VAIO refreshes its 14-inch Z series with Tiger Lake-H35 CPUs, carbon fiber slim and light chassis plus impressive battery life of up to 34 h ^↺

Sony’s former laptop branch VAIO is refreshing its Z series slim and light 14-inch laptops with Intel Tiger Lake-H35 processors and improved chassis. VAIO’s Z series was first introduced in 2015 as a 2-in-1 solution, but in 2016 it was redesigned as a clamshell model. The new Z series retains the clamshell style, and brings massive improvements to processing power, chassis design, portability and battery efficiency. Note that these models are only available in Japan for now.

CPU options for the retail versions include the Core i5-11300H quad-core with max boost frequencies of 4.4 GHz and the Core i7-11370H with 4.8 GHz boost clocks. There is also a Signature Edition model that is powered by the Core i7-11375H CPU with 5 GHz boost clocks, but this one can only be pre-ordered directly from VAIO. The latest Tiger Lake-H35 CPUs integrate Intel’s Iris Xe GPUs.

On the display side, we find either a 4K IPS LCD panel with HDR compliance and DCI-P3 gamut of 99.8% or an FHD panel for the i7-11370H and Signature models, whereas the i5-11300H variant gets only the FHD option. Both panels feature a privacy filter that restricts viewing angle to 60 degrees.

As far as the chassis component is concerned, VAIO managed fit all sides with carbon fiber plates , making the new laptops more rigid, yet lighter than similar magnesium alloy builds. The lightest version is the i5-11300H model that weighs 958 g (2.1 lbs), while the variants with 4K displays weigh a bit over 1 Kg (2.3 lbs), and the chassis profile measures 16.9 mm (0.66 inches).

Perhaps the most impressive feature is the estimated battery life. VAIO claims that the battery on the 4K display models can last up to 17 hours and up to 34 hours on the 1080p models with only a 53 Wh brick.

All versions come with 16 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 512 GB of NVMe SSD storage and the port selection includes only two Thunderbolt 4 connectors (also supporting DP video output), an HDMI video out and a headphone jack. VAIO supplies an optional dock that expands port selection with 2x DP + 1x HDMI outputs, 3x USB-A 3.1, and GbE jack. Other shared features include an FHD webcam with IR sensor and a fingerprint reader integrated in the power button. There is support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 on all variants, but the 4K display models come equipped with an additional 5G modem and Nano SIM slot.

The new Z models can already be pre-ordered directly from the official VAIO site, and Japanese retailers are expected to get stocks some time in March. Prices are adjusted for the Japanese market and may seem way too high if transformed in any other currency. Thus, the i5-11300H model would cost $2,931 and the 4K i7-11370H would set you back almost $4,000.

Buy the VAIO SX-14 laptop with Intel i7-10710U on Amazon