• Toshiba Radius 12 release date: Q4 2015
• Toshiba Radius 12 price: Up to £1,000
• Toshiba Radius 12 specs: 12.5-inch, 4K screen (362ppi); Intel Core i7 Skylake processors; Up to 512GB SSD and 8GB RAM; 1.32kg

Hands-on: Toshiba’s 4K convertible is a promising high-end laptop

If Sony can put a 4K screen on a 5.5-inch phone, why not a 12.5-inch laptop? That’s Toshiba’s attitude, but the difference is 4K on a laptop makes a semblance of sense.

The Toshiba Radius 12, which Toshiba announced at IFA 2015 in Berlin, is a neat-looking 12.5-inch convertible laptop in the Lenovo Yoga style. It’s a nice format, particularly in a laptop this size and which weighs just 1.32kg.

The fact it will come with a 4K screen is pretty special, but there’s more to it than simple numbers. The 4K screen has been tuned by Technicolour and comes with Croma Tune software so you can switch between difference colour spaces, including Rec.709 (for video production), Adobe RGB (photography) and sRGB (online).

Better yet, you can set the software to automatically switch between colour spaces depending on what application you’re using – e.g. Adobe RGB for Photoshop, sRGB when browsing the web.

This is a great feature and it’s nice to see a company doing more than strapping on a high-res screen and yelling “ta-dah!” It’s a touchscreen too, of course, and it’s protected by Gorilla Glass. As statements go, a 4K laptop for less than the price of a MacBook Pro is a pretty good start.

There is a small sacrifice for that screen, though, as battery life is just six hours with the 4K screen, as opposed to a quoted 8 hours if you opt for the Full HD version. I’m not 100% sure whether the Full HD version will also feature the colour tuning features, either – I’m awaiting clarification on that point.

Beyond this, the Radius 12 is an attractive convertible laptop. It’s more MacBook Air than MacBook Pro as it’ll use new-generation low-voltage processors, rather than ‘full’ mobile processors, but it’s still a powerful ultra-portable. M.2 SATA SSDs will be standard, as will 8GB of RAM. Connectivity includes a Type-C USB port and an HDMI output that support 4K output, and there’s dual-band AC Wi-Fi as well.

This is one of the nicest looking Toshiba laptops I’ve seen in a long while, too. The ‘Satin Gold’ brushed aluminium finish is eye-catching without being over the top and Toshiba’s added a soft touch finish in places that makes the Radius 12 easier, and more comfortable, to carry.

First Impressions

A good screen makes a big difference and the one on the Toshiba Radius 12 is a stunner. The 4K version will be just £1,000 when it launches, too, so it’s good value for a high-resolution, calibrated screen. The rest of the laptop seems pretty decent, making this an attractive option if you’re looking to upgrade your laptop this year.