MSI Modern 15 gets an Alder Lake-U refresh; prices start at US$849

The MSI Modern 15 is one of many laptops unveiled by the Taiwanese OEM today. It is an ultra-portable laptop meant for those on the go. Weighing in at just 3.5 lbs (1.7 kg), it is just 0.78 inches (20 mm) thick and comes with a 180-degree screen. MSI will sell the notebook in two colours, Classic Black and Urban Silver.

Due to its affordable price and compact form factor, the MSI Modern 15 has to make do with a 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS LCD panel that covers 45% of the NTSC colour gamut. It draws power from a 52 Wh battery that can be charged at 65 W. While that might seem paltry at first, it should be plenty for the low-power (15 W) Intel Core i5-1235U and Core i7-1255U processors powering the laptop.

Memory and storage options on the MSI Modern 15 are limited to 16 GB of 3,200 MT/s DDR4 RAM and a 512 GB PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSD. Thankfully, both components are user upgradable. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI port and a 3.5mm combo audio jack.

Other MSI Modern 15 specs include two 2 W speakers, a 720p webcam (no Windows Hello) and Windows 11. The MSI Modern 15 variant with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD will cost US$849, and its Core i7-powered sibling with 16 GB of RAM will retail at US$999.

Buy the MSI Clutch wireless gaming mouse on Amazon