Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED Review

 Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED Review: Revolutionary, Innovative but Reasonable?

Asus has introduced a more flexible and innovative laptop design by launching its latest ZenBook 17 Fold. As the name suggests the new ZenBook 17 Fold takes multiple shapes and serves various purposes other than just a monotonous laptop. Let’s have a look at what the new ZenBook 17 Fold has to offer.

In the Box

Inside the box you get a charger, a synthetic leather carrying case, an ErgoSense Bluetooth keypad, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter.

Design

The new ZenBook 17 Fold's design is one of its standout features, attracting attention every time the laptop is switched into different modes. When the magnetic keypad is attached, the new ZenBook 17 Fold serves as a 12.5-inch laptop for you, a desktop when opened, a tab, and also can take the form of a book. The manufacturer used a rather sturdy hinge because it can survive 30,000 folding and unfolding cycles. Additionally, a greater grip is provided when the laptop is folded thanks to the synthetic leather used for the hinge. The rear hinge of the new Asus ZenBook 17 Fold also has an extra cover that doubles as a helpful stand. The rubberized frame used by the company to some extent also attracts dust, which necessitates frequent cleaning. The sturdy build and the metallic frame of the new Asus ZenBook 17 Fold add some additional weight making the device a little heavy to carry around.

On the edges of the new ZenBook 17 Fold, one can spot two Thunderbolts 4 ports on the top and on the side to make it easy to charge the laptop when the orientation is changed. The volume buttons are located on the left side, and the power button and 3.5mm audio jack are located on the right side.

Display

The new ZenBook 17 Fold has a 17.3-inch FOLED touch screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 2560 x 1920 pixel resolution. Additionally, you get a 12.5-inch display with a 1920 x 1280 pixel screen resolution when folded. Despite having a strong subjective impression, the central fold line caused by the hinge can be seen depending on the viewing angle and reflections, just like other folding devices. Asus offers a few measures to avoid burn-in from static images. They include pixel shift, which slightly moves the pixels, and a screensaver option that activates after 30 minutes of inactivity. Along with brightness adjustment, the ambient light sensor also enables automated color temperature adjustment. Due to the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and availability of Pantone confirmation, the colors shown on the screen are extremely real and vivid, providing an immersive viewing experience. The display has a brightness of 500 nits, a contrast ratio of 1000000:1, and a reaction time of 0.2 ms. Although the visibility is excellent in enclosed spaces, intense sunshine causes the screen to reflect a lot of light, forcing you to modify your viewing angles. 

The new Asus ZenBook 17 Fold supports a capacitive touchscreen and other input methods, but the use of a pen is not one of the support you get. But according to Asus, a notable limitation is the lack of certified stylus functionality. The manufacturer claims that the lack of Pen support is due to the screen's surface not being covered by a protecting layer, unlike other touchscreen devices.

Bluetooth Keyboard

The new ZenBook 17 Fold comes with a portable Bluetooth keyboard. The magnetic keypad is easy to use and transport. The experience of typing on it is good as well but the absence of a lit keyboard has a clear negative impact on practical use and forces you to work at night with the lights on. Although the clickpad reliably and brilliantly recognizes actions, clicks can occasionally be a touch loud. To charge the keyboard there is a USB-C port on the right side of the keyboard.

Webcam

Asus has added a 5MP camera for Windows Hello facial recognition in addition to an IR camera. The camera is capable of 1080p/30 FPS video recording. Comparing the visual sharpness to standard 720p or 1080p modules, there is a definite improvement. Additional software features are also available, including motion tracking and background filtering.

Speaker

The four speakers of the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED are positioned on speaker grilles that encircle the screen's four edges and are certified by Harman Kardon. They provide enhanced sound quality supported by Dolby Atmos and are remarkably powerful. The majority of the sound is rich and full-bodied, giving a gadget of this size excellent bass impact. When the volume is turned all the way up, the sound appears to get slightly distorted which you should take into consideration while listening to songs at their full volume settings.

Processor and Performance

The new Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is equipped with a Core i7-1250U processor from Intel's 12th generation, which has 10 cores and a maximum clock of 4.7 GHz. It also has 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The company has incorporated Intel Iris Xe to fulfill the need for graphics. The CPU easily handles every activity that is aligned with it, allowing you to keep working without experiencing any slowdown. The multitasking experience is very fluid and one can utilize up to five windows simultaneously without the processor slugging. The company has used the Intel Iris Xe graphics' which is a little disappointing to see especially given the price of the new Zenbook 17 Fold because it is not considered the right choice for supporting intensive gaming. The new ZenBook Fold 17 has an 82-blade high-performance fan and a heat pipe for improved thermal management, which results in good heat dispersion and we did not encounter any heating issues.

Battery

The new Asus Zenbook 17 Fold includes a 75Wh battery, which was chosen specifically with the use of a large display in mind. A single charge of the battery provides about 6-7 hours of continuous use. The brand-new ZenBook 17 Fold has a 65W rapid charger that enables you to continue working quickly after a short charging period. 

Verdict

The new Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED offers top-notch performance, but given the competitive Indian market, it may be challenging for Asus to meet strong consumer demand. As users have many options available at a relatively lower price, buying a laptop costing Rs. 3,29,990 makes a little sense for the large laptop user base.