Folding-screen laptops weren’t one thing I believed I may very well be excited for, however after seeing Asus’ new Zenbook 17 Fold OLED at IFA, I’m starting to vary my thoughts. Considerably implausibly, Asus made a practical, sensible even, 17-inch pill that folds in half and turns into a transportable 12-inch laptop computer. It’s eye-wateringly costly, however after 4 generations of expensive Galaxy Folds, would you count on anything?

The unbelievable shape-shifting Zenbook

The Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is an honest piece of package as a laptop computer, however its big folding display screen units it aside from virtually every little thing else on the market. The only exception is the Lenovo X1 Fold, first introduced in 2019, which encompasses a related, if smaller type issue.

Asus’ tackle the idea is just like Lenovo’s: a big foldable show that bends down the center, an adjustable kickstand for when you must prop it up, and a slim magnetic keyboard for textual content entry and navigation.

In pill mode, when the display screen is totally unfolded, the Zenbook 17 Fold gives an enormous 17.3-inch touchscreen to play and work on. It’s a pleasant and brilliant OLED panel, with nice distinction ratios and sufficient pixels to make every little thing look crisp. Whereas there are many different 17-inch laptops on the market, you simply can’t get this measurement within the roomy, productivity-enhancing 4:3 format.

Additionally learn: The very best foldable telephones you will get in 2022

There’s a crease working down the center that’s simply noticeable whenever you have a look at it from a aspect, but it surely largely disappears whenever you view it from the entrance. Your eyes naturally deal with the image on the display screen, fairly than the delicate distortion from the crease. It’s quite a bit like wanting on the Fold 4, Flip 4, or any of the opposite foldable telephones on the market – the crease merely isn’t an issue.

Sadly, Asus didn’t make the soar to ultrathin glass, like Samsung did for its foldables. The Zenbook 17 Fold OLED’s cowl layer is manufactured from shiny plastic, which feels much less premium and sturdy than glass. It additionally picks up fingerprints like there’s no tomorrow, which tends to be an issue when you must repeatedly fold and unfold the display screen.

Whereas you should use the Zenbook 17 Fold as a pill, it’s extra pleasurable to deal with it as a transportable monitor (or an All-in-One PC). Simply open the kickstand, prop it on a desk, and use the keyboard and/or touchscreen to work together with the display screen such as you would with a desktop laptop.

Asus mentioned the hinge contained in the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is rated for 30,000 open-and-close cycles. Based mostly on the producer’s calculations, that ought to guarantee sturdiness for at the very least 5 years of common use. Firm representatives did warn that customers ought to deal with the machine with care – that is no rugged machine you possibly can abuse with out repercussion. It’s not simply the hinge you need to fear about both – as we’ve seen with different foldables previously, particles can get lodged beneath the versatile display screen. Resulting from its sheer measurement, Asus’ foldable laptop computer appears particularly inclined to this vulnerability.

Fold down the display screen and also you’ve received your self a compact 12.5-inch laptop computer. You possibly can place the bundled wi-fi keyboard on prime of the decrease half of the display screen. The machine detects it and adapts the UI to solely use the higher half of the show. On this mode, the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED behaves like a traditional small laptop computer. Alternatively, you should use the machine in touchscreen mode. The content material simply “flows” from the vertical half of the display screen to the horizontal half. You possibly can carry up a digital keyboard to kind, or you possibly can scroll by paperwork and net pages throughout the 2 halves of the display screen. Personally, I discovered this mode clunky, although I can’t deny the usefulness of with the ability to match extra content material on the display screen.

It’s a disgrace that the Zenbook 17 Fold will not be stylus appropriate, because the plastic display screen will not be robust sufficient to face up to a pointy stylus tip.

Additionally learn: The very best laptops you should purchase in 2022

Design and development: largely good

For such a versatile machine (pun meant), it was vital for Asus to get the design and the ergonomics proper. It’s a little bit of blended bag, in my expertise. The Zenbook 17 E book feels elegant and reassuringly stable within the hand, particularly when it’s folded up and closed. It appears quite a bit like a pleasant leather-bound organizer; I might see an govt whip it out throughout a boardroom assembly. It’s chunky and fairly hefty, at round 1.5kg, however not excessively so, contemplating the 17-inch display screen it homes.

Whereas the construct and design are typically on level, I did spot some flaws. For one, it’s not simple to rapidly open and unfold the entire contraption. Or at the very least it wasn’t apparent and intuitive for me, within the transient time I spent with the machine. The kickstand on the again doesn’t encourage confidence both. It’s small and flimsy-looking – it would do the job when utilizing the display screen on a desktop or different flat floor, but it surely gained’t be very steady in a lap or in your sofa.

The Bluetooth keyboard is generously sized or at the very least as large as you possibly can count on from a 12-inch type issue. It attaches magnetically to the underside of the pill, however you can too use it as a standalone keyboard. It does endure from a slight flexing difficulty whenever you place it on prime of the decrease half of the display screen.

General, Asus has achieved a great job bringing the Zenbook 17 Fold up as a ready-to-market shopper product. Simply keep in mind it is a first-generation, second-of-its-kind machine. It’s removed from excellent, identical to Samsung’s authentic Galaxy Fold was flawed in its first iteration.

Dear potential

Wanting past its shape-shifting talents, the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is a reliable laptop computer, if not a stellar one. You get an Intel Core i7-1250U CPU, Intel Iris Xe built-in graphics, 1TB of storage, and 16GB of RAM. The efficiency is enough for a content material consumption laptop computer or workplace laptop, however this isn’t a fantastic alternative for gaming or video modifying. Battery life is surprisingly stable contemplating the dimensions of the display screen and the restricted house inside, at about 10 hours. The port choice is meagre – you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack.

The Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is an expensive piece of kit, beginning at $3,500 within the US and €4,000 in Europe. That’s the large worth you’ll must pay to be on the folding fringe of computing, however is it value it? Probably not, at the very least not for most individuals. I’m pretty certain that Asus doesn’t care about that although, because the Zenbook 17 Fold will not be a mass-market product. It’s different issues although: a highway opener, a imaginative and prescient demonstrator, a press release of curiosity, and a shot throughout the bow in direction of the competitors.

The brief time I spent with the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED has satisfied me this way issue has immense potential. Whereas the product itself makes just a few too many sacrifices, particularly for the massive worth it instructions, Asus’s foldable laptop computer is undeniably cool. The flexibility to increase a tiny laptop computer into a good looking large display screen is compelling. All Asus must do now could be refine the thought over just a few generations and convey the worth right down to earth.