At IFA in Germany, every laptop maker is strutting their stuff on the conference floor. It’s hard for any one of them to stand out, since most are just refreshed designs with a few internal upgrades.
But a couple of Asus’s latest models caught my eye, mostly because they’re packing solid hardware based on Qualcomm’s Arm platforms at competitive prices.
Asus ProArt PZ13
The ProArt PZ13 looks like Asus trying on the Microsoft Surface form factor — the tablet version, not the various other models.
But this one is marrying some of the best traits of mobile and laptop hardware together. For example, though it’s running on a Snapdragon X Plus processor, it sports a 13.3-inch OLED display with 2880×1800 resolution, something you’d expect to see on a premium laptop.
The flip-out keyboard and kickstand make this thing flexible in small spaces and great for video, but there’s enough power in the guts (up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage) to get some serious work done. I even like the swanky little Levi’s-style tab on the side of the removable kickstand. Asus doesn’t include a stylus, but you do get the keyboard in the box (something Microsoft still charges extra for).
The Asus ProArt PZ13 is a Copilot+ Windows 11 PC with a few Asus extras thrown in, but I’m more interested in the IP52 water and dust resistance and the 1.87 pound (0.85kg) weight, which should let you treat this more like a media-focused tablet when situations call for it. I also dig the full-sized SD card slot — that makes this thing ideal for a photographer who needs a lightweight editing machine on the go.
It’ll start at $1,100 when it launches later this year, which is pretty good if you’re putting it up against a top-tier iPad or Samsung tablet.
Asus Vivobook S 15
If the ProArt PZ13 is Asus’ take on the Surface Pro, then the Vivobook S 15 is their version of the Surface Laptop.
Though this one’s running on the same Snapdragon X Plus platform, it’s much more of a conventional laptop in form factor, with a 15.6-inch OLED screen and a nearly full-sized keyboard. That screen is particularly noteworthy with its 2800×1620 (3K) resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and scrumptious OLED panel (at least on one version of the laptop).
That relatively big screen offers a few extras, such as four USB ports (two USB-C, two USB-A), full-sized HDMI port, and a microSD card reader. You also get a little more freedom with expansion — the RAM (16GB by default) isn’t upgradeable, but there’s a user-accessible M.2 2280 slot for storage. The 70 watt-hour battery is also larger than average at this size, and on this Qualcomm platform it should last for over a day of solid work.
All that and the base model is only $900, which isn’t bad all things considered. Asus doesn’t break down the various upgrade tiers, but its promotional material says that the $1,200 version includes 1TB of storage, plus that 120Hz OLED screen and 16GB of storage. The base model might be cut down on all these points.
Further reading: The best laptops at every budget
