Toshiba Kirabook 2015 review. is the second iteration of the Kirabook and brings along with powerful hardware in premium and sleek design.
The Ultrabook series by every major computer manufacturer was targeted at breaking the customer market that the Apple MacBook had enjoyed for years. The Toshiba Kirabook was one of the first ultrabooks to let lose havoc on the Apple MacBook Pro Retina with its QHD display.
Back for the third time, the Toshiba Kirabook comes with an identical design and build material compared to its predecessors. The slimmer, lighter and more powerful Toshiba Kirabook 2015 is a contender for the best Ultrabook in the market today.
Design and Build
The sleek monolithic aluminium design of the Toshiba Kirabook points towards the Apple MacBook’s aesthetic elements. The brushed-metal chassis of the Ultrabook feels smooth and sturdy, while the island-style keyboard and the bezel of the screen have been coloured black. The Toshiba logo at the bottom corner of the screen gives it a minimalist and classy appeal, while the slim chassis from the sides make it seem sleeker.
The Toshiba Kirabook measures 12.44 x 8.15 x 0.71, which gives it a smaller footprint compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The Kirabook and the MacBook Pro weigh the same (2.9 pounds), making them equally portable and easy to carry around. While the Kirabook does not boast the edge-to-edge display of the Dell XPS 13, its considerably slim bezel makes the screen seem larger and the laptop even more attractive.
In terms of connectivity and Input/Output, the Toshiba Kirabook comes with some useful options such as the standard HDMI port, 3 x USB 3.0 ports, memory card reader slot and headphone jack port. One of the USB ports is equipped with the Toshiba Sleep and Charge feature, which lets you charge your USB devices while the notebook is asleep. The HD webcam is decent, but not the best, and takes fairly pixelated pictures.
The Display
The reviewed version of the Toshiba Kirabook (PSUC1A-00E010) is equipped with a full-HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, an aspect ratio of 16:9 and 156 PPI, the images look crisp, and the colours are replicated brilliantly. Improving the low luminance of the older Kirabook, the Kirabook 2015 comes with a brightness ratio of 315.8 cd/m2, which is just about average in its class.
The Kirabook was able to offer vibrant colours and deep details and was measured at 98 per cent on the sRGB colour gamut. One of the best attributes of the Toshiba Kirabook’s display is the matte finish, making it stand apart from the glossy ones which give off the annoying glare and reflections. The wide viewing angles, considerably bright display and the matte display work together to make the Toshiba Kirabook an ideal netbook for outdoor usage.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Kirabook comes with a finely crafted island-style keyboard with full-sized keys for maximum typing accuracy. A dedicated function row has been added above the keyboard, which enables you to control the playback, volume and brightness of the screen with ease. The keys seemed a bit shallow as they measure at 1.4mm, so it might take a while to adjust yourself to typing on the Kirabook 2015.
The Toshiba Kirabook is integrated with a sizable touchpad, apart from the full-sized keyboard and ample of palm-rest it boasts. The single panel construction perfectly recognizes left and right clicks and taps, while the swipe gestures, two-finger scrolling and pinch to zoom functions worked seamlessly as well.
Under the Hood
When it comes to powerful hardware and processing power, the Toshiba Kirabook 2015 leaves nothing to be desired. The Intel i7-5500U 2.4GHz processor (3.0GHz with Turbo Boost Technology) at its core is supported by non-expandable 8GB DDR3L RAM, which makes handling heavy processes and multiple apps a breeze.
When put against some of the competing computer systems, the Toshiba Kirabook scored 6,396 on the Geekbench 3 overall performance test. It outranked the ultraportable average of 4,314, Dell XPS 13 (5,653) and the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus (5,056), but falls short of the MacBook Pro (7,113). With 256GB SSD storage, the Toshiba Kirabook offers a transfer speed of 339.3MB/Sec, beating the XPS 13 (154.2MB/Sec) and the ATIV Book 9 Pro (221.3 MB/Sec).
In terms of graphics processing power, the Toshiba Kirabook does not have anything out of the ordinary to offer. The Intel HD 5500 Graphics cannot do much besides light gaming, with a decent frame rate of 50 – 55 while playing World of Warcraft on lower resolution and medium settings. The Toshiba Kirabook 2015 version comes pre-installed with Microsoft Windows 10 Home and dual-array microphones which have been optimized for Cortana.
Pros:
- Attractive design with aluminium build chases.
- Powerful hardware and impressive overall performance in a portable size.
- Full HD display with matte finished screen for outdoor use.
- Harman / Kardon speakers and decent battery life.
Cons:
- Price to performance ratio is considerably high.
- Decent webcam quality resolution.
Final Verdict
Toshiba has been successful in checking in all the boxes of all the major shortcomings of the older Kirabook in its latest offerings with extended battery life, slimmer and lighter chassis with a high octane processor has piqued the interest of the consumers. Still, the over-the-premium price tag of this fantastic Ultrabook is one of the only discouraging factors.
Despite the all-aluminium body of the Toshiba Kirabook 2015, it is not plagued by heating issues like most of the other ultrabooks. Still, the fan has been known to run a bit louder when used for longer periods. The graphics processing power is disappointing, which may deter graphical users from picking up this Ultrabook right away. Despite the few drawbacks, there is no doubt that the Toshiba Kirabook 2015 deserves a spot in the best Ultrabooks available in the market today.
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