Razer’s Blade 18 is getting a $500 price hike and a new Intel chip
Razer has announced the latest iteration of its Blade 18 gaming laptop, featuring Intel’s newest Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor. The premium device starts at $3,999.99 when configured with an Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti GPU and can be upgraded to an RTX 5090, making it one of the market’s most expensive gaming laptops.
The announcement marks another significant price increase, with the base RTX 5070 Ti configuration costing $500 more than the equivalent 2025 model. This represents the second consecutive year of price hikes for the Blade 18, as the 2025 model also launched at a higher price than its predecessor.
The 2026 Blade 18 appears to be primarily a processor refresh, upgrading from Intel’s Arrow Lake to Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. Otherwise, the laptop maintains the same GPU offerings as the previous generation and retains its signature dual-mode 18-inch display, which remains a distinguishing feature among high-end gaming laptops.
The successive price increases reflect rising component and manufacturing costs in the premium gaming laptop market. However, consecutive year-over-year price hikes coupled with incremental hardware upgrades may challenge customer demand for such expensive devices. The availability of alternative gaming laptops from competitors like ASUS, MSI, and Alienware at various price points could make consumers reconsider their purchasing decisions.