Each year, the technology is experimenting and moving towards new advancements. Folded screens are the next evolutionary step that is already here. In Asus’s CES 2022 titled “The Incredible Folds,” the showstopper became the Zenbook 17-Fold OLED, the company’s probably first-ever device with a folding screen that folds seamlessly into half from a 17-inch display. From a huge screen monitor like a computer to a smaller tablet to a screen with an attached keyboard like a laptop, this device aims to be everything in the coming year. With its release for purchase declared to be made available later in the mid-year of 2022.
The Taiwanese giant, Asus, is not the first or the only brand that wanted to experiment with a foldable screen; established names like Samsung and Lenovo have tried the foldable screen technology with their smartphones and laptops, but Asus surely became the first one to build the screen of this size. With the company’s claims to use this device as your book, tablet, or laptop, this has become one of the bold experiments by Asus. So, let’s see all aspects of the design – from what lies inside, to the specifications and the overall user experience of the Zenbook 17-Fold OLED.
The Design | Laptop Screen
The laptop can be used as a traditional basic tablet with a huge screen of 17.3 inches. With a simple half-fold, it can turn into a traditional laptop with the lower half becoming the keyboard, and with a full fold it becomes more compact, with a screen of 12.5 inches that can be carried around easily and even be used as a smaller tablet. It has two different resolutions; when unfurled, it has a resolution of 2560X1920, and when semi-folded, it becomes 1920X1280. Even if some people have a few apprehensions using the lower half of screens as keyboards, an Asus ErgoSense Bluetooth Physical Keyboard can be attached. When folded with the keyboard, it does add bulk to the sleek design, becoming one of the negative points. However, the keyboard has a great feel to it while typing and gets attached with magnets, without harming the screen.
When Asus’s new laptop is completely folded, it folds flat even with the physical keyboard still inside it. Earlier experiments with folding screens have always seen an issue with its hinge; however, this time, Asus claims to have run 30,000 hinge cycle tests and attached a leather patch to protect the area from any sudden shock. Another issue with such screens was the lack of higher-end resolutions and specifications, which the Zenfold 17-Fold OLED has dealt with. It still has a few issues that arise with the unique feature of folding screens. There still can be a ripple recognized on the screen through the mid-axis of folding, and the protective layer over the screen can hinder the viewing experience. Still, there are a lot of benefits for the device, especially the foremost being the ease of carrying it around, wherever you want, and however you want.
The Specifications
For a laptop, however beautiful, elegant and revolutionary it might be, the only thing that matters are the specifications, the functional requirements. Asus has tried to provide the best specs in the device with this new technology. A 17.3 inches full screen folding to a 12.5 inch, it comes with a 12th generation Intel Core i7 U-Series Processor; it has 16GB RAM and 1TB of SSD storage with Iris Xe graphics card, WiFi 6, and a battery life of 75W. It supports all the general software, like Windows 11 owing to its split-screen feature. Not including the physical keyboard, the device weighs around 1.7kgs, which is similar to the already-existing laptops of today as well. The screen comes with an excellent picture quality display; along with being OLED, it is Pantone validated and supports Dolby’s vision. Audio by Harman Kardon-certified quad-speaker Dolby Atmos audio system ensures a marvelous sound experience to accompany the display. It also has a 5MP webcam for a user of this era, who lives as virtually as in reality.
The Promised User Experience | Laptop Screen
Asus aspires to an exceptional user experience with its foldable laptop. Its versatile operating modes promise a user various experiences to adhere to their needs of all times. Convertible from a laptop with a touch screen keyboard to one with a physical one, it can change to a desktop with its full screen to even mimicking a traditional book with two flaps. Along with a long array of usage, it also has AI noise cancellation and a webcam of 5MP for a seamless video conferencing experience. From a display of 4:3 in unfolded version to a 3:2 ratio display in folded, the OLED screen guarantees ultra-vivid colors. It is an 8.7mm thin design in magnesium alloy, finished in Tech black with a dark green faux leather on the back and a new Asus monogram on a darker blue glass that becomes a play of fascination as light touches the surface.
Zenbook 17-Fold OLED has just been revealed to the public in early January of 2022 and said to be available for purchase in mid-year. Except for the design and specification, nothing else has been revealed. There is no official price for the device yet, but one can speculate that this unique technology might be on a higher end. How well will the general public receive this; are they ready to make bold choices with their technology usage just like Asus; only time can tell. Are the folding screens finally going to become our new normal of technology?
Find More information from the Official Website of Asus: www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Home/Zenbook/Zenbook-17-Fold-OLED-UX9702/
Want to have a 360 degree view: xrviewer.istaging.com/?id=Zen_UX9702_Multi_Def_Def&openExternalBrowser=1
References:
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