ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Asus ExpertBook Extremely is a premium enterprise PC launching in April 2026.
- It is a powerful machine with a glossy design, sturdy efficiency from an Intel Panther Lake chip, and wonderful battery life.
- Preliminary data suggests a excessive price ticket.
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The Asus ExpertBook Ultra is a particular laptop computer for me. It is the primary laptop computer I am reviewing this 12 months, and it is the primary Panther Lake-powered system I’ve used exterior of an official Intel occasion. I have been wanting to attempt one, and this machine is solely implausible. From design to efficiency, it’s a laptop computer that’s certain to impress.
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Asus’ newest system is an extremely light-weight laptop computer, clocking in at simply 2.18 kilos and measuring 0.65 inches at its thickest level. It’s so glossy that it would not even really feel like a laptop computer if you carry it round. It feels extra like an precise pocket book.
It is also completely balanced, passing the one-finger check with flying colours. Due to a small divot under the trackpad, you possibly can raise the display screen with out the system sliding round.
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Considerate engineering
The laptop computer is primarily manufactured from a magnesium alloy, with Asus’ proprietary Nano Liquid ceramic coating, for a chassis that is each mild and sturdy. You may not be capable to inform simply by taking a look at it, however you possibly can positively really feel the distinction. The ExpertBook Extremely has a slight ruggedness.
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I additionally must shout out the good keyboard. It makes use of chiclet-shaped buttons with 1.5mm of journey distance, making typing quick, comfy, and, most significantly, satisfying. There’s sufficient suggestions that you do not have to push the important thing all the way in which in to register an enter. It is a fashion extra usually seen on mechanical keyboards, and it is a huge purpose they’re so fashionable with gaming fanatics.
I often do not dwell on laptop computer trackpads, however ExpertBook’s deserves a particular point out. It is massive, guaranteeing comfy navigation, and every press produces a crisp, tactile click on. The trackpad additionally has a neat characteristic. By putting your thumb on the backside and a finger on the high, you activate a devoted scrolling mode. This perform enables you to scroll by way of strains of textual content while not having the cursor. When it is engaged, the pad vibrates and emits a delicate clicking sound.
Sensible to see
Asus’ ExpertBook Extremely homes a surprising 14-inch 3K OLED display screen that covers your complete DCI-P3 coloration gamut and is Pantone-validated. This implies colours look wealthy and extremely lifelike, to the purpose the place it genuinely places my HP Omen 4K desktop monitor to disgrace. Plus, its 91% screen-to-body ratio ensures that what you are taking a look at is sort of all show, with minimal bezels closing in on the picture.
The panel reaches a peak brightness of 1,400 nits, enabling clear visibility even in shiny circumstances. Asus additionally utilized Corning Gorilla matte to scale back glare by as much as 80%, and the glass itself is protected by Corning Gorilla Victus, giving it further sturdiness and scratch resistance.
The ExpertBook Extremely’s sound system is equally spectacular. Asus gave its machine a six-speaker system that features twin magnetic woofers for deep bass and tweeters for clear, detailed high-frequency sound. It doesn’t matter what I performed, from music to spoken-word movies, the audio sounded lush and well-balanced.
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What actually stood out to me, nonetheless, was the extent of instrument separation. Listening to jazz and lo-fi hip-hop tracks, each factor of the music, the drums, piano, and occasional trumpets, had its personal house within the soundstage, equal to one another. Audio from these audio system carries throughout the room with out a lot distortion, permitting me to obviously hear dialogue from 20 ft away.
Effectivity meets energy
My evaluation unit of the ExpertBook Extremely ran on an Intel Core Extremely X7 processor, 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD. This mixture delivers precisely the extent of efficiency you’d anticipate from a premium enterprise laptop computer.
In day-to-day use, the ExpertBook Extremely felt snappy. Apps opened immediately, browser tabs loaded with out hesitation, and I may hop between a number of apps seamlessly. The beneficiant quantity of RAM ensured nothing slowed the system down, reinforcing the laptop computer’s concentrate on delivering no-compromise productiveness.
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Under is a desk evaluating the Asus ExpertBook Extremely’s benchmark outcomes with different work-centric laptops I’ve examined. You will instantly discover that the Asus mannequin boasts a considerably greater Geekbench multicore rating than its opponents, signaling stronger multitasking efficiency and precisely reflecting what I skilled first-hand.
Its benchmarking scores additionally counsel the laptop computer is well-suited for content material creation. Throughout testing, I edited drone footage and high-resolution pictures with out problem — the laptop computer dealt with these workloads comfortably. Nevertheless, it could wrestle with heavy duties like advanced 3D rendering because it operates on an built-in Intel Arc graphics card relatively than a discrete Nvidia GPU. These sorts of duties could be higher suited to a extra specialised laptop computer.
Battery life is nothing wanting phenomenal. The ExpertBook lasted over 16 hours on a single cost. Power effectivity is a serious focus for Intel’s Panther Lake processor collection. Processors have improved tremendously over the previous few years, and this laptop computer is an ideal instance of that progress. Charging speeds are equally spectacular: after simply half-hour plugged in, the battery climbed as much as 60%.
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Laptops this skinny that home high-end {hardware} usually run sizzling. To maintain temperatures cool, Asus geared up its system with the ExpertCool Professional system, a sophisticated cooling resolution that makes use of three air shops to extend inside air stress. The result’s a laptop computer that runs effortlessly cool.
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You’ll have to wait a bit earlier than you may get your palms on the ExpertBook Ultra. Asus instructed me that the ExpertBook with the Intel Core Extremely X7 CPU is slated to launch in April 2026, with pre-orders going up within the first quarter of 2026. Two coloration choices will probably be obtainable: Morn Gray and Jet Fog (black). A second mannequin working the extra highly effective Intel Core Extremely X9 processor is anticipated to reach later in Q2 2026.
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Asus hasn’t confirmed pricing but, however the firm is organising the ExpertBook Extremely for the premium thin-and-light laptop computer market. The rep mentioned that the brand new mannequin will probably be going up in opposition to units just like the Dell Professional 14 Premium, HP EliteBook X G1i 14, and Lenovo’s 12th-Gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
Based mostly on present pricing for these rivals, I feel it is cheap to anticipate the ExpertBook Extremely to land at round $2,400. Ultimate pricing will probably be revealed nearer to launch.
