If you're looking for a laptop to take on the go, size and weight should be at the top of your priority list. A lightweight laptop is able to disappear into your bag and won't leave you with a sore shoulder at the end of the day. And unlike past years, opting for a thin and light design doesn't necessarily mean that you're trading-off on performance. These are the best lightweight laptops of 2025 so far I'd recommend you buy.

TL;DR - The Best Lightweight Laptops:

While it used to be true that opting for a lightweight laptop meant sacrificing performance and limiting the types of tasks you were able to accomplish, laptop hardware has advanced to the point where that just isn't the case anymore. It's still true that if you're working on high-intensity tasks like video editing or gaming, thicker designs can offer better ventilation and overall performance. But thanks to more advanced hardware and assistive technologies like frame generation and neural processing units (NPUs), lightweight laptops are better than ever before.

1. Apple MacBook Air (M4, 2025)

The Best Lightweight Laptop

The Apple MacBook Air might be a familiar pick for this category, but that's because it's so well-rounded and satisying that it soars to the top spot as the best choice for most people. The MacBook Air blends portability with performance and a minimalist sense of style to deliver an excellent all-around experience, whether you're getting work done or binging the latest season of Squid Game with your feet up.

Weighing in at only 2.7lbs, it's one of the lightest laptops in its class. But that doesn't mean it makes sacrifices on performance. While professionals will still want to turn to the MacBook Pro, the M4 processor in this notebook is more than up to the task for everything from productivity to creative apps like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro. While most of its competitors will have audible fan noise, especially when taking on such tasks, the MacBook Air remains blissfully quiet. It uses a completely fanless setup that leverages its metal body to silently dissipate heat. This design also means that there are no vents to break up its elegantly minimalist aesthetic.

I'm mainly a Windows user, but our own Jackie Thomas reviewed the MacBook Air and praised how Apple has refined its classic design. I did spend some time with the MacBook Air and have been tempted to switch ever since this version's release this year. Its blend of fantastic portability and impressive performance are simply hard to match with a Windows laptop.

Its other major selling point is its multi-day battery life. If you're taking on productivity apps, it can easily last upwards of 12 hours depending on your settings. For mixed use that includes video, it can extend well beyond that. If you're only using it for a few hours a day, a single charge has the potential to get you through almost an entire week of use.

Just... don't expect it to be particularly cheap if you venture above the introductory spec. Apple offers a base model with limited storage (256GB) and slightly pared back graphics (8-core instead of 10-core) for $1,000. If you store most of your files with cloud storage, it probably won't matter, but I'd personally go for the 512GB version (which also upgrades the processor) for $1,199 for peace of mind.

No matter which version you choose, the Apple MacBook Air continues a legacy of excellence in lightweight computing and is an even better fit if you already have an iPhone and live in that Apple ecosystem.

2. Acer Aspire 14 AI (2025)

The Best Budget Lightweight Laptop

If you’re reading this, you already know the importance of good audio when it comes to gaming, but it’s tough to find out which is the best gaming headset for you among the sea of options. As is the case when you're looking for the best gaming mouse or best gaming keyboard, there are several factors to consider. When looking for the right headset, you'll want to account for your budget and seek out the best sound quality and comfort, as well as the kinds of features most important to you. The easiest way to find that personalized experience is to know exactly what you’re getting into and rely on those who have first-hand knowledge.

I’ve reviewed plenty of headphones and gaming headsets in my time, so I’m familiar with what makes them great, and I’ve put my expertise and ears-on experience to use here. Each pick was made with careful consideration for what each headset offers as a whole, but also for the aspects they excel in most based on their category. With that in mind, I’ve included options for the best budget headset like the HyperX Cloud III and the best high-end option in the Audeze Maxwell, for example. But more sophisticated features like virtual surround, active noise cancelation, or customizable EQ profiles can be defining for certain wireless headsets like the Razer Kraken V4, Alienware Pro, or Logitech G Pro X 2.

TL;DR: These Are the Best Gaming Headsets:

This guide is intended to be a comprehensive look at the best options based on specific categories in which certain headsets prioritize or do better than the competition. This doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing headsets outside of the ones I’m recommending, but these are all headsets I can vouch for based upon the first-hand testing done by me and my colleagues. These are also great options whether you play games on PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, or any mix of consoles (just be sure to get the right model when picking something out). I will also be updating my picks as new ones come out and I test more of what’s out there, so be sure to check back periodically, or whenever you need some advice on choosing a new gaming headset.

This guide contains contributions by Danielle Abraham and Adam Matthew.

1. SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless

Best Gaming Headset

2. HyperX Cloud III

Best Budget Gaming Headset

3. Audeze Maxwell

Best High-End Gaming Headset

4. Turtle Beach Atlas Air

Best Wireless Gaming Headset

5. Turtle Beach Stealth 500

Best Budget Wireless Gaming Headset

6. Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro and MMX 330 Pro

Best Wired Gaming Headset

7. Sennheiser HD 620S

Best Audiophile Gaming Headset/Headphones

8. Razer Kraken V4

Best Surround Sound Gaming Headset

9. Logitech G Pro X 2

Best Esports Gaming Headset

10. Alienware Pro Headset

Best Noise-Cancelling Gaming Headset

11. SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds

Best Gaming Earbuds

How to Pick the Best Gaming Headset

First thing’s first: How much are you willing to spend? Next thing to ask yourself is, what are your biggest priorities when looking for a gaming headset? Is it overall sound quality, comfort, microphone clarity, durability, or something else? And if you want to go wireless, you have to consider battery life and what a headset’s software suite is capable of. You’ll likely want some mix of all those things, but while you don’t have to pick one particular feature or strength to seek out among a wide array of options, some headsets simply do certain things better than others.

For me, sound quality is the primary factor to look for regardless of price range (it’s rather a matter of managing expectations with more budget-friendly options). While the size of the drivers – the actual hardware in each earcup that produces sound – is an easy shorthand for determining a headset’s potential, it’s certainly not the be-all-end-all. How the headset is tuned, the material and physical construction of the drivers, and how it sounds in specific scenarios are things you can only learn about through reviews and first-hand accounts, if you can’t test it for yourself. Pay attention to what reviewers say about frequencies like bass/lows, mids, and highs and the ways they describe their experience. Sometimes bass drowns out other frequencies, mids might be distorted in hectic gameplay, or the highs are harsh at loud volumes – these are the types of things we say when describing audio shortcomings. Some folks like deep bass even if it’s overpowering, so some detractors may not matter as much to some, for example.

Positional or spatial audio is also crucial for competitive gamers. The best headsets are able to express the details and nuances of sound effects, not just produce clear frequencies. This helps you judge direction and distance of footsteps or gunshots in games like Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant, for example, and can also result in a more immersive experience in single-player games or even movies. Some of this can be simulated through software but things like Turtle Beach’s Superhuman Hearing tend to sound too artificial, so be wary.

Comfort is another thing that can be challenging to understand without trying on a headset first. However, you can pay attention to descriptors such as clamp force (how hard a headset latches onto one’s head), the density of the earpads, the type of material used to wrap the earpads, or how the headband rests above the user’s head. Materials like leatherette, sports mesh, and velour all have their pros and cons with the former being better for sound isolation but not as great as the latter for airflow and mitigating sweat around the ears.

When it comes to durability, many premium-level headsets use an aluminum frame, which may be heavier but can withstand much more contortion and mishandling. Some budget-friendly headsets opt for a flexible rubber-like plastic headband that offers a similar level of flexibility, so it doesn’t feel like you’re going to break the thing when putting it on or taking it off. Any gaming headset worth its salt shouldn’t have durability issues, but it is something to consider.

I typically find the built-in microphones on gaming headsets to be an afterthought, mainly because you can get much better sound quality from a standalone external microphone – that’s what I use most of the time. But that doesn’t mean I overlook microphone clarity altogether. It’s rare to find a headset outside of the premium price range with a great mic, but it’s something we as reviewers always test because it’s certainly nice to have. Something like the HyperX Cloud III was truly impressive for a mic on a $100 gaming headset, and the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro is close to approaching mid-range standalone mics – and those who often use voice for communication or some sort of content creation can get a lot out of a good headset mic. Noise isolation is worth paying attention to, as well as how well it picks up your voice – software-side features like controlling the noise gate can also be useful. And don’t overlook the importance of sidetone, which is a rare feature that automatically feeds your voice back to you.

Wireless gaming headsets have evolved to the point where battery life is either a non-issue or manageable with good habits of charging them whenever you can. But for headsets you’re planning on using for multiple purposes (like ones with simultaneous Bluetooth connectivity for music on mobile devices, for example), total battery life can be a more important factor. Many should last in the 40-hour range from a full charge and higher-end ones can last upwards of 80 hours, although several variables feed into how long they last in actuality.

The last thing I’ll mention is customizability, at least through software. Every gaming peripheral manufacturer has its own software suite it wants you to download, and they tend to be all-encompassing apps for all its gaming gear. But good software lets you get granular with your headset, such as Turtle Beach’s Swarm app. You can fiddle with equalization, make your own EQ presets, use premade profiles, control certain aspects of your microphone, and so much more. While it’s not as important as the essentials like sound quality and comfort, a proper software suite can help you get the most out of your purchase.

Gaming Headset FAQ

How do you determine sound quality on a gaming headset?

There are ways to extract audio data from a headset to get a look at how they handle various frequencies, like artificial ear and audio analyzing software, but that alone won’t be able to tell you what the actual audio experience is like. Admittedly, it can be quite abstract to have someone describe what games, music, or movies sound like. Paying attention to descriptors like distortion, drowning, cleanliness, or balance when talking about frequencies are common ways to explain the sound quality of a device, and at some point you need to trust the reviewer’s trained ear.

There’s also the factor of driver size, the actual hardware that delivers the audio. Generally, bigger drivers means better potential for cleaner and bolder sound, but again, that alone isn’t going to determine whether or not a headset sounds good. Quality can also come down to spatial or positional audio which gives the impression of sound effects having distance and direction – it’s important for competitive settings but can make for more immersive experiences outside of trying to get an advantage over your opponents.

What makes gaming headsets different from headphones?

Gaming headsets tend to pack additional features that support the actual gaming experience, some of which may be gimmicky, but many that I would call essential. Not everyone wants to have a standalone microphone, for example, but the key feature that separates a headset from headphones, is a built-in microphone. While most headset mics are passable in terms of clarity that can suffice for in-game communication, some go the extra mile to provide better clarity or mitigate ambient noise spilling through.

Good gaming headsets are generally tuned to pick up on certain sound effects and have a more intimate sound profile since you’re an active participant in the experience rather than a passive observer (especially in competitive games). When it comes to wireless capabilities, most gaming headsets come with 2.4GHz USB dongles for the lowest latency possible – something that wireless headphones rarely include. As you’ll see in the next section, software suites for USB-based headsets (wireless or otherwise) have gotten sophisticated as well and sometimes offer a level of customization for specific gaming scenarios.

Should I go wired or wireless for a gaming headset?

Of course, it depends on your needs. I still gravitate towards wired headsets and headphones since I tend to prefer the sound profiles of a properly-tuned analog audio device (I also tend to forget about charging devices until it’s too late, but that’s a me-problem). However, battery life and latency of modern gaming headsets have come so far that you rarely, if ever, see them being issues on the latest releases. Good software suites and apps can also help you get more out of your headset by letting you customize EQ settings or swap sound profiles for certain games.

Wireless headsets are also sometimes capable of multi-device connectivity and simultaneous Bluetooth, which makes them versatile and opens them up to more use-cases (especially swapping to a mobile connection within seconds). Even though they tend to be more expensive, there’s a lot of upside to going with a wireless gaming headset, just be sure you know what you’ll be getting out of it.

Is virtual surround sound worth seeking out?

Virtual surround sound had been a bit of a gimmick when high-end headphones started simulating the experience of a 7.1 speaker setup. But I will admit that the technology has come a long way. It’s not always best suited for gaming, especially in the competitive scene – there’s some artificiality with virtual surround that can lead to misjudging audio cues. But damn does something like DTS Headphone:X or Dolby Atmos sound impressive when done right – especially in action games or movies.

Some virtual surround sound software requires you to purchase a license, and personally I find the overall applicability of them fairly niche, but that doesn’t take away from how they simulate theater-like qualities. Just because a headset is compatible with features like Dolby Atmos or DTS Headphone:X, it doesn’t mean you’ll get an equal virtual surround experience – the headset itself has to be equipped to express a level of nuance in its sound quality for it to work well.

Michael Higham is the tech reviews editor at IGN and has a passion for good audio, which often drives him nuts when picking out headsets, headphones, earbuds, and speakers. He graduated from downloading low bitrate music to seeking lossless versions of his favorite songs at an early age. Having grown up playing Counter-Strike 1.6, and now keeping up with the Valorant competitive scene, he finds positional audio to be just as important as sound quality. But he actually just wants the best and most immersive audio for all the RPGs he plays, especially the ones with banging soundtracks.

Razer has brought its officially licensed Pokémon collection of accessories to territories outside of Asia, meaning you can now get your hands on an official Pokémon mouse, keyboard, headset, or deskmat.

Razer announced today that it has partnered with The Pokémon Company to bring an official line of Pokémon accessories to the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Previously, official Pokémon x Razer accessories were only available in Asia.

The initial set consists of a Razer BlackWidow V4 X keyboard, a Razer Kraken V4 X headset, a Razer Cobra mouse, and a Razer Gigantus V2 deskmat. All four items feature the same theme, solid yellow and a pattern of Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander's faces similar to the art used in mobile game Pokémon Shuffle.

Prices are as follows:

• Razer BlackWidow V4 X – Pokémon Edition: $169.99 USD / €199.99
• Razer Kraken V4 X – Pokémon Edition: $99.99 USD / €109.99
• Razer Cobra – Pokémon Edition: $59.99 USD / €69.99
• Razer Gigantus V2 - Medium – Pokémon Edition: $29.99 USD / €39.99 MSRP

All four items are now available for purchase.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

When you picture a tablet, chances are that something like the iPad comes to mind: a bright, colorful screen, pages of apps, social media, games, and video all at your fingertips. But if you’re the kind of user that needs to buckle down and get work done, or are looking for a reading tablet experience that’s easier on the eyes, the Boox Note Air 4C might be for you. Featuring a color e-ink screen, paper-like writing experience, and Android 13 for Google Play Store access and app compatibility, it’s one of the most fully featured, minimal distraction devices I’ve tested. Its oodles of apps put it in a different class than many of its competitors, like the Remarkable Paper Pro, basically making it the e-ink equivalent of a Galaxy Tab with a few extra features for writers, readers, and artists.

Boox Note Air 4C – Design and Features

The Boox Note Air 4C is a multifaceted device, at once a digital notebook, sketchpad, typewriter, Android tablet, and e-reader. It uses a 10.3-inch e-ink screen, which is the company’s current niche in the tablet market, and is one of its latest releases to feature a full color display. It’s designed to minimize, if not obliterate, distractions, making it a compelling choice for students, teachers, and mainstream users that enjoy the e-ink experience and the reduced eye strain and paper-like reader experience it can offer.

The Note Air 4C uses a Kaleido 3 display, which is the most recent release from E Ink, the company behind ePaper displays. This allows the 4C to display a full range of hues while still maintaining its parchment-like reading experience. It has natural benefits for reading PDFs with graphics and browsing the web, rendering color for a more accurate and engaging reading experience, and because the Note Air uses Android 13 for its operating system, it also makes using apps feel clean.

In short, it effectively brings together a normal tablet experience with the ePaper format… with one key exception: video.

As the technology stands right now, e-ink displays are simply not ideal screens to watch video. They don’t need to refresh like LCDs do. Because the technology works in a fundamentally different way to other types of screens, once the ink is charged and positioned, it can theoretically stay there forever, maintaining the image even after the device is turned off. Boox tablets refresh more frequently and include different modes that control how quickly it refreshes. Even at its fastest, however, watching videos is bad. At best, you’ll make out what’s going on with a perpetual sense of motion blur. On the other hand, it’s fast enough where you can use one of its faster refresh modes and scroll webpages or play a game of Threes easily.

Somewhat counterintuitively (compared to what you would normally look for in an Android tablet), this low refresh rate is one of the qualities that makes it so appealing. It’s just not feasible to use the device for distracting videos, and though you can use it for things like browsing social media, your phone will always provide a superior experience.

It goes without saying that the technology is completely different from other displays. A layer of ink particles below the screen form into text and images through electromagnetism. Above this layer is a color filter and another layer for its EMR stylus. There’s also a tiny degree of separation to accommodate its color-temperature controlled backlight. Compared to a black and white e-ink display, like the Boox Note Max or Viwoods AiPaper, there’s more depth to the screen here, so ink isn’t as immediately pooling under your stylus tip. The image is also darker, which is why that backlight layer is important when many monochrome e-ink tablets leave it out entirely.

The specs are solid for a digital notebook. It’s a bit more compact than much of the competition at 10.3 inches. The Supernote and Viwoods AiPaper each have 10.7-inch screens and the Remarkable Paper Pro is a chonker at 11.6 inches. Its screen measures 8.3 x 6.1 inches, though its full footprint is a bit more square at 8.9 x 7.6 inches. Either way, it’s slim and exceptionally easy to carry, and while it's still heavier than a paper notebook, it weighs in at 420g / 0.93 lbs while sporting both a case (when purchased through Boox) and a pre-applied paper-like screen protector.

Because of the layer-and-filter approach to colorizing its display, the Air 4C has two different resolutions and pixel densities. The black and white resolution is 2480x1860, or 300 pixels-per-inch (PPI), while color is only 1240x930 150 PPI. This was concerning at first, however it doesn’t make a huge difference in real-world use. Since black and white makes up text and, most often, the sharpest details you’ll perceive anyway, the lower density of the color filter wasn’t even that noticeable to me.

Memory and storage – 6GB of memory and 64GB of storage – aren’t the highest but they don’t need to be for a minimalist tablet like this. Since you’ll primarily be storing ebooks, documents, and productivity apps, this should last you quite a while, but it also comes with a microSD card slot to add additional storage.

The processor is a Snapdragon 750G, octa-core, with a top speed of 2.2GHz but frequently runs much slower than that. Despite it being a 5-year-old processor, it gets the job done. Still, for a new, expensive e-ink tablet, I really would have liked to have seen something a bit more modern. It works, but there are times when heavier Android apps can feel a little sluggish (like Office 365) when booting or transitioning screens, and a newer chip would have definitely helped with that.

While its purpose, display, and related specs differ from a normal Android tablet, in other ways it’s right in line with what you would expect. It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.1. You can enter the menu system and find most of the same categories and options, which is especially useful if you’re already familiar with the operating system and significantly reduces the learning curve. It also means that you can customize the home page, organize notes and files, and navigate its file system more intuitively than something proprietary. Again, that’s if you already have experience as an Android user. If you’re new to Android, getting used to its layout, features, and menu systems will take some getting used to (but it’s not difficult if you’ve used a tablet or larger smartphone in the past).

It also has access to the full Android ecosystem and has the Play Store installed by default. Obsidian, OneNote, Google Drive, Office 365, ChatGPT… all of these things are readily available and, for the most part, work very well. This allows the Air to be much more versatile than something like the Remarkable Paper Pro, more easily integrated into different workflows, and offer wider support for backup to any service supporting Android.

Boox includes a fairly basic pencil with the tablet and outfits it with a high friction nib. There’s no eraser, which bothered me until I discovered that scribbling over what you don’t want erases every stroke beneath it. There’s a nice scratchiness to writing on the bare screen that makes it feel a bit more like paper (no tablet is a perfect match, in my experience) and improves the accuracy of your strokes. If you do want to change out the stylus, that’s easy to do thanks to the widely adopted Wacom EMR technology standard. There are lots of options out there, including premium options from LAMY, Pilot, and Staedtler, but anything with EMR will do. Because the technology works with magnetism, none of them need to charge either, so they’re always ready to go.

Boox Note Air 4C – Performance

A huge part of the user experience comes down to the software and features that Boox bakes into the device. While this could be broken down within the Design and Features section, it's so critical to using the Air 4C that it makes up a core portion of its performance and my impressions having used it for the last month. Simply put, this tablet offers a ton, from reading to writing to planning, documenting, collaborating, and more.

Before getting to that, though, let's talk about how it actually feels to use physically. Because the tablet is relatively compact and lightweight, it's easy to carry through the day and hold with one hand. The texture on the screen is good and makes for an enjoyable writing experience. However, Boox's newer Note Max is a bit better for writing, in my opinion, due to the reduced layers on the screen making the ink appear minutely closer to the tip than the 4C.

In fact, it's fair to say that the display is probably the Air's biggest selling point and its biggest concession. Because of the additional layers in its design, it's noticeably darker than its monochrome counterparts, especially the Viwoods AIPaper. This can be made up with the backlight, and I have to give Boox credit for allowing you to customize the color temperature from cool white to nearly amber, but I feel like it loses a small piece of the newspaper-like e-ink appeal. I found that keeping the backlight relatively low helped mitigate this while still maintaining good visibility, even in poorly lit environments.

For writing, these layers also result in ever so slightly more distance between the tip of your stylus and the e-ink below. While minor, it is noticeable, especially when A/B comparing it against non-backlit Carta 1300 displays. Don't get me wrong: It's still perfectly functional as a writing and sketching device and remains pleasant to use, but the difference is there and worth considering if writing is your primary purpose above all else.

For color content, such as PDFs with illustrations and ebooks like graphic novels, this display is a major upgrade from monochrome. While color rendition is nowhere near as vivid as an LCD or OLED display, it still offers a much better viewing experience for any kind of imagery. Graphics are clearer and more engaging, and contrast is much less fiddly.

Reading through one of my collected editions of classic Tales from the Crypt, the difference was night and day. If normal e-ink is similar to reading a page in a paperback, reading a graphic novel is akin to the colors of a newspaper comic strip. On the Note Air 4C using the Vivid color setting, it’s a hair more saturated than Peanuts might be, but not much. Compared to black and white displays, however, it’s a big improvement.

The normal reading experience is similar to that of any other e-ink e-reader. Taken as a whole, its color performance allows it to be a more versatile reading companion if you consume more than pure text, and unlike the recent Kindle Colorsoft, there’s no color bleeding.

The colorization also improves its performance in note-taking and with Android apps. Let's face it: Many apps, including those designed explicitly for taking notes, rely on color — choosing an appropriate highlighter, for example, comes down to muscle memory on a monochrome tablet when everything is varying shades of gray. Here, you can choose your tools with confidence and also pick up on any visual indicators the developers may have baked into their UI.

The Note Air 4C excels in writing and note-taking, but there's still room for growth. Like many other e-ink tablets, it offers a palette of writing tools, including pencil, pen, brush pen, ballpoint pen, and marker. Each of these allows you to control the width of the lines and, in the case of the pencil, the texture that you're writing with.

To support different writing styles, it comes preloaded with templates, encompassing everything from lined paper to to-do lists, schedules, brainstorming sheets, notes, comic panels, grid paper, and more. You can also load your own and, with a recent update, even use PDFs with hyperlinks for in-depth, touch-navigable planners.

The device supports OneNote and it works fine, but the best experience is certainly within this proprietary Boox Notes app. The responsiveness of writing is easily the best, and it includes tools such as layering, inserting keywords and links, AI analysis, text transcription (handwriting to text), and deeper control over what touch gestures will be supported at any given time.

There's a lot here, and it comes along with a fairly deep learning curve. For a good while, I didn't realize that I could disable the bottom gestures (typically used for navigation like a normal Android tablet) and would inadvertently turn the page or zoom in when I lifted my stylus. Experience makes a huge difference in how powerful Boox's note-taking app can truly be, and all it really takes is time logged on simple exploration. When you're done, you're able to export and share these notes or sync them to Boox's servers to use between compatible devices.

Elsewhere on the device, you'll find other tools, like a built-in e-reader (you can download Kindle and other apps that all work fine as well), calendar and task management, an integrated AI assistant, and Android staples like a calculator, clock, and sound recorder. You can even load and listen to music on it or download Spotify if that's more your flavor. The speakers aren’t great for music due to their lack of bass, but since you can connect Bluetooth earbuds, listening to music while you read remains a viable option.

There are also easily overlooked features like the NaviBall tool that adds a collapsible radial of shortcuts to the screen that follows you between apps. A number of different gesture controls and e-ink settings also reduce ghosting and improve animations. Elsewhere, you can choose when the screen completely refreshes to wipe away any traces of ghosts and set the refresh mode for each app individually based on what you decide works best.

Compared to e-ink tablets from most other brands, this one has significantly more functionality. You do trade some of its distraction-free nature for that, but I honestly didn't find that to be a very big sacrifice for the additional versatility. At the same time, this "kitchen sink" approach does mean that the Note Air 4C doesn't offer some smaller but very important features, like the deep intra-note linking of the Supernote.

The quality of the writing tools could also use improvement. While entirely functional, they all feel pretty basic. The pencil in particular leaves a lot to be desired, consistently looking a bit dull and not working nearly as well as it should for shading. Likewise, I've yet to test an e-ink tablet that makes my handwriting look quite as pleasant as the Remarkable Paper Pro with its calligraphy pen. Its handwriting refinement is a special kind of magic that I wish the Boox had.

Quality gaming chairs don’t usually come cheap, especially if you prefer shopping with big, well-known brands – the Razer Iskur V2 X aims to change that. Coming in at a base price of $300, it blends comfort and style at around half the price of the higher-end flagship Iskur V2, with a few compromises to take note of. It’s not necessarily the cheapest option, but it’s a quality and comfortable offering that’s definitely worth considering if you’re looking for a brand name budget-level gaming chair.

Razer Iskur V2 X – Design and Features

The Razer Iskur V2 X doesn’t break the mold in gaming chair designs and doesn’t aim to. If you’re seen the previous iteration of the Iskur we reviewed a while back, or most other racing style gaming chairs, then you’ll have a good idea of what to expect here. It sports a typical bucket seat-inspired design when it comes to its overall shape and design. It has a tall back and wide seat with ample padding for your bottom and back. The backrest is tall, extending all the way behind your head, and both it and the seat have stylized bolsters to guide you toward their center. Unlike most gaming chairs of this type and price range, these bolsters aren’t overly pronounced and there’s no sense of being cramped or hugged into place.

There’s a recline lever on the right that allows you to lean back up to 152 degrees if you want to take a quick nap or kick back with your feet up. The armrests are adjustable, but only in two dimensions (height and rotation). You can rock in place or lock the chair at a certain angle using a lever below the chair or adjust its resistance with a large knob on the bottom, and the height is also adjustable by around four inches. It’s all standard stuff when it comes to typical racing-style chairs.

What you don’t get is any kind of adjustable lumbar support, and there are no pillows in the box to fill in any gap you might have in the lower back area. Instead, it comes with an integrated lumbar curve and a contoured backrest that helps position you properly without needing to think about it, at least for me. I’m 5-foot 8-inches and found that it was well positioned for me, so I didn’t miss having a lumbar pillow. Razer recommends the chair for people up to 6-foot 2-inches, but without any kind of adjustability, it won’t be a match for everyone.

Its lack of pillows is disappointing; at $300, it’s “budget” compared to Razer’s higher-end chairs, but it’s not necessarily cheap and you’ll be stuck paying extra for pillows if you need them. This is especially noteworthy since the original Iskur was so well known for its lumbar support.

Thankfully, in most other respects the Iskur V2 X impresses, especially with its build quality. It’s available in black and green or grey and black fabric, which is what I had in for testing. The quality of the weave and embroidery was excellent and includes stylized touches such as the snake-like diamond scales on the back and seat. Aesthetically, it’s a good match against the full Iskur V2, so if you like its looks, this is a much cheaper way to add it to your setup.

Razer also did a nice job making sure it nails the basics for durability and comfort. The wheel base is made of aluminum instead of plastic, which is a nice upgrade at this price and eliminates a common point of failure. I also appreciate that the tilt base, while definitely simpler than the full-fledged Iskur V2, operates smoothly and quietly and still includes key adjustments like tilt tension and angle lock. It also uses a steel frame to support long-term daily use, which isn’t always the case with more affordable chairs.

The cushioning is thick enough and soft enough to be comfortable straight out of the box and the fabric hits the midpoint between softness and robustness. It’s not quite as thick as the Iskur V2, but it’s as thick as it needs to be for a decent seating experience long-term. The armrests are also topped with a dense foam padding that’s soft enough to stave off elbow pain.

There are definitely some trade-offs here, as mentioned above – the biggest ones being the non-adjustable lumbar, lack of pillows, and 2D armrests. Apart from the backrest, the others really aren’t as impactful, and if you mesh with the backrest, it’s not that big of a deal. The overwhelming impression is that, for the most part, this is a chair that makes reasonable compromises on accommodating a range of needs in order to keep its price down.

Razer Iskur V2 X – Assembly

Assembling the Iskur V2 X is straightforward, so if you’ve assembled a gaming chair before, you’ll already know what to do. If not, Razer includes detailed instructions and everything you’ll need to get started. Everything comes separate in the box, which means lots of packaging material, but you don’t need to be especially handy to get it put together within about 20 minutes.

If it is your first time, I recommend getting everything set out ahead of time. With the parts in front of you, it’s pretty easy to intuit the assembly process. You’ll start by getting the casters inserted into the wheelbase, which is a toolless friction-fit. Then, you insert the gas piston into the center hole, cover it with the plastic shroud and wheel it to the side.

From there, I recommend attaching the backrest if you’re by yourself. This is a simple two screws on their side, but lining the threaded holes up with the side brackets can be awkward due to the size of the backrest. With that done, you cover each with their own shroud and then tip the whole setup forward for easy access to the bottom of the chair.

The tilt base attaches with four screws and Razer uses channels for each, so you can easily line them up and move the whole unit as needed before tightening it down. After that, you simply take the wheel assembly you put together before and slide the top of the gas piston into the hole in the base– tip the chair upright and you’re done.

Razer Iskur V2 X – Performance

I was able to spend about a month with the Iskur V2 X and over that time I truly put it through its paces. It lived at my home gaming PC setup for the first half of the review period and then I moved it into my office to see how it would hold up to long hours throughout normal workdays. Like I alluded to in the beginning of this review, the V2 X’s lumbar support was a good match for my back, so across my entire test period, I never got up sore or felt like I was paying a price for using it for too long – well, with one exception near the upper body.

The lack of a neck pillow turned out to be a big omission. Such a small accessory may not seem like it means a lot but it truly does, at least on the Iskur V2 X. The back contours in such a way that it leaves a larger gap behind your head. Leaning back feels immediately awkward unless you’re also reclining and shifting away from a normal seating posture. I eventually harvested a pillow from another gaming chair, but you should probably plan on getting one alongside this chair if you don’t also have a spare, because it really needs it.

With that problem addressed, the chair comes into its own and begins to demonstrate its value through looks and overall comfort. The fabric stands up to more expensive fabric chairs I’ve tested, including those from Secretlab that cost around double the price of the Iskur V2 X. And, if you care about looks, you can rest assured that it doesn’t look budget at all.

I was worried that the 2D armrests would be an issue when swapping between a controller and mouse and keyboard, but they offered just enough to accommodate either, at least by adjusting the width using the fasteners under the seat. Technically, 2D armrests aren’t width adjustable, but since each armrest runs on a track, you have an inch or two of give/movement to better accommodate the natural lay of your arms. It’s a middle ground that may not be elegant, but it gets you there.

And that’s really the story of this chair. There are sacrifices in adjustability, but the core is very good and is made to be more durable and rougher-wearing for the kind of rigorous use whether it be for a gaming setup or office setting. Although it is the “budget” option in the Iskur lineup, It’s not the cheapest, but those extra dollars get you that build quality and fabric finish you should expect. Whether that’s a worthy exchange is up to you.