Toshiba Kira (2015) review

A dim display can't stop Toshiba's new Kira from shining

Reviews
By Dan Griliopoulos
published
Toshiba

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The Kira is at the upper end of the Ultrabook weight bracket - of our picks, only the Asus Zenbook Pro is heavier, with most other Ultrabooks coming in just a little lighter. It still doesn't feel heavy, of course – I carried it and an Acer C720 Chromebook in my rucksack for a week without noticing it. (But then I'm used to carrying a ten kilo baby on one arm…)

The dimensions are like baby bear's porridge: just right. Of course, there's a little wasted space around the screen bezel and the keyboard is confined inside a similar aluminium border, which, while it might seem wasteful, makes an ideal buffer zone to absorb any damage when you inevitably drop the laptop… speaking of which, while the aluminium surface isn't going to break any time soon, during our short trial period it started showing signs of wear – small scratches and the like – which couldn't be polished away.

Kira logo

Spec sheet

Here is the Toshiba Kira 107 configuration sent to TechRadar for review:

  • CPU: 2.4GHz Intel Core™ i7-5500U Processor (dual-core, 4MB cache, up to 3GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
  • Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 5500 (shared memory)
  • RAM: 8GB DDR3L RAM (1600 MHz)
  • Screen: 13.3 inch 2560 x 1440 Toshiba PixelPure™ WQHD touch display with IGZO technology.
  • Storage: 256GB SSD
  • Optical drive: N/A
  • Ports: 3 x USB 3.0 ports, HDMI supporting UHD, Headphone jack, Microphone jack.
  • Connectivity: Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 + Bluetooth 4.0
  • Camera: Built-in HD webcam.
  • Weight: 2.9 pounds
  • Size: 12.4 x 8 x 0.37 inches

Overall, that looks like a nice package. In terms of specifications, the only real difference between this and the Lenovo LaVie Z (one of our current Ultrabook choices) is the Kira's touchscreen, and that the LaVie Z is two-thirds of the Kira's weight. They both have the same solid CPU and graphics package, an acceptable 8GB of RAM, the same size SSD, a lovely WQHD touchscreen and an HD webcam. They're even the same price!

Ports

The port and connectivity selection is as standard, with headphone and microphone port and a 4K HDMI-out port. There are also three USB 3.0 ports. One of these supports sleep-and-charge, meaning the Kira can continue to charge devices even when the laptop is turned off – you can identify it by the small lightning bolt logo.

The HD webcam is nothing to write home about - it does the job it's intended for, but you won't be using it in place of a scanner anytime soon.

Dan Griliopoulos