Light, incredibly light.
That’s the first impression of the VAIO SX14-R. Even though I expected it to be very light, I was still amazed by its “airy” feel when I took it out of the box. It feels like just a shell, as if it’s empty inside.
It doesn’t have the “Air” suffix, but it truly deserves it in the laptop world.
A 14-inch screen, weighing just 1 kilogram.
Long Time No See, Carbon Fiber
A decade ago, the laptop market was booming with bold experiments in form and materials, including wood, bamboo, and carbon fiber.
Today, aluminum alloy dominates. For instance, the MacBook Air 13-inch weighs 1.24 kilograms.
This means the VAIO SX14-R, with a larger screen, is nearly half a pound lighter.
The secret lies in its use of carbon fiber on both the A and D sides, specifically high-performance Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Plastics (CFRTP).
This composite material is not only lighter than alloy but also excels in strength, toughness, fatigue resistance, and design flexibility, making it popular in high-performance sports cars and aerospace.
VAIO’s high-end products have always been associated with carbon fiber, from its Sony days to its independence and now as it prepares to be acquired by Japanese retail giant Nojima.
Yes, on November 13, 2024, Nojima announced it would acquire over 90% of VAIO from Japan Industrial Partners for approximately 11.2 billion yen. Nojima will own about 93% of VAIO by January 2025, with Sony retaining around 5%. VAIO will continue to supply products to other retailers, maintaining its brand.
Design-wise, the VAIO SX14-R is a blend of the previous VAIO Z and the earlier VAIO SX14.
“The VAIO Z has always been VAIO’s pinnacle, pushing design and craftsmanship to the limit. The previous VAIO Z used complex 3D-molded carbon fiber, including the C side, achieving a 14-inch size at 958 grams, but sacrificed ports, losing VAIO’s tradition of comprehensive connectivity.”
The VAIO SX14-R continues with 3D-molded carbon fiber, similar to the VAIO Z, but removes the plastic antenna shield, covering the entire A side with a single material for a cleaner look.
Unlike the VAIO Z, the VAIO SX14-R’s C side uses anodized aluminum alloy with a brushed finish; the D side remains carbon fiber with 17 screws for enhanced drop resistance. Standard drop test height is 90cm, military standard is 122cm, and the VAIO SX14-R passes at 127cm.
However, the C and D sides are not a sandwich structure. The sides and D side are 3D-molded, theoretically increasing body strength and aligning with the integrated structure-function of high-performance carbon fiber composites.
VAIO’s flagship models have always supported MIL-STD-810H military standard tests, offering better drop, dust, and water resistance than typical laptops.
Currently, Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 series is one of the few laptops still using carbon fiber. When we say “long time no see, carbon fiber,” we’re also referring to another long-lost friend: the wired LAN port.
VAIO SX Series New Computers Retain a Wealth of Ports:
- 2 USB Type-C ports, supporting Thunderbolt 4 and DP display connection
- 2 USB Type-A ports
- 1 HDMI port
- Wired network port
- Headphone jack
- Security lock support
Japanese computers emphasize having a full range of ports because electronic product updates in Japan are relatively slow. Having only one Type-C port might make the computer inconvenient to use. This is also why VAIO computers retained the VGA port until 2020.
Of course, adding an SD card slot would be even better.
Although the VAIO SX14-R is very slim in terms of configuration and size, its thickness is not extreme. This is partly due to the thickness required for the ports and partly because there are cooling vents on the sides, which prevent further reduction in thickness.
However, VAIO has incorporated some clever design elements in this computer, using a wedge shape at both the front and back to reduce visual thickness and make it easier for users to pick up the laptop with one hand.
Additionally, there are some small design highlights, such as a recessed hinge that raises the keyboard when the laptop is opened, creating an angle with the desktop that is more ergonomic.
The 180-degree hinge allows the laptop to lay flat, preventing accidental hinge breakage and enabling screen sharing in places like conference tables (screen content can be flipped using the Fn+2 key combination).
The camera above the screen can be disabled via software or physically blocked with a switch to prevent hacking.
Unlike the typical 16:9 screen ratio of most laptops, the VAIO SX14-R features a 16:10 screen ratio, allowing more content to be displayed when working with documents and spreadsheets.
Compared to its predecessor, the larger touchpad and slightly concave keycaps demonstrate the laptop’s business and mobile office attributes.
Light, Yet Powerful
When people see that the VAIO SX14-R weighs only 1kg, they might assume it uses a low-power processor with simple cooling, focusing on usability rather than performance.
However, the VAIO SX14-R is equipped with an Intel Ultra 7 155H processor, with a TDP of 28W, maximum power consumption of 115W, 16 cores, and 22 threads. VAIO has prepared a fan with non-uniform blades and a three-heat-pipe cooling configuration for it.
So theoretically, its performance should be stronger than the Ultra series processors ending with V.
What about in practice? Let’s look at the performance tests.
Although the VAIO SX14-R has integrated graphics, it was tested to see if it could run “Black Myth: Wukong.” The result, using the official game science testing tool, showed an average frame rate of 52fps at low graphics settings, which is playable and sufficient for story progression, quite impressive for a laptop with integrated graphics.
GeekBench 6 measured a single-core score of 2282 and a multi-core score of 11662, with overall performance slightly higher than Apple’s M3 chip (8-core version).
The hard drive uses Samsung’s SSD, with sequential read speeds of 5GB/s and write speeds of 2.3GB/s, which are decent.
In the PCMARK 10 test, the VAIO SX14-R scored 6463, which is higher than typical high-end business laptops but lower than mid-to-high-end gaming laptops. It can handle various business office tasks without any issues.
Overall, although this product is lightweight, its performance is quite good. Unless it’s a high-load scenario like large 3D games, the VAIO won’t cause users to encounter performance bottlenecks.
AI Features Designed for Meetings
As a high-end business laptop, online meetings are an important use case. In the AI era, the VAIO SX14-R has added some AI features specifically designed for meetings.
For example, during online meetings, we can set three modes: Standard Mode, Private Mode, and Small Meeting Mode.
In Private Mode, the computer narrows the microphone’s pickup range and camera angle. Even if there is noise nearby, it can be avoided through beamforming technology, making it suitable for use in cafes or noisy environments.
Small Meeting Mode is suitable for small team online meetings. This mode allows the microphone to pick up sound more broadly, so everyone around a small meeting table of about six people can be heard clearly without having to be close to the computer.
To facilitate meetings, VAIO even designed a dedicated button on this computer for convenient operation of various modes and functions.
The AI visual sensor is the foundation of many AI features.
Based on this sensor, the VAIO SX14-R achieves multiple functions to better protect privacy and facilitate use:
- Auto Lock When Away: Detects when the user leaves the computer, automatically locks and enters sleep mode
- Auto Login When Seated: Detects when the user returns to the computer, automatically wakes up and starts facial recognition login
- No Lock When Seated: Detects when the user is in front of the computer, prevents sleep mode or screensaver
- Power Saving When Gaze Away: Detects when the user’s gaze is not on the screen, dims the screen to save power
- Peeping Alert: When it detects someone else looking at the screen for a specified time, the screen dims or alerts
VAIO’s Persistence and Personality
It is clear that the VAIO SX14-R stands out in today’s Chinese laptop market. Firstly, it treats carbon fiber material as a belief and continuously improves the processing technology of carbon fiber to create extremely lightweight products in the industry. Secondly, it insists on providing a full range of ports, which is largely to cater to the Japanese market but also meets the needs of many users.
This uniqueness also has some stubborn elements, such as the touchpad not being integrated but always using two physical buttons.
Additionally, VAIO products have always been assembled and quality-checked at the headquarters in Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with many components sourced from the Japanese supply chain. This approach certainly attracts many supporters but also reduces the cost-effectiveness of the products. However, VAIO has never been about cost-effectiveness.
Purchasing VAIO products, especially the VAIO SX series or Z series, users do not care much about the price.
Perhaps VAIO has indeed researched its users, knowing that these people often carry their laptops to work in various places, including but not limited to airplanes, hotel rooms, cafes, and meeting rooms. In different scenarios, corresponding meeting modes or work modes are indeed needed.
These users also care more about the privacy and data security of their computers, hence the physical camera cover switch and peeping alert function.
This Ultra 7+16GB RAM+1TB SSD+1920×1200 screen mid-range version is priced at nearly $2325, while the top configuration with 64GB RAM+2TB SSD+2K screen is priced at about $3418. This price can buy flagship gaming laptops on the market, capable of playing “Black Myth: Wukong” at the highest graphics settings.
But considering this is VAIO, which has launched industry-shocking products like the VAIO QR3 multimedia laptop, VAIO TZ lightweight laptop, and VAIO P ultra-portable laptop, there is still some filter.
The industry is rapidly moving towards homogenization and optimal solutions, and there are not many products with a bit of personality left.
Source from ifanr
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