Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

Post by Deinos » Sat, Jun 09, 2018, 1:28 PM UTC

ljm wrote: post #135

jeswin wrote: post #13

I think this is a wonderful idea, given that touchscreen responsiveness and power optimization have been a focus of research over the last decade. At worst it's a touch pad, at best it's so much more. Of course a lot depends on how software developers will embrace it - and I hope Linux users get some love. (I wish Asus and reviewers will stay away from gimmicks like watching movies on it.) In any case, far better tha…

I'm actually surprised it hasn't been tried before. It sounds super cool but I wonder if it's still a bit of a gimmick (and you end up just using it in touch pad mode all the time). It still has the problem where you have to take your eyes off your screen in order to interact with it, so I imagine there'd be some effort involved in getting used to actually looking at the touch pad while you poke at it. That said, if…

Post by nrjames » Sat, Jun 09, 2018, 1:33 PM UTC

ljm wrote: post #135

jeswin wrote: post #13

I think this is a wonderful idea, given that touchscreen responsiveness and power optimization have been a focus of research over the last decade. At worst it's a touch pad, at best it's so much more. Of course a lot depends on how software developers will embrace it - and I hope Linux users get some love. (I wish Asus and reviewers will stay away from gimmicks like watching movies on it.) In any case, far better tha…

I'm actually surprised it hasn't been tried before. It sounds super cool but I wonder if it's still a bit of a gimmick (and you end up just using it in touch pad mode all the time). It still has the problem where you have to take your eyes off your screen in order to interact with it, so I imagine there'd be some effort involved in getting used to actually looking at the touch pad while you poke at it. That said, if…

Post by ajross » Sat, Jun 09, 2018, 1:47 PM UTC

tambourine_man wrote: post #54

>Unlike Apple’s limited and unhelpful MacBook Pro Touch Bar… I’m not big fan of the touch bar either, but to state an opinion as fact is just bad journalism.

Post by jdietrich » Sat, Jun 09, 2018, 1:49 PM UTC

Fnoord wrote: post #140

jeswin wrote: post #13

I think this is a wonderful idea, given that touchscreen responsiveness and power optimization have been a focus of research over the last decade. At worst it's a touch pad, at best it's so much more. Of course a lot depends on how software developers will embrace it - and I hope Linux users get some love. (I wish Asus and reviewers will stay away from gimmicks like watching movies on it.) In any case, far better tha…

You're forgetting that a screen costs power. Besides, at best, your touchpad has little fingerprints, at worst it has a lot. With a normal touchpad this doesn't matter, but with a touchscreen (or touchpad-touchscreen) it suddenly does. Furthermore, it is a spot where your hands are, so in order to see it, you gotta move your hands. Both are not very useful features. If I want a tablet, I'll get one instead. Furthermo…

Post by Fnoord » Sat, Jun 09, 2018, 2:08 PM UTC

jdietrich wrote: post #157

Fnoord wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're forgetting that a screen costs power. Besides, at best, your touchpad has little fingerprints, at worst it has a lot. With a normal touchpad this doesn't matter, but with a touchscreen (or touchpad-touchscreen) it suddenly does. Furthermore, it is a spot where your hands are, so in order to see it, you gotta move your hands. Both are not very useful features. If I want a tablet, I'll get one instead. Furthermo…

The impact on battery life is marginal. The ZenBook Pro 15 has a 71Wh battery and "up to" nine hours of battery life. An iPhone 8 has a 10.5Wh battery. Real-world power consumption for a good smartphone display is ~500mW. That represents just under 5% of the iPhone 8's battery capacity per hour, but 0.7% of the ZenBook's battery. In the worst-case scenario, the touchpad display will reduce battery life from 9 hours t…