Asus today announced five new ZenBooks, with varied features including dual screens, ergonomic keyboards that double also improve airflow, and components from Intel, AMD and Nvidia. Exact release dates haven't been announced, other than that they're coming "soon."
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Asus Zenbook 14 Duo OLED UX8402 | Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED UX7602 | Asus Zenbook Pro 17 UM6702 | Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED UM5302 | Asus Zenbook S Flip OLED UP5302 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Up to Intel Core i9-12900H | Up to Intel Core i9-12900H | Up to AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX | Up to AMD Ryzen 7 6800U | Up to Intel Core i7-1260P |
| Graphics | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (4GB GDDR6) | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (6GB GDDR6) | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 | Up to AMD Radeon 680M | Intel Iris Xe |
| Display | 14.5-inch, 2880 x 1880, 16:10 OLED touchscreen, 120 Hz | 16-inch, 3840 x 2400, 16:10 OLED touchscreen, 60 Hz | 17.3-inch, 2560 x 1440, 16:9, 165 Hz | 13.3-inch, 2880 x 1800, 16:10, OLED touch screen, 60 Hz | 13,3-inch, 2 880 x 1800, 16:10, OLED touch screen |
| 12.7-inch ScreenPad Plus, 2880 x 864 OLED touchscreen | |||||
| Memory | Up to 32GB LPDDR5-4800 | Up to 32GB LPDDR5-5200 | Up to 32GB LPDDR5-6400 | Up to 32GB LPDDR5-6400 | Up to 32GB LPDDR5-5200 |
| Storage | Up to 2TB PCIe 4 NVMe SSD | Up to 2TB PCIe 4 NVMe SSD | Up to 1TB PCIe 4 NVMe SSD | Up to 1TB PCIe 4 NVMe SSD | Up to 1TB PCIe 4 NVMe SSD |
| Battery | 76 WHr | 96 WHr | 76 WHr | 67 WHr | 67 WHr |
| Starting Price | $1,999.99 | $2,599.99 | $1,499.99 | $1,299.99 | $1,499 .99 |
Asus Zenbook 14 Duo OLED UX8402
The Zenbook Pro 14 has a new design that minimizes the bezels on the second screen, making for a more seamless transition between the laptop's two panels.
To power the device, Asus has opted for 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs that go up to an i9-12900H, as well as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card. Asus will offer configurations with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage, depending on the market.
AAS Ultra, the apparatus that tilts the ScreenPad Plus (Asus' name for the 12.7-inch, secondary touch display) by 12 degrees also allows for extra ventilation. With the cooling (including two 8 mm heat pipes), the company is claiming a 38% increase in hot air exhausted from the system over previous models, allowing for a combined 85 watt TDP between the CPU and GPU.
The primary display is a 14.5-inch, 2880 x 1800 OLED panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 120 Hz refresh rate. The ScreenPad Plus is 2880 x 864 (that's a 32:10 aspect ratio, if you're wondering), and is also an OLED touchscreen with the same 120 Hz speeds.
Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED UX7602
For creatives who need a more classic workstation, but with many more trappings, the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED delivers more power and a bunch of extra features.
This laptop goes up to the Intel Core i9-12900H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, with up to a combined 140W TDP. While this laptop only has the one screen you expect, it still has AAS Ultra, which lifts up the keyboard to an ergonomic angle while also exhausting hot air out of the sides. Asus says this 30% increase in airflow over the last generation reduces the skin temperature of the laptop by up to seven degrees Celsius (44.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
This laptop also has a built-in dial. The rotary controller is just 3.2 mm thin, so it's not exactly Surface Dial levels of control, but it can be used in creative apps to change features like brush size or layer opacity. Asus says it should work out of the box with the Adobe suite.
The touchpad has been made bigger (5.9 x 3.5 inches) and has haptic feedback.
Asus Zenbook Pro 17 UM6702
Outside of the foldable that Asus teased at CES earlier this year, the ZenBook Pro 17 is the first Zenbook with a display this big. The 2560 x 1440 screen has a 165 Hz refresh rate, but a shorter 16:9 aspect ratio than some of the other notebooks Asus announced today.
This mammoth notebook is running on AMD's latest processors, up to a Ryzen 9 6900HX, and paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050. Ports include USB 4, HDMI 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, an SD card reader and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
The Zenbook Pro 17 is a bit more traditional than the other Zenbook Pro machines announced today. There's no big lifting mechanism for cooling, for instance, though it still uses a 180-degree ergolift hinge that slightly lifts the keyboard to a more comfortable level. Asus claims that the large touchpad is "just like touching silk" thanks to a low-friction touchpad, but we'll have to try that for ourselves.
Asus is using a 1080p webcam with what it calls "3D Noise Reduction" for fast facial recognition and clearr video, even in low light.
Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED UM5302 and Zenbook S Flip OLED UP5302
Lastly, there are a pair of ultraportables, the Zenbook S 13 OLED (an AMD-based clamshell) and Zenbook S Flip OLED (an Intel-based ultraportable). Both are lightweight laptops made from a magnesium-aluminum alloy . Designed to compete with the best ultrabooks, the clamshell weighs 1 kg, while the Flip is 1.1 kg.
Like much of Asus' lineup, both have OLED displays and ErgoLift hinges. Asus is also pushing an antibacterial coating on both of these laptops, though that's unlikely to be enough to keep you from getting sick from whatever's going around the office.
