ASUS kicked off its Computex 2017 schedule with the announcement early Monday of a number of new laptops. The company's headlining product is the new ZenBook Flip S UX370, the "world's thinnest" (as of right now, at least) 13-inch 2-in-1 convertible notebook. Measuring 10.9mm thin with a weight of 1.1kg (2.4 pounds), the ZenBook Flip S is thinner and lighter than competing 13-inch convertibles, while still packing up to an Intel Core i7-7500 processor, 1TB of NVMe flash storage, and 16GB of memory.
As a convertible, the ZenBook Flip S UX370 display folds back onto the underside of the keyboard via "the world's most compact" ErgoLift 360-degree hinge. The display itself packs an unsurprising 3840-by-2160 UHD resolution, with ASUS instead choosing to turn heads with the device's bezel, or lack thereof. The device includes what ASUS is calling a "NanoEdge" display, which is saddled by just a 6.11mm side bezel for a class-leading 80 percent "screen-to-body ratio." The ZenBook Flip S also touts touch and pen support, although the company's presentation and press materials don't yet indicate if it will include the ASUS Pen in the box.
The convertible offers two USB Type-C ports, with a 39 watt-hour battery and fast charging support (achieving a 60 percent charge in 49 minutes). Once fully charged, ASUS claims that users can expect up to 11.5 hours of battery life.
As for operating system, the Flip S will ship in base configurations with the recently announced Windows 10 S, and it includes a built-in fingerprint sensor for compatibility with Windows Hello. This means that users will be limited to running Windows Store applications and the Microsoft Edge browser but, just like Microsoft's own Surface Laptop, ZenBook Flip S owners will have the option to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro post-purchase.
The ZenBook Flip S UX370 will start at $1,099 and is expected to launch in September.
I thought windows 10 s was
I thought windows 10 s was for cheaper laptops, like “8 with bing” was, but i just keep seeing it on luxury $900+ systems….. Wtf is going on?
Microsoft is, for better or
Microsoft is, for better or worse, pushing the "S" platform as it's an easy way to drive adoption of their Store, Browser, and Universal App platform, none of which are currently doing that well in terms of usage. They claim, and there's definitely some truth to it, that the limited Windows 10 S ecosystem will be more secure and achieve better battery life than equivalent hardware running traditional x86 applications. More realistically, it increases adoption of their ecosystem and helps Windows-based devices compete better against competitors like Chromebooks and MacBooks. As for OEM partners, I imagine that the licensing terms for S are much better than standard or Pro editions, even on these relatively high-end devices, and Microsoft can squeeze a bit more money out of power users who choose to pay for an upgrade to Pro.
Agree with you Jim, although
Agree with you Jim, although I wouldn’t call anyone who upgraded from “S” a power user 😉
I would personally have to consider the upgrade to a usable OS as part of the cost. I’ve not once been to the MS store, or found their browser to be preferable to chrome.
Same here. Chrome’s cross
Same here. Chrome’s cross device unity is too far integrated into my life to ever change, eat all the ram you want i got shit loads, and WHY would i go to the ms store, they haven’t even tried to tell me why its good, just “hey, it exists, and we want to force some users onto it cuz…. reasons”