ASUS and the Laptops of Tomorrow

Yesterday, ASUS celebrated 30 years in the Philippines.  In line with this, it is releasing a new line of much awaited Zenbooks along with a limited edition unit that’ll have you drooling. Created for creators, these Zenbooks are designed to maximize productivity and exceed boundaries.

Zenbook Duo and Pro Duo

Physically, the Zenbook Duo and Pro Duo are nearly twins, both feature a secondary touch screen that serves as an extension of the primary screen as well as a task manager. The only difference is that the Pro Duo sports a slightly larger 15.6” OLED 4K main screen that is touch-enabled while the Duo has a smaller 14” FHD wide view display. The Pro duo also has a dedicated number/track pad on the lower right side (the duo only has a track pad) that may take a little bit of getting used to, but the number pad feature is quite useful for data entry.

 Inside, the Pro Duo is powered by an Intel core i7/ i9 processor while the Duo with a core i5/i7. Memory-wise, the Zenbook Pro Duo can accommodate up to 32GB of RAM while the Duo has 16GB of RAM. Both boast of an internal storage of up to 1TB, though.  

Screen Pad Plus

The secondary touch screen, aka the screen pad plus, is a very interesting design. Perfect for the multi-tasker as it is able to accommodate four separate windows; and also great for artists, designers, and content creators as it acts as an extended screen for a larger work area.

 If you tend to have multiple windows open at the same time while working (or playing) then this is the laptop for you so you can have everything open in front you as you do your tasks. The screen is easy to manipulate and responsive to touch. It could use a bit more brightness, though. While ASUS did give it a little elevation that angles it up, it can still get glare-y even when at the brightest setting.  

The Zenbook Pro Duo retails at P169,995 (i9) and P199,995 (i7) and is already out in the market today, while the Zenbook Duo will retail at P74,995 (i5) and P84,995 (i7) and will hit the stores next month.

The Zenbook Lineup

At the grand launch, ASUS also unveiled the ProArt Studiobook for design professionals; the Zenbook 13/14/15 for multi-taskers and mobile workers; and the Zenbook Edition 30 that is gorgeous as it is functional.

 The ProArt StudioBook line consists of the 17, Pro 17, and Pro X. All three have a 17” NanoEdge display. The 17 and Pro 17 have16 GB of RAM while the Pro X has 32 GB. Inside, you can find the killer combo of  NVIDIA RTX 2060/Intel Core i7, Quadro RTX 3000/Intel Xeon, and Quadro RTX 5000/Intel Xeon on the StudioBook 17, Pro 17, and Pro X, respectively.

‘Magic Screen’

Instead of the usual track pad, the Zenbook 13/14/15 have a screen in place. the ScreenPad 2.0 has a smartphone-like interface for easy task management and seamless multi-tasking. And yes, that means you can sneak in your favorite TV show while working (doesn’t mean you should, but you can). The 5.65-inch touchscreen has various features such as a one-tap automation of complex keyboard sequences, handwriting, and number key for rapid data entry. Revamped from its previous iteration, it is also now more energy efficient, allowing for 2.5X longer battery life when ScreenPad is in use.

The Zenbook 13/14/15 lineup also comes with Intel 10th Generation processors.

Zenbook Edition 30

And last, but definitely not the least, is the Zenbook Edition 30. Only 30 units will be up for sale in the country. With a 100% genuine Italian leather sleeve and rose gold plated logo—ASUS has reached the new height of luxurious functionality. Inside is an Intel i7 core, 16 GB RAM, and a NVIDIA MX250 graphics card.

The limited edition notebook will also come with equally posh accessories such as a pearl white mouse, ASUS 30 mouse pad, and an edition 30 commemorative box set.

It will be available for sale on October 2019 and will retail at P99,995.