Designed to last a lifetime - how Asus is using a revolutionary new material to build the laptops of the future

Date:
Wed, 18 Sep 2024 14:00:25 +0000

Description:
Aluminum and ceramic, together at last: Asus spent four years creating a
whole new material for laptops, and it looks great.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Its not every day that an art exhibit is secretly a laptop launch, but thats exactly what just happened: at a swanky studio venue in London, I bore
witness to Asus showcasing a fresh Zenbook laptop line built from an entirely new and unique material.

Ceraluminum took Asus four years to conceive and design in its 5,000-strong R&D department (no, they werent all just working on this), and while I was initially skeptical, I can now say that Im a true believer. Described by Asus Chief of Design Mitch Yang as a fusion of aluminum and ceramic, designed to integrate the best qualities of both materials, the substance is created by bonding aluminum with a mystery ceramic ingredient, producing a strong plated material with a pottery-like matte surface. Even the big-screen Zenbook S 16 is still phenomenally thin and light thanks to ceraluminum. (Image credit: Future)

Asus kept repeating that the new material is inspired by nature, and while Im not really sure what that means, I can attest to its impressive physical properties. Its fantastically lightweight, enabling some incredibly thin and light new Zenbook models, and it repels fingerprints like nobodys business.

Seriously, I couldnt see the slightest blemish on these laptops, even after handling them for several minutes. Its also stronger and more resilient than conventional milled aluminum; Asus had a ceraluminum disc spinning endlessly under a turntable needle to show exactly how scratch-resistant it is. Can the forever laptop become a reality?

Yang described the material as everlasting, making it clear that the new Zenbooks made using ceraluminum should prove more enduring than the competition. Its not hard to see why; these devices, especially the new Zenbook Duo on show, feel like the future of laptops.

Its perhaps a little at odds with the general ethos of the tech industry as a whole, which Im convinced is new is always better. Were constantly being encouraged to upgrade and toss aside our outdated (read: two years old) hardware in favor of something newer and more exciting.

Thankfully, Asus has prepared for this eventuality, too: even if you do
choose to replace your ceraluminum Zenbook, the material is 100% recyclable. As Yang stated: We are trying to encourage a more sustainable approach to
tech ownership we are trying to create a balance between sustainability and enjoyment. When I spoke to him in a private interview after the panel discussion, he was visibly filled with almost childlike joy at the product he helped create, running his hand over the lid of his new laptop and admitting: Its just nice to touch. Other than the new ceraluminum outer casing, the new slate of Zenbooks has undergone some subtle (but nice) design changes. (Image credit: Future)

Hes not wrong, either; its a bit strange at first to pick up a one-kilogram laptop that feels like an ancient Roman tablet under your fingertips, but the matte surface is oddly pleasing. Its not as cold as metal and feels far
higher quality than plastic. Its not painted or coated; it doesnt need to be. Combined with the straight-lined inlaid silver patterning on the lids, theres no denying that the new Zenbook line looks fantastic.

As for whether theyll truly last forever, well, thats sort of out of Asuss hands. The components that power these laptops are what really determine
their longevity. However, with powerful new Intel Lunar Lake and AMD Ryzen AI 300 chips (though notably no Snapdragon X Elite models) at the heart of these laptops, they should last for a good while yet - at least, until the next big CPU industry upheaval. You might also like... The best laptop deals in 2024 New Asus AI laptops promise major performance boosts and 27-hour battery life Microsofts Arm-based Copilot+ PCs are fast and very capable with AI but
fresh doubt has been cast on the gaming prowess of these laptops



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/laptops/designed-to-last-a-lifetime-how-as us-is-using-a-revolutionary-new-material-to-build-the-laptops-of-the-future


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)