Hands On With the Much-Improved Asus ScreenPad

BERLIN—One of the coolest things nigh the Asus ZenBook Pro 15 is that its touchpad doubles every bit a 2d, tiny bear upon-screen display called the ScreenPad. The idea is absurd, but the execution leaves a chip to be desired: The ScreenPad doesn't really work equally a affect screen and it'south a fleck cumbersome to utilize as an extension of the laptop's main display.

At the IFA consumer tech trade show here, Asus announced a potential fix for those problems and an expansion of its ScreenPad brandish to a new laptop, the Asus ZenBook Pro 14.

The expansion signifies that the ScreenPad is more than than a gimmick to Asus. More chiefly, it's an indication that Asus laptops of all sizes, bombardment capacities, and computing prowesses could one day make use of them. For at present, calculation another ScreenPad-equipped model amounts to a doubling of the current offerings.

My quick look at the ScreenPad improvements at IFA left me quite impressed; and so much so that if you're eyeing the ZenBook Pro 15 specifically for its ScreenPad, I'd recommend waiting until the ZenBook Pro 14 goes on the the market this fall.

The ii biggest improvements are software-related. There'due south a new translucent dot that now appears constantly when the ScreenPad is turned on. Tap information technology to reveal three options. The kickoff, Touch on Mode, lets you lot toggle between using the ScreenPad to control the mouse cursor and using it to tap on-screen elements the manner you might if you've ever used a Windows touch-screen laptop earlier.

This is a big improvement. For instance, if you desire to shut an app window that's displayed on the ScreenPad, y'all used to have to drag the cursor over to the Shut push button in the upper-right corner and then tap it, which is no small feat on such a tiny screen. Now all you accept to practice is tap on the Close push button.

The 2d new selection is Window Down. Tap it and whatsoever app is currently displayed on the laptop'due south master screen volition instantly reappear perfectly resized on the ScreenPad. This eliminates a lot of awkward dragging with your pointer finger to move app windows between displays.

In add-on to the ScreenPad improvements, I likewise enjoyed using the 14-inch ZenBook Pro fourteen far more than I did its larger blood brother, the 15-inch ZenBook Pro fifteen. Non only is it smaller and lighter, but it also looks far more stylish with a perforated gold metallic bar above the keyboard. There'southward too a cracking ErgoLift hinge that tilts the back part of the keyboard up when it's open. (Anecdotally, I observe the raised keyboard to be less comfortable than a flat one, merely I think the raised board looks better).

The ZenBook Pro 14 as well features the same excellent, sturdy keys as its big brother. Many of the other niceties, similar an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card and a superbly rich, colorful main brandish, are also shared by the Pro 15. The but feature missing is the Intel Core i9, which undoubtedly produces too much oestrus to be blimp into the ZenBook Pro 14'due south smaller chassis. Asus didn't reveal pricing for the US version of the laptop.

In addition to the new ScreenPad-equipped ZenBook Pro 14, Asus as well revamped its ZenBook Flip, ZenBook, and ZenBook S lineups at IFA. The ZenBook Southward, a ii.2-pound ultraportable with a 13.3-inch display, gets new Intel Core processors that promise up to xx hours of battery life.

Meanwhile, the ZenBooks and ZenBook Flips get slimmer and lighter cheers to new slimmer borders effectually their displays, known as bezels. The 13-inch ZenBook 13 now has a 95 percent screen-to-body ratio, slightly besting the 91 percent ratio of the Huawei MateBook X Pro.

Pricing and availability for the US versions of the new ZenBooks weren't available at printing time.