MSI’s brand name is mostly associated with gaming and high-performing PCs. It is quite easy to assume that gaming PCs is all they do, because their biggest mindshare and market share is mostly thanks to their gaming PC line-up. They are a full-fledged PC builder though, so they do have more than just gaming PCs. They recently launched their creator focused line-up of laptops and desktops with sleek and muted designs containing high-performing internals. Yesterday, they launched completely new devices to take on the corporate world. Welcome to the Summit, Prestige, and Modern Series.
MSI Summit
Let us back it up a little bit. The Summit series is not new from MSI. It has been their flagship notebook series for the corporate world for a few years now. Existing products include a Summit E13 Flip Evo and Summit E16 Flip. Yesterday they added two more devices into the family; the Summit E14 Flip Evo and the Summit E14 Flip.
As its name suggests, both are 14-inch laptops. As names imply too, they are convertibles. Not that you can detach the keyboard or anything, it is just that you can tilt the display all the way around the keyboard to effectively make them chunky tablets.
Both devices get Intel’s 12th Generation Core processors, quite obviously, it is 2022 after all. With the new generation processors, they also get Intel’s proven Iris Xe integrated graphics. You also get LPDDR5 RAM on both devices at 16GB (8GB x2), should be plenty enough for you to keep multiple Google Chrome windows and tabs running without slowing down.
Obviously, because this is a productivity focused notebook, you do not get a power-hungry GPU. You also do not get a fancy RGB lighting. You still get white backlighting on your keyboard though in case you need it in low-light conditions. Connectivity and portability also take thefront seat for this laptop.
It weighs 1.6kg, which is not as light as plenty of thing and light notebooks, to be fair. It is thin enough at 17.9mm though. You also get a full-sized USB 3.2 Type-A port, a MicroSD card reader, a full-sized HDMI port, and an audio combo jack alongside two Thunderbolt capable USB Type-C ports, either can be used to charge the 72Wh battery at 65W (USB Type-C charger provided). Both laptops also feature Windows Hello compatible Fingerprint sensor and an IR webcam for facial recognition.
There is one major difference between the MSI Summit E14 Flip Evo and Summit E14 Flip. The Evo variant gets a QHD+ display instead of the Full HD+ resolution of the regular Summit E14 Flip. Both are at 16:10 aspect ratio, of course. The Evo’s display offers 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage though, important if you are in the creative industry. The IPS display also supports MSI Pen input, effectively making it a touch sensitive panel.
Alongside the new Summit E14 Flip and Summit E14 Flip Evo, the Summit E13 Flip Evo, Summit E16 Flip, and Summit E16 Flip Evo are getting a refresher in the form of Intel’s 12th Generation Core CPUs. The Summit E16 Flip is also getting a GPU upgrade in the form of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (up to) GPU.
MSI Prestige
The Prestige series should also be a familiar name to fans of MSI. It is made to be the mid-range productivity powerhouse that prides itself with great design and portability like no other in its class. For 2022, the new line-up is even better than before.
You can get the MSI Prestige in two sizes, 15 and 14 inches. Both sizes get Intel’s 12th Generation Core processors for a start. You can think of them as entry-level gaming devices too with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti mobile GPU (RTX 3050 for Prestige 14) handling the graphics department. You also get up to 32GB in RAM (16GB for Prestige 14) for any high-performance computing needs on the go. With the 15-inch variant also you get another NVMe PCIe Gen 3 slot in case you need to expand your storage.
For its display, the Prestige 15 offers you a 15.6-inch UHD (up to) IPS panel that boasts 100% sRGB colour gamut coverage. The Prestige 14 only offers you up to a Full HD IPS panel. You still get 100% in sRGB colour gamut coverage. It is also much lighter at 1.29 kg over the 1.69 kg of the 15-incher.
There is another Prestige 14 option, the Prestige 14 Evo. It comes with Intel’s Evo certification. That means it does not come with any GPU. That should also allow for extended battery life on the Prestige 14 Evo. While the other Prestige models with discrete GPUs charge at 100W though, this one charges at 65W (USB Type-C charger included).
MSI Modern
This one, MSI says, is for the trendsetters. They have collaborated with French Illustrator, Lorrain Sorlet for this new Modern laptop series. In their Classic Black or Urban Silver colour choices though, the thin-and-light laptops does look like it will blend in anywhere you take it too.
There are also two display sizes here, a 14-inch and a 15-inch. Both offer Full HD resolutions and are IPS displays which also means colours on the display will pop. Just do not expect the colours to be as accurate as DCI-P3 or sRGB rated displays. Still good enough for most entertainment purposes though.
Of course, you can expect Intel’s 12th Generation Core processors on the new laptops. No discrete GPUs here, just a good ol’ Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics here. The processor is also supported by up to 16GB (8GB x2) DDR RAM. You get a fast, nice SSD storage to comem with the new Modern 15 and Modern 14 too,
It is a little thicker than the other two laptops that MSI introduced alongside this one, but still quite thing at 19.9mm (19.35mm Modern 14). At 1.7 kg and 1.4 kg respectively, they are not what you would call heavy too. The extra thickness allows for a bit more practicality on the side though. Both devices pack two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a full-sized HDMI port, a MicroSD card slot, a combo AUX jack, and one USB Type-C port. The USB Type-C port doubles as a charging port too with the included 65W USB Type-C charger.
Availability
MSI, in their launch, did not actually mention when the new laptops will be available just yet. They also did not include their pricing currently. The only thing we can do is wait and see. For more information on the new products, you can check out MSI’s website.