Welcome to Computex 2016!
In the middle of humid Taiwan, Computex is a show mostly all about computers. There’s always other stuff, but it centers on PCs. ASUS started the show a little early, but we’re also hearing from Intel, Microsoft and more about what to expect over the next year or two. Mobile computing is The Thing now, so the likes of Qualcomm will have something to say as well. Virtual reality has ushered in a renaissance in PC gaming, and we’re sure that’ll also inform what we see this year.
You’ll find the news right here — we”ll be reporting all week.
Catch up with Computex 2016: Day one
Computex is typically ASUS’ show. Every year, the Taiwanese company takes to Taipei to unload a host of its wares and, in the process, steal the lion’s share of the show’s headlines. Well, 2016 is no different as ASUS has taken the wraps off a slew of devices including an ultraportable that’s thinner than Apple’s own MacBook, Surface-like 2-in-1 PCs, three new ZenFones, a charming robot assistant for the home and a me-too mobile VR headset. Don’t fret if you whiled away the holiday weekend and need to get up to speed on day one of the show — we’ve got you covered in the video above and the gallery below.
Up close with the ASUS ZenFone 3 series
Much like previous Computex shows, ASUS announced a bunch of new smartphones that won’t bust your wallet; only this time, the best-looking device turns out to be the base model: the ZenFone 3. We managed to get some hands-on time with this $249 device and to our surprise, it looks just as good in real life thanks to the spun-metal finish on the back. It also has a more premium feel than its predecessor due to the switch from a plastic body to a combination of metallic frame and 2.5D glass panels. At this price point (with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage), there’s little to complain about, but it’ll take some real-life usage to see if the mid-range Snapdragon 625 will suit your needs.
The high-end ZenFone 3 Deluxe isn’t far off, either. It comes with a metal unibody that’s subtly curved on the back for better ergonomics, and unlike most rivals’ metallic phones, the Deluxe manages to cover up most of its antenna bands — the remaining bits are just on the body’s chamfer. Still, we wouldn’t mind having the ZenFone 3’s body for the Deluxe as we’re more mesmerized by its concentric circles on the back, which is more effective than the same effect applied to the Deluxe’s chin and ear pillow on the front side. On a more positive note, the Deluxe’s Super AMOLED screen is visibly more vibrant, though we’ve yet to find out how well it performs under daylight. As for performance, we’re confident that the 6GB of RAM (at $499, with 32GB of storage) plus the Snapdragon 820 will keep things running smoothly, assuming the final software build won’t have any major bugs.
This leaves us with the 6.8-inch ZenFone 3 Ultra. Compared to its two smaller siblings, the Ultra has a less exciting design, featuring a flat metal unibody simply decorated with a chamfer, but at least it feels solid like the other two. As with the ZenFone 2, the Ultra’s volume keys are also placed on the back, which is a bit odd given that the other two ZenFone 3 models have them on the side. On a similar note, the Ultra’s fingerprint reader is located on the front side instead of the back like on its siblings, which perhaps makes more sense given that you’re less likely to be holding up the phablet as often; it is notably heavier, after all (233g instead of the Deluxe’s 170g), mainly because of the generous 4,600 mAh battery.
One thing we must praise is that those dual speakers at the bottom are super loud, which says a lot because even the single speaker on the lesser ZenFone 3 models is already pretty powerful. We just wish they were facing the front. $479 for this model gets you 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage, so even though it’s running on a Snapdragon 652 (which should be more than plenty for everyday use), it probably wouldn’t take much to convince those who are addicted to watching videos on the road. As to how big that market is, only time will time.
Based on our early hands-on, it’s safe to say that ASUS is generally headed in the right direction with its latest smartphones, but there are still questions remaining: Are the cameras as good as they claim to be? And how stable is the latest ZenUI? We’ll let you know when we find out later.
Hands-on video with ASUS ZenBook 3: so, so thin
We didn’t expect much from yet another ASUS ultraportable, but the ZenBook 3 is seriously impressive. Weighing in at 2 pounds and 11.9mm thick, it’s both thinner and lighter than Apple’s already crazy portable MacBook. It also packs in speedy Core i5 and Core i7 processors, so you won’t have to worry about it being underpowered. Above, check out our hands-on video of the ZenBook 3, and you can read deeper impressions on the announcement post.
Asus Announces ZenBook 3, a Retina MacBook Lookalike That is Thinner, Lighter, and Faster
ASUS today at Computex 2016 in Taiwan announced a wide range of new products, including the ZenBook 3, its third-generation ultraportable notebook that is thinner, lighter, and faster than Apple’s lookalike 12-inch Retina MacBook.
The 12.5-inch ZenBook 3 has an ultra-thin 11.9mm aerospace-grade aluminum alloy chassis that weights just 2 pounds and is “50% stronger than the standard alloy” used in competing notebooks. Comparatively, the Retina MacBook is 13.1mm thick and weighs 2.03 pounds.
ZenBook 3’s display is crafted from edge-to-edge, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 4, with a 1,920×1,080 pixels resolution and wide 72% NTSC color gamut. The notebook has a slim bezel design that provides an 82% screen-to-body ratio for a maximum viewing experience with a minimal footprint.
The Windows-based notebook is powered by up to an Intel Core i7 processor and features 16GB of 2133MHz RAM, up to 1TB of PCIe 3.0-based flash storage, and quad-speaker audio by Harman Kardon. Like the Retina MacBook, the ZenBook 3 has a single USB-C port for charging and connecting peripherals.
ASUS includes a dongle with USB 3.0, USB-C, and HDMI ports in the box, while a larger universal dock is available with additional connectivity options.
ASUS sacrificed a fanless design like the Retina MacBook has in favor of increased performance, but the ZenBook 3 has an innovative cooling system that features the “world’s thinnest fan design” at just 3mm. The notebook delivers up to 9 hours of battery life with fast-charging technology for recharging up to 60% capacity in 49 minutes.
ZenBook 3 is available in three spun-metal finishes, Royal Blue, Rose Gold, and Quartz Grey, based on a two-phase anodizing process that creates golden highlights on the diamond-cut edges. Whereas the Retina MacBook’s keyboard is always black, the ZenBook 3’s keyboard matches the color of each finish.
The full-sized backlit keyboard also has 19.8mm key pitch and a slightly deeper 0.8mm key travel, compared to 0.5mm on the Retina MacBook’s ultra-thin butterfly mechanism keyboard that some have contested. Next to the keyboard is a glass trackpad with palm-rejection technology, Smart Gestures, and handwriting support.
An optional built-in fingerprint reader with Windows Hello support enables users to sign in and unlock the ZenBook 3 with one finger tap, in lieu of having to type their password or PIN. Similarly, the 2016 MacBook Pro may feature Touch ID as Apple works on an unlocking-via-iPhone feature for OS X 10.12.
ZenBook 3 will be available in the third quarter of 2016, starting at $999 in the U.S. for the base model with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. A 512GB SSD model will sell for $1,499, while the top-range Intel Core i7 model with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD will cost $1,999.
ASUS also announced the Zenbo home robot, the ZenFone 3 Series, the ASUS Transformer 3 Series, and multiple other new products.
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ASUS’ me-too VR headset sure looks fancy
Well, look at what we have here. Tucked away in the corner of ASUS’ Computex event is what looks like a VR headset, and a particularly fancy-looking one at that. The goggles part of it is a shiny silvery metal and its straps seem to be made out of leather. After digging around, we found out that it’s meant to be used in much the same way as the Gear VR, except you’d use it with an ASUS’ ZenFone instead. Like with the Gear VR, you’d use the touchpad and buttons on the side for navigation. There’s not much else we know about it, but we’re guessing we’ll learn more about it later this year. At IFA, perhaps?
ASUS ROG unveils Avalon, a hassle-free approach to a DIY PC
If you’re a serious enough gamer, you’ve likely looked into building your own PC for the ultimate gaming experience. But the process can be a little tedious, especially if you’re new to figuring out where all the different components fit. ASUS’s ROG (short for Republic of Gamers) division has unveiled a new product called the Avalon that’s designed to alleviate exactly that concern. Think of it as a semi-homemade approach to DIY PC building.
It’s just a prototype at the moment, but the Avalon is essentially a motherboard and chassis hybrid that’s designed as a single unit, so you don’t need to buy the two parts separately. Because it’s built as a single entity, this supposedly allows ASUS to optimize the layout of all your various internal hardware. The big thing here is that the Avalon features SSD, PSU and graphics-adapter boards so you can just plug those components right in without any cabling, plus they’re all located at the front for easier access. On the rear of the machine is a modular rear input / output unit that lets you have whatever connectivity options you want. The concept reminds us a little of Razer’s Project Christine, though the Avalon setup looks more traditional.
There’s no word yet on the Avalon’s pricing as well as when it’ll be available, but we’ll update this post as soon as we know.
Mat Smith contributed to this report.
ASUS upgrades its crazy ROG liquid-cooled gaming laptop
ROG, ASUS’ well-respected gaming PC arm, likes to unveil a barrage of weird systems at Taipei’s Computex — and this year is no different. To start with, its insane liquid-cooled GX700 gaming laptop is coming back for another round. The GX800 still has the giant attachment at the rear, but will now be powered by an NVIDIA SLI GPU, along with Intel’s K-series CPU — there’s two 330W power supplies to ensure all that liquid-cooled overclocking you’ll be doing. If you’re not planning to overclock, then you’re possibly looking at the wrong gaming machine. We’ll add more specifics when we hear them.
The GX800 will have ROG’s latest mechanical keyboard, with (a very Computex thing) multicolor LED keys that can be customized to suit your gaming style. Yes, the notebook is thinner and lighter than other high-end systems, but the full performance is only available with the attached water-cooling.
ROG’s compact desktop PC is getting a special 10th anniversary edition, which ASUS is claiming is the world’s most powerful. Inside the G31 Edition 10, you can expect one-click CPU overclocking, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 GPU with 2-way SLI for 4K gaming, as well as its own ESS audio DAC and amplifier headphone jack for louder gunshots and such. The tower itself even looks like a structure from a futuristic shooter of your choosing:
ASUS’ ZenBook 3 is thinner, lighter and faster than the MacBook
How much more can ASUS shave off of the ZenBook, its flagship ultraportable? Apparently, quite a bit. The company’s new ZenBook 3, announced today at Computex, clocks in at just 2 pounds and 11.9mm (0.46-inches) thick. In comparison, the previous ZenBook UX305 weighed 2.64 pounds and was 12.9mm thick (0.51-inches). Sure, those might just seem like incremental improvements, but they’re remarkable when you consider just how insanely thin and light the previous model was. Most impressively? The ZenBook 3 just barely edges out Apple’s svelte MacBook, which weighs 2.03lbs and is 13.2mm (0.52-inches) thick, all the while packing in a larger 12.5-inch display.
ASUS attributes the ZenBook 3’s weight loss to a new “aerospace-grade aluminum alloy,” which it says is 40 percent stronger than what’s typically used in laptops. Honestly, that just sounds like marketing fluff, but there must be something special about the laptop’s new material to lose 0.6 pounds from the last gen. ASUS is still sticking with its “spun metal” style, so hopefully you’re a fan of the concentric metallic rings on its cases. It’ll be available in “Quartz Grey,” “Royal Blue,” and the seemingly ubiquitous “Rose Gold.”
Unlike the MacBook, the ZenBook 3 won’t be under-powered. At the top end, you’ll be able to configure it with an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe SSD (which should be faster than a typical SATA drive). The display is covered in Gorilla Glass 4, and it looks like Asus was also able to slim down the bezel (now it covers 82 percent of the laptop’s front). The ZenBook 3 packs in a Thunderbolt 3/USB-C port for charging (which it says can juice the laptop’s battery up to 60 percent in 49 minutes), and it should last around 9 hours of typical battery life. As for cooling, Asus says it’s developed the “world’s thinnest” fan at just 3mm. There’s also a built-in fingerprint sensor with Windows Hello support.
In my brief hands-on time with the ZenBook 3, after wrestling through the crowds at Computex, I can confirm that it’s seriously thin and light. ASUS’ numbers don’t lie — it definitely feels on-par with Apple’s MacBook. I didn’t feel much of a difference with the new metal case, compared to older ZenBooks, but it still felt sturdy, with little flex when I tried to bend the laptop. After handling it, I’m even more impressed that ASUS managed to cram a Core i7 processor into such a thin case.
Unfortunately, the ZenBook 3’s keyboard feels incredibly shallow, to the point where I couldn’t imagine using it to type much. That’s particularly strange, since ASUS made a big deal about having even more key travel space than the MacBook. From what I can remember, though, the MacBook’s keyboard simply felt better.
The ZenBook 3 will start at $999 with a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 256GB SSD. Stepping up, you can get it with a 512GB SSD for $1,499, and you can add a Core i7 processor, 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM for $1,999. ASUS isn’t talking about availability details yet. We’ll definitely be paying attention to this ultraportable.
ASUS’ latest Transformers take heavy cues from Microsoft’s Surface
ASUS has just unveiled a line of new Transformer 2-in-1 PCs that look suspiciously like a certain product from Microsoft. With their touchscreens, kickstands and portable keyboards, they do remind us a lot of, you guessed it, the Surface. And, of course, they all run Windows 10, which makes the Surface connection even more undeniable. Of the new announcements, the Transformer 3 Pro is the most advanced of the lot, the Transformer 3 sits somewhere in the middle, while the Mini is the lightest.
Both the Transformer 3 Pro and the Transformer 3 have a 12.6-inch display with a 2880 x 1920 resolution and 275 ppi pixel density. There are other similarities as well: Both feature USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 3 connections, Harmon Kardon speakers, and USB 3.0 and HDMI ports. They both also have built-in fingerprint readers. As you might expect, both 2-in-1s are also compatible with ASUS accessories such as the Pen, a Universal Dock, an AudioPod (a quad speaker with surround sound) and the ROG XG Station 2, a graphics dock that gives the humble tablet PC the power of a desktop computer (and it’s VR-ready to boot!). Both tablets are available in Icicle Gold as well as Glacier Gray.
Of the two, the Transformer 3 Pro is the heftier one at 8.35mm thick. Its kickstand has a “stepless hinge” that lets you set the device at any viewing angle up to 170-degrees. The 3 Pro also comes with a Cover Keyboard that’s backlit and offers “laptop-grade 1.4mm key travel” which ASUS says will provide a typing experience similar to that of a normal-sized notebook. It also boasts an Intel Core i7 processor and up to 1TB PCIe x4 SSD and 16GB of 2133MHz RAM. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera plus a front-facing one as well.
While the Transformer 3 has the same display size as the Transformer 3 Pro, the 3 is thinner and lighter with a thickness and weight of 6.9mm and 695 grams respectively. The Transformer 3 features a 7th generation Intel Core processor plus up to 512GB SSD and up to 8GB of RAM. Its display stand is not quite as flexible, with only two positions. It ships with a Transformer Sleeve Keyboard, also with 1.4mm of key travel and is available in the same four colors as the Cover Keyboard (Stone, Charcoal, Taupe, and Amber).
If you think both of these tablets are just too big for your tastes, ASUS also offers the Transformer Mini. It has a 10.1-inch display, is 8.2mm thin and weighs 790 grams with the keyboard attached and 530 grams without. Like the Transformer Pro 3, it also has an integrated kickstand with that stepless smart hinge design that lets you view it at any angle you like. It too has a built-in fingerprint reader.
The keyboard is a little smaller with 1.5mm key travel but it does have an integrated palm rest. Other features include a ZenSync smartphone integration that lets you sync up your text messages much in the same way you can with iOS and OS X El Capitan. The Transformer Mini and keyboard will ship in a variety of different colors such as Quartz Gray, Pearl White, Amber, Mint Green and Icicle Gold.
Pricing for the ASUS Transformer 3 Pro starts at $999 while the Transformer 3 will start at $799. No word on availability just yet, but we’ll update you when we know.
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