MSI has launched its first laptops using Intel's latest U and P series processors. Those chips will land in the company's productivity laptops in the Prestige and Modern lines and business-focused Summit laptops and 2-in-1s.
The chips themselves aren't a secret. They were announced back in January at CES and then detailed further in February. But while some manufacturers, such as Dell, teased what they had coming up, MSI is announcing its notebooks now.
Perhaps the most consumer-focused entries are in the Modern series, which MSI pushes as its most stylish option. Both go up to 12th Gen Intel U-series processors with up to 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM. The Modern 14 and Modern 15 each have 1920 x 1080 screens, so it's really just a difference of size. They both still have a 16:9 aspect ratio, which might end up feeling a bit dated as more and more laptops move to 16:10. The Modern 14 will start at $699 with an Intel Core i3-1215U, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, while a $799 version will use a Core i5-1235U with the same memory and storage. The 15-inch version will start at $849 with the same specs as the more expensive 14-inch version, while a $999 configuration will feature a Core i701255U, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
The Modern is also getting a new chassis, although it still looks quite plain. From the photos MSI has shown, it appears to have straighter lines.
The Prestige lineup has often been MSI's attempt to challenge the MacBook Pro, both with screen technology and graphics technology. MSI uses the P-series processors, rather than the U series in the Modern. Here, there are three models: Prestige 14, Prestige 14 Evo, and Prestige 15.
The Prestige 14 Evo will start at $929 with a Core i5-1240P, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD and range up to a $1,299 configuration with a Core i7-1280P CPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The non-Evo Prestige 14 picks up at $1,349 with a Core i5-1240P and discrete graphics (a GTX 1650), topping out with the Core i7-12660P and an RTX 3050 for $1,549.
All of the 15-inch Prestige 15 variants include discrete graphics. The $1,399 version has a Core i5 and GTX 1650 along with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, while it tops out at $1,899 for a Core i7-1270P, RTX 3050 Ti, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Like the Modern, all Prestige laptops have a 16:9, 1920 x 1080 display with 60 Hz refresh rates. The 14-inch Prestige notebooks will come in gray and "bluestone" (a very light blue), while the Prestige 14 is available in silver and gray.
MSI's Summit series is getting a refresh for business users with far more models. The Summit E13 Flip Evo and Summit E16 Flip will be joined by the Summit E14 Flip, a new size along with a clamshell. Those will start at $1,249 for the Summit Evo 14 with a Core i5-1240P, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, with further configurations moving up to $1,799 for the 2-in-1 version with a Core i7-1260P, 32GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. The clamshells have 16:10, 1920 x 1200 displays, while the convertibles boost that resolution to 2880 x 1800.
The Summit series will receive Tobii Aware software to lock the laptop if someone looks over your shoulder to check out what you're doing. This feature has become increasingly popular in other business notebooks but has also been a mounting privacy concern.
Summit laptops will also be getting Tile integration, which we've seen from other vendors like HP, to locate laptops if they're lost.
The laptops start shipping today.
