Alienware focuses on mobility with sleek, revamped new laptops

Enlarge (credit: Alienware)

Alienware has been unsurprisingly busy since E3, where the company announced powerful VR-ready desktops, as well as its OLED 13-inch gaming notebook. But the news doesn't stop there: Alienware recently announced an update for its other gaming notebooks—the Alienware 15 and 17 models—which includes a slight redesign, VR capabilities, and Tobii eye-tracking technology.

The new laptops look nearly identical to the original models, but closer inspection reveals a refined design. Alienware has abandoned the slanted corners of its older laptops in favor of an overall design that's 20 percent thinner and allows for more efficiency. One of the biggest changes is the "disappearing" hinge design: the lid of Alienware's new notebooks is set about an inch inward onto the chassis, so when you open it, the lid seems to disappear into its base. Yes, that means that part of the laptop's chassis sticks out behind the hinge, but Alienware explains that it moved the heat exchanger to that spot, which in turn allowed the new notebooks to be slimmer than previous models.

Aside from the hinge change, the other design alterations are minimal, and Alienware was vague about the small changes to the notebooks' keyboards. The company mentioned the new keyboard's additional 2.2mm of travel, but the keyboard I had time with felt nearly identical to its much-loved predecessor. The strips of light have been moved from the top of the lid to its edges and the chassis' sides, and the trackpads light up as well. Each model has a Windows Hello camera embedded near the display for quick access to Hello's privacy features. Overall, the new laptops lose a bit of that futuristic feel, but they gain a dark elegance thanks to their anodized aluminum, magnesium alloy, and carbon fiber construction.