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00:00Just look at that. It is a thing of beauty. In fact, these all are. I have three brand spanking new laptops from Asus
00:07They're all coming very soon
00:08Including the VivoBook Pro 16x OLED, the ZenBook Pro 14 Duo OLED and the ZenBook Pro 16x OLED
00:17Although straightaway, which one of these would you take home right now?
00:20If you could just grab through the screen and pick one up, which would you go for? Let me know in the comments
00:25It's a tough one considering they all have these refreshed designs
00:29They get Intel's latest 12th Gen H-series CPUs as well as the latest NVIDIA GPUs
00:35We get DDR5 RAM, PCIe 4 storage, better cooling, better quality webcam and speakers, upgraded IO and as you can see some
00:44Absolutely gorgeous high refresh 16x10 OLED screens. In fact, one of these laptops
00:51What's this one is actually nearly three times faster than the outgoing model, which is just insane for a year-on-year upgrade
00:58So I've actually teamed up with Asus for this video who very kindly sent out these
01:02Review samples also a pre-production model of this which I'm very excited about and I just want to show you around
01:07See how they compare and maybe which one is the right choice for you
01:11Although I must admit I do still get a little bit confused by Asus' naming conventions
01:16We have VivoBooks, which are the slightly more affordable sort of good all-around laptops
01:20Then just above that we have VivoBook Pros, this guy with a sort of higher-end specs, a bit more powerful, a bit more expensive as
01:27Well, the sort of tier up from that are the ZenBooks, a little bit more classy, a little bit more sort of unique designs
01:33Often a bit more powerful, although as you will see this is no slouch
01:36And then above that you have the ZenBook Pros like this guy and at the top tier in terms of the sort of creator
01:43Laptops we have the ProArt StudioBooks, which I haven't got the refreshed version here yet
01:48And then in parallel to all that you've got the ROG gaming laptops. Anyway, all three laptops
01:53I've got here are geared more towards creators
01:56They offer plenty of performance, color accurate screens, a good range of ports, and they're all squeezed into premium portable form factors
02:05But let's kick off
02:07with this guy, the VivoBook Pro
02:1016x OLED and this review sample is actually the super duper high-end model with some pretty beefy specs
02:17Including the brand new i9-12900H and also the 3070Ti
02:21No doubt this will also have a pretty beefy price tag as well
02:25Although I will update the description with final pricing and release dates for all these laptops
02:29But the very first thing you will notice about this is this beautiful big
02:3316-inch OLED screen. The question is though, would you rather have a 4k 60 Hertz screen like this or a
02:423.2k so slightly lower res but 120 Hertz high refresh? You have both options with this. Personally
02:48I would go high refresh, but what do you think? Let me know in the comments
02:51Although neither of these are touchscreens though, bear that in mind
02:54But I really do appreciate Asus have gone full OLED and full
02:5916x10 across most of their lineup this year. Having that extra bit of vertical screen space makes such a big difference
03:05And going back to a regular 16x9 screen just feels kind of confined
03:10Now to avoid boring you all to death, the lovely people over at Asus' marketing department have put together this one-page little
03:16overview of the laptop and they clearly love a snazzy gradient color on the text
03:21But this thing as you can see is ridiculously good
03:23I'm just gonna leave this up here for a second so you can fully take in all the features you're getting with this VivoBook
03:28So far so good then but there are a few extra little features here that I think really make this stand out including
03:35This the Asus dial which you activate just by swiping in from the top right corner of the touchpad
03:40We saw this on last year's model as well. And still if I'm honest
03:44I haven't found myself using it nearly as much as the
03:47Proper physical Asus dials that you get on the ZenBook Pro 16x and the ProArt Studio books
03:52They give you that sort of tactile feedback
03:54So you don't have to keep looking down to make sure your finger hasn't moved off it
03:58But A, you don't have to use it and B
04:00It can be a nice little extra way of controlling some basic window settings and also making adjustments within the Adobe suite. For now
04:07They're pretty much the only apps that support the dial
04:09Design-wise I actually really like this. It's not too in-your-face or showy-offy
04:14It would be a good work laptop as much as a creator or gaming laptop at home
04:18There's a few nice little flourishes as well, including the orange escape key
04:22We've also got this little chevron design on the enter key two-tone gray
04:27Keyboard also this little orange rubber base at the bottom and also if you can ignore my smudges there
04:32There's quite a unique little Asus VivoBook logo on the back
04:34I think the most shocking thing is that this webcam isn't terrible. In the past
04:39They've been pretty ropey, but it's in a good location on the top bezel
04:43It also supports face unlocking. We've got an IR sensor
04:46But we also do have that fingerprint reader built in the power button. Now software is one of those things
04:51I don't really need to spend much time on when laptop reviews it runs Windows 11
04:55But what does stand out? Not only are the ProArt Creator Hub apps, which I'll show you in a second
05:00But also this MyAsus app. This is genuinely useful being able to switch between different screen color gamuts
05:07So whether you want to look at P3 or Adobe RGB
05:10You can also switch fan profiles to give you different levels of performance and also as you would expect to see on an OLED display
05:16We also have plenty of OLED care options. Although one really cool feature
05:20I like is this target mode that actually dims background apps and non-active areas of the screen
05:26The only slightly odd thing about this is that the backlight under the keyboard doesn't seem particularly even I can definitely see that
05:33The O is a lot more illuminated than any other keys
05:36Although I should say it is nice that we have a numpad here. And also as you can see the
05:41Matte texture on the body does pick up smudges and fingerprints quite easily
05:46But aside from that and also perhaps the fact that we have these
05:49Slightly protruding plastic bezels here and not a nice more flush glossy bezels that you get on some of the higher-end models
05:56This is definitely worth considering if you want a mid to high-end
05:59Creator slash all-around laptop the design may not exactly wow you but I think the performance and also the portability
06:06Probably well, so that is the Viva book
06:09But let's move on to this guy which as you can see has the new ASUS monogram little logo
06:16Which is definitely not a Star Trek communicator badge. At least it doesn't work when you press it onto your chest like that
06:22Anyway, it's the ZenBook 14 Pro Duo OLED. This did kind of make me laugh though
06:27Apparently it is the world's first 14.5 inch 2.8 K 120 Hertz OLED laptop with a second screen
06:35I mean, I don't think there's a ton of competition in that particular category to be fair though
06:39It really is only ASUS with their ZenBooks and also their Zephyrus duos on the ROG side
06:44That are giving us some good dual screen options. Others have tried but I think these guys do it best
06:50Although the crazy thing here is it's actually not the screens that are the big upgrade
06:55So this tops out with an RTX 3050 Ti up from the MX 450 on last year's model
07:01So that's a massive upgrade for the GPU and that's paired with up to an i9-12900H
07:07Altogether we're looking at an 85 watt TDP for the laptop versus 140 watts on the Viva book
07:13So it's not quite as powerful, but it trades some of that raw performance for being a lot more portable
07:18This is just 17.9 millimeters thick and it weighs just 1.7 kilograms
07:23But as well as having that significantly more powerful GPU
07:26We've also jumped from the 4-core i7-1195G last year to the 14-core
07:33i9-12900H processor. For the first time this gets a proper 45 watt H-series
07:39So in Cinebench, we're looking at around a two and a half times uptick in multi-core performance
07:45250% year-on-year
07:47Although if we do then bring in the results from Rainbow Six Siege and Tomb Raider and Time Spy
07:52You can see the 3070 Ti in the Viva book is around 50% faster than the 3050 Ti in the ZenBook Duo
07:59So even though I want to have words with Intel about their Intel 7
08:03Marketing for Alder Lake when the chips are still pretty much 10 nanometers, although it's a bit hybrid
08:08There are clearly some big efficiency gains and also together with improved airflow and better cooling throughout
08:14I almost smashed myself in the face there with it
08:16They've managed to fit the beefier higher wattage chip in here
08:20Which is very impressive given just how small and thin it is
08:24One thing I will say is that this does get quite loud
08:27Also, you do really notice the difference in performance going between battery power mode and also having it plugged in
08:33So I'm going to revisit this and do more testing for my in-depth review and also see how that impacts battery life
08:38But the crazy thing is we still haven't got to the coolest part of this the dual screens and up top
08:44We have this 14.5 inch 2.8 K 120 Hertz OLED screen and then on the bottom
08:50We have this 12.7 inch screen pad plus also 120 Hertz and both are touchscreens with Asus pen support
08:57So this is a much better option if you want to draw sketch and you know
09:00Do pen stuff the screen expert 3 software does feel pretty familiar if you've used one of these in the last couple of years
09:06Although the fact that both screens are now 120 Hertz makes everything feel so much more responsive
09:12It's also a little bit easier to see and actually use the screen pad. Thanks to this improved matte coating
09:17They actually use microscopic glass etchings
09:20Which is similar to what Apple does with a nano texture on their pro display XDR and that's combined with an anti-glare and an anti
09:27Reflective coating they have put a lot of effort into making this screen pad more comfortable to use
09:31I still find myself having to lean over a little bit to see
09:34And also you can notice the difference in the screen because obviously this is glossy. This is matte
09:39So when you're dragging windows between them, there is a noticeable shift in both the color and well
09:44Just how it looks on the screen
09:45But certainly now that they've eliminated the sort of bottom bezel the screen covers that and particularly on a small laptop like this the extra
09:52Screen really does give you a lot more flexibility
09:55Trust me after you've tried this and you find your best sort of use case for it
09:59Going back to any of the laptop is tough
10:01I also appreciate Asus have moved the DC power port and the micro SD
10:06Sadly no full-size SD along with the HDMI 2.1 on the back so you can hide some of the cables out of the way
10:12I've got to say I feel a little bit
10:14Sorry for anyone who bought the ZenBook Duo last year because this is such a monumental upgrade
10:19Not just in terms of a slightly refreshed design and improved screen pad
10:23But the ridiculous amount of performance this thing offers in this form factor with the new 350 Ti and the H series
10:3112th gen CPUs and I think for most people it's the case that you look at it and think yes
10:35I need that I know exactly how I'm gonna use it or you think
10:38Probably wouldn't use it in which case maybe stick with one of these other options, but even if it's not for you
10:42Holy moly, this is a whopper of an upgrade
10:46But then what about this have I saved the best till last?
10:50This is the ZenBook Pro 16 X OLED and for my money
10:54This is what's gonna properly take on the might of Apple's MacBook Pro 16
10:58It is the most powerful ZenBook you can get and actually it brings it much closer to the ProArt studio book
11:04Not least because we have this Asus dial built in
11:07It's kind of a halfway house between the Vivobooks virtual dial and also the full fat dial that we get on the studio books
11:15But this has also been refined. It is 75% thinner
11:18We get a new glass covering and it really is lovely to use. Although again, it's still pretty much limited to the Adobe suite.
11:25I love the fact that we get OLED screens on all of these actually when you've got some good content particularly HDR
11:31And you get those deep inky blacks
11:33Just look at it. You could eat your dinner off it
11:35So this guy can be specced with up to an i9-12900H and RTX 3060
11:41Although out of the three this one does get slightly faster RAM
11:455200 megahertz versus 4800. The only problem though is that I actually can't test this just yet
11:50This is a pre-production model
11:52Which means I can't benchmark it if I run any tests on this then as some Asus
11:56Goons are gonna barge through my door and take it off me. I had goons. I heard goons
12:04But
12:05What I can tell you is that it's using a new 3d vapor chamber cooling system
12:10Also, if I put it down here and then open up you can see the keyboard lifts up as well
12:14So that actually has helped improve airflow all together by up to 30%
12:18Asus tell me and so with all that they have still managed to cram in some pretty good specs
12:23The whole TVP of the laptop is about 140 watts while also making it just 16.9 mil thick
12:29And of course we are getting this 16-inch 4k Pantone certified display HDR 500
12:36Beautiful screen, although it is only 60 Hertz
12:38But it is a touchscreen and it supports the Asus pen 2 which comes bundled in the box
12:43You don't have to pay anything extra for that. Oh
12:46Look at that. That is a smart design. This actually is lit up
12:50We have a sort of side lighting and this monogram Asus logo lit up also the keyboard with a new white
12:57RGB to WRGB backlight apparently white is the most popular color that people want
13:02So they've added the W but perhaps slightly more important than go fast RGB is this giant touch pad?
13:09Which as you can see also doubles as a numpad, which is very nice
13:13This actually is 84 percent bigger than the previous models
13:16So a big whopper of a touchpad and that sits beside the Asus dial. We also get this new and improved webcam
13:23It's tainty P. We get a much bigger sensor and they also use some noise reduction algorithms
13:28And also there's a new quad mic setup. I'm actually recording the audio and the video through the webcam now
13:33So let me know how it looks and sounds in the comments and also like the others
13:36We have face unlocking and a fingerprint reader in the power button. Not sure what's happened to my TV
13:42So this is essentially a thinner
13:45Cheaper more mainstream version of the pro art studio books, which is to say is also getting a 12th gen refresh
13:51But I think for me, this is gonna be the one that's gonna tempt me perhaps away from the MacBook Pro 16
13:57So that is just a taste of what's coming soon. But which would you go for? Have you changed your mind?
14:02Let me know in the comments stay tuned for my full reviews and also my ROG gaming laptop hands-on
14:07That's coming very soon, and I'll catch you next time right here on the tech chat