We’re always pretty excited about ASUS announcements, given how the company has a penchant for revealing some eye-catching devices. And the company looks like it has another stellar lineup for this year’s CES.
Let’s look at what ASUS and ASUS ROG have coming up in its roster!
ASUS ZenBook 17 Fold OLED
We see foldable smartphones hit their stride a bit in recent months/years. Now, laptop makers like ASUS are experimenting with the form factor further. As PCWorld mentioned, this new ASUS ZenBook 17 Fold OLED is only the second laptop/2-in-1 that folds, following Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold.
The ZenBook 17 Fold comes with a 17.3-inch OLED, which has a 2,560 x 1,920 4:3 screen when unfolded or two 12.5-inch 1,920 x 1,280 screens in the typical laptop style. A thin wireless keyboard and trackpad can be placed on top of the bottom half of the screen, but we’ve also seen use case of it just used separately with the folded screen. It has an integrated kickstand in its magnesium alloy body so you can prop up the fully-unfolded display on a desk. If you want to use it in the folded Book Mode, that’s possible here. According to ASUS, the ZenBook 17 Fold can handle up to 30,000 fold cycles, but it hasn’t shared more details about the screen’s durability.
This hybrid device runs on up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 U processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 75-watt hour battery. It gets a QHD webcam on one side with an IR camera for Windows Hello and a mobile-style light sensor that can automatically adjust screen brightness.
ASUS ZenBook 14X OLED Space Edition
As a nod to when a pair of its laptops spent in space on the Mir space station (the P6300 and P6100) back in 1997, ASUS unveiled a special edition version of the ZenBook 14X, and we can’t help but be charmed by it. The lid and deck have etchings inspired by the space age with the dots a morse code for the Latin saying: Ad Astra Per Aspera (meaning “through hardships to the stars). It also has patterns representing the Mir station and arced lines symbolizing a space capsule. As Gizmodo pointed out, it gives off a Star Wars vibe that we love.
The back panel gets a rectangular window that ASUS is dubbing ZenVision. That little 3.5-inch OLED panel can show customizable messages, icons, gifs, and more, similar to the AniMe Matrix (which you’ll read more about later). Keeping with the space theme, it’s also passed the US Space Systems Command Standard SMC-S-016A testing protocols, which ASUS says is four times more stringent than the standard MIL-STD testing. The 14X acronym on the laptop even stands for its ability to withstand temperatures between -24 Celsius and 61 Celsius, making it a pretty sturdy notebook to have around.
In case you’re wondering, its other specs include a 14-inch 2,880 x 1,800 OLED display with 90Hz refresh rate and 550 nits peak brightness, up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i9 H-series processor with Iris Xe graphics, up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and up to 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD. And that eye-catching product box it comes with? You can turn parts of it into a laptop stand.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
This updated version of the dual-screened laptop gets a 16-inch main display and a secondary 14.1-inch touchscreen with up to a 4K resolution. That second screen is called the ROG ScreenPad Plus, which rises from the body on redesigned hinges when the lid is lifted. It’ll stop at a 13-degree angle to meet the bottom of the display and make it look like you’re looking at one large display head-on. This angle also makes it easier to see what’s on the screen without needing to crane your neck and offers better circulation for the machine.
There are two display options available. One is a Nebula HDR QHD-resolution panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 165Hz refresh rate. It has a mini-LED backlight that allows for precise local dimming, covers 100% of P3 color space and DisplayHDR 1000 certified, and reaches a peak brightness of 1,100 nits. The other option is a ROG-exclusive Dual Spec panel it co-developed with BOE. You can choose between a viewing experience of 4K with a 120Hz refresh rate or 1080p at 240Hz.
Other top-end components this laptop comes with include up to an AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX series processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti mobile graphics, up to 32GB of DDR5 memory, and up to 2TB of PCIe NVMe Gen 4 solid-state storage.
ASUS ROG Flow Z13
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is possibly the most powerful Windows-based gaming tablet out there. As The Verge pointed out, it gives Apple’s iPad Pro a run for its money when it comes to games and accessory compatibility at the get-go. This 13.4-inch tablet comes with a kickstand and a detachable keyboard with per-key RGB backlighting (because why not?).
It runs on an Intel Core i9-12900H 45W processor with NVIDIA’s RTX 3050 Ti, which is an impressive combination for a 12mm-thick tablet. Similar to the ASUS’s 2-in-1 Flow X13, the Z13 can connect to an external GPU enclosure for faster, better graphics.
The ROG Flow Z13 gets two display options: a 1080p IPS touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate, 100 percent sRGB coverage, and 500 nits of brightness; and a 4K IPS touchscreen with a 60Hz refresh rate, 85 percent DCI-P3 color space coverage, and 450 nits of brightness. Both come with Gorilla Glass protection, have 16:10 aspect ratios, and are validated by Pantone for color accuracy.
ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate
There are a lot of peripherals ASUS’s gaming brand put out, but we got to love this fun one. The ASUS ROG Strix Flare II Animate gets its name from the LED display built into it, which we’ve seen on ROG’s Zephyrus G14 laptop before. The AniMe Matrix LED display can show everything from custom images and animations, audio visualizations, and system info like battery life, date, and time.
Aside from those 312 mini LEDs, this mechanical keyboard also has an RGB strip at the bottom. And if you want a wrist rest that will let you appreciate all this lighting, ASUS ROG provides one that has a diffuser that gives it a colorful under-glow.
When it comes to the important keyboard specs, the Strix Flare II Animate has Cherry MX Blue, Brown, or Red switches, or you can opt for ASUS’ ROG NX switches available in three flavors. The switches are also swappable on this keyboard. It also has features like 8000Hz polling, USB 2.0 passthrough, PBT Double-shot keycaps, sound-dampening foam, and media controls.
Check out our CES 2022 coverage over HERE. And follow us on social media!