Forget the MacBook Pro — MSI Summit brings more power in a slick package

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By Roland Moore-Colyer
published

MSI Summit could kill the MacBook Pro with Intel Take Lake power

MSI Summit laptops colors
(Image credit: MSI)

For years, laptop makers have been trying to make Windows 10 versions of the MacBook Pro. Some have come close with the likes of the Dell XPS 15 delivering an impressive svelte and powerful laptop. But the MacBook Pro still stands alone with is neat aluminum construction and super-clean design. 

However, the new MSI Summit laptop range could change that. Better known for making gaming laptops and hardware, MSI has been moving towards making creator and professional-focused laptops. And the latest addition to that is the Summit range, which has machines with slim aluminum construction and comes with the new Intel Tiger Lake 11th Gen processors.  

The range will be made up of the 15-inch and 14-inch models, as well as a 13-inch 2-in-1 model. Those models will be the Summit E15, and Summit B15, Summit B14 andSummit E14, and the convertible Summit E13 Flip. 

The Summit B models will come with Tiger Lake chips that have Intel's new Iris Xe GPUs, while the E models will get the option for Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics. As for other internal specs, RAM will go up to 64GB and storage will top out at 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe SSD storage, with the Summit B15 getting a slot for an extra NVMe slot.  

MSI Summit E13 Flip

(Image credit: MSI)

Displays come in 1080p touchscreen and non-touch options, as well as a 4K non-touch variant for the standard laptop models. And the 2-in-1 Summit E13 Flip will make use of a touchscreen, but MSI hasn’t revealed the resolution options for the machine. 

Other specs include a 10-hour battery life, USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, USB Type-A and microSD card ports, and a 3.5 headphone/mic combo jack. Oddly, the E14 lacks an HDMI port, which slightly limits its display connectivity.  

There are other little features, such as a fingerprint reader and Windows 10 Hello for facial recognition. Colors for the laptops come in blue, gold, grey, and dark grey options, all of which look rather slick with a matte finish.  

MSI Summit laptops

(Image credit: MSI)

Pricing for the Summit range has not been revealed. And MSI could potentially be keeping these laptops for businesses only, though we’d be rather surprised by such a move. 

But if MSI can keenly price the Summit range, we could be looking at a selection of laptops that can challenge the MacBook Pro 13 in terms of compact and sharp design, but offer better specs. And the Summit laptops would also take on the likes of the Dell XPS 15 as well as laptops from Lenovo and Asus. 

MSI has yet to reveal release dates for the Summit range. But given they’ll be using Tiger Lake processors, we’re expecting them to be released mid-fall, likely October or November. 

Roland Moore-Colyer
Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.