Asus has three new ZenBook models for 2018, and they're the most compact laptops that Asus has ever put out. That means smaller footprints and thinner and lighter chassis designs across the board – improvements similar to those we've already seen Acer make to its laptops. What's more, bezels have been banished from the ZenBook displays, leading to a screen-to-body ratio of up to 95 percent.
Asus is calling this a "NanoEdge" display and it means you're looking at pretty much all screen (though there is still room for a webcam at the top). There are three laptops in the new series, identified by their screen size: the ZenBook 13 (UX333), the ZenBook 14 (UX433), and the ZenBook 15 (UX533).
Across all three models you've got a choice of configurations, but because these laptops are light and thin doesn't mean they have to be underpowered. The options top out at an 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor with 16 GB of RAM. Powerful discrete graphics are available too – up to an Nvidia GeForce MX150 on the 13-inch and 14-inch models, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q on the 15-inch ZenBook. Internal SSD storage maxes out at a spacious 1 TB.
If there's one disappointment it's that the resolutions on the smaller two models are stuck at 1,920 x 1,080 pixels – the 15-inch ZenBook does have a 4K option – but the advantage is longer battery life, which Asus says can stretch up to 16 hours between charges.
At the 13-inch and 14-inch sizes, the trackpad can double-up as a number pad with illuminated buttons, which might appeal to anyone who has to spend a lot of their day inputting numbers (the 15-inch model is big enough to actually have a real number pad to the right of the keyboard).
Asus has managed to cram in a good number of ports around the sides of the new ZenBooks too, including a full-sized HDMI port, while all three come with a memory card slot for transferring photos and other files as well.
Based on the glimpses Asus has given us, these look very portable laptops indeed, even at the larger size. The overall weights are 2.62 pounds (1.19 kg) for the 13-inch and 14-inch models, and 3.73 lb (1.69 kg) for the 15-inch version.
If you're in the market for a slim, portable, powerful Windows 10 laptop, then Asus just gave you three more models for your shortlist (alongside the wealth of other new laptops we're seeing at IFA 2018). What we don't have yet are the all-important prices, but Asus says these new ZenBooks will be out before the end of the year.
Source: Asus
