Mobile gaming is bigger than ever thanks to how powerful phones have become and the mainstream acceptance of cloud streaming, and many companies are trying to get in on the action. Some of the biggest smartphone makers are working to make their devices good for gaming, which is enough for most people, but other manufacturers are trying a different path with accessories and specialty devices. Handhelds are an especially fast-growing sector, with the Nintendo Switch kicking it off the modern age in 2017 and companies like Valve following suit with the Steam Deck.

Then there’s the Razer Edge 5G, which, like the Logitech G Cloud, is using Android to create a device for cloud streaming and downloading apps from the Google Play Store. It tops the G Cloud, however, because of its 5G capabilities, which promise true play anywhere gaming. That puts it on par with many smartphones but offers a specific mobile gaming experience. But therein lies its biggest problem. Why get the Razer Edge when you can just use a smartphone?

Razer has created a great device, for sure. It runs games well, it’s lightweight, it has a lot of touches that make it easy to jump into your favorite services, and the included Kishi V2 Pro controller is one of the greats in the mobile accessory space. But why spend $400-$600 on a device for gaming that doesn’t offer much more than many smartphones when you can $100 on just the Kishi and call it a day?

About this review: Razer sent us a Razer Edge 5G with a mobile data plan for coverage purposes. It did not see the contents of this review before publishing.

Razer Edge 5G: Pricing and availability

• The Razer Edge Wi-Fi model costs $400 but the 5G model costs $600
• You can get discounts through Verizon when opening a new line or buying a 5G smartphone

The Razer Edge 5G comes in two versions: a Wi-Fi-only model and one with 5G. The Wi-Fi model costs $400 and you can get it through Razer’s website. The Razer Edge 5G, which we tested for this review, is only available through Verizon. It costs $360 or $10 per month for 36 months when opening a new line, or a whopping $600 on its own. You can also buy a 5G smartphone and get the Edge for $180.

Design and display: Just a tablet with an attached controller

• Has a gorgeous, smooth 6.8-inch display with 144Hz refresh rate
• It comes in two pieces: the Edge tablet and a Kishi V2 Pro controller
• The tablet is slightly wider than an average smartphone

The Razer Edge comes in two pieces. The first is the tablet portion, although it’s closer to a “phablet” with a 6.8-inch display. For context, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra also has a 6.8-inch display. However, what brings the Razer Edge into tablet territory is the display’s width. It measures around 3.5 inches wide, a half-inch wider than my Google Pixel 7, which is slightly less than three inches. It’s still a tiny tablet, but the extra screen real estate allows you to play games with touch controls much more comfortably than you would on a regular smartphone. Plus, you can rotate the screen into portrait mode if you wish.

The second piece of the puzzle is the Razer Kishi V2 Pro, one of a wave of dedicated mobile device game controllers that started launching in the late 2010s. Unlike other options, the Kishi V2 is super easy to use and set up. Stretch out the two sides of the controller, place your device in between them, make sure the right side lines up with the USB-C connector, and let it close. This is the process for just about any device up to 7.1 inches long and 1.3 inches thick, so it can support even larger phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra. What further separates it from other controllers is that it doesn't run on a battery. It features USB-C passthrough, so you can charge your device with the Kishi on. If you want, you can move the Kishi V2 Pro from the Edge to your phone in the event the Edge dies.

The Edge tablet will detect the Kishi and you can immediately start playing compatible games with it. There’s no need to configure a Bluetooth connection or download extra software. It just works, which makes the Razer Edge easy to set up out of the box.

The Kishi has a mostly standard controller setup — four AXBY buttons, two triggers and bumpers, a D-pad, etc — but it also has two mappable buttons near the bumpers. Most importantly for the Edge, there’s a dedicated button on the right to launch the Nexus app, which is a hub for your gaming apps and allows you to adjust the device’s settings, and a media capture button on the left. The Pro model also features haptics for games that support them. Many people might not like the Kishi’s buttons since they have shallow travel and it as a whole feels cheaper than a typical gaming controller, but the buttons are clicky enough that I didn’t notice it after a small adjustment period.

Designing the Razer Edge with the Kishi in mind was a smart move since the controller is an incredible little accessory with a fairly niche audience. Allowing the user to take the controller parts off for games that don’t support it, like Call of Duty Mobile or Genshin Impact, makes the Edge more versatile as a mobile gaming machine compared to its closest competitor, the Logitech G Cloud.

The Razer Edge 5G is meticulously designed with all kinds of mobile gaming in mind.

Assuming you have a great connection either on Wi-Fi or 5G, all games will look great on the Edge with its bright, vibrant 2400 x 1080 AMOLED display. The 144Hz refresh rate means animations will look smooth, and games will render fast enough for even the most competitive mobile shooter players. This is better than what you get on other handhelds like the Steam Deck. Beyond problems with my connection that decreased visual quality (and there were quite a few), the games and videos all looked incredible.

The Razer Edge 5G is meticulously designed with all kinds of mobile gaming in mind. Whether you want to use the controller to play games through GeForce Now or take it off for a casual, touch-based Android game, you can do so comfortably. While it’s more awkward to play games in portrait mode, that option is also there. Altogether, the package only weighs 0.88 pounds (the tablet only weighs 0.58 pounds), so your hands won’t get tired during a longer session, either. Unlike the Steam Deck, you can use the Razer Edge lying on your back in bed. Mobile gaming has truly reached another level.

Hardware: Doesn't need the most powerful chip

• Razer used an older Snapdragon G3x chipset designed for mobile gaming
• Never gets too warm, and the fan doesn't get too loud

Another way Razer worked to craft a device specifically for mobile gaming is by including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G3x chipset. This was Qualcomm’s first real push into this market, and all of its unique capabilities are to help that experience. It has true 10-bit HDR, 5G, and 4K@60Hz support, which, as you can probably guess, all contribute to the Razer Edge 5G being a great-looking device for gaming. In fact, the first device with the Snapdragon G3x was a Razer developer kit, which in hindsight, clearly served as a Razer Edge prototype back in 2021.

The Snapdragon G3x features eight cores — four Cortex A55, three A78, and one X1 — with an Adreno 660 GPU. For context, this aligns with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 from 2021. (XDA Technical Editor Adam Conway is working on a full Snapdragon G3x breakdown so stay tuned).

While this is an older chipset, and so far Qualcomm hasn’t announced intentions to provide an update, it works well enough for cloud streaming since a lot of the heavy lifting is done by dedicated servers elsewhere. Plus, it never gets too hot — a little warm maybe but never enough to be a problem. There’s a small fan inside that does hum significantly during more intense tasks, but it's not consistent. Qualcomm has touted the Snapdragon G3x’s strengths regarding cooling, and it mostly succeeds. The device got warm during some tests, but not during regular play.

Ultimately, when looking at the Razer Edge 5G’s hardware, you’ll see a lot that looks familiar if you follow the smartphone market.

With the 5,000mAh battery (the same size as the one in the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra), you’ll be able to play games for a few hours. Streaming a YouTube video in the highest quality, I was able to get 10 hours from full to zero battery. Playing Forza Horizon 5 and PowerWash Simulator on Xbox Game Pass for three hours reduced the battery to 13% from full. So the battery life varies wildly depending on what you’re doing, but it’s on par with many smartphones and other handhelds, if it's not better.

Since you’ll mostly be streaming games or downloading apps, it’s unlikely you’ll fill up the 128GB of onboard storage, but if you do, there is microSD support up to 2TB. There’s also 8GB RAM (6GB on the Wi-Fi model), which is more than enough for what you’ll be doing. Ultimately, when looking at the Razer Edge 5G’s hardware, you’ll see a lot that looks familiar if you follow the smartphone market. The biggest differences are the older chipset and the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Software: Basic Android with one exception

• Runs on Android 12
• The built-in Nexus app gives you easy access to games, services, and settings
• Nexus app was a bit buggy but improved with an update

As we previously mentioned, the Razer Ege 5G runs on a near-stock version of Android 12, so setup is straightforward and probably familiar. Just sign in with your Google account and you’re good to go. It comes with Google apps and not much else beyond the Nexus app, which provides default access to Xbox Game Pass and Cloud Streaming, Steam Link, Nvidia GeForce Now, Epic Games, Google One, and Parsec. It also will recommend games to try on the Google Play Store.

The Nexus app is a fine idea. Hitting the button on the Kishi controller takes you to the app where you’ll see all the games you’ve installed. But it’s basic, mostly filled with recommendations and little else. However, Razer has been updating the app. For example, it added capabilities for remapping buttons to touch inputs earlier this year. Hitting the Nexus button during my review period didn’t always work, but an update to 2.0 towards the end of my testing fixed a lot of issues. Even the media capture button, which barely worked throughout most of my time using the Edge, now works consistently, saving screenshots immediately to Google Photos regardless of the app. This is especially nice considering taking and sharing screenshots on Steam is nearly impossible otherwise.

Because it’s just running on Android, you can download any app from the Play Store. Unlike the Steam Deck, which requires using the clunky Desktop mode running on Linux to download a browser, Chrome comes preinstalled, which meant it was simple to look up guides while I was playing Forza Horizon 5. YouTube also became a helpful option. I didn’t install chat apps like Discord, but I assume the work just as well, meaning these Android gaming handhelds are ahead of the curve compared to consoles.

Performance: About what you get from a smartphone

• Razer Edge 5G is about on par with other higher-end smartphones
• Your performance will ultimately depend on your connection
• Only use 5G if you have unlimited data

OK, that’s a lot of build-up to how the Razer Edge runs and plays games. Isn’t that the most important part? You’re paying $400 for what is essentially a slightly larger phone that can’t make phone calls, so you have to hope it’ll help you play games well. Thankfully, it does. But you’ll have to weigh how good it is and whether you can just stick with your smartphone and get a much cheaper Kishi controller instead.

If you want to look at the numbers below, which don’t reflect real-world performance but give you an idea of what to expect, the Razer Edge 5G Geekbench scores are better than the Pixel 7 Pro and lower than the OnePlus 11. So you can expect good gaming experiences on here, as long as you’re not running, say, a console-level game directly on the device, which isn’t happening anyway. The most intense games might struggle, as you can see in the 3DMark test, but the most graphically intensive game I played, Call of Duty Mobile, ran well with smooth animations. I have a Pixel 7 and the Edge became my go-to device for Android games that weren’t the ones I play daily, but I never had too many issues with how my Pixel runs games to begin with.

We ran the new Geekbench 6 scores for the Razer Edge 5G for reference, but it uses different parameters than Geekbench 5.

The Razer Edge 5G’s performance lines up with the specs. In a vacuum, it runs games well, and you’ll likely have a good experience regardless of the game you play.

However, it’s tough to say how well the Razer Edge 5G itself runs because of a few factors. The first is that you’ll mostly be streaming games over the cloud. Like I said, you can play Android games locally but with 5G, Razer clearly wants you to use services like GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass.

I tried both, and while GeForce Now ran consistently better than Xbox Game Pass, with better frame rates and more stable connections, that lines up with how they run on other devices. I had more issues with Steam Link, but that has more to do with the app itself, which can get quite buggy, and how it interfaces with the Kishi for games that aren’t optimized for controller use.

The second is that important “5G” moniker. What separates the Razer Edge from similar handhelds like Steam Deck and the Logitech G Cloud is its 5G capabilities through Verizon. There is a Wi-Fi version, but it costs similarly to the 5G version, about $400, so you might as well get it through Verizon if you have a plan for that extra 5G connection. However, your experience will depend on how strong your service is. My area has 5G, but Verizon’s service can be spotty, so there were moments I couldn’t connect the Edge to any network. Things were more stable over Wi-Fi, but if the 5G connection isn’t the best, you might as well just stick with your phone or other devices for playing games on the go.

Plus, there’s that whole pesky data usage thing. Without an unlimited plan, you’ll use a lot of data. Playing Fortnite for around two hours on 5G used up 2GB of data. Granted, a lot of people have unlimited plans these days, and you get a discount on the Edge through Verizon when you open a new line, but it’s worth doing the research before making the plunge.

Should you buy the Razer Edge 5G?

You should buy the Razer Edge 5G if:

• You need a dedicated device for mobile gaming and cloud streaming
• You like the Razer Kishi controller
• You need a larger screen for touch controls than what a phone can give you

You shouldn’t buy the Razer Edge 5G if:

• You’re on a budget
• You already have a flagship or near-flagship smartphone
• You already own a mobile controller accessory
• You’re not on Verizon and don’t plan to switch

Don’t get me wrong, the Razer Edge 5G is a great device and sets out to do exactly what it wanted. The Snapdragon chipset does more than enough to keep the device cool while gaming and can run most games you’d play on the system well. The display is vibrant and with a 144Hz refresh rate, you’ll see all those juicy frames — if your connection is good enough, anyway.

It’s also a device that was specifically built for mobile gaming, and it shows. The tablet in between the Razer Kishi controller is about the size of a larger smartphone, but it’s slightly wider, which makes playing games with touch controls much more comfortable. Plus, it runs on a no-frills version of Android, so you can get right to gaming but can download other apps if you want. These details show Razer thought about what could make mobile gaming better.

However, what it didn’t seem to think about was who would want this device. Unless you want to pay for a separate device for playing Android games or through the cloud that isn’t your phone, most of the best phones these days will do all the same things. Just get a Razer Kishi controller for $100 and you’ll save a lot of money and get mostly the same experience. Ultimately, the Razer Edge 5G is a niche product with little reason to exist. Razer should just go back to making gaming-focused smartphones.