The Zenbook Fold 17 might be the first PC with a foldable screen that actually makes sense.
Asus Zenbook Fold 17 MSRP $3,500.00 Score Details DT Recommended Product “The Asus Zenbook Fold 17 isn't perfect, but takes us one step closer to folding screen glory.” Pros Cons Folding screens have promised us the future of technology for years now, but it’s been a slow roll-out. That’s especially true for PCs and Windows tablets, of which only the original ThinkPad X1 Fold was the only official launch of its kind.
Like the ThinkPad X1 Fold, it magnetizes up into a tidy little package with a faux leather “binding” to hide the cover, all ensuring that you always have the wireless keyboard with you on the go. Asus sweetens the deal by offering a matching carrying case when traveling with the device. Folded like an open laptop, the Zenbook Fold 17 offers a decent-sized top half of the screen, while the wireless keyboard magnetizes to the bottom half to create a fairly convincing clamshell laptop. If you’ve got limited desk space, this is the most convenient way to use the Zenbook Fold 17, and you’d hardly know you weren’t using a standard laptop.
The keyboard and touchpad are other beneficiaries of the extra size of the Zenbook Fold 17. The 1.4mm of key travel is luxurious, and the trackpad is plenty spacious. Again, because of the size, you get a complete standard layout, which was another issue with the original ThinkPad X1 Fold.I will note that this keyboard is really not meant to be used without a table or some kind of flat surface. It’s too thin to hold its shape without accidental clicks of the touchpad.
Folding problems The Zenbook Fold 17 uses the same type of screen as the original ThinkPad X1 Fold, and with it, come a number of problems. It’s a sharp OLED panel with a highly reflective plastic layer on top. This layer makes for a surface that isn’t ideal for touch. It’s not that it’s unusable — it’s just a different texture than what you’re probably used to.
The fold of the display feels fairly rigid, for what it is. Asus says the hinge and flexible panel undergo 30,000 open and close cycles to pass the durability testing. I can’t validate Asus’ claims about durability, but durability is less of a concern than with folding smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. You expect to open and close those devices dozens and dozens — maybe even hundreds of time per day.
Although the Zenbook Fold 17 uses a low-power processor, it does include a fan inside, which helps keep the surface temperatures fairly cool. Even during heavy benchmarks like Cinebench, fan noise wasn’t overly noticeable, which is important on a device like this.
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