Asus said on that it plans to showcase a new Zenbook Infinity Ultrabook during Computex 2013 next month, the world's first Ultrabook to sport a lid comprised entirely from Corning's Gorilla Glass 3. The Gorilla Glass will be fused directly to the aluminum frame, allowing for a thickness of just 15.5-mm thin (about 0.61 inches). That's 14-percent thinner than the previous generation Zenbook, the company said.
"New Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has the same durability and thinness as Gorilla Glass 2, but uses Corning's proprietary NDR glass composition for superior scratch resistance, reduced scratch visibility and improved toughness," the company said. "Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with NDR has three times the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 2, and gives a 40-percent reduction in the number of highly visible scratches with a 40-percent improvement in retained strength if a deep scratch does occur."
In Monday's tease, Asus said that Gorilla Glass 3 will also be applied to the area surrounding the keyboard, adding another layer of protection that previously hasn't been offered in Ultrabooks. The Ultrabook's lid will even sport the same pattern of fine concentric circles that's become an Asus Zenbook "hallmark". Thus, thanks to the use of Gorilla Glass 3, the unique outer design will be more resistant to the "harsh realities of mobile life" than if it were constructed with more traditional materials.
Unfortunately, Asus didn't share any additional information in regards to the hardware specs. This week's tease may have something to do with Intel's unveiling of the upcoming Haswell chips during Computex: a new Ultrabook sporting a fourth-generation Intel Core processor. Asus may also likely showcase a number of Zenbook Infinity models offering touch and non-touch screens of several sizes.
The new Zenbook Infinity isn't slated to hit the market until 3Q13. In the meantime, we'll likely have a little hands-on with the Ultrabook in a few weeks during our trip to Computex 2013 in Taipai.
