If you remember the name Razer Edge you’re not alone, back in 2013 gaming hardware company Razer dipped their toes into the mobile gaming market with their Razer Edge gaming tablet. Priced at nearly $999 dollars, it was described by then IGN-reviewer Scott Lowe as, “An ambitious, but flawed product.” Since then Razer has stuck to their successful line of more traditional gaming hardware, especially laptops.
However, things have changed since then. Originally, the Razer Edge offered hardware specs that many compared to a low-end gaming laptop. But with the recent release of the Steam Deck, the porting of many AAA titles natively to phones via companies like Feral Interactive and crucially, the rise of streaming video games, the time seems to have come for the Razer Edge to return.
The Razer’s Edge
The Razer Edge 5G was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas yesterday. Describing its hardware briefly Verizon said it would be, “Built on the Snapdragon® G3X Gen 1 Gaming Platform.” We also got to see a brief teaser trailer uploaded later, that appears to show the new device, complete with joysticks, triggers, D-pad (directional pad) and bumpers as you might find on a conventional console controller.
Crucially, its 5G capability will be very good news for mobile gamers. For game streaming via services such as Xbox Game Pass, a good internet connection is crucial and has been the major hurdle for a gaming audience used to low latency and quick response times. Razer’s decision to build this new device around a classic controller configuration will be a key indicator of where they see their audience lying, in AAA gamers playing on the move via streaming.
More info on the Razer Edge 5G is set to be announced on October 15th at Razercon. Where we’re likely to see the device in full, if not a demonstration of it’s full functionality. Razer also announced last year that by 2030 they’re aiming to be carbon neutral in their operations, so we may also receive information on the production process.
