watch a movie on it is irrelevant: you could, and you could do so for the vast majority of an international flight. Never mind that this is too big for a tray table and the viewing angles will make the screen impossible to use. You could do it. That's what matters.
There's a skinny-fat air about the Galaxy Book Go, which tucks its bulk underneath (Image credit: Future)
