Asus launches the next ZenBook device at Computex 2018-- the ZenBook Pro, a notebook featuring a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution touchscreen dubbed the "ScreenPad" instead of the regular touchpad.
As the company puts it, the ScreenPad is similar to the touchbar found in the most recent Apple MacBooks. It shows adaptive menus and controls depending to the app in use and is large enough to run full apps, including a calculator, music player, numeric keypad and app launcher. In addition, Asus says the display should also handle browser extensions, such as YouTube controls.
But what about the rest of the notebook? The ZenBook Pro comes in two sizes, 15.6-inch with a 4K display (UX580) and 14-inch with an Ergo Lift hinge able to lift the keyboard for a better typing angle (UX480). The UX580 offers a range of specs, with either 8th generation Intel Core i5, Core i7 or even Core i9 processor, GeForce 1050 Ti graphics and up to 16GB RAM. Meanwhile the UX480 carries up to a Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM and Nvidia Max-Q-enabled GTX 1050 graphics.
However the Asus innovations at Computex do not end with the ZenBook-- the show also houses Project Precog, an interesting prototype notebook that replaces the entire keyboard with a second touchscreen. It is not the first dual-screen notebook we've seen, or course (Lenovo did it first with the Yoga Book), but Asus promises the its take offers a better user experience through artificial intelligence.
Project Precog carries an Intel Movidius visual processing unit, a chip able to keep track of the user's hands. It also offers a choice of Amazon Alexa and Microsoft Cortana, with the smart assistant "process[ing] other tasks on the second screen" while the user takes care of a main task on the other. Further smarts take care of the battery to ensure optimal charging throughout the day.
The ZenBook Pro ships from July 2018.