- Kyle Chua
CES 2022: Razer Unveils Gaming Desk Concept, Gaming Chair With Haptic Feedback, Smart Home Software
Razer didn't limit itself to just new laptop announcements at CES 2022. The gaming brand also unveiled a new gaming desk concept, a new smart home software and a gaming chair with haptic feedback.
Project Sophia
This left some of us flabbergasted. Razer dropped the ball on an all-new gaming desk concept that it's been working on. Called Project Sophia, the desk features a fully modular design that supports up to 13 separate modules, letting you personalise your setup how you see fit. The brand says that each section can be configured for specific tasks or situations using different components like secondary screens, system monitoring tools, touch-screen hotkey panels and audio mixer units, among other hardware.
The desk is powered by a customised printed circuit board (PCB) fitted with the latest Intel processor and NVIDIA GPU. And all of it is housed in a slim and compact chassis that is magnetically attached underneath the glass tabletop. In case you want to upgrade your setup, you can just as easily detach the system and slot in the components you want to install before putting it back under the desk.
Razer says that the desk works for all kinds of users, from gamers who might want to add a surround sound system along with a high refresh rate monitor to content creators who perhaps want touchscreen digitisers and creative input tools.
The desk is additionally lined with LEDs that can be synced with the Razer Chroma RGB ecosystem. It'll also ship with an OLED display, available in both 65-inch and 75-inch options.
"Because of its highly adaptable and versatile design, Project Sophia is able to provide the optimal
configuration for gaming, creating, streaming, and working, combining many traditional setups
into one single desktop," touted the gaming brand.
Enki Pro HyperSense
Razer also unveiled the Enki Pro HyperSense, a gaming chair with advanced haptic feedback, further immersing you into the games you're playing. Based on the brand's existing Enki Pro design, this new chair features a haptic feedback unit developed in cooperation with D-BOX that will let you physically feel what you're playing or watching. It'll also include a Chroma RGB headrest that you can customise to your own liking.
The advanced haptic engine has been developed to simulate a range of vibrations, textures and motions. "With 65,000 haptic variations, it has the tactile feedback of +/- 1 G-Force and can create 1.5 inches of vertical and backward tilt in your seat," Razer explains. The chair also has a responsiveness of 5ms, allowing it to properly sync the feedback with the media you're playing.
The Enki Pro HyperSense natively supports over 2,200 games, movies and music, including games like F1 2021, Forza Horizon 5 and Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Razer says even games not directly supported will work with the features of the chair through Direct Input Haptics, where it's able to generate feedback based on controller or keyboard and mouse inputs.
At the same time, you can enjoy the same immersion while watching movies or listening to music via various streaming platforms, with Razer boasting that sound effects and soundtrack will not only be heard but will also be felt.
No word yet on when we can expect Project Sophia and the Enki Pro Hypersense to come out or how much they will each cost.
Razer Smart Home Application
Anyone who has a smart home ecosystem can attest that it can, at times, be tedious and tricky integrating devices from different brands into a single app. Razer is looking to streamline this process by launching its own software that promises to be a one-stop destination for controlling all your devices. And perhaps, who knows? This might just be hint that Project Sophia might actually come to fruition.
The gaming company launched the new Razer Smart Home Application at CES 2022, a mobile tool that lets you set up and customise all your smart home devices from one simple interface. It uses Razer’s Chroma RGB lighting technology to give you access to over 16.8 million colours and a suite of lighting effects for your home’s supported smart lights. You can, of course, use this feature to create custom mood lighting effects or sync your lighting system with your home entertainment.
Here's a look at what the app's interface will look like.
Razer said that, as of right now, Chroma RGB supports up to 1,000 devices from over 50 hardware partners and over 200 natively integrated games. And with the launch of the new app, the popular gaming brand has issued an open invite for device makers to integrate their products into the Razer ecosystem.
“The Razer Chroma Smart Home Program is an opportunity for new partners to be a part of the biggest lighting ecosystem for gaming devices, now accessible on the mobile,” said Razer in a statement.
Some of Razer’s current Chroma program partners include Nanoleaf, LIFX, Yeelight, Monster and Twinkly, with more lighting specialists and device makers reportedly coming soon. The Razer Smart Home Application and Razer Chroma RGB Smart Home Program are launching sometime within the first half of 2022.