Asus announced its next wave of Zenbook laptops for release later this fall that will run on Intel’s 11th Gen processors — only days after it announced similar versions that run on Intel’s 10th Gen processors. In addition, most of the upcoming laptops will feature Thunderbolt 4 ports rather than Thunderbolt 3 ports. It didn’t share pricing for any of the models.

ZenBook S

The flagship ZenBook S is 15mm thick and weighs 2.9 pounds. It has a 13.9-inch IPS touchscreen (3300 x 2200) with a 3:2 aspect ratio, 500 nits at peak brightness, and 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

The ZenBook S (and as a matter of fact, almost all of Asus’ new laptops announced today) is, as mentioned, powered with Intel’s 11th Gen processors, starting with a Core i5 variant and working up to a Core i7 variant with Iris Xe architecture graphics. You’ll be able to configure this model with up to 16GB of RAM. And speaking of RAM, Asus is using super-fast LPDDR4x memory clocked at 4,266MHz in this and a few of its other models.

Image: Asus

This laptop — and again, most of the other ones announced today — has two Thunderbolt 4 ports. Asus says that, beyond being used to charge the laptop (even non-PD wall adapter and power banks will work, according to the company), the ports can connect to two 4K monitors or a 4K monitor and an 8K resolution monitor.

The ZenBook S has a four-cell 67Wh battery, and according to the company, it can be quick charged up to 60 percent in 49 minutes. Asus left out the headphone jack, but it’s including a 3.5mm-to-USB-C dongle that has an ESS DAC built into it. The HD webcam has infrared for Windows Hello support.

Image: Asus

ZenBook Flip S

Asus claims that the ZenBook Flip S is the thinnest 2-in-1 laptop that has support for an OLED screen. The styling of this model is similar to the ZenBook S, though the Flip is slightly lighter at 2.6 pounds and has a more compressed 16:9 aspect ratio display. It also supports Intel’s 11th Gen processors, but Asus will use a single Core i7 variant with Iris Xe graphics for the Flip S. It has a four-cell 67Wh battery.

The Flip S can be configured with a 4K OLED 500-nit touchscreen or a 1080p IPS touchscreen. It has an interesting power-saving setting that enables its panel’s consumption to drop to just one watt, while retaining 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut and a peak brightness of 450 nits.

This model will be available starting in October.

Image: Asus

ZenBook 14

Asus is technically making three versions of the new ZenBook 14. One puts a second 5.6-inch ScreenPad display into the trackpad section, so you can use it to multitask by watching a YouTube video or some other app down there, or just use it as a standard trackpad. This is an optional upgrade, and there will be a configuration available without it. Both configurations have 14-inch IPS displays, are 16.9mm thick, and weigh about 2.6 pounds. Like the other models mentioned, they’ll support Intel’s 11th Gen processors with Iris Xe graphics, fast RAM, and Thunderbolt 4 ports, along with Nvidia’s MX250 graphics.

Asus is also making a lighter version of the ZenBook 14 called the ZenBook 14 Ultralight, weighing in at 2.2 pounds. It will be configurable with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of PCIe-based SSD storage, and it will include Intel’s 11th Gen processor. But instead of having Xe architecture graphics, it will feature Nvidia’s MX450 graphics chip. This laptop will have Thunderbolt 4 ports and a Windows Hello-ready camera.

The ZenBook 14 models are planned to launch in November 2020.

Image: Asus

ZenBook Pro 15

The last machine to debut actually won’t be making the jump to Intel’s next-generation processor, but it may still seem interesting for creators. Asus claims it’s one of the smallest 15-inch laptops that features an OLED display, weighing 3.9 pounds and measuring 17.8mm thick. This model will be configurable with a 4K OLED HDR touchscreen (though its standard is a 1080p panel). The high-end model has a six-cell 96Wh battery.

As for specs, it will support up to Intel’s Core i7-10750H processor with one Thunderbolt 3 port (though it won’t support USB-C charging), and it comes standard with the Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics chip with support for up to the GTX 1650 Ti. It will also feature the ScreenPad. Unlike the other models announced today, this model has a full-sized SD card reader.

Asus says the ZenBook Pro 15 will launch in late October.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/2/21403990/asus-zenbook-s-flip-14-pro-laptops-intel-11th-gen-thunderbolt-4