Razer Edge review: More than just the cloud
DexertoThe Razer Edge 5G offers exquisite quality for gamers on the go, but is it worth the eye-watering price tag?
Ever since the arrival of Valve’s Steam Deck, handheld gaming has been exploring a new niche. Companies like Ayaneo have responded by releasing devices like the Ayaneo Air Pro and Ayaneo 2, while smaller manufacturers are gaming handhelds that run on either Linux or Android, like the highly popular Miyoo Mini. No matter where you go, entrants into the great handheld gauntlet are coming thick and fast.
But, it’s not only smaller, niche companies getting into the game. Logitech released their own handheld, named the Logitech G Cloud back in September 2022, and now Razer has come to the forefront with their own competitor, in the form of the Razer Edge.
We’ve spent a couple of weeks with the Razer Edge, but starting at $399, is it worth the hefty price tag, especially considering Valve’s subsidized Steam Deck comes starts at the same price.
Key Specs
- Chipset: Snapdragon G3x Gen 1
- RAM: 8GB LPDDR5 (5G Version) 6GB LPDDR5 (Wifi Version)
- Storage: 128GB internal/Up to 2TB Micro SD
- Connectivity: Verizon 5G, Wifi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C
- Battery: 5,000 mAh
- Price: $599.99 (5G Version) $399.99 (Wifi Version)
What’s in the box: Razer Edge tablet, Kishi V2 Pro, charging block, USB cable.
Design
DexertoRazer’s products have always been a joy to unbox, and the Razer Edge 5G is no different. As soon as we slid the top off we were greeted with the Razer Edge 5G tablet.
We recommend that you go through setup and logging in to various platforms before attaching the Kishi V2 Pro controllers, as it’s just way easier to type on without the controller attached.
We love minimalist designs, and Razer’s iconic logo on the back side is all you get, which is incredibly welcome. Other than that, the Razer Edge 5G also has volume and power buttons on the top, as well as a microSD tray on the opposite side. It’s a fairly anonymous-looking tablet, nor does it stand out in any meaningful way.
Razer Edge tablet
Although it’s immensely comfortable to hold, the 6.8″ Razer Edge tablet is quite a hefty device — coming in at 264g without the controller attached. Slide it into the Kishi V2 Pro and it gets over 100g heavier for a total of 403g. This is comparable to how much a Nintendo Switch weighs.
The Edge tablet has thick bezels, but once you begin using the device you can tell it just makes sense. When docked into the Kishi V2 Pro, it provides plenty of room for it to go slightly on top of the device, providing more stability when gaming. The bezels are perfect for touch-screen gaming as well, giving you plenty of room to move your fingers without accidentally touching the screen with your palm.
It comes jam-packed with the latest hardware, including Qualcomm’s first-gen Snapdragon G3x, 8 GB of LPDDR5 ram, Wifi 6E with Bluetooth 5.2, and a 5MP front-facing camera.
The 6.8″ AMOLED screen on the Razer Edge has a resolution of 2400×1080 at 144hz, which we’ve found to be absolutely perfect for native Android games as well as cloud apps like GeForce Now and Steam Link.
This is all air-cooled with plenty of vents around the back of the device, as well as a fan that kicks in whenever needed.
Kishi V2 Pro controllers
Razer’s Kishi V2 Pro is very much the same as the regular Kishi V2 we reviewed last year, but improving on the great build quality with haptic feedback and a headphone port. We’re absolutely in love with the micro switches on the Kishi and have no qualms about the quality of the controller itself, with one minor nitpick.
We would have loved to have hall-effect joysticks in the V2 Pro, but given that Gulikit just recently released Joycon-sized options, we’ll leave it on our wishlist for the Kishi V3.
All you need to do is slide the tablet into the USB-C port and you’re off to the races in-game, as the controller is immediately recognized by the device.
Battery life
The Razer Edge houses a large 5,000 mAh battery, but in real-world use, it leaves something to be desired.
We’ve found the Razer Edge to get around eight hours of battery life with a mix of Xbox Cloud Gaming, Steam Link remote play, and light gaming on natively installed games from the Google Play Store.
Once you hop into more in-depth cloud games on GeForce Now or even Fortnite Mobile through the Epic app store, the battery life dives down to about 5-6 hours, depending on your settings.
DexertoWhile it would have been nice to have a slightly larger battery, it’s hard to knock the Razer Edge too hard as there are a wide variety of ways to tweak the device to make it last as long as possible — it is Android, after all.
The Razer Edge does suffer from idle battery drainage, with the device losing about 15% of battery life in about seven hours without any apps running in the background. Accidentally leave Call of Duty Mobile running overnight, and you’re going to wake up to a near-dead handheld.
While the idle battery drain definitely isn’t an ideal thing to have to mess with on a $400+ gaming handheld, getting into the habit of turning your Razer Edge off at night is something you should sadly get used to.
Pricing
There are two ways you can get a Razer Edge, purchasing it outright, buying the Wi-Fi model, or adding it to an existing plan on Verizon. On the Wi-Fi front, the Edge currently sits at $399, which isn’t the cheapest we’ve seen in the handheld market, as Valve’s powerful Steam Deck currently sits at the same price, with more powerful hardware under the hood.
However, it seems like Razer is targeting a different audience, and these are two different devices for different users. The Razer Edge is poised toward mobile and cloud streaming, while the Steam Deck is geared toward native rendering and AAA experiences, with zero lag.
Verizon
With a total retail price of $599.99, new and existing Verizon customers are looking at $16.66 a month alongside an $80 data plan. This would bring the monthly charge to $96.66 before fees or roughly $3,500 over the course of 36 months.
However, Verizon currently offers a deal that makes the Razer Edge significantly cheaper. Buying a new phone alongside the gaming handheld brings it down to just $9.99 a month for the device and $20 a month for the accompanying plan.
DexertoGaming performance
Gaming on the Razer Edge 5G is a phenomenal experience just based on the variety of options you have at your disposal. You can play native mobile games, stream AAA titles from a multitude of services, or emulate older games thanks to Android’s robust emulation support.
Thanks to the device’s top-of-the-line specs, it handles Fortnite Mobile with high-definition resolution packs installed at 90fps without any issues whatsoever. The same performance carries over to every other natively installed game we tried as well, including the likes of Ark: Survival Evolved, Minecraft, Diablo Immortal, and more.
Since you can remove the controllers, it’s also perfect for grinding out levels in more touch-based games such as Candy Crush.
Cloud Gaming
You can use a variety of streaming Services on the Razer Edge, such as Nvidia’s GeForce Now, which also supports streaming at up to 120hz natively on the device.
We put the Razer Edge through its paces with Cyberpunk 2077 and Portal RTX, both providing an enjoyable experience with little to no input lag on Wi-Fi, and on Verizon’s 5G networks.
Valve has enabled the ability for the Razer Edge to take advantage of its full 144hz refresh rate through its Steam Link software, which is a boon for anyone who already has a beefy gaming PC. For those looking to game using Xbox Cloud Gaming, we saw the lowest streaming quality, and due to the forced 16:9 aspect ratio, games don’t take up the whole screen either.
Razer Nexus Virtual Controller
Razer’s Nexus Virtual Controller software also allows you to bind the Kishi V2 Pro’s buttons onto games that might not have native controller support on Android, something that we felt was sorely lacking on other devices, like the Logitech G Cloud, when it launched.
Games that are launched through Nexus with the virtual controller option activated will have an overlay enabled that allows users to assign literally any touch-screen command to a button on the controller with ease. We tested it out in CoD Mobile, as the game doesn’t support wired controllers on Android, and were set up in-game in a matter of minutes, as it works flawlessly.
Synthetic benchmarks
| CPU Benchmark Scores | Razer Edge | Logitech G Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| GeekBench 6 Single Core | 1581 | 744 |
| GeekBench 6 Multi Core | 3767 | 1773 |
| GPU Benchmark Scores | Razer Edge | Logitech G Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| OpenCL | 3913 | 1098 |
| Vulkan | 4601 | 495 |
The Razer Edge is leagues ahead of the Logitech G Cloud in just about every respect when it comes to raw benchmarks performed using GeekBench 6. Though both devices may be similar in price, the Razer Edge simply offers heaps more value.
Should you buy it?
There’s no doubt that the idle battery drainage on the Razer Edge is a huge bummer, but we hope that the company continues to improve the Edge software in ways that makes it better as time goes on.
Although it’s not exactly cheap at $599.99, the wide variety of ways you can game on the device brings it into a category of its own compared to popular handhelds like the Steam Deck.
The verdict – 4/5
If you are a heavy mobile gamer and are tired of constantly getting bugged by texts, calls, and other notifications while playing your favorite games — absolutely buy the Razer Edge gaming handheld.
