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Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

asus.com

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Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#61

Post by suction »

jfoster wrote: post #20

Looks fancy. Is this what the market wants? I don't particularly like Apple, but I use a Macbook Pro. I've been keeping an eye out for a non-Apple alternative to a Macbook, but nothing seems to come close in terms of hardware. I don't mean technical specs. I mean a beautiful screen, reasonable dimensions & weight, a really good touchpad, great battery life, etc. A big foldable screen looks cool, but doesn't feel at a…

In East Asia, novelty or "cuteness" of a product, i.e. the look of things, is mostly what counts. That's how East Asian makers try to stay ahead of the competition, because actual innovation that goes beyond the surface (no pun intended) is hard and not actually encouraged in societies with a confucian view of the workplace.

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#62

Post by monkey_monkey »

snarfy wrote: post #49
monkey_monkey wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that says more about your own innate biases than it says about the users of this site.

It might be a small minority but there are still quite a few Apple apologists on this site. That's fandom for you. Tech is notorious for it.

I think most people are aware of fandoms and that some people will blindly support something, but that's very different from saying "this site would be cheering for it".

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#64

Post by theturtletalks »

suction wrote: post #52
tigrezno wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that if Apple released this, this site would be cheering for it.

Only because Apple's track record so far is a lot better than Asus' or other OEMs in terms of not adding novelty or gadget-y features to their pro products.

Apple has mastered the second mover advantage. They let all the other companies blow money on R&D and educating users while they simply observe the pain points. Then, they swoop in a few years later and reap the benefits.

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#65

Post by ddalex »

Lio wrote: post #41

I'd be really excited if they offer this as part of their ZenScreen portable monitor range. They seem to be currently mostly 1080p but a folding 17" or larger HiDPI screen for an existing laptop would be brilliant. I generally like smaller laptops like the MacBook Air or XPS 13. I could see me using a tri-fold ZenScreen in hotel room and then just the laptop on a plane/train tray table. https://www.asus.com/Displays-…

I've been pitching for a while hinged screens, like double laptop screen that unfolds a second same-size screen above the first. The fold seems like a nice touch, if this would come as a separate portable monitor I'd buy it in a pinch.

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#66

Post by jmiskovic »

eterps wrote: post #5

AFAIK there is absolutely no innovation with software defined keyboards, they statically mimic a physical keyboard. I would expect well defined open APIs so that applications tailor the keyboard for optimal contextualized use for that app. The only thing that came close is Apple's touchbar but even that one is quite static and not very liberating in practice. Of course the downside of adaptive software keyboards is t…

Adaptive keyboards are actually more oriented towards beginners than advanced users. They optimize for feature discoverability (and coolness factor).

Physical keyboard is current optimum for text entry precisely because it is not adaptable, and that enables you to adapt to it. Without muscle memory you are much, much slower. When an advanced user wants to refresh page, they can instantly recall Ctrl+R combo and just press it, without glancing down and coordinating between hand and eye to tap the icon, and then verifying the tap was registered. With adaptable keyboards the advanced users lose all their edge.

That said, swiping is really nice way to enter English text on touchscreens. I still hate switching to numbers and special characters, or entering non-dictionary words, but it works unexpectedly good. I agree with you that more innovation is needed.

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#67

Post by ddalex »

iasay wrote: post #45
Tepix wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's advertised as being stress tested with 30,000 folds. That should last quite a bit longer than 6 years for most people.

That figure doesn't make sense other than from a marketing perspective. It is missing all the important engineering questions... How many did they test? What's the standard deviation? What does the bell curve look like? What are the test conditions? What happens when you put this in the hands of an average user who does not conform to the test conditions?

Please show me this data from any other manufacturer... take Apple, do they put out how many drops they test their latest iPhone, the one that they advertise doesn't need a cover? The standard deviation, Bell curve?

Nobody cares about this - what people care about is: What happens when this breaks ? If Asus offers good warranty on it, why does it matter when it breaks??

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#68

Post by sz4kerto »

iasay wrote: post #45
Tepix wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's advertised as being stress tested with 30,000 folds. That should last quite a bit longer than 6 years for most people.

That figure doesn't make sense other than from a marketing perspective. It is missing all the important engineering questions... How many did they test? What's the standard deviation? What does the bell curve look like? What are the test conditions? What happens when you put this in the hands of an average user who does not conform to the test conditions?

Samsung's recent foldable phones (e.g. Galaxy Z Fold 3) are proving to be quite reliable, the crease is still visible to some extent but they don't tend to break.

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#69

Post by Hippocrates »

It blows my mind that companies have the resources to sink into "innovations" like this that are just so far out that they are sure to fail. The mere sight of this stresses me out with how fragile it looks, and how clumsy it would be to use

Re: Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

#70

Post by xSxY3fj5gVCmvWE »

eterps wrote: post #5

AFAIK there is absolutely no innovation with software defined keyboards, they statically mimic a physical keyboard. I would expect well defined open APIs so that applications tailor the keyboard for optimal contextualized use for that app. The only thing that came close is Apple's touchbar but even that one is quite static and not very liberating in practice. Of course the downside of adaptive software keyboards is t…

Touch keyboards don't sound very liberating. I think experienced/professional users will be an especially bad fit for this. Imagine having to constantly look down at the keyboard to see what contextual options are available. It's like getting a new keyboard and having to get used to a different layout, except it's forever. Say goodbye to your flow state, hope you haven't gotten used to it.

That said, this laptop seems to include a physical keyboard, so maybe it's not that bad. I hope manufacturers keep experimenting with computer form factors, but preferably sane, human-centric ones.

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