Corsair looks like it’s had some help holding its beer after Apple retired touch bar. The system builder and PC component manufacturer is set to release a gaming laptop, including the return of an illuminated touch strip.
Come 2021 we thought we’d seen the death knell for the touch bar. Sure, the Asus Zebook Duo added an entire second screen for power users and dual-screen enthusiasts, but the return of bigger keyboards onto Apple products probably meant this touch-based interface was done for. Not so. During the AMD Computex keynote, we all got a glimpse of a new, and yet familiar, looking form factor. Corsair’s very first gaming laptop got to peer out into the world and we all stared back at the RGB strip located just below the display. Powered by Elgato tech, this multi use device is intended to allow streamers to quickly control their setup, but we’re not entirely sure this is going to be particularly adaptable.
The new Voyager a1600 is an AMD exclusive, offering Ryzen 6000-series processors and AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics. This means potential owners can pick from a Ryzen 7 6800HS and a Ryzen 9 6900HS, with a Radeon 6800M GPU. There is also room for 2Tb of storage, enough for any Steam library. This also allows for 64GB of DDR5 RAM and adds in a couple of Thunderbolt 3 USB 4.0 ports, one USB 3.2 Type-C, a USB 3.2 Type-A, a card reader, and an audio jack.
While the final design is still somewhat in flux, the early peek shows off a sleek-looking unit with angular edges, a 16-inch 240Hz display, and a fully RGB illuminated low-profile Cherry keyboard. There’s plenty that looks impressive about a system that likely leans heavily on the newly acquired OriginPC team. However, the component that Corsair won’t call a touch bar, is an interesting choice. Check out more from Computex here as we get it and watch the full AMD keynote over on AMD channels.
