If you've got hundreds of thousands burning a hole in your trouser pocket, there are lots of ways you could spend it. Many of us would look to a car, or a house payment – others might splash on a stunning watch, or some hi-fi equipment.

But there are few instances where you might think of spending it on a computer. If you do fancy that, though, Asus has you covered with a new model, with a staggering US$99,999 (approx. £74,500 / €86,150 / AU$140,000) price tag.

That comes with a whopping 748GB of RAM on board, which is likely to make up a significant portion of that price tag. The ongoing price rises for RAM – known colloquially as RAMageddon – have seen the cost of many consumer electronics grow significantly in recent years.

The bulk of that popularity comes from those seeking to power AI models, which requires exorbitant amounts of computing power. It's part of the reason why so many devices are facing stock issues and seeing their prices increase.

Here, that RAM is paired with an Nvidia Grace Blackwell Ultra chip, which is paired with a Blackwell Ultra graphics chip. All of that is powered by a built-in power supply which delivers 1,600 watts, while the cooling system is said to be capable of handling the chip's full power under sustained load without throttling, which is probably the least you'd expect at that price.

You'll find eight USB 3.2 ports on board, as well as a USB 2.0 port and a pair of 10 Gbps Ethernet ports. There are, however, no USB 4 or Thunderbolt ports on offer, which feels a little short-sighted at this price point.

Still, this is never going to be the option for the everyman. This is designed with one goal in mind, and that's to power AI models, and it should do a fine job of that. Personally, I'd still buy the Porsche Taycan, but that's just me.

When you attend a huge show like Computex, there's a background challenge facing most tech journalists in my bracket – can you figure out the biggest industry trend affecting your readers? While this year's conference might have been chock full of the expected AI chatter (okay, more like AI cacophony), that's not really something that'll impact most regular people.

If you're any sort of gamer, though, then the wave of gaming handhelds on display at the show is much more likely to cut through. I knew we'd see at least some, based on Intel's teasing about its handheld chip, but I saw no less than four stunning bits of hardware in a couple of days.

Of course, there were plenty of others that aren't worth your time, so I've filtered things down to just the four highlights that you should know about, in no particular order. Check them out below.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

The MSI Claw 8 was a superpowered bit of hardware, but as one of three handhelds I tested with Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme chip in it the Claw 8 EX is going to outstrip it in most meaningful ways.

It has a new design with more of a chin and far more comfortable grips than before, replacing an old look that I really didn't care for. It's probably not for nothing that it was Intel's reference machine when it ran me through the G3 Extreme's performance, and after a good 20 minutes playing with it I came away deeply impressed.

The huge downside? It looks like MSI's targeting a price of around $1,500 for the machine, which basically confirms in one fell swoop that PC gaming handhelds might be in for an even rougher ride over the next year or so.

• Read more about the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ here

Acer Predator Atlas 8

If the Claw suffers from a heavily rumoured price that damages its affordability massively, then Acer has probably been smart to keep very quiet about what the Predator Atlas 8 might end up costing.

This is Acer returning to handheld PC gaming with a bit more commitment – it's previously announced devices that never quite made it to a wide market, but the Atlas 8 looks like a safe bet to do just that. Playing with it for a good little while on two occasions made me think it's a really strong new contender.

Again, it has the Intel G3 Extreme, and again that means superb performance and the capacity to run at much lower power wattage than some existing competitors. Acer has also played it safe on the design side, which means it's really comfortable and ticks all the expected boxes.

• Read more about the Acer Predator Atlas 8 here

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

Asus came to Computex with what's (on a literal level) the most unsurprising handheld of the lot, but that doesn't mean it isn't impressive. I was one of many reviewers to point out that the high-end Xbox Ally X should have had an OLED panel for the price at launch, and now it has a follow-up version that includes just that.

The screen is also a little bigger, the analogue sticks are upgraded to TMR tech, the D-pad is adjustable and – get this – the Xbox logo now glows. Those are all nice little touches, but the display upgrade is the key here. That OLED panel looks phenomenal, and will mark this handheld out as having one of the best displays in any handheld.

That said, it is running on a chip that's now no longer the newest, and there's no Intel Arc G3 Extreme here, sticking with AMD instead. That doesn't make it a poor performer (far from it), but it does mean that this doesn't have quite as much of the "new car smell" about it.

• Read more about the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 here

OneXPlayer 3

I'm ending this round-up with the handheld that most caught me off-guard. When Intel announced its new chip, it confirmed a few "hero devices" that would immediately feature the silicon, and OneXPlayer was the smallest name on that list.

It's actually got multiple types of handheld coming with the chip, and I tried a few of them, but the standard OneXPlayer 3 was the one that stood out. It has a gorgeous 8.8-inch AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, which boasts both VRR and HDR, which basically knocks every other handheld here out of the battle.

That makes the handheld a bit of a beast in size terms, but I found it worth the tradeoff in an admittedly brief demo session. Since OneXPlayer also plans to offer a keyboard attachment, this thing is almost a little 2-in-1 with grips on it, from a certain point of view, making it potentially quite adaptable.

It might end up being the most expensive of all these handhelds (in fact, that's the most likely outcome), but for a niche audience that wants the best of the best, OneXPlayer grabbed my attention at Computex in an impressive manner.

• Read more about the OneXPlayer 3 here

Despite some pretty big traditional computing launches from Qualcomm (with the affordable Snapdragon C) and Nvidia (with the very much unaffordable RTX Spark chipset), it's actually been gaming handhelds that have stolen the show at Computex in Taipei this year.

I've been roaming the halls in snatched bursts between wall-to-wall hands-on sessions, and everywhere you look, there are PC gaming handhelds that go at least slightly and sometimes far beyond what their predecessors managed. Asus has perhaps gone for the most incremental approach out of those I've tested, but that doesn't really undermine the quality of the ROG Xbox Ally X20.

With its name nodding to the 20th anniversary of the ROG brand this year, this refreshed and upgraded version of the ROG Xbox Ally X brings one big change to the table – an OLED display. I wasn't the only reviewer to point out that this felt like an omission at the older device's lofty price point, after all.

The real impact of that anniversary is on the handheld's design, which has a smoky, transparent black look that is really quite lovely in person. I found the first Xbox Ally X a little underwhelming in design terms, between its solid black colour and those unavoidable protruding grips. I'm almost a little confused by how just changing the finish results in such a surge in my appreciation, but the new version really is a success.

It also incorporates some other nice tweaks, including an Xbox logo that now glows green (a certified Nice Touch™), face buttons that are a little easier to activate and slide between, and slightly (subtly) better joysticks. Those are now TMR for even more precision and impressive drift resistance. Finally, the D-pad is changeable – you lift it and twist to change it between four and eight-direction modes, a slick system that works nicely.

Let's be real, though – this machine is all about that new screen, and the good news is that it's a great success. It's not just that it's an OLED – it's also a bit bigger, at 7.4 inches instead of simply seven on the dot. That might not sound like much, but one of the other small flaws with the last handheld was that its screen looked a little small for the device's size, so every little helps.

The change to OLED, meanwhile, is a clear and obvious improvement. The last display was great for an IPS panel, but missed out on HDR and didn't have the inkiness that you get with OLED. Now both of those benefits are present, and the showreel that ASUS was running at its booth underlined the difference they make..

Colours are super punchy, contrast is excellent, with motion clarity to match. 1,400 nits of peak brightness also means that it's great in bright situations – like a crowded showfloor.

It's a huge improvement, all in all, although the constantly shifting sands of the PC handheld market mean that it's a little scary to estimate what sort of price bump it'll carry with it. Given the Xbox Ally X launched last year at £799 / €899 / $999, I'd say there's no way this version comes in at less than £1,000.

That, in turn, comes with another caveat – there's no processor upgrade here, so you're still getting an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme. Don't get me wrong: that chip is a banger, and until this week, it looked like the most powerful portable gaming experience you could realistically hope for.

Now, though, the Intel Arc G3 series is here, and it looks like it'll power some jaw-dropping machines coming to the market imminently. With power consumption stats in particular that really seem to hit AMD where it hurts, the future-proofing side of things might be a little complicated for the ROG Xbox Ally X20.

That all adds up to a fairly fascinating launch, even before you consider the fact that Asus is currently pushing people towards an "anniversary bundle" that will include plug-and-play Xreal R1 Edition 20 AR glasses – a curious choice given they're a display replacement for a device with a shiny new display.

I'll leave those glasses to another article, but taking the ROG Xbox Ally X20 on its own, it's almost impossible to get a sense of how it'll fare without knowing its price. It feels like a good summary of where the PC gaming handheld market is at more widely – some amazing stuff is afoot, but the wider question of affordability undermines things to a critical degree.

The proof might be in the pudding closer to the ROG Xbox Ally X20's release. I'll hopefully be able to test it in more detail when it's ready to hit the market, so keep your eyes on T3 ahead of that point.

Invest in one of the best Wi-Fi mesh systems on the market and you can ensure that your entire home is covered in high-speed, reliable Wi-Fi – and especially when you opt for one of the heavy-duty, premium models available, like the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 on review here.

The price of this 2-unit pack is immediately going to put some people off buying, but if you've got the budget for a serious investment in your home Wi-Fi, then this fits the bill. If you currently just have one router installed, this product could make a substantial difference.

I've been using this on my home network for a couple of weeks, looking at everything from wireless performance to the ease of the setup process – and by the time you've finished reading my review you'll know whether or not this is the Wi-Fi mesh upgrade you need (or, indeed, never knew you needed).

Price & Availability

So you know exactly what I'm reviewing here, this is the 2-pack Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 quad-band BE25000 mesh Wi-Fi system. Note that there is also a Pro version which swaps one of the 5GHz bands for another 6GHz band, giving you even more bandwidth.

The shopping widget embedded above will direct you to the best prices currently available online for this system, but at the time of writing it's being sold for around £900 in the UK. As well as getting it from Asus directly, you can find it at retailers including Currys and Amazon here in the UK.

Design & Setup

Here's the drill for installing Wi-Fi mesh systems: you plug in the first unit, you install the companion app (for Android or iOS), and you follow the instructions. That's what I did with the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16, and it was all straightforward and simple. You might even get a firmware update thrown at you as well.

One neat touch is that you'll be given the option to set up a dedicated network for your smart home devices, on the 2.4GHz band – the one offering the slowest speeds but the greatest range, and the band that smart home devices usually prefer. It's handy to have something like this included as a suggestion right away.

I also like that there are no extra subscriptions attached to this router, which makes a welcome change from a lot of hardware that launches with software add-ons nowadays. Everything is included in the up-front cost. Another nice feature to have that isn't always guaranteed: access to the system through a web browser, not just the mobile apps.

As there's so much Wi-Fi tech packed in here, these are bulky units, about the size of a chunky hardback book. They're not easy to hide away, and indeed need to be out in the open to work at best, but they're reasonably easy on the eye – with subtle, nicely done LED status lights. They also come with rather chunky, two-piece power cables, which is something else worth bearing in mind.

Features & Performance

The Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 brings with it support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) standard, and has four bands: 2.4GHz, 5Ghz (x2), and 6GHz.

The system smartly uses a combination of the 6GHz and one of the 5GHz bands as a backhaul (or you can use one of the Ethernet ports instead), ensuring super-speedy connectivity between the two units, and a seamless experience no matter where in the home you and your devices might be.

I certainly couldn't fault the performance here, with connections to the secondary node getting download and upload rates close to the main one plugged directly into the router.

Remember, of course, that these systems don't improve your broadband speed, but do distribute Wi-Fi further and more effectively. Wandering all around my two-storey, semi-detached house while streaming 4K video on a phone worked flawlessly.

My internet isn't slow, but up in the far corner of the house – through a floor and a couple of walls – I'm getting around half the speed that my broadband provider promises with a single router. With the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 that goes up to 90% or more in the same spot on the same phone, which shows you the difference a high-end setup like this can make. What's more, latency and consistency are flawless too.

You can top out at 25Gbps of bandwidth with this mesh system, and while your broadband speed won't be anywhere near that, the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 excels at local streaming around the home. I tested both Plex and Steam Link streaming and didn't have any problems with either: connections were pretty instant, and the streams showed no issues at all in terms of quality or reliability.

Asus says this system can cover 8,000 square feet or almost 745 square metres, which is enough to cover all but the biggest mansions. There's no upper limit mentioned for connected devices, and it's going to be way beyond what the average household is going to manage – way into the triple figures most likely, though I stopped at half a dozen.

While I can only test a mesh system like this on my own home, the performance here is strong enough that you're likely to be impressed no matter what your current Wi-Fi setup is – or even if you're kitting out a small office. Dead zones will be no more, local streaming will be top-notch, and you should see as much Wi-Fi bandwidth as possible getting into every corner of the property.

You get some excellent wired internet options too, with five Ethernet ports on each unit: two 10Gbps ports and three 1Gbps. For devices where stability is most important (think gaming consoles or smart TVs) you can hook up Ethernet connections, though the Wi-Fi performance is at a high enough level that you might not need to. There's also a USB-A port included, if you want to set up networked storage.

As for the companion app on mobile, it's a straightforward and intuitive experience all round. You get controls for managing devices, setting parental controls, and configuring multiple guest networks, and there's even the option to connect a VPN at the hardware level if you need. It's therefore perfect for power users.

Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 review: Verdict

There's no doubt the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 is a premium option – you can tell that just from the price. But while some 3-pack Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems out there are cheaper, this 2-pack option offers lots of perks that actually make a lot of sense.

The quad-band bandwidth capability is something you don't see on a lot of systems, for example, with this setup offering some of the best Wi-Fi performance I've seen yet. Whether it's speed or latency or reliability, the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 is very hard to beat when it comes to getting as much of your internet connection as possible.

Factor in additional considerations like access from a web browser, no reliance on additional subscriptions, versatile Ethernet options, and lots of features for power users (parents especially) to utilise, and you're getting a lot back for your money. It's a really impressive bit of hardware kit all round.

Just be sure you actually need a Wi-Fi network upgrade of this magnitude – most average consumers probably don't. While I'm also in that category too, I must admit that I've loved the jump from 'good' Wi-Fi to 'great' that the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 offers. It's the dream upgrade I never knew I needed.

Also Consider

Another impressive Wi-Fi 7 system is the TP-Link Deco BE68. Although it offers one band less than the Asus model, you do get an extra node unit for less money.

The Netgear Orbi 370 costs considerably less, even if you go for the 3-pack option, and while there are some compromises to performance (it's only dual-band rather than quad-band), it's still a capable and cost-effective system.

Asus has gone big with the 2026 refresh of its Zenbooks, not least by being the first to market with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chipset, basically the most powerful consumer chip Qualcomm offers right now. It's a beast of a laptop under the hood, then, but a lightweight one despite that.

I've had the Zenbook A16 (2026) for a couple of weeks now, and it's impressed me in a fair few ways as I've tested it, albeit with a couple of caveats that are worth exploring. So, how does it stack up against the (Intel-shaped) competition in an increasingly competitive laptop scene? Keep reading to find out.

Price and availability

As mentioned, Asus has got to the market quicker than any other brand when it comes to shipping the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, but that doesn't mean it's free of challenges. The big one is in terms of pricing; the version of the Zenbook A16 that I tested comes in at £2,099.99 in the UK, which is far from small change.

It can be ordered now, having been up for pre-order for a little while, and should ship fairly quickly, although at the time of writing I don't have regional pricing from Asus – so you might want to pump the brakes and check in on what sort of price you're seeing in your region.

Design and specs

The Zenbook A16 is actually something quite new for Asus – it's been making the A14 for a little while, but scaling things up from 14- to 16-inches is a new approach. Of course, it's not news that some people want a bigger laptop display to work with, but it's still interesting that this is where the company is making new strides this year.

That said, this is one of those bigger siblings that really does look an awful lot like its smaller equivalent. The A14 and A16 have incredibly similar designs, but the A16 is just that bit bigger. The most impressive headline numbers here are in its weight and thinness.

The 2026 A16 weighs just 1.2kg, which is extremely impressive for a laptop of this size, and that makes it really, really portable. For context, the recently-launched MacBook Neo is actually slightly heavier, despite being a 13-inch laptop that's got a way smaller display.

A big part of this weight-shaving comes down to the laptop chassis, which is made from what Asus calls Ceraluminum, and it's been used in a fair few of its machines by now. It's a fused version of both ceramic and aluminium that, in all honesty, feels more like soft-touch plastic than either of those materials.

It does have benefits in terms of scratch-resistance and durability, which is not to be ignored, but I can't help but feel like when it's kitted out with this kind of spec-sheet, it does let the machine down slightly, as it feels a little cheaper in the hand. It also has more flex than the machined metal that Apple favours, for example.

Still, the thinness of the machine brings us back to positive territory. Asus has stuck with the wedge shape that's brought it praise before, and the A16 is 13.8mm at its thinnest point. That makes it a dream to pack in backpacks and bags without feeling like your back is going to suffer too badly.

When closed, the laptop is nice and attractive, with a quite mature "Asus Zenbook" logo on the back of its display. The bottom has copious venting holes for cooling fans, too.

One edge of the laptop holds a USB-A port and an SD card reader, while the other has an HDMI port, two USB-C ports with power delivery, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you're wondering where the speakers are, they're on the bottom of the laptop in a stereo arrangement.

Opening the laptop up, you'll be greeted by that massive 16-inch display, and what a doozy it is. This is a beautiful 120Hz OLED panel, at 3K resolution (2880 x 1920) for genuinely pin-sharp details. It offers high dynamic range (HDR), too, and from a design standpoint, the bezels around it are impressively slim.

Above it, there's a webcam, while below there's another subtle Asus logo. That brings us to the keyboard, which is pretty expansive (although its compact version of the enter key is a small annoyance for me).

The amount of key travel is pretty decent, although I don't think the keyboard will win any prizes. The same goes for the very sizeable trackpad, which is mechanical rather than haptic – and has quite a lot of flex to it.

Then there's the all-star component to consider: the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, a genuine beast of a chipset. That's the reason this laptop features 48GB RAM – it's packaged on the Extreme chip, to improve performance.

The Asus is the only laptop with the X2 Elite Extreme at the time of writing, and while you can spec it with the less powerful (but still mega) X2 Elite, the Extreme version is what the hype's all about.

This means there's no discrete GPU – the Qualcomm chip has an Adreno X2-90 integrated – and positions the laptop as one for enthusiasts or creators. Most people simply will not need either the AI-capable TOPS or the raw processing power that this thing can bring to bear. That makes the A16 a curious one to categorise, but all I can do is test it as I found it.

Performance and battery life

Let's stick with the Snapdragon chip at the heart of this laptop, since it's probably the single most interesting component in the machine. It is, unsurprisingly, an absolute beast.

I tend to leave the benchmarking figures to others on our sister sites, but I've been using the A16 for work tasks for the last two weeks, and nothing I've thrown its way has even remotely made it pause.

I've had dozens of windows open, including more than one with photo-editing tools waiting to be returned to, and multiple 4K YouTube videos at the same time – all of this hasn't made for any lag whatsoever, either when switching programs or using individual ones.

Frankly, much like Apple's Ultra versions of its own silicon, there's really no reason for most people to need the X2 Elite Extreme – it's overkill, in every sense of the word. If you do have a heavy creative workflow, though, this looks like a screamer of a chipset for those uses.

It also has impressive gaming performance at a time when Intel has managed to make big strides. I loaded up Cyberpunk 2077, a game that's been used countless times to see just how far integrated graphics can really go, and found it really rather variable.

The game struggled unless set to the "Low" preset at 1080p, at which point it was very playable – averaging 44fps in the benchmark test and therefore offering fairly decent responsiveness.

Swapping to my other benchmarking game, though, I found much worse news: Doom: The Dark Ages won't even launch as it stands, underlining the fact that Qualcomm's drivers and partnerships are far from universal, and you won't always know if a game will run until you find out it won't.

That's not great at this price, especially given it's a problem Intel's equivalent Lunar Lake chips simply don't have. Qualcomm's claims (like roughly 45fps from Kingdom Come: Deliverance II on Medium settings) are impressive, but they're also not exhaustive.

Still, don't get it twisted – with the majority of games in theory compatible right out of the gate, there's great gaming to be had here. Any asterisk at all is a little sub-optimal for a flagship chip, is all.

Battery life is, however, pretty exemplary from my testing. It has superb standby performance compared to some laptops I've tested, able to sit for a few days without any use and drop only a few percentage points. Don't underestimate how useful that is if you want a laptop that won't get used for hours every day!

The 70Wh battery felt like more than enough for all-day usage in my testing, in short, and got through a workday capably, provided I wasn't doing the above gaming testing throughout. Asus says you can get roughly 21 hours on a charge, and while that probably means with a light load, it still lines up broadly with what I found.

The display, meanwhile, was a star – and that's something I don't want to take for granted. I've used Asus' laptops before, and when they have a Lumina OLED, I tend to be impressed, and that's no different here. Just like on its dedicated gaming machines, this display is just so vibrant and impressively bright, but with the deep blacks that OLED tech unlocks.

While the keyboard isn't best-in-class, nor is the trackpad, this all adds up really nicely in terms of how the Zenbook A16 is to actually use. I found it a bit of a sleeping giant – a laptop with a beastly chip for when I needed it, but also a super straightforward Windows machine when I was doing more typical tasks.

Verdict

In the Zenbook A16, Asus has managed to make what I feel confident in labelling the least cumbersome 16-inch laptop I've ever personally tested – and one of the first that didn't feel inconvenient compared to a 14-inch alternative. That's a bigger testimonial than it sounds, but it was only slightly let down by the Ceraluminum finish that I can't quite vouch for.

Pricing is also an impossible-to-ignore factor, and it might mean that the showstopping Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chipset isn't a smart choice for the vast majority of people – it does bring hugely impressive performance (but spotty gaming coverage).

That makes what feels like a mainstream contender more niche in reality, but some of the step-down versions (and the A14, of course) are likely to be more unqualified winners. As it stands, Asus' 16-inch Zenbook is a sleek beauty – so if you're after Windows laptop in such a size, then the A16 is a surefire high-end option.

Also consider

As I've mentioned a few times in this review already, I think that for the vast majority of users, the new Zenbook A14 from Asus is probably a more sensible choice than the A16. It's super lightweight, cheaper, smaller and more convenient, but can still pack in the standard Snapdragon X2 Elite for oodles of power.

Alternatively, there's the ever-present spectre of the MacBook Air to consider. The latest M5 variant remains an absolute banger, and it'll last for years given how well Apple's chips are ageing. It obviously has gaming limitations of its own, but for a lifestyle laptop, it's hard to beat.

Open earbuds are all the rage – in fact, if you asked me to identify some consumer tech trends from the last 18 months and put a ban on AI featuring in that list, I'd put open earbuds right near the top. Everyone and their nan has been trying to get in on a market that seems to be growing.

People want earbuds so they can continue their nonstop content consumption, but they don't always want to be cocooned in the perfect noise-cancelling bubble that many in-ear models offer. Open options make it easier to stay aware of your surroundings, making them safer for outdoor runs and cycling, and less antisocial in offices.

That pitch is a pretty familiar one by now, but I've never really heard it applied to gaming – a medium where the common wisdom would be that you'd always rather be enveloped in immersive sound and able to block out background noise. That hasn't stopped Asus from making the ROG Cetra Open earbuds, though, and I've been using them for a fair few hours now.

I have to say, for all that they're solidly-made earbuds, I'm yet to be won over by the idea at their core. Like a fair few open earbuds of their type, the ROG Cetra Open come in a far bigger charging case than in-ears do. This houses the two curled-up earbuds, along with a USB-C connector for your console, PC, or other device.

This marks them out from mainstream open earbuds, since it allows for 2.4GHz connectivity with extremely low latency, ideal for gaming, but Bluetooth is on hand too for more standard wireless use.

These aren't small earbuds, thanks to chunky tubes that rest behind your ear while you wear them, but they are indeed nice and comfortable thanks to that out-of-ear design, which makes them nice to wear for long sessions.

However, that doesn't mean I'm having a great time using them to game. First impressions matter hugely, I'd argue, and it wasn't all that great to connect the Cetra Open earbuds to my PS5 Pro and be greeted by confusingly low audio that I couldn't straightforwardly get up to the level I wanted. I've never had that issue with any other audio device on the console.

Using them with my PC and Switch 2, meanwhile, I haven't had that problem, but I still haven't really been sold on their core concept. It's very rare that I game in a passive way, where distractions are welcome or ambient noise is happily absorbed.

Sure, I played plenty of games on mute as a kid, back in the Game Boy Advance days, but as an adult, I'm lucky enough to use the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, and its noise-cancelling doesn't bear comparison to the Cetra Open experience. Portability is a factor, sure, but the case here is huge, and I'd generally rather use my AirPods Pro 3 over Bluetooth with my Switch 2 on the go.

This leaves me feeling like the ROG Cetra Open are a slightly weird pair of 'buds, mainly leaving me with one big question: who are these earbuds for? I know the answer isn't me, now, but I'm curious to find out if there is indeed a market for gaming open earbuds in the first place.

Asus has never been afraid of launching niche products – it might have pulled out of the phone business, but for years it was doing interesting things there, for example. Now, though, perhaps its biggest roll of the dice is happening in the world of laptops, perfectly exemplified by the Zenbook Duo (2026).

This continues Asus' commitment to the idea that a laptop with two screens is fundamentally more useful in many scenarios than a traditional one, and refines its design to make the case more persuasively than ever before.

With narrower bezels, a much-improved chip at its heart – Intel's Series 3 'Panther Lake' chips are really doing the business – and two gorgeous displays, a fortnight with the new Zenbook Duo has converted me impressively. For some people, this will be the best laptop (a lot of) money can buy.

Price & Availability

The Zenbook Duo was supposed to come out sometime in February 2026, but things are now a little more vague, with that slipping to an intended but not guaranteed "Q1" date for pre-orders to open. I can't say for sure that this is due to the incredible turbulence of the RAM market, but I wouldn't bet against that point.

For now, though, we do have a confirmed price, irrespective of when the laptop will be available to buy: $2,399.99 for the model I tested, and $2,099.99 for the step-down Core Ultra 9 386H version with lesser graphics (with regional pricing not yet fixed).

Obviously, that makes it a really premium option, albeit one that doesn't have a huge amount of natural competition to compare it against. Needless to say, if you're fine with a normal, single-screen laptop, then you could pick up a MacBook Pro for much less than this, but I'll explore that comparison later, too.

Design

Asus hasn't ripped up its previous work when it comes to the newest Zenbook Duo, rather opting to refine things and basically just make the design sleeker and, well, better.

In particular, this means that when you open it up, you'll find smaller bezels around those displays, including a much smaller central gap between the two.

That's probably putting the cart before the horse, though. The Zenbook Duo, for those who haven't seen previous generations, is a laptop that hides an impressive secret. When you first open it up, it looks much like any other high-end laptop with an OLED display.

What's noticeable, though, is that it's quite thick on the bottom, with the layer housing its keyboard and trackpad standing out as being chunkier than you'd normally see. That's because it's fully removable, hiding a second identical OLED display underneath it.

Once this is uncovered, there are a variety of ways you can arrange your machine, including standing it like an open book for two vertical screens, or using it propped up with one above the other for two landscape displays stacked on top of each other.

This basically means you get twice the screen real estate as normal, making it superb for productivity involving multiple windows at once.

This comes with downsides, too, though – the laptop is noticeably heavier and thicker than one-screen competitors, especially when you're not using it. That thickness isn't something that's easily avoidable, of course, since Asus would indeed be foolish to ship it without the docked keyboard and trackpad for ease of use.

That detachable layer is lightweight but sturdy enough, and attaches (and charges) magnetically. Detaching it is something you might find fiddly, although it doesn't take long to find a method that works for you – a little indentation to help wouldn't go amiss, though.

In terms of ports, one side of the laptop houses a USB-A and USB-C port each (along with the power button, which is bafflingly unsatisfying to press, as it's non-clicky). The other side offers another USB-C port, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack. The keyboard layer has its own USB-C for charging if ever needed, too.

On both sides, you'll also see chunky vents – with double the displays to run, this is a machine that does need more ventilation and cooling than most laptops. Closed, though, it looks impressively stealthy, with just a Zenbook logo on the front hinting at its secrets.

On the bottom of the laptop, meanwhile, there's a really sturdy hinged kickstand that unlocks various arrangements and poses for it. It's a key part of the design, as you'll realise when you start using it, and I'm impressed by how well it works. Flimsiness here would be an Achilles' heel, and it's great that Asus has avoided the pitfall.

All of this praise doesn't negate one genuine negative about the kooky design and extra screens, though – it means a chunky and weighty laptop.

The 2026 Zenbook Duo comes in at 1.65kg, which is far from nothing, and at 23.4mm thick, it's also fairly fat. That makes it less portable and lightweight than the vast majority of laptops you might consider as alternatives. Then again, they all have one screen each.

Displays

Moving on from its design to actually take a look at those twin displays, though, and it doesn't take long to see why Asus thinks this form factor could be a long-term winner.

Asus is great at high-end display choices, as proven by my favourite gaming laptop of 2025, the ROG Zephyrus G14, and it goes big here again.

Each display is identical to the other, for one thing, so you don't have to worry about the one below the keyboard being somehow second-rate.

They're both 14-inch, 2880x1800 OLED panels boasting 144Hz refresh rates. That means they're extremely smooth to use, whether you're editing video or doing some gaming.

They're also impressively bright, and that resolution ensures they're really sharp, too, making for a really brilliant array of display space for you to arrange as you see fit.

In my view, the vertical orientation with both screens in landscape is by far the best, but you might find other options useful in person.

Asus bundles arguably too much software into the Zenbook Duo, with a lot of pre-installed programs that you don't really want or need, but for one very welcome instance is its display controller. This leaves a floating blue button on your desktop when the second screen is in use.

Tapping or clicking on it (since both screens are also good multi-touchscreens) lets you quickly access some options to rearrange your displays as you like, and there are also some quick shortcuts that it teaches you on first setup. These let you make five-finger gestures to move your displays around, and are helpful if you can remember them.

I used the Zenbook Duo as an everyday driver during my testing time with it, and that really underlined its huge and increasingly realised potential.

When you're on the move, there's no such thing as too much screen space, and being able to have double the room to play with immediately made my life easier.

It may also dominate whatever table or desk you're using a little more, but that's probably someone else's problem.

Keyboard & Trackpad

Another area of risk for Asus is that keyboard and trackpad layer – since it's detachable, it wouldn't be great if this lessened travel time and made either less satisfying to use than normal. Thankfully, that bullet has also largely been dodged.

The keyboard feels good to use, albeit it's still very much a laptop keyboard despite being detachable, and therefore is indeed relatively soft (not quite spongey, though). That large trackpad is also extremely solid.

That said, the fact that this layer sits flat on your desk in front of the displays is a slight ergonomic challenge. There's no ramp here to speak of, and it does mean your wrists will be very flat to the table while in use.

I can see that a kickstand would be complicated (and likely would require more rigidity and therefore weight), but I'll be interested if a solution can be found down the years.

Performance & Battery Life

The big headline inclusion in the 2026 Zenbook Duo is the latest generation of Intel's chips, and the model I tested boasted the high-end Intel Core Ultra X9 (388H), which is a truly beastly processor.

That means you can expect superb performance while using the laptop in either single or dual-screen mode, and I found that almost nothing I threw its way in terms of productivity gave it much pause for thought.

That included a whole heap of heavy web use (in a work context, meaning oodles of tabs at once), along with image editing, Slack and WhatsApp in the background, and sometimes more.

The chip never buckled at all under the strain, albeit without a hugely scientific method applied. On paper, the single-thread performance of these Panther Lake chips isn't that stellar, but that's a bit of a contradiction since it only applies to simple apps that you're unlikely to find laggy in the first place.

Once it clocks up to multi-thread performance, though, this chip is a beast, and I found it performed as such. As I noted at Intel's CES press conference, though, I think the biggest leap might be in gaming terms. Simply put, the iGPU offered by this chip, which is the Intel Arc B390 system, is a staggering leap forward.

Unplugged, I was able to get a playable 47fps average from Doom: The Dark Ages' benchmarking test on the Sentinel Command Station scenario (a hugely complex set of scenes) at 1080p on Low settings.

That might not sound too crazy, but it's a superb result, and with further configuration, you can get crazy performance from the chip. I've seen Cyberpunk 2077 running at 60fps, and was able to enjoy frame rates well over 100fps in Battlefield 6, which has more integrated support for Intel's frame generation features.

It all means that this dual-screen laptop can be genuinely decent for gaming, without any right to that level of claim. Similar praise goes in the direction of its battery life, too, which is really exemplary, powered by a chunky 99Whr battery (the largest of any laptop).

You'll need a few charging cycles for it to settle down and start showing its hand properly, but once you're into a normal routine, you'll get a day of work from the laptop – and in my testing, I found that to remain the case when using it in either single or dual-screen configurations.

In fact, the gap between the two modes wasn't huge – a matter of a few more hours in single-screen, rather than anything like doubled time. That's hugely impressive, needless to say, and it underlines how useful this machine could be for those looking to get more screen space flexibly.

Verdict

I didn't expect to enjoy my time with the Zenbook Duo nearly as much as I did – in fact, I'd almost say I'd assumed I'd find it a bit frivolous. There's still part of me that does, and that chunky price tag doesn't help. Still, it only took a few hours of using it to establish that it's a far more utilitarian device than it first seems.

Its two displays are stonking, and the new Intel chips squirrelled inside ensure that you have enough power and efficiency to drive them both for hours at a time without needing a power cable. Double the real estate onscreen makes it genuinely useful for productivity, meanwhile, and its hardware is clearly refined over previous versions.

I don't think it's the right laptop for everyone, mind, and its extra thickness and weight are noticeable. But if you have the budget and need a portable display monster, this is a superb bit of kit and the default option.

Also consider

Apple remains out there as the mainstream competitor in terms of silicon, producing its own chips and ensuring that a simple MacBook Air could be an amazing choice for those who don't need bleeding-edge power but want all-day battery life and a slimmer build.

If you want something that houses the newest Intel chip generation, though, we just reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro and found it a stunning evolution that looks like a brilliant Windows choice. It could be a simpler, sleeker option too.

When I saw the new version of Asus' ZenBook Duo at CES this year, I thought it looked like an extremely slick update to an already relatively proven form factor, but I didn't expect it to win me over when I got it in for review.

Well, I don't want to spoil my verdict, with a bit more testing still to complete before I publish my full verdict, but this dual-screen laptop has indeed massively impressed me.

On the design front, it's very familiar, with basically the same external looks and the same slightly chunky lower half from last year (as a result of the removable layer housing the keyboard and trackpad). This makes it very comparable in footprint to other 13 and 14-inch laptops, but a little heavier and thicker.

When you detach the keyboard layer, though, you can see some changes that make a material difference to your use. A new hinge design is now subtler than ever, and the gap between the two displays is visibly smaller than last year, which is really nice.

The two displays are also superb, each one an OLED panel with 3K resolutions, and each is a full 14-inch panel – giving you genuinely loads of real estate to play with once you prop the machine up.

This means it absolutely seems to fulfil its brief as a productivity monster, giving you effectively a second display built into your laptop, and I think professionals who often work on the go will find that instantly rewarding.

The other big headline inclusion is the latest generation of Intel chip – a Core Ultra Series 3, with all the performance boosts that come with it. While this certainly means superb multi-tasking power and the ability to chew through AI tasks for those who care to, I think the most attention-grabbing stuff is elsewhere.

When I watched Intel's launch in Las Vegas, my first thoughts were that its integrated graphics performance could spell trouble for gaming laptops, and my testing has that take looking spot on.

Watching the ZenBook Duo run Cyberpunk 2077's benchmark on high settings at just under 60fps on average is pretty mind-blowing when you think about where we were a few years ago. I've been doing more rigorous testing in Battlefield 6, which Intel talked about onstage during its launch – and the results are suitably impressive.

I'll go into more detail when I write up my full review, but the game is extremely playable, and once you start to enable Intel's XeSS system for upscaling, along with frame generation, you can start to get some frame rates that defy the idea that integrated graphics can't be relied on.

It's a potentially major milestone for this sort of laptop, and I'll have much more to say in my full review, so keep your eyes peeled on the T3 homepage for when it goes live.

Asus has confirmed that it won't be launching any more mobile phones, with chairman Jonney Shih confirming the news at Asus' 2025 Year-End Gala in Taipei. The company, known for Zenfone and ROG models, will put the investment into PC and physical AI instead.

That marks quite a shift for Asus, although phone fans will be aware that Zenfone wasn't making a huge impact on the market, despite offering some great company flagship devices over the years.

Latterly, it has been better known for its gaming phones under the ROG Phone brand. It's assumed at this stage that the news affects ROG Phone too, although that's not completely confirmed as yet.

According to Inside, a Taiwanese new outlet, Asus has confirmed that it while it will "no longer add new mobile phone models", it will "take care of the brand's mobile phone users". This presumably means that it will honour existing support agreements.

The shift to physical AI devices might produce some interesting results for Asus however, with efforts focused on "AI robot and robotics" as well as "AI glasses" – an area that has seen a lot of interest recently with the advent of Android XR.

Asus already has smart glasses in the form of the AirVision M1, which are USB-C glasses designed to work with laptops, ROG Ally and phones. It's likely that the focus in future will be glasses that are standalone, powered by Android XR and offering Gemini AI access, rather than being tethered to another device and simply acting as a display.

Asus' Zenfone range had been shrinking over the past years, focused on a more compact devices like the 2023 Zenfone 10. The company's pitch was to offer flagship power in a smaller device, but in the past, we saw some great devices like the Zenfone 6 with its flip camera, designed to avoid the notch problem.

For gamers, the problem is more acute: ROG Phone dominated gaming phones and now the baton is likely to be handed to RedMagic as the de facto brand of choice.

In a CES 2026 surprise reveal, new Wi-Fi 8 routers have been unveiled – not long after Wi-Fi 7 just stated to go mainstream.

The jump forward in internet connectivity comes in the form of the Asus ROG NeoCore Wi-Fi 8 router. This is built to offer ultra-stable internet connections which are ideal for the AI demands that are arriving and still incoming.

The Asus ROG range is typically associated with high-end gaming setups. So while this router represents the future of internet connectivity, it's also perfectly targeted at gamers that want the very lowest latency and fastest online speeds.

Wi-Fi 8, in this router, will offer double mid-range throughput and double the width of IoT coverage. For gamers, the really sweet spot is that this delivers six times lower latency thanks to smarter multi-AP and multi-client operations. And that's compared to the latest Wi-Fi 7 too – impressive.

So while Wi-Fi 8 is coming to lower latency, it's also about enhanced levels of stability and therefore reliability. That is exactly the point when it comes to the high demands of AI – something due to be far more prevalent in the coming months and years.

Wi-Fi 8 also offers stability in denser environments. So where routers can interfere with each other on older systems, Wi-Fi 8 uses intelligent spectrum coordination – making it ideal for use in flats.

Tenlong Deng, general manager of Asus' wireless and networking department, said: "WiFi 8 is not just about chasing peak speed – it’s about making every connection smarter and more reliable."

Asus ROG NeoCore: pricing and availability

The Asus ROG NeoCore Wi-Fi 8 router will arrive alongside a set of mesh systems and routers. These, Asus says, will arrive "in 2026".

Expect them to appear later this year therefore, with a range of pricing to reflect how much kit you're opting for.

To get an idea, the current top-end Asus ROG Rapture Wi-Fi 7 router is priced at £491 and the Asus ROG Strix is £349.

With CES in full swing, it's a big January for laptop launches, and one of the major subplots from the last year or so is cropping up again. As the biggest and best laptop-makers launch new devices, the big question is which chip-maker they pair up with.

With AMD, Intel and Qualcomm all offering up extremely viable SoC contenders, it's a bit of a buyer's choice, but it's unsurprising to see the Snapdragon market share grow over time. Case in point: the new, refreshed version of the Zenbook A14 that Asus has just announced, which doubles down on Snapdragon.

Where it previously featured the Snapdragon X1-26-100 (in a 2025 version to which we gave a very solid four-star verdict), the 2026 Zenbook A14 will sport the Snapdragon X2 Elite, a step-up that should bring with it a big boost in battery life and efficiency.

Efficiency is basically the biggest word from CES 2026 as a whole, frankly, since most of the new chips being shown off make far bigger leaps on that front than they do in terms of raw power. In the Zenbook A14's case, it means Asus is quoting massive battery performance – up to 28 hours of video playback, making for comfortable all-day real-world use.

Another big upgrade comes in the display department. Last year's A14 had a lovely OLED panel, but it was only 1200p, whereas you'll now get FHD (1080p). That'll solve one of our few gripes with the laptop, since it could sometimes lack a little sharpness.

Just like last year's version, the laptop comes in at under 1kg to stand out as one of the lightest machines you could hope to pick up, and its design doesn't appear to have changed much. That's no bad thing, since this was already a very attractive machine, to be fair.

It also maintains a policy of offering helpful quantities of I/O ports, including a full HDMI port, two USB-C ports and a USB-A one for older connections. There doesn't look to be an SD card reader, though, which might make the MacBook Pro look more helpful for photographers.

We're very much not all photographers, though, and a new MacBook Pro will almost certainly cost way more than the ZenBook A14, given that the 2025 version came in at £1,099 in the UK, $1,199 in the USA, and AU$1,999 when it launched (and can now be had for more like £800 in the UK).

I don't have pricing at this point, as is common for CES laptop announcements, but it'll doubtless come soon, and I'd expect it to mirror last year's, making this a clear competitor for the MacBook Air rather than the Pro, and a standout option in the Windows laptop market.

Asus has taken to CES 2026 to announce its upgraded Asus Zenbook DUO range, which is more powerful and intelligently built than any that have gone before.

Known for its dual-screen setup, this is built around a hinge that's massively important and – in this generation – has been totally redesigned.

The new hinge reduces the gap between the two 3K screens from 26mm right down to 8.28mm. A big difference that could make for a more natural experience across screens when drawing, for example. It's also a lot more stable, making for a better touch experience.

The body features a 90% recycled chassis which Asus calls Ceralamium. This material, it says, offers exceptional resistance to dents, scratches and wear to keep it looking newer for longer.

Those screens are both OLED and feature 2880 x 1880 resolution, as well as 100% DCI-P3 colour, and are VESA DisplayHDR 1000 True Black and Dolby Vision compatible. All that and a 144Hz refresh rate, should make for a super premium visual experience.

In addition, whatever is running on those screens should be just as top-end thanks to the new Panther Lake Intel Core Ultra X9 processor. This offers 16 cores spread across 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores and 4 LPE-cores. You also have Xe3 architecture, a fifth-gen NPU and seventh-gen IPU. All that should mean up to 10% single-thread and 50% multi-thread speed jumps versus the last gen Arrow Lake.

There's a new detachable keyboard and touchpad which offers Bluetooth connectivity and up to 54 hours of use on a charge. The Duo itself features a 99Wh battery for a full day of use and a recharge to 50% in just 30-minutes.

Asus Zenbook DUO 2026: Pricing and availability

Asus has not yet revealed a release date or pricing for the 2026 Asus Zenbook Duo. We'll update when we find out more.

Asus clearly thinks this CES is going to be a big moment for its dual-screen options – it's launching a pair of high-end Duo machines, and while the Zenbook Duo is a revision of an already existing product, it's the ROG Zephyrus Duo that's really caught my eye. I test a lot of gaming laptops, including some of the very best ones out there, but I've never had my hands on one with two displays.

In fact, as the below press image from Asus immediately illustrates, I think that gaming scenarios might make a more obvious and understandable justification for why you could need two screens (at great cost) than normal productivity does. Why worry about split-screen co-op when you can have dual-screen?

Like the Zenbook Duo, the line between double tablet and two-screened laptop is quite thin here. The ROG Zephyrus Duo's main body is a hinged pair of 16-inch displays, each of which hides some of the main components of the laptop behind itself. At a glance, it looks like a normal laptop, thanks to a magnetically detachable panel that houses the keyboard and trackpad. Underneath that panel is the second display for when you need it.

Neither of those displays will let the team down, either. They're both 3K 120Hz OLED panels with 0.2ms response times that should look amazing regardless of what you're playing. That's augmented by the option of including up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU, the most powerful out there, along with Intel's latest-generation processors.

That makes for a super-powerful setup, but of course, it might need to be – if you're hoping that you might play games across two screens at once, that's a lot of rendering to handle. That said, I can't immediately think of many games that would actually allow for this, but you could presumably run separate instances of games at the same time to make it doable.

I wouldn't expect developers to really make dedicated double-screen modes just for this sort of laptop, not least since it'll likely be really expensive and therefore not the biggest seller. Still, who knows where the dual-screen market might be in a few years' time. Asus clearly hopes it's going to go from strength to strength.

I'm pretty sure I'm on firm ground when I say that it's not an easy time to make your gaming hardware stand out right now. While the days of flashy RGB light arrangements aren't truly behind us, it looks like more and more gamers want hardware that blends in and doesn't scream "gamer" from the rooftops.

Erm, well, nobody got that memo to Asus ROG this year, because its newly-announced G1000 PC, unveiled at CES, features just about the maddest design feature I've seen on a PC in years: a full-blown hologram on the side.

The ROG G1000 is a chunky desktop power aimed at providing just about the maximum amount of power as you could want in such a large footprint. It can be configured with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, to match that aspiration, as well as an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor to match.

At a time when memory is becoming a truly scarce thing, you'll get a whopping 128GB of DDR5 RAM and a lovely Asus X870 motherboard with included Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, making it an all-around beast of a system. It's got cooling to match all of this, including a tall "thermal atrium" at the top to help pull in the coolest air possible for the whole fan system.

That's all by the by, though, since the real attention-grabber is very much that wild side-panel with a fully built-in hologram. Asus has come up with a suitably silly name for it, too: the ROG AniMe Holo. That presumably means the tech could come to other designs in the future, but, for now, you'll have to shell out in a big way to get it.

The hologram can display a range of animations and lighting that can sync up with what you're playing or not, as you like. It works by whirring a fan around and using light to give the impression of 3D imaging, like any hologram of this sort, but the effect is pretty impressive when you see it.

There are quick control keys on the case itself to toggle this and various fan modes easily, but I'd imagine the sort of gamer who wants a hologram in their case will go into a little more detail to customise it using Asus' ROG software. The sky will presumably be the limit, there.

Whether it's to your taste is another question, of course, but it's interesting to see Asus continuing to plough its own furrow and double down on the glitz and showiness of its gaming tech. I wasn't given pricing for the G1000, which will be a key variable, but it'll likely be an option for the most dedicated of gaming show-offs.

The moment Xbox announced the ROG Xbox Ally, it became clear that almost everyone interested in playing their Xbox-branded games on the go would have a choice to make before buying. Would they go for the 'basic' Xbox Ally, or upgrade to the significantly pricier Xbox Ally X?

Well, having reviewed the Xbox Ally in detail, I've now had time to test the Xbox Ally X in equal depth. So which one's better? That's a complicated question that comes almost entirely down to your budget, but read on to find out what I thought of Microsoft's superpowered handheld.

Price and Availability

There's no way to soften this blow: the Xbox Ally X is a pricey machine, coming in at £799 / €899 / $999 / AU$1,599 depending on your region.

The machine has theoretically been available for a few weeks now, but unlike the cheaper version its stock has been quite hard to come by.

The Xbox Ally, by contrast, is a £499 / €599 / $599 / AU$999 machine. The eagle-eyed will have spotted that this means the price gap is at its biggest in the US, but there's no escaping the chunky uplift regardless of your location.

Design, specs and features

I covered the detailed ergonomics of the Xbox Ally in my review of that console – and the short version of my impressions apply to the letter to the Xbox Ally X, which is exactly the same size. So, again, its design might look frankly odd at first glance, but in the hand it pays dividends.

Principally, by integrating the grips from an Xbox controller right into the handheld, Xbox and Asus have ensured that the console actually remains comfortable to hold well into a long gaming session, which isn't true of every handheld I've tested. Some people don't even find it true of the Switch 2, so it's a good choice for Xbox to have made.

One small change here is that the triggers on the Ally X are "impulse triggers", which means they can be tuned to use haptics and tension in games, like a real Xbox wireless controller, which is lacking on the Xbox Ally.

There is one huge design difference between the Xbox Ally and Ally X, though, which is in the colour department. The more affordable version comes in white, while this X version is black – presumably to underline its more "pro" performance package.

Other than that, the dimensions are all the same, including the 7-inch display, which isn't upgraded here. That's a shame, despite it being a very solid 120Hz refresh rate IPS panel, because when you pay this much more, you might've hoped for an OLED.

Xbox has put that price hike towards other ends, though, and the real upgrade comes under the hood. This handheld uses the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chipset, compared to the Ryzen Z2 A that powers the standard Xbox Ally. You also get more RAM (24GB of LPDDR5x up from 16GB) and double the SSD space (1TB instead of 512GB).

The machine, like its sibling, runs on Windows – but with some key changes. It uses an Xbox software wrapper that crucially turns off a chunk of background features that can make Windows inefficient on other handhelds, closing the gap a little to SteamOS.

That said, the setup is still clunky, and you'll find yourself running into many more dialogue boxes and updates than you do on a SteamOS machine like the excellent Lenovo Legion Go S.

Whether the hardware upgrade feels like enough isn't easy to pin down – this is pitched very clearly as a luxury product, even more so than the standard Xbox Ally.

I can't work out whether I think the Xbox Ally X was the second version, with some obvious tweaks but no huge manufacturing changes compared to the Xbox Ally, or if the process was the other way around.

Either way, it leaves the more powerful machine seeming a little like a tickbox exercise to offer a pricier version for those who want. That said, those who do want will be getting a lot of raw power for their money.

Performance

The big question hanging over the Xbox Ally X is this: is the performance uplift from that AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme worth the extra cost? Well, in my testing, what I definitely can say is that you do feel the benefit a heap.

The uplift won't be obvious until you try to play something demanding, of course. I played through some of Hollow Knight: Silksong on both devices, and performance was literally identical, and the same was true for BallxPit, too. These indie games don't ask much of the hardware, and it's worth wondering to yourself how many of the games you intend to play actually do.

Loading up the likes of Forza Horizon 5, though, I got a good 25% improvement in my frame rates without really tweaking any settings when I played it. Now, on one level, that doesn't sound like a huge upgrade, but when it's the difference between mid-40s frame rates and a steady 60fps, it feels pretty significant.

The same was true in Doom: The Dark Ages; the game on the base Xbox Ally was playable but got pretty muddy thanks to the low resolution required. On Xbox Ally X, it wasn't exactly console-level where sharpness is concerned, but I had more headroom to up a few settings from "Handheld" to other presets and get some fidelity back while still getting near 60fps.

I've mentioned it before, though, and the fact that all this is happening on a screen identical to the Xbox Ally's is a little hard to swallow. It's fine enough, but something about the design here makes it feel very small relative to the handheld's size, and its brightness and colour accuracy aren't class-leading, either. On the standard Xbox Ally, I had no issue with it, but here it feels like it lags behind the price quite clearly.

A positive note to finish on – the Z2 Extreme is an impressively efficient bit of work from AMD, so while you get more power, I didn't notice a drop-off in battery life between the two machines. I got around 3 hours in less demanding games, and closer to 90 minutes in more resource-hungry ones.

ROG Xbox Ally X review: Verdict

Microsoft's powerful handhelds continue to slightly baffle. They're accomplished in some regards, but their pricing means they're almost guaranteed to be niche in terms of overall sales – and the Xbox Ally X epitomises that.

It's a great bit of kit if you can afford it – the best ROG Ally out there now, in fact, and up there as one of the best Windows handhelds ever on paper.

However, it's also undeniably pricey – and used prices for the Asus ROG Ally X, for example, make that a hard sell. I think this Xbox machine is better than the standard Xbox Ally, since it's going to age more gracefully thanks to its more powerful chip, but I also don't know how many people want to spend that money right now. Especially without an OLED display upgrade.

I think those buying the Xbox Ally X are unlikely to be disappointed in its raw performance, but whether that makes it good value is another question – it's certainly one of the most interesting handhelds I've tested, though.

Also consider

The obvious option for those who feel themselves baulking at the price of the Xbox Ally X is to opt for the standard Xbox Ally, which is much cheaper and has the same software experience. Sure, it can't run new or demanding games as smoothly, but if you're happy to curate what you play on it, that might not matter.

Alternatively, the best handheld other than the Switch 2 that I've tested is the Lenovo Legion Go S (SteamOS), which shows just how slick SteamOS is. It's also much less powerful than the Xbox Ally X, but feels so great to use, and has a nice design and ergonomics, to boot.

Xbox's big device-agnostic "This is an Xbox" push means that it's trying to break down perception barriers about where you can play Xbox games – and we're all pretty much aware this is because of cratering sales numbers for its latest generation of consoles.

Having successfully established PC Game Pass (now integrated into a more unified naming structure), its next push is into PC handhelds. Enter the ROG Xbox Ally, on review here, and its more powerful brother, the Xbox Ally X.

These handhelds are collaborations with Asus ROG, building on the existing ROG Ally and ROG Ally X, but adding some slight spec upgrades and redesigning them to look and feel more like Xbox devices.

I've been using the entry-level ROG Xbox Ally for about 10 days to see how it fares. It's just as interesting a device as I expected – for better and worse – as I'll explain in this review.

Price and Availability

The ROG Xbox Ally comes in at $599 or £499 in the US and UK, respectively, and €599 in the EU.

The ROG Xbox Ally X, meanwhile, is a steeper £799, $999 or €899 – but I'm not going to bring up the Ally X every two seconds, since I haven't been able to test it.

The crucial thing to know is that so far they've each only been available to pre-order ahead of the 16 October on-sale date, and stock has been thin on the ground. The basic Xbox Ally has been more plentiful, while the Xbox Ally X has been sold out pretty much everywhere.

It's impossible to know at this stage whether that's due to conservative stock levels from Asus and Xbox, or greater than expected popularity. Either way, it might make picking one up a little challenging in the short term.

Design and Specification

Some bits of the ROG Xbox Ally look extremely familiar if you've handled the older ROG Ally before, but others are very obviously and quite radically different. The biggest change that's been made is the addition of large protruding grips that are basically lifted from the design of Xbox's latest generation of controllers.

Most PC handhelds have grips that are more integrated into the body of the device, making for a squared-off look from the front, which means that the ROG Xbox Ally stands out immediately. Other than that, the face buttons are now Xbox versions (ABXY), and there's a small Xbox button on the left of the device to help with some of the software features on offer.

Another meaningful change from the original ROG Ally is the addition of a second USB port on the top of the device, both with DisplayPort 1.4 and Power Delivery 3.0. This makes it easier to charge the device while keeping it connected to an external display or accessory. You can grab this Xbox version in white, while the ROG Xbox Ally X is in black.

Those changes aside, there's a lot of consistency here. The ROG Xbox Ally has the same display size and specs – a 7-inch Full HD resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate IPS panel.

My hot take here is that, with the width of the ROG Xbox Ally feeling more substantial because of its wing-like grip design, this screen actually doesn't feel particularly huge, and the fairly chunky bezels don't help. Even the Nintendo Switch 2 has a larger display, after all.

The device comes in at 670g, which means it's not the lightest portable out there, but it's still comfortable to hold for hours at a time in my experience, thanks to those excellent grips. I do suspect it might not be ideal for those with smaller hands, though, but your mileage may vary here.

To get deeper into the specs, the ROG Xbox Ally is powered by an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, which means it's upgraded over the ROG Ally; the more expensive Xbox Ally X bumps this to a Z2 Extreme for more power.

This basic version also gets 16GB of LPDDR5-6400 RAM, and a 512GB M.2 2280 SSD that can be swapped out if you want more space. It also comes with a 60Wh battery, up from 40Wh on the original ROG Ally, meaning its battery can go a good chunk further. You get a 65W charger in the box along with a small stand for docked use.

This isn't the place for a detailed comparison, but the eagle-eyed will have noticed that the ROG Xbox Ally basically stands as a sort of stopgap upgrade over the ROG Ally. It doesn't revolutionise the specs list, but offers some small boosts – and comes in at a very similar price to the in-house Asus version.

The main difference is the feel in the hand (thanks to that change in design), but a bigger battery can't be sniffed at, and the slightly better processor is welcome too. However, this might all be by the by – the really interesting thing will be whether Microsoft can actually shift big numbers of what looks like a niche proposition.

There's also a Steam Deck-shaped elephant in the room, in the form of other handhelds that are cheaper for performance that can get pretty close to what's on offer here – but more on that shortly.

Performance and Display

While its price isn't particularly surprising given where the original ROG Ally sat, there's no question that Xbox has some justifying to do if it wants people to spend more than the price of an Xbox Series X on this handheld.

I'm not a newbie to PC gaming handhelds (I had a Steam Deck for years), so I booted up some favourites to see how the ROG Xbox Ally held up. The short version is that it left me feeling extremely similar to my conclusions about the ROG Ally nearly two years ago. This is a handheld that boasts good performance and some great features, but there's no way to pretend it's the best value option on the market.

This time around, much is the same – you're still running Windows as the operating system, which means you're still running into all of the foibles that come with it. The question of compatibility is a non-starter, since you can run almost anything you like on the device, but usability is another topic. Windows still feels terrible through a touchscreen, for my money.

However, Xbox and Asus have cleverly got around that with some Xbox app integration that can make the ROG Xbox Ally feel more like a portable Xbox console if you're happy to keep it simple. This all flows decently smoothly, and I definitely appreciate having a handheld that has plenty of strings to its bow.

Performance is much as you'd expect – and it's extremely dependent on the game you choose. Forza Horizon 5, which is phenomenally optimised and well-loved as a testing game, can look excellent on the 1080p display with settings lowered to around the Low mark throughout, and just about get close to 60fps if you set it up right.

Newer titles like Doom: The Dark Ages are also a challenge that can be surmounted on lower settings, but some others, like Oblivion Remastered, are pretty close to being non-starters, even on the lowest settings. If you need 60fps in modern titles, then needless to say, it doesn't feel like cost-effective tech is there for you yet – but it's getting closer.

Go a little more sensible, though, and you can have an incredible time. A perfect case in point comes in the form of Hollow Knight: Silksong, a recent Game Pass addition that I've been banging my head against (it's hard!). Its simpler 2D graphics mean you can really crank the performance and make the most of your 120Hz display with higher frame rates.

That said, even with a relatively moderate load, the handheld does get pretty loud from spinning up its fans, and that makes some earbuds or a great gaming headset an asset while you're using it. It's also a slight shame to see no upgraded display (an OLED in particular), though this looks more stingy on the extremely pricey Xbox Ally X rather than this basic version.

Having access to Steam via Windows when you want it is also a boon – I used it to play the indie roguelite Clover Pit and had a tremendous time, again thanks to much less ambitious graphical requirements.

The comparison to a Steam Deck is hard to avoid, too. Valve's machine is a bunch older and a chunk less powerful, but I'd argue that most people should really be playing similar games on the ROG Xbox Ally as they would on a Steam Deck, negating that advantage to a degree. The Steam Deck's way cheaper, crucially, which makes the ROG Xbox Ally stand out even more as a quite niche option, in my view.

On battery life, though, the ROG Xbox Ally does win, and it can get over 5 hours on a charge if you set it up right, which makes it one of the better PC handhelds you can grab right now.

Verdict

I'm not sure the ROG Xbox Ally is going to convince anyone of much – which isn't to say that it's worthless, by any stretch. Indeed, it's a great little handheld gaming PC, albeit there are other better-value options out there (and the market won't be able to escape the looming shadow of the Switch 2, either).

Performance is solid, ergonomics are surprisingly good, and the Xbox software wrapper is also an actual success. However, the experience still has rough edges that make the Xbox Ally feel like the first thrust in a slightly haphazard experiment from Xbox. If you're interested and can afford the outlay, however, then it does largely what it says on the tin.

Also consider

The obvious big name in the market here is the Steam Deck, and it's a great option for those looking to spend a good chunk less (especially since it now goes on sale fairly regularly). Whether you opt for the pricier OLED version for a superb display or the cheapest one available, you'll end up playing many of the same games as you would on the ROG Xbox Ally.

PC gamers won't like me for this, meanwhile, but it's silly to pretend the Switch 2 isn't a great option, too. It's got almost no user customisation and you're completely locked into Nintendo's world, but that world is full of stunning exclusive games and has an ever-increasing roster of indies to call on too.

After several weeks of rumours, both Asus and Xbox have announced when their collaborative handheld consoles will be available to buy.

The ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally will go on sale in the UK and other regions on 16 October 2025 – a date that has leaked in recent times.

Speaking from Gamescom 2025 in Germany, where both models are available for the public to view for the first time, the companies also said that they'll follow-up with pre-order and pricing details for different regions "in the coming weeks".

The Xbox Ally X is the flagship handheld, running on an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor and 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It also houses a 1TB M.2 SSD for storage and an 80Wh battery, needed to offer enough battery life to keep you playing for a few hours.

Its cheaper sibling, the Xbox Ally, drops the CPU down to the AMD Ryzen 2 A processor, which will be backed up by 16GB of RAM. The SSD storage is also halved, to 512GB.

It'll come with a 60Wh battery, but the other specs mean that it should still run for about the same amount of time before needing to be recharged.

Both handhelds will include a 7-inch 120Hz IPS display with a 1080p resolution.

In terms of the gaming experience, they will boot into a dedicated Xbox layer (on top of Windows) which will filter games, so you know which ones will work.

It's been announced that the Microsoft team has been working on optimising games for the platform, with badges accompanying titles, such as "Handheld Optimised" and "Mostly Compatible".

More games will be optimised over time.

We'll update when more details become available, including pricing.

Xbox is poised to make some major announcements during Gamescom this week, with the most eagerly anticipated being around its next console(s).

It will be streaming live from the "world's biggest" video games show in Germany from Wednesday 20 August and we're expecting to hear some key hardware details.

Not only will that include extra specs information on the ROG Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally handhelds, but we should also find out when they'll be available to buy – both on pre-order and the final release date. We should also find out official pricing.

However, thanks to Amazon US, we now have as close to official confirmation of at least one of those things.

Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally release date revealed

Amazon.com accidentally posted a listing for the cheaper model late last week. It has since been taken down, but not before The Verge's Tom Warren managed to grab some interesting info and a collage of marketing pics.

The Amazon listing also revealed the shipping date for the handheld – 16 October 2025.

This complies with an earlier suggestion we'd covered, which came from Dealabs' renowned games industry leaker Billbil-kun. It also effectively confirms that pre-orders are set to open on 20 August after the Xbox announcement.

Billbil-kun also previously claimed that European prices for the Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally will be €899 and €599 – putting both models in the premium bracket for PC-based gaming handhelds. That roughly equates to £775 / $1,050 and £516 / $699 respectively, but the Amazon listing did not include prices so it's hard to know for sure.

What is the ROG Xbox Ally handheld?

Xbox announced its first official gaming handhelds at the start of June, after months of speculation.

Made by Asus, the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally (to give them their full names) are PC devices that run a heavily customised version of Windows with an Xbox overlay.

They each come with a 7-inch 1080p IPS display capable of up to 120Hz refresh rates, and have Freesync Premium support. Brightness is claimed to be 500 nits.

Each device also has a dedicated Xbox home button and launch straight into the Xbox Full Screen Experience when switched on. There are some key differences between them though, which is why there's a disparity in price.

The cheaper Xbox Ally comes in white and runs on the AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor. It also comes with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.

The flagship Xbox Ally X steps that up a touch. It is a grey/black colour and runs on the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme instead. It also has a boost in RAM, up to 24GB, and 1TB of on-board SSD storage.

We'll find out more later this week, and will bring you our own impressions when we go hands-on with the handhelds ourselves from Gamescom.

Sometimes tech reviewing comes in fits and starts – rather than a steady dripfeed of products, there are set times in the year when it's more like being hit with a fire hose of devices. When Nvidia unveils its new slate of graphics cards, it tends to bring about a deluge of the best gaming laptops you could want to see.

After all, the new cards come in laptop versions, too, which means that every manufacturer out there that makes gaming laptops suddenly has a range of new ones to try out, and I spent much of late April and May testing these, from the likes of Razer, Acer, Medion and more. It was hugely interesting, but at the end of a queue of reviews, there was one clear winner in my mind – the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.

This is a gaming laptop that could pass for a MacBook Pro at a glance, in the best way possible – it's sleek and slim at 14 inches. That might be smaller than many people would expect from a device in this sector, but I found it had everything it needed, not least a beautiful OLED display.

Plug it into an external monitor, hook it up to power and power up a recently-launched game, and it doesn't take long for the hardware to showcase how potent it is, either. The big feature upgraded for the 50-series Nvidia cards has been frame generation, which adds to your frame rate by inserting AI-generated frames in between the real ones.

On a 14-inch laptop like this, it's a superb option, with image quality downsides that are extremely hard to spot given the display's size. That means it can sometimes feel a bit like a magic trick, giving you extra performance for basically nothing. Don't come for me, hardware deep-divers! It's just how I've felt using the setting.

Meanwhile, being able to use the Zephyrus G14 like a regular laptop also puts it into a smaller category of impressive gaming laptops, with the likes of the Razer Blade lineup. When you're on battery power, that taxing GPU is basically disabled, and the device reverts to being a slim but powerful productivity machine. For this price, you'd hope it could do that, but you'd be surprised how many rivals don't manage it.

So, if you've got a hefty budget and fancy a gaming laptop that can do it all, this is the one I'd buy for myself. Can you get better specs elsewhere for the same money? Yes – but you won't the all-around useability that Asus offers, and that's something I value hugely.

Asus' most impressive slimline gaming laptop might not have quite the same level of exposure that the Razer Blade lineup attracts, but it's still carved out a nice slice of the market over recent years. If you want a laptop that can do a job over the part of a day's work, then plug in for some proper gaming in the evenings, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is a great option nowadays.

I got hold of its 2025 revision, sporting an Nvidia RTX GeForce 5070 Ti Laptop GPU, then put it through its paces over the course of a week of testing, and it left me hugely impressed. This is a laptop that can change its guise easily, with one of Asus ROG's least obviously gamer-ish designs and great power. And I think it's truly great.

Price & Availability

The Zephyrus G14 comes in a fair few different specs, including the models that launched in 2024 with 40-series cards in them. You can order a 2025 model freely now, though, starting at £2,699.99 in the UK for the version I tested, sporting a 5070 Ti, or $2,399.99 in the US.

You can spec it more aggressively, but the price spikes up quite harshly if you do, and can range up to £3,749 or $3,169.99 if you want a 5080. It won't take much attention to notice that the US prices seem advantageous compared to their UK counterparts.

Design

It hasn't changed much at all from the 5-star 2024 model that we enjoyed hugely, but that doesn't mean the ROG Zephyrus G14 puts a foot wrong on the design front. This is a gaming laptop that doesn't just pass for an ultrabook – it basically is one.

You can get the G14 in either silver or dark grey, depending on stock, and the silver version I tested looks for all the world like a MacBook Pro from a distance. The main difference is that it has a strong diagonal slash across the back of its display, which lights up thanks to a line of thin LED strips through it.

This lighting can be controlled using Asus' lighting software or disabled entirely. It's a distinctive touch, but far from the sort of gamer-ish excess that can plague other laptops in this part of the market.

The bottom of the laptop, meanwhile, hides two rubber rails for stability and a huge amount of ventilation. The exact kind of design a powerful gaming laptop needs, then.

Ports are present in abundance, too. On the left side of the laptop, there's a charging port, which pairs with the chunky but not outrageously big charger. There's also an HDMI 2.1 port, a DisplayPort-capable USB-C port, a USB-A port, and a headphone jack. The right-hand side offers another USB-C port for accessories, along with another USB-A, and a slot for a microSD card if you need more storage.

This does mean there's no Ethernet for wired internet, but my strong suspicion is that anyone using this as a desktop replacement, even part of the time, will invest in a docking station to give them all the ports they need in an easier-to-access way.

Open the laptop and you're greeted by its 16:10 aspect OLED display, sporting 14-inches of 120Hz action at a native resolution of 2880 x 1800. There's a tenkeyless keyboard underneath it, including four extra keys that you can bind as you like, and a separate glass power button.

Below that is a decent-sized trackpad with a nice, smooth finish. It has actual movement to it, too, rather than being capacitive, which means you can only click it down on its lower portions. To each side of the keyboard are speaker grates, for those wanting sound without using one of the best gaming headsets.

It's a pretty gorgeous bit of hardware given what it has under the hood, at around 1.50kg depending on your exact spec, and measuring in at just over 1.5cm thick. This all makes it genuinely stowable and easy to pack in a backpack or bag. Needless to say, most of the time that's not true even of the best gaming laptops.

Specs & Features

So, what about the situation under the hood? Well, the review unit Asus loaned me boasts that headline-grabber of a discrete 5070 Ti GPU, along with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor.

That means it has a double-edged set of specs, able to use its GPU for beefy tasks and gaming when plugged in, but with decent integrated graphics for the times when power is in shorter supply.

There's 32GB of LPDDR5X 8000 RAM to bring a boost to multitasking, while a 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD takes care of a big chunk of storage. There's also a relatively easily-accessed expansion slot if you take the back of the laptop off with a security screwdriver, which is always nice.

The 1080p webcam over the display is nothing special, but it does enable Windows Hello face detection for quickly unlocking your machine. Along those lines, this is also a CoPilot+ PC, of course, so all of Microsoft's new features are there if you want them, including a beta version of its invasive-sounding Recall feature.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the laptop boasts Wi-Fi 7 along with Bluetooth 5.4, so you're unlikely to be left behind on that front for years and years. Battery capacity does show the compromise of the design Asus has gone for, though, at 73Whr – substantially smaller than beefier (and fatter) 16 and 18-inch laptops manage (and below the maximum 99.9Whr that laptops are permitted to carry).

Asus bundles in quite a lot of software on the laptop, although a chunk of this is useful. This includes Nvidia's app for updating your game-ready drivers, and Asus' own Armoury Crate app. The latter is essential to set up your power profile as you like, and you can do so on a per-game or per-app basis, which is great. It's clean and easy to use.

Performance

The performance of the ROG Zephyrus G14 comes down to a very different set of options depending on whether you're plugged into a power outlet or not. That's how today's most powerful processors function, requiring more watts to deliver their best – which can't be achieved on battery alone.

I'll start with how it fares on battery, since that's a little quicker. In effect, you can use the laptop like you would a MacBook or Dell portability making for great productivity. It's small, but the keyboard's great, and I found it easy to use for work tasks. Additionally, it can last around 5 hours this way, which is decent enough to be reliable in a pinch.

Moving over to gaming and the unplugged performance isn't as great. If you accept Asus' default settings then it practically disables the GPU. That means integrated graphics, and while these have come a long way, they're still well below expectations given the high price of this unit.

Take the recently released Doom: The Dark Ages, a demanding but decently optimised game that looks gorgeous on PC compared to PS5 Pro. At 720p, it could barely run and wasn't what I'd call playable.

Plug in the power, though, reenabling that GPU, and you get the true experience that Asus has packaged up. I ran The Dark Ages at 1440p with the High preset and enjoyed frame rates hovering around the 100fps mark, thanks to frame generation, which is the most impressive part of the 50-series upgrade.

While the feature has its detractors at higher resolutions in desktop rigs, I think laptops are where it can truly shine – a smaller display makes the occasional blurriness all the harder to perceive, to the point where I didn't actually see any. The boost to performance, meanwhile, can be seismic at times.

Dropping down to 1080p boosted my frame rates further, and there's plenty of tinkering to be done on this front. That tinkering gets more in-depth when it comes to enabling more unlocked battery-powered GPU use, which can be quite fiddly. If you're a power-user who wants top performance, even if it'll only last 90 minutes to 2 hours or so, you can set that up and enjoy frame rates that fall below powered play by only an acceptable margin.

More likely, though, most people buying the 2025 G14 will accept that it's designed for productivity when on battery power, and gaming when plugged in, to which end it works brilliantly.

Regardless of how you power it, you'll notice that the G14 does spin up its fans frequently, and they're pretty noticeable. This, again, puts it in an interesting place. These are far quieter fans than some full-scale gaming beasts I've tested, but they're also way louder than what you'd hear from a MacBook Pro under strain. That shouldn't be a surprise, but it's worth knowing in case you're thinking of gaming on a train, for instance.

That cooling works a treat, though, and I never found the G14 got uncomfortably hot, even on my lap. Like so many of its performance metrics, you can also tweak its curves and build per-app profiles in the software for more control.

The screen, meanwhile, remains a doozy – its OLED construction makes for nice deep blacks, and its refresh rate looks super smooth in person. It could be slightly more vivid, still – a note from previous years, too – but that's a real nitpick.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) review: Verdict

Sometimes the products we love and want to buy defy logic a little bit. There's no escaping that you can get better performance per pound from other laptops on the market if you're a gamer, but the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is aiming to thread a different needle. It's genuinely great to look at and carry around, and it offers something approaching the best of both worlds.

With a 5070 Ti inside, you can enjoy genuinely impressive performance for its form factor when plugged in. Meanwhile, you also have the option to carry it around for meetings or flexible work when needed. It's priced at a proper premium level, but I think those who can afford it will find it every bit the winner. Gaming laptops don't come better than this.

Also consider

The obvious rival in the market today for Asus is Razer, as I mentioned right at the start of this review. Its 2025 revision of the Blade has a similarly sleek design and the new specs to match, but I haven't been able to test one hands-on just yet.

Alternatively, if you want more bang for your buck there's one of MSI's latest machines to consider. The MSI Stealth 18 HX AI is a far, far larger option, so it ditches the "normal laptop" vibe entirely – but therefore runs a little more reliably at top power, and has a substantially larger display to enjoy.

The art of building a good headset can bring you to a set of vague rules that might well contradict each other – make it light enough to be comfy, but not so light as to feel cheap; bring huge battery life, but also small swappable batteries; make the microphone studio-quality but also retractable to hide away.

Really, only the most premium options among the best gaming headsets can afford to meet all these demands, and if you take a step down to the mid-range (but still pricy) bracket then you'll find headsets that make choices about what to prioritise.

Asus has done just that with the ROG Delta II, which has some great stuff up its sleeve – and I've been testing it for many weeks now in tandem with my PS5 Pro, which makes the perfect match.

Asus ROG Delta II: Price & Availability

The ROG Delta II has had a slightly confusing journey to the market – largely because it's been available in the US for a lot longer than here in the UK. Regardless, you can now get it in both territories, as well as elsewhere; in the US it's priced at $229, while in the UK it's £219.

However, it's worth noting that I'm seeing the headset widely available for below £/$200 already, as you can see in the shopping widget above, suggesting that the full RRP won't often be the one you'll need to pay.

This puts it well below the marker of the fanciest headsets out there from the big brands, like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless (my personal favourite), many of which hover around £300/$300 or more.

Asus ROG Delta II review: Design & Features

Asus stands somewhat alone in the headset world because of its fascination with the triangular shape. The ROG Delta II are in that bracket, with triangular earcups that stand out from a distance, but basically do the job identically to more traditional designs.

The outside of each earcup has a ring of RGB lighting, and each has a light-up ROG logo too, which by default pulses through the rainbow. How you feel about it aesthetically is your business, but it has a negative power outcome that I'll touch on later.

Most of the headset is made of plastic, with the major exception of the swivelling arms that actually connect the earcups to the headband. This part is metal, and feels well-made. It also has enough travel to make getting a fit on differently-shaped heads easy.

That said, this is one of the looser headsets I've ever tested, and while that made it extremely comfortable for me, the fact that I was using the tightest possible headband configuration makes me wonder if those with smaller heads might find it too loose.

One note of major praise for the ear cushions, which are extremely soft, but more importantly can be swapped between the leatherette default or some cloth mesh alternatives. Asus throws those into the box for free, which other companies could learn from, because choice is a great factor.

The microphone is fully detachable here, rather than removable, and is surprisingly directional, which means that Asus has added a little visual marker to help you ensure it's pointed the right way at your mouth.

Finally, there is a great range of controls on the headset itself, including independent volume controls for Bluetooth connections and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connections, which could be really handy if you're using dual audio.

You also get two function buttons that control connectivity (but also other features via different presses), a nice clicky on/off switch, a USB-C charging port, and a 3.5mm connection port for wired audio.

The package is rounded out by a small USB-C dongle for that 2.4GHz mode. This works a treat with the PS5 Pro, which continues the trend towards more USB-C ports on consoles (and it doesn't come with a USB-A adapter, to be clear).

Asus ROG Delta II review: Sound & Battery Performance

Asus already had a solid headset sound-wise when it came to the previous generation of the ROG Delta, so it's no surprise that its reprise is marginally better (and that's a good thing).

The Delta II headset uses 50mm titanium-plated diaphragm drivers, which translates to great sound that can get boomingly loud if you want it to, but also has decent amounts of quiet detail if you crank it right down.

I've found it excellent with both immersive single-player experiences like the Oblivion remaster and while playing frenetic shooters like Warzone and Marvel Rivals, where the positioning of an enemy's footsteps has major importance.

With no active noise-cancelling (ANC) to account for, isolation is decent using the leatherette cushions, but it's not so cocooning – so you'll be unable to hear someone talking next to you. Again, that's potentially a good thing if you want a headset that doesn't make you obnoxiously isolated, but which still sounds great.

The microphone is extremely solid, although the fact that you have to keep it oriented correctly can be fiddly. That little marker makes this easier, but even it can be hard to see without taking the headset off to do a more in-depth adjustment.

Finally, though, battery life brings a bit of a weird detail to the fore. With the RGB lighting switched on, as it is by default when you get the headset unboxed, the ROG Delta II manages about 33 hours of usage, which isn't too bad. Turn off the RGB by holding down one of the function buttons, though, this more than triples to around 110 hours.

I can't believe Asus wouldn't be clearer about this in its packaging, or that it wouldn't turn off the lighting by default to get people the advertised battery numbers without compromise. I get that aspiring streamers might want a headset with lighting to match their setup or backdrop, but this feels like a weird compromise for regular gaming use.

Asus ROG Delta II review: Verdict

The Asus ROG Delta II is a great headset – one that I think has really broad appeal. It's high quality enough both in build and sound to merit its price, but also not so expensive that it becomes off-putting.

So long as you remember to turn off its RGB lights, it also has stellar battery life. There's also rock-solid connectivity and good on-headset controls, which all goes to make for a great overall package. Active noise-cancelling would elevate it further, but I still think it's an extremely solid buy at its price.

Also Consider

If you do indeed want ANC in your gaming headset, along with battery-swapping smarts and best-in-class sound, then my favourite headset is the one for you. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless remains a star even years after its release.

For something a little closer to Asus' price point, there's also the ever-impressive Razer BlackShark V2 Pro, which feels a little more solid in the hand and on the head, but is very comparable in terms of features. It might come down to which design you prefer, quite honestly.

Asus often pushes the envelope through its Republic of Gamers (ROG) gaming brand, and it's been doing that pretty loudly when it comes to gaming phones in the last few years. Alongside this, though, it's also been making an interesting play where tablets (or 2-in-1s) are concerned.

The original ROG Flow Z13 was a unique proposition when it launched, and remains so to this day – but that hasn't stopped Asus from revisiting it with some new specs for 2025. I've been using it for a couple of weeks to see just how a gaming tablet actually feels to use – and whether it's genius or madness.

Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review: Price & availability

If you take stock of the best gaming laptops on the market fairly often, like me, you'll know that they can get frighteningly expensive. Still, there's no avoiding the fact that the ROG Flow Z13 (2025) comes in at the premium end of even that scale, for all that it's not simply a laptop.

For those of us in the UK, the tablet is priced at £2,199.99, while in the US that comes out at $2,099.99, and in Australia that means AU$4,499. That's a real wedge of money no matter where you are, but you should be able to order it as of now in all of those locations.

Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review: Design

Before we get on to the technicality of what makes the Z13 Flow impressive and confusing at the same time, there's how it actually looks and handles.

This is a chunky, thick tablet at its heart, one that far outweighs something like an iPad – or, frankly, any of the other best tablets you could think of. It measures 30 x 20 x 1.49cm, and crucially weighs in at 1.2 kg – trust me when I say you'll be unpleasantly surprised the first time you pick it up.

On one face, it has a large 13.4-inch touchscreen, while its thick edges house a range of ports, including a proprietary charging port for the sizeable brick that gives it charge when in need. The back of the tablet has a sturdy kickstand that's stiff enough to stand at a wide range of angles, but easy to adjust.

In the package, as you open it, you'll also get a magnetic keyboard attachment in the classic folio style, which can fold up and protect the screen when you're not using the tablet. It has a full trackpad and keyboard with a decent amount of travel, but isn't mechanical or anything like that.

There are various touches that make it obviously a gaming product from a distance, including a window on the back that shows some motherboard, and the option of a little RGB lighting in that area. That said, it's not the most 'shouty' of devices, and could probably go by stealthily as just a standard 2-in-1.

This all leaves the ROG Flow Z13 in a funny place. In some ways, it's smaller and far more packable than a gaming laptop of a similar price would likely be. In others, though, it's very heavy for a tablet, so really feels comparable to lugging a laptop around instead.

Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review: Features & Specs

Here's where things get a little more complicated. The whole point of the 2025 refresh of this gaming tablet is that it brings the AMD Ryzen AI Max 390 chip to the table. This is a 12-core processor from AMD's new Strix Halo lineup, and it's extremely powerful, with no two ways about that.

Part of what makes it headline-grabbing is that it potentially offers a massive leap forward in integrated graphics performance, thanks to a built-in Radeon 8050S chipset. This means that, unlike the bad old days of CPU graphics, the whole shebang promises to run even new releases at playable frame rates without the need for a discrete laptop GPU.

Aside from the processor, though, you get a bevvy of impressive other parts. The ROG Flow Z13 comes with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM for rapid multitasking, and a 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD so that you have plenty of storage (although modern games may stretch that a little).

The display, meanwhile, is a 13.4-inch WQXGA IPS panel that offers a 180Hz refresh rate at a resolution of 2560 x 1600.

If you can tune games to run at really high frame rates, you'll have a display that can match those, albeit one that doesn't quite manage the truly inky blacks of an OLED panel – and these are becoming more popular. Of course, it's also a full multi-point touchscreen, with stylus support that opens up design opportunities.

As it was making a tablet, Asus clearly felt it couldn't skip cameras entirely, so the ROG Flow Z13 has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP face-recognising IR camera, neither of which I can imagine anyone using willingly beyond occasional video calls.

Ports are hugely important where a tablet that offers so much productivity potential is concerned, and Asus impresses with the number it squeezes in here.

There's a 3.5mm jack for audio, an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port rated up to 10Gbps, and two Type-C USB 4 ports with support for DisplayPort and power delivery, both rated up to 40Gbps.

Finally, there's the aforementioned in-house power port and a microSD slot for expandable storage (which could be very handy).

In terms of connectivity, you get Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, both of which should be nice and futureproof for a good few years, while the internal battery is rated at 70WHrs.

Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review: Performance & Usability

Here we get to the meat of the matter, which is how the ROG Flow Z13 actually performs when put to the task of gaming. The answer is "solidly" – until you start to remember what it costs.

Opening up a brand new title like Avowed, and playing around with its settings, it's perfectly possible to get a stable 60fps experience without cutting too many corners visually. With further tweaking you can raise this ceiling considerably. However, I'm not convinced that anyone would want to buy a ROG Flow Z13 to play new games on lower-than-high settings.

Leave things on high or ultra, across a range of slightly older but intensive titles, and you'll routinely get much better results, meaning your default experience won't be at 30fps by any means. Still, the amount of variation simply isn't all that great an advert for the technically impressive chipset it's running. AMD's FSR 3.0 frame generation is doing a huge amount of legroom in general, too.

Where this gets a little more conflicting is when you start to compare its performance to a range of gaming laptops with discrete laptop GPUs. Our colleagues at Gamesradar+ have gone into more detail on this front for those interested, but the broad picture is simple – a full gaming laptop will almost guarantee you better performance for less money.

The CPU performance when multitasking outside of gaming is stellar, with no slowdown and easy switching between multiple heavy-load applications. Given its touchscreen, this makes it seem like a machine that could make sense for a very small niche of professionals who need that screen for drawing or design work, but also fancy the occasional bit of gaming. It's a very expensive way to tick those boxes, though.

Another factor while gaming is sound, of course, and the ROG Flow Z13's speakers are very solid for the size of the tablet. Still, any self-respecting gamer will want to use one of the best gaming headsets for a huge upgrade, and the tablet's built-in Dolby Atmos-compatible smart amp will ensure that this results in genuinely great sound.

What does come out solidly is the tablet's battery life, which can stretch to 90 minutes of gaming with high graphics intensity, and easily lasts a good chunk longer than that when you're web browsing or watching video. Still, this brings me to the question of actual usability, which is another sore spot.

Asus markets the ROG Flow Z13 as a gaming tablet – which, clearly, it is. However, it comes with the keyboard attachment, and I simply couldn't find many situations where it made sense to use it without that addition. This means that the machine is effectively a de-facto gaming laptop that you simply can't use on your lap. It requires a flat surface to comfortably sit on, because of its kickstand.

This is added to by the fact that, once that decent battery life starts to run out, the power brick to recharge the tablet is pretty sizeable. So, the dream of being able to game at high settings without needing a big backpack of stuff to make it all work still feels a little distant.

Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review: Verdict

It's sometimes very complicated to review expensive, luxury gaming devices like the Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) – because, on the one hand, I'm not sure I'd recommend that anyone actually buy it. A similarly-priced gaming laptop will likely get better performance, and be usable in a wider range of situations.

However, none of that is the device's fault, and it does very much do what it says on the tin. After all, it's got a super-powerful CPU that performs admirably under strain, built-in graphics that are incredibly impressive on their own merits, and the ability to function as a standalone tablet when useful.

So, this Asus tablet is one where I think potential buyers simply need to do as much research as they possibly can – to ensure that they're thrilled by the ROG Flow Z13's best bits, rather than caught out by its obvious shortcomings.

Also consider

A gaming laptop is the most sensible alternative to the ROG Flow Z13, but picking out which one is a more complex matter. Since slimness and portability are obviously factors, I think a 2024 Razer Blade 14 might well be a great pick – although the forthcoming 2025 Razer Blade 16 will be even more powerful when it arrives soon.

Alternatively, there's a lot to suggest that someone eyeing up this tablet might just be better off picking up a powerful iPad Air and doing their gaming either using its very-solid graphics or a separate laptop or desktop gaming rig. It's a left-field option, but you'd be getting a tablet that's more useable in almost every way, for far less money.

Few tablets could compete with a true gaming laptop like the ROG Flow Z13 when it was released in 2022. Now though, there's a new version – and it has really pushed the boat out.

The 2025 version of the Asus ROG Flow Z13 features a new AMD processor, a 2.5k touchscreen display with 180Hz refresh, and a bigger 70Wh battery to deliver up to 10 hours of gaming.

With a removable keyboard, the Z13 can be easily used as a laptop or a tablet, making it a versatile machine. The big difference is the amount of power it offers for gamers.

More ROG models

The ROG Flow Z13 wasn't the only update announced today. Acer also revealed new Strix and Zephyrus models. The Strix G16 and G18 are high-end gaming laptops with 16- and 18-inch screens, respectively. These are high-resolution 2.5k touchscreen displays with a 240hz refresh rate and 3ms response time.

The Strix features up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and the latest Nvidia RTX5090 graphics. They also feature Aura RGB lighting for that true gamer feel.

The Zephyrus model is a bit more sedate but still offers an impressive gaming spec. The compact G14 Zephyrus offers a 3k 120Hz 14-inch display with 0.2 response time, while the G16 gives you a 2.5K 240Hz 16-inch display with a similar response.

Here you get up to either an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX370 or Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (on the G16), and the Nvidia RTX5090 (G16) or the Nvidia RTX5080 (G14).

Asus Zenbook A14

The biggest non-ROG release is the Asus Zenbook A14, a new version of the classy 14-inch laptop that squares up against the Dell XPS (sorry, Pro) and the MacBook Air. This uses the Snapdragon X processor with up to 45NTU TOPS for that AI power and a longer lasting 70Wh battery for up to 32 hours of video playback.

Prices on all models are still to be confirmed.

Even if you're the most hardcore gaming fan out there, chances are you don't own one of the best gaming phones on the market. It's a massively niche sector, with very few players remaining in the game.

In fact, for the last few years, if you wanted a really good gaming phone you had a choice of two: the Asus ROG Phone or the Redmagic model. Both offered good spec sheets with different features designed to lure your allegiances one way or another.

Now, Asus has launched the next device in its gaming phone range: the Asus ROG Phone 9. That features the latest and greatest technology which the brand has to offer.

Asus ROG Phone 9: what's new?

By and large, this feels like an incremental upgrade over the outgoing Asus ROG Phone 8. You'll get the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor inside, as well as a gentle boost to the maximum refresh rate on offer.

Cameras remain largely the same, though, which will be a shame for some users. The battery does get a slight boost – up to 5,800mAh – though that still won't satisfy users looking for the 6,000mAh cell from the Asus ROG Phone 7.

What is new this time out is a lot of software upgrades. You'll get added gaming features courtesy of the AI-engine inside. Users can enjoy a range of features designed to make gaming easier.

There's also a new version of the Hybrid Gimbal Stabiliser. The new 3.0 variant should ensure even smoother video footage – it's a real knockout on the Asus range.

Speaking of the range, it's worth noting exactly what's on offer. You've got the base model Asus ROG Phone 9, the ROG Phone 9 Pro, and the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition. Quite aside from being unnecessarily unclear, the 9 Pro Edition packs in 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and offers a few added extras like the AeroActive Cooler.

Asus ROG Phone 9: Accessories

Where this range really pops is the accessories on offer. As you'll know if you've ever used a ROG Phone, they come with some seriously cool kit.

This time out, you'll have the option of purchasing the AeroActive Cooler – essentially a clip-mount fan which attaches to the rear of the device – but there's also a killer cooling case. That uses a material similar to that of a cooling mat, and places it next to the rear panel, to keep it cool.

That's quite possibly my favourite accessory of any device. It's such a simple design, but it just helps to keep things cool without adding unnecessary bulk.

Asus ROG Phone 9: Performance

This might actually be the toughest section to write, because there really are no surprises when it comes to the ROG Phone 9. That's certainly not a bad thing – in essence, if you've ever used a gaming phone, you'll know what to expect.

These things are absolute powerhouses, meaning they burn through regular daily tasks with ease. It's kind of like how a powerlifter won't struggle with an extra large grocery delivery, even though you might break a sweat.

Move into the gaming realm and things get even more impressive. I have a couple of regular testing beds – EA FC Mobile, COD Mobile and Genshin Impact – and all were taken in the stride of the ROG Phone 9.

While I'm sure longer sessions would start to prove taxing, the sheer volume of cooling and performance boosting specs install faith in me. The AeroActive Cooler is just as good as ever, delivering a burst of cooling energy right above the processor itself.

I also absolutely love the Chill Case. I can't quite tell whether its effects are placebo or not, but it makes a lot of sense regardless. This isn't for the hardcore sessions, but rather a neat something to add on for everyday use.

Asus ROG Phone 9: Verdict

So, should you buy one? Well, that's a tricky one to answer. While the base model will set you back just £949 (approx. $1,200 / AU$1,850) the top spec 9 Pro Edition model costs £1,299 (approx. $1,650 / AU$2,500). That's at the higher end of what you'd expect to pay for an Android phone.

Still, it's certainly not absurd. You'd pay something close to that for models like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, for example.

The question, then, is not exactly one of cost, but more one of character. There aren't all that many people out there who game on their phone enough to warrant such a hardy device. For most of us, the odd 20 minute stint on a lunch break or during a commute won't be taxing enough to justify.

However, that market is certainly growing. Paired up with the ROG Tessen, this could easily fill the void of a Steam Deck or a ROG Ally for those who don't need a truly dedicated unit. If that sounds like you, the ROG Phone 9 is a worthwhile device.

While picking out one of the best Android phones is a great option for most people, there are some occasions where a more specialist device is required. Those specialist devices often offer hardware or software which can excel in particular scenarios.

For example, if you spend a lot of time playing top mobile games, one of the best gaming phones is a great shout. They'll often include stronger processors, and specialised cooling systems to cope with the higher intensity.

One of my favourite gaming phones from last year was the Asus ROG Phone 8. That featured a jam packed spec sheet, with lots to love for gamers on the go.

Now, its successor is coming – and it could be an even more impressive handset. For starters, it's slated to use the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.

That has just been unveiled as part of the Snapdragon Summit event, and represents the pinnacle of the brand's output right now. That's being paired with a second-generation Qualcomm Oryon CPU and an enhanced Adreno GPU for across the board performance.

There's not too much more to speak around right now, although we do also get a look at the design. That's broadly similar to last year's design, though notably we appear to have missed out on the display this time out. That's something of a shame – I did enjoy using that last time out – though I can't imagine it proved especially useful for lots of users.

The back panel looks to be a similarly textured black colour, with a diagonal pattern on the bottom half. The camera bump also appears to be practically identical, though there's nothing to say that what's happening internally is also unchanged.

With the device coming to market on the 19th of November, we should know more in a little under a month.

When did the world of laptops get so fast-paced? It only seems yesterday we were looking at the first Intel Ultra laptops, now Asus has rocked up with our first Intel Ultra 2 laptop (read about what those are here): the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED (codename 'UX5406').

What gives? These Ultra 2 PCs are a reaction to the "made for AI" laptops, a rival to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chipset-toting PCs (again, read about what this is and why it matters here), which include the Asus Vivobook S 16.

We're witnessing a civil war here folks, and it makes recommending the best laptops a truly fraught job. The good news? The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED has truly awesome battery life, even when used outdoors with the screen maxed-out. It's better for gaming than its rivals too.

However, its CPU chops aren’t quite as good as the best out there. We have a feeling this will improve in the next generation, but the Zenbook S14 OLED is still arguably one of the best all-rounders out there for the kind of person who should buy one of the best lightweight laptops. Here's why:

Asus Zenbook S14 OLED UX5406: Price & Availability

The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED launched in mid-September 2024, and was available in stores shortly after. The range’s RRP starts at £1299/$1499 (there's no Australia pricing I can find, but an AU$2250 equivalent is about right), for the model with an Intel Ultra 5 processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.

That’s enough for most folks, but its graphics and CPU power will be a little worse than our review sample’s – which is the slightly pricier version with Intel Ultra 7 CPU, 1TB SSD and 32GB RAM. There's also an Intel Ultra 9 chipset variant, which is the priciest – but you don’t get extra RAM or storage, that upgrade just brings slightly elevated performance.

Asus Zenbook S14 OLED UX5406 review: Design

The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED leans into one of the main strengths of these new Intel Lunar Lake laptops: they are a portability dream. It has a 14-inch screen, and is both slim and light.

Like other Asus Zenbook models, this one has an angular style. The keyboard keys are severe squares, the heat grille above isn't like anything you'd find on one of the best MacBooks or a Microsoft Surface.

Oh, and the lid is inlaid with a geometric pattern that is more involved than you might guess. Asus calls this finish Ceraluminium. The top-most layer is ceramic, but those stark lines reveal the bright, raw aluminium underneath. It's not easy to stand out when making a laptop. Not without doing something ridiculous, anyway. And Asus certainly is trying.

Build quality is also excellent. The screen is stiff, and there's just the tiniest amount of flex when you press down on the middle of that heat grille above the keyboard. That passes my tests – and I've seen many of ultra-wobbly ones over the years.

Asus hasn't forgotten practicality in the Zenbook's connections either. Yep, it's a slimline array, but we do get a USB-A, a full-size HDMI, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Some manufacturers leave those out these days. Those ports are accompanied by a couple of super-fast Thunderbolt 4 connectors that can be used to radically expand connectivity using a dock.

Asus Zenbook S14 OLED UX5406 review: Display

You know what's frustrating about these early made-for-AI laptops? They all have excellent screens, to the extent there’s barely anything of note to separate them.

Here, it's a 2880 x 1800 pixel OLED that measures 14-inches across the diagonal. It's a glossy touchscreen, and while there's no mega anti-reflective layer aboard, it was bright enough to let me write a chunk of this review on one of summer 2024's final bright and sunny days.

The hinge rotation is quite limited, though. This screen can't lean back more than the bog-standard 130-degrees or so, but this does help to dramatically cut down on screen wobble when you work on a less-than-solid surface.

Colour is fantastic, as is contrast. This is a touchscreen too, and it has a glass surface, avoiding the wobbly reflections seen in some plastic top-layer displays. Max refresh rate is 120Hz too. All boxes are ticked, bar the kind of extreme brightness you can get in some Mini-LED laptops, like the MacBook Pro line.

Asus Zenbook S14 OLED UX5406 review: Keyboard & Touchpad

You can instantly tell Asus was out to make a "no compromise" first impression with the Zenbook S14 OLED. It has a fairly expensive-feeling keyboard and touchpad, and those keys have a lovely yet slightly soft-roughened texture to them.

I do like this keyboard for typing, and find the rigidity and density of the lower casing works wonders for avoiding the hollow feel some laptop keyboard have. Can you tell there's a "but" coming, though?

The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED keyboard combines fairly slimline travel with darker, less clicky actuation feedback. I'm a fan of the latter, but not so much when it's combined with the former. As is so often the case with these style and portability-driven PCs, I just wish there were a bit more travel to these keys.

There ain’t much substance here, which you do get in the other launch Intel Ultra 2 showcase – the Lenovo Yoga 7i (not the Yoga 7x, which houses Snapdragon X Elite). It does have an incredibly bright keyboard backlight, though, should you want to be to see those keys even better in daylight.

The touchpad is only a middleweight contender too. It’s of a good size, it’s glass and is non-glitchy. But I find its action a bit slow and stiff, although it certainly has the substance the keyboard lacks.

Fan of haptic pads? This isn’t one, meaning there’s the classic dead zone up top. You can also use gestures along its extreme sides to control volume and brightness. But it’s hardly a reason to buy one of these PCs when keyboard shortcuts buttons do the same job.

Asus Zenbook S14 OLED UX5406 review: Performance

The Asus Zenbook is the first laptop we've reviewed with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor. This is a second-wave Ultra, and it is miles removed from the first in how it operates. But you won't necessarily tell that from how it runs day-to-day.

This is an eight-core CPU, with an Intel Arc GPU on-board, just like the first-gen Intel Ultra chipsets.

On the graphics side we get a chunk more performance. But for raw number crunching there really isn’t much of a generational gain here at all, because these 2nd series Ultra laptop brains are all about ramping up efficiency.

The issue here is the recent Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite does offer both cracking CPU performance and efficiency. But it also lacks a couple of important characteristics of the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED.

The Asus absolutely steamrolls those Snapdragon laptop when playing games. We spent hours playing around with this thing. You can play The Witcher 3 at Ultra settings, 1200p resolution, for example. Sure, you’ll want to stick to 30fps frame rates, but it looks awesome even in 2024.

Cyberpunk 2077 is easily playable with a bit of tweaking at Full HD-grade resolutions. And, as Alien: Isolation’s sequel was announced at the time of review, we tried to that too. At 1080p resolution, with everything maxed, we averaged 102fps.

Sure, it’s not going to replace one of the best gaming laptops for the self-identifying “true gamers” out there. But unlike a “real” gaming PC, the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED gets this performance running on battery, hardly makes any noise while playing, and still lasts 2.5 hours off a charge when you’re doing your level best to melt the GPU. It’s better performance and better stamina than a Steam Deck.

The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED also doesn’t suffer from the rare-but-annoying compatibility issues seen in Qualcomm Snapdragon laptops. I’ve had a small handful of issues with peripherals and software with those PCs, but nothing of the sort here.

This laptop stays quiet too, even when the fans are running. A light whir just kicks up when you stress the CPU, start gaming or download a stack of data. The only issue is that because this whole design is based around limited-heat components that don’t need a mega fan array, those fans can take a while to shut off once the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED warms up.

Asus Zenbook S14 OLED UX5406 review: Battery Life & Features

That’s not to say the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is not impressively efficient, mind. I’ve tested the battery life in a whole bunch of ways. Writing an article outdoors with the screen maxed, you can expect up to 15 hours of use.

Basic indoors video streaming or work? Up to 18 hours and change. Or, as noted earlier, that can drop down to around 2.5 hours when you’re maxed out with gaming or another activity that pushes the processor to its max. But that's still good, in context.

In certain situations you’ll get better battery life from a MacBook Air, because of the way Apple has control over the entire hardware and software structure. But for the kind of jobs for which these super-light laptops excel, the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED has killer battery life.

It does not have a killer webcam, though. Sure, it’s a 1080p resolution camera, but ends up looking pretty soft and low-detail unless it has plenty of light to work with. Most home lighting won’t cut it, but there is an IR emitter that lets it work for face-recognition login.

The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED speakers, however, are pretty good. We get four Harman Kardon-branded drivers, good maximum volume and that rare thing in Windows laptops: a sense of actual bass.

Default settings make the use of dynamic loudness and volume normalisation far too obvious – the default mode doesn’t have that MacBook sense of balance. But you can tweak that as it’s just a software adjustment.

Verdict

As the debut of Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 2-series processors, the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED shows off this new family in a great light.

It sure makes a great do-it-all PC for everyone but those who need peak number-crunching performance. While the Zenbook S14 OLED isn’t bad in this area, it is beaten by the latest MacBook and Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite models.

What you get in return, however, is better gaming performance and (in my experience) none of the compatibility issues inherent to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite laptops’ unusual tech back-end. For some that'll make this Intel choice the 5-star option.

Also consider

The roster of laptops with these new Intel Ultra processors will no doubt fill out soon. But for now your other big option is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9. This is a much larger 15-inch laptop, and therefore a little less portable-friendly. It does have a far more meaty keyboard than the Asus’s, though, with 1.5mm key travel.

Outside of Intel you’ll be looking at the array of Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite laptops. The Lenovo Yoga 7X Slim is a great alternative that, again, has a better keyboard. But, as with all these Qualcomm models, you do risk some compatibility issues and graphics/gaming performance is a league or two below.

If you don’t need too much storage, the base Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is a great cheaper contender. But is 256GB enough these days? For many it isn’t.

Fans of matte screens should also check out the Acer Swift 14 AI. It has a strange LED indicator that lights-up when you use AI features – totally pointless – but does have a reflection-minimising display and is well priced.

IFA 2024 is finally upon us, and with it comes a slate of new products. One of the most notable early releases this year has been the Snapdragon X Plus eight-core.

That looks set to bring the fantastic performance and battery life of chips like the Snapdragon X Elite to a new affordable price point. We're expecting to see it in a host of new laptops over the coming weeks and months.

That torrent of devices has already begun, too, with the launch of the Asus Vivobook S 15 – not to be confused with the old Vivobook S15. That's the latest new model from the brand, and comes packing the latest chip inside.

Designed to be a portable solution, the device weighs a paltry 1.42kg. That's impressive for a 15.6-inch model, and should make it perfect for those who like to take their laptop on the move. Sitting just 14.7mm thick should help to ensure it stays nice and compact in your bag, too.

Don't think that svelte design means a lack of I/O options, though. Users will find a pair of USB4 ports, a further USB 3.2 port, an HDMI input and a MicroSD Card slot. Inside, you'll also find WiFi 7 connectivity for blazing fast connections. 

All of that comes through a 3K OLED panel. That's an Asus Lumina model, and packs in a 120Hz refresh rate for crisp motion.

There's a 70Wh battery inside, too. Combined with that snazzy new processor, that should offer up to 19 hours of battery life. That's absolutely fantastic, and should enable this to offer real competition to popular devices like the 15-inch MacBook Air.

Priced from just £999.99 in the UK (approx. $1,300; AU$1,950) this should be a top option for a lot of users. It sits in that perfect gap between models which are a little too pricey for the Average Joe, and those which simply aren't up to scratch.

When it comes to handheld gaming, the ROG Ally is one of the best options out there. This device runs Windows, giving you access to games and a whole lot more in a portable package. But what if its skillset expanded by including SteamOS as well?

That might just happen, meaning that you can turn your handheld Windows device into a Steam Machine and benefit from a streamlined OS designed for a handheld device, rather than for a desktop computer.

While talk about the creation of a standalone install of SteamOS has been circulating for some time, an interesting reference to the ROG Ally appeared in SteamOS' release notes, claiming "Added support for extra ROG Ally keys". This has reignited speculation around Valve releasing SteamOS for the ROG Ally, with the expected excitement ramping up to 11.

The Verge has followed up with Valve designer Lawence Yang to get confirmation that "the team is continuing to work on adding support for additional handhelds on SteamOS". So while Valve is still working towards releasing SteamOS for devices including the ROG Ally, if you want SteamOS now, your best bet is still the Steam Deck.

That works in the other direction too. We'd previously reported that there was work on making Steam Deck compatible with Windows too, with Yang saying "As for Windows, we’re preparing to make the remaining Windows drivers for Steam Deck OLED available … There’s no update on the timing for dual boot support - it’s still a priority, but we haven’t been able to get to it just yet."

What advantages would dual boot options bring to handheld consoles?

Widening support sounds great, but why might you want to do that? The obvious thing is that it give you choice, so you can choose what OS your device runs when you turn it on. The appeal of SteamOS is that the user interface is better for smaller displays and the sort of controls you have on a handheld console.

Beyond that, many games just work on SteamOS without having to tinker with any settings which is sometimes the case with Windows. Optimisation could also reduce demands on the battery, for example, as you're not running all of Windows at the same time.

SteamOS's Proton compatibility layer makes many games playable on SteamOS, but at the same time, the advantage of having Windows on your device means you can run pretty much anything - and for many people, it's a familiar environment from laptop or desktop use, so it's versatile.

Exactly when any changes might come down the line for SteamOS, the ROG Ally or the Steam Deck remain to be seen. From what Valve says, it wants to do all these things, but isn't quite there yet.

When it comes to the best laptops on the market, there are really only a handful worth your time. The segment is awash with models from different manufacturers, each looking to offer their take on the form.

For many, though, the MacBook range represents the pinnacle of these devices. Whether you're shopping at the very top end, or looking at the more affordable and portable MacBook Air, the range just works effectively and with relatively impressive value.

Windows lovers have long hoped for a comparable solution - and they may well have one here. The new Asus ProArt P16 looks like a bonafide MacBook Pro killer, and I've had a hands on experience to see if it can deliver the goods.

Let's kick off with a quick look at the specs. The P16 packs an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor inside. That is capable of up to 50 trillion operations per second (TOPS) making it perfect for powering AI processes.

That's one of the big selling points here, too. This is a Copilot-enabled laptop, with a host of added Asus AI software on top. You'll get features like Musetree - an AI-powered idea generation platform - and Storycube which offers an intuitve way to store your various media.

Elsewhere, you'll find a 90kWh battery inside. That's a gargantuan cell, and should be more than enough to offer some serious longevity. You'll also find a dedicated GPU up to an Nvidia RTX 4070, for top of the line graphical performance.

Another big plus for the Asus is the I/O on offer. In the modern age of sleek minimalism, seeing anything more than a couple of USB-C ports on the side of a laptop feels somewhat grandiose. That's the vibe here, with two USB-C, two USB-A, an HDMI, an SD Card reader and an audio jack all included.

One of the most notable features of the ProArt series is the Asus Dial. That is integrated as a virtual control on this model, allowing users to configure all manner of quick actions on an intuitive, circular platform.

Those can be customised per app, too. That means your device will recognise the window you're on and automatically adjust the dial to offer useful functions.

While it's certainly not as crucial as the hardware and software on offer, these models also look fantastic. The case is sleek and modern, with a smudge-resistant coating which helps to avoid fingerprints after use.

Of course, the real test will come when we get the chance to put this through a fuller review. Only then will we have a chance to test things with real world use cases and get a proper idea. One thing is for sure, though - if you're about to buy a MacBook Pro, but fancy a Windows machine more, it might be worth waiting for this device.

In the world of tech, there have long been two camps: Apple, and the rest. While the Cupertino-based company has earned legions of dedicated fans thanks to their familiar feeling devices, others are quick to find frustration with them.

Personally, I'm sitting somewhere in the middle. I've been an Apple fan for a while, enjoying the uniformity and general ease of use of my iPhone, and loving the way it interacts with my iPad. The piece de resistance, though, is the MacBook. It's art in every sense of the word, and just works better than anything else.

Until now.

At Computex 2024, a wide array of manufacturers brought devices to market based on next-gen chips. Models like the Snapdragon X Elite promise incredible battery life and exceptional performance, including fantastic AI capabilities.

One in particular has caught my eye – and it just might be the catalyst to drop Apple devices from my setup once and for all. Dubbed the Asus ProArt PZ13, it would be easy to miss this release.

The new ProArt range contains three laptops, with this sitting at the bottom of the range in a particularly hybrid role. It's a tablet, effectively, with a magnetic keyboard attaching to give it some laptop credentials, too.

It's an incredibly sleek device, sitting just 9mm thick and weighing a featherlight 0.85kg. That makes it the perfect accompaniment to a busy, on-the-go lifestyle.

Being built for creators, you can expect a top notch viewing experience, too. The Asus Lumina OLED display is bright and offers seriously good colour reproduction. Oh, and as a creators device, there's even an SD card slot on the side. Neat, right?

Of course, as part of the modern generation of Windows 11 laptops, it also features Copilot+ capability built-in. You'll find a dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard itself – the first change to that design in around 30 years.

That's an incredibly appealing prospect. There's a lot of talk around AI right now, with many different manufacturers heralding the potential of the new technology. Talk is cheap, though, and real world use cases are harder to come by.

Copilot+ changes that. Granted, I've only had a short opportunity to test the features here at the show, but it's the first instance of AI which has convinced me I would actually use it.

But the real reason why I'm finally being tempted to make the switch is because these devices can finally rival the MacBook for battery life. With the efficiency of the Snapdragon X Plus chipset inside – and a 70 Wh battery life – the PZ13 is certain to offer some absolutely staggering performance stats.

Priced from just £1,199, the Asus ProArt PZ13 is certainly a top value for money offering. It should appeal to creators, but I'd also expect a wide array of different users to enjoy its feature-set.

We're live at Computex 2024, checking out some of the best new technology on show right now. As the name probably suggests, there are a wealth of new laptops and computing devices on offer, as top brands from around the world bring their concepts to market.

One such brand is Asus. They launched the new Asus ROG Ally X yesterday, and now they've launched a range of computing products to boot.

One of those launches is the new ProArt range of laptops. Designed for creative users and equally creative applications, the ProArt range looks good and packs in the hardware to make it count, too.

The range includes three devices: the P16, the PX13 and the PZ13. Let's start at the top.

The Asus ProArt P16 is a 16-inch laptop, which is designed for intensive tasks. Previously, a device like that may have been bulky, but that's not the case here. Just 14.9mm thick and weighing a mere 1.85kg, the P16 offers unbelievable power in a footprint you can take on the go.

Inside, you'll find a top spec AMD Ryzen AI 9 processor, making it perfect for AI applications and Copilot+ tasks. That's paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU.

Next up is the Asus ProArt PX13. Taking the same ethos and shrinking it down into a 13-inch chassis, the PX13 is a convertible laptop with a 360 degree hinge.

Weighing just 1.38kg, the ProArt is perfect for popping in your backpack as you go about your day. You'll find the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor inside, with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. Add in a 3k Asus Lumina OLED panel, and everything you create is going to look fantastic.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Asus ProArt PZ13. This ultracompact device weighs a feather-worthy 0.85kg, and sits just 9mm thick, making it the perfect companion for your daily life. Don't think that requires compromise inside, though.

The PZ13 still packs in a 3k Lumina OLED panel, for incredible visual performance. You'll also find a Snapdragon processor inside, which is primed to take advantage of the Copilot+ technology.

The PZ13 also features a detachable full-size magnetic keyboard, allowing users to enjoy it as a tablet or as a laptop. You'll also find an SD Card slot and a fantastic 70Wh battery.

Asus has taken the wraps off a new range of laptops during Computex 2024, headlined by the TUF Gaming A14 and A16 – introducing a new size for its lineup.

That A14 is a 14-inch gaming laptop, which is something of a rare breed. However, it might become a more common sight now, given the success of Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro and a smattering of others. 

Unsurprisingly given that it's in the TUF gaming brand, Asus has confirmed that the A14 and its bigger sibling, the A16, will be configurable with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop graphics card. 

That means, in short, that you can expect it to absolutely crunch through any well-optimised game for a good few years to come, and it's also got the display to make that performance sing. 

It has a 165Hz IPS display running at a 2560 x 1600 resolution, which should be easily sharp enough to ensure that games look superb (especially at 14-inches). And, with Nvidia providing the graphical chops, it should have access to some welcome tools to further boost performance and image quality. 

Asus is also talking up the audio quality of the speakers on the laptop, and its capacity to power Dolby Atmos audio if you have a compatible headset, which is always welcome for real immersion. 

The 16-inch version, meanwhile, gets the added benefit of increased airflow and cooling to go with its bigger screen, although it'll be a chunk heavier. 

Both models will launch on 22 July, so there's around six weeks to go until they're available, and they'll be priced at £1,299 for the A14 and £1,799 for the A16. Note that bumping up their specs will add to that price. though. 

These aren't the only laptops Asus has unveiled neither, with the ROG Zephyrus G16 also getting detailed with very similar specs but a slightly different design and aesthetic. In particular, the ROG version has a significantly higher refresh-rate display, so it's a pricier option for those who want to push the edge of reason with their portable gaming rig. 

The ROG Zephyrus G16 will also launch on 22 July, but it'll start at the more aggressive price point of £2,399. 

It feels like there's cool technology everywhere you look right now. Whether it's the burgeoning world of foldable phones or cool new laptop tech, there really is something for everyone.

That's likely to be especially prevalent this week, with Computex 2024 taking place in Taiwan. Now, we've seen an early release – and it's one which I'm really excited about.

When I reviewed the Asus ROG Ally last year, I was really taken with the form factor and the overall usability. Now, the brand has unveiled the Asus ROG Ally X.

Judging by the spec sheets, this is definitely an evolution rather than a revolution. That's fine by me, though – the original design was really good to use, so there was no need to reinvent the wheel.

An 80Wh battery is the star of the show here. That's around double what could be found in the original unit, and should help to offer some better battery life.

That's a big deal. When I got hands on with the original, the battery life was far and away my biggest gripe. While less graphically intensive titles could last a while, AAA games would drink the battery life. We'll have to wait and see if this one can live up to the hype, but it's certainly a promising sign.

Elsewhere, the key specs appear to be the same as before. You'll find the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip inside – the same as the top spec ROG Ally's before now. There's the same Zero Gravity thermal system to keep things cool on marathon sessions, while everything is fed to you via a 120Hz full HD display.

Priced at £799 this is slightly more costly than the first generation device. Still, it certainly could be worthwhile. Boosting the battery life will surely make this a much more usable device. And if they can crack that, the price shouldn't stand in the way for too many.

If you're a fan of the best laptops on the market, you're probably going to notice a slight uptick in news surrounding them in the next few weeks. That's because the annual Computex trade show is coming up.

Taking place in Taiwan, the show is notorious for showing off new technology in that space. But don't think you have to wait until doors open for the news to start flooding out.

We've already heard rumours that the Asus ROG Ally 2 will be on show there. Now a host of other teaser videos are showing off some of the brand's new laptops.

These videos are notoriously tight-lipped, but there are a few little bits of information we can gleam from them. Let's kick off with the less exciting of the two – AI.

There's no real indication of the AI capabilities which will form part of the new devices. All we learn is that the new ProArt and ZenBook devices will be packed with some sort of AI productivity. 

What's perhaps more exciting is a new material – Ceraluminium. According to information from a brand representative, the material combines ceramic and aluminium to provide durability and a scratch and fingerprint resistant surface.

The idea is that the more durable nature of the two materials combined should keep the device looking its best for years to come. That will be great news for prospective users, who should be able to enjoy their device for a lot longer, without it feeling dated.

Beyond that, we get a little look at the design itself. The renders are every bit as sleek and modern as you might expect, though we don't get to look too closely at the design.

Regardless, it certainly seems like a decent innovation. We'll be keeping an eye out for further developments over the next couple of weeks – and on the ground in Taiwan, too!

Asus isn't hanging around – perhaps reading the room and seeing the number of rumours and leaks that were starting to circulate, it's bitten the bullet and announced the next version of its ROG Ally PC gaming handheld.

The Asus ROG Ally X will be fully unveiled and launched at a special event on 2 June this year, as explained on the latest edition of Asus' short new show on YouTube. However, we already know a large chunk of the important areas that it's improving on thanks to a report from The Verge. 

For one thing, that name is apparently very deliberate – Asus isn't positioning this as the ROG Ally 2, and it'll seemingly be on sale at the same time as the original ROG Ally, just for a higher price.

That extra investment will get you beefed-up specs in some areas, but the ROG Ally X will still use the same AMD Z1 Extreme chipset, and the same 7-inch screen, too. 

One of the biggest upgrades, though, will come in the battery life department, where Asus explained that people can expect a significant boost in playing time depending on the exact situation, although it hasn't yet put that in statistical terms.

The ROG Ally X will apparently also have more than the 16GB of RAM in the base model, and a longer M.2 2280 SSD slot to make storage expansion easier (and therefore cheaper). 

A new joystick design will ensure that these can be much more easily repaired and replaced, which is always welcome, and it seems like the only major downside to all these additions (other than the price going up) will be a heavier unit overall. This will mostly be down to the larger battery inside, something that Asus said it was surprised by people asking for when the original ROG Ally arrived in their hands. 

Since Asus has also been doing a good job of bringing software updates and new features to the ROG Ally since launch, this is looking like a really healthy product line right now – although we'll get a firmer and more detailed insight into this when the ROG Ally X is fully unveiled at the start of June. 

Asus' follow-up to the popular and well-received ROG Ally PC gaming handheld is reportedly just around the corner. 

A report from niche site VideoCardz has claimed that the 2024 model of the handheld should be unveiled in the next few weeks, possibly during Computex at the start of June. And while it doesn't have any technical specs to back that up, the site does indicate one improvement that's planned.

This is around SD card failures that have apparently been a bit of an issue for some users of the original ROG Ally – this will seemingly be fixed in the next version after Asus acknowledged that there's a bit of a problem in that area. 

The site's sources have reportedly told it that the new ROG Ally will be less of a ROG Ally 2 and more of a 2024 update, which makes it sound like we shouldn't hope for radical design changes. Rather, it's more likely to simply get some upgrades under the hood to make it more future-proofed for people looking to buy a handheld this year. 

After all, the ROG Ally debuted almost a year ago, in June 2023, so it would make a sort of sense for it to get an annual update if it's proving a success for Asus.

Even the Steam Deck, which has been tweaked far less on Valve's side, got a new model in the form of its OLED version, so there's clearly room for new PC gaming handheld revisions if their manufacturers fancy it. 

The Ally arrived with an impressive LCD display, but an LCD nonetheless, so it will be interesting to see whether we ever get the option of an OLED display of its own. 

Asus has already confirmed that it's working on a second-generation handheld, too, and indicated that it will still run on a Windows base, so there's little doubt the ROG Ally is getting a new version at some point.

What's far less clear is when we'll get official news on it, since Asus hasn't said much in recent weeks and this report doesn't scream authority. Time will tell whether the next ROG Ally is indeed imminent, or if we've got a little longer to wait. 

Asus and its ROG (Republic of Gamers) series certainly has previous form when it comes to the best gaming monitors you can buy – and the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM on review here is the latest model looking to make it into that particular list.

At this size and with OLED involved, we're talking about a display panel that's definitely up towards the more expensive end of the market, but it offers plenty in the way of specs and features to try and justify that price for serious gamers.

This isn't a curved or ultrawide monitor – so you'll need to see our best curved gaming monitor and best ultrawide monitor lists if those are your criteria for your next screen upgrade – but the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM still has plenty of gaming appeal.

Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM: Price & availability

The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM is now available to buy from several tech retailers, and can be picked up for around £1,350 / $1,300 at the time of writing. 

 If you're in the UK, you can get the monitor from retailers including Scan. The widgets embedded on this page will tell you whether or not you can get a better price online right now.

Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM review: design & setup

The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM is packed up in quite a large box, but you should be able to fit it together yourself without needing any tools – it's the usual thumbscrew to fix the base to the stand, and slide-and-snap method for getting the stand attached to the actual monitor. It only takes a few minutes, and once that's taken care of you've got a monitor measuring 718 x 579 x 274mm.

As far as the design goes, we're impressed on the whole: it manages to be sleek and stylish, without being overly fancy or screaming "gaming" too loudly. You can customise the lighting around the base (which defaults to a rather distracting red) and on the back, but you need to download software and connect your computer via USB. We'd rather this was something you could change using the on-screen display (OSD).

Speaking of the OSD, it's one of the better ones out there, with a variety of useful features and settings within easy reach – and extra credits to Asus for including enough buttons to make navigation straightforward. You've got eight different visual presets to choose from, and there's a custom one too if you want to save your own settings (though many people will probably stick with the out-of-the-box options).

When it comes to ports, you've got 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1, and 1x USB-C (with DP Alt Mode). There are another 3x USB-A ports you can use as a hub or a switch for sharing peripherals between computers. 

You get some handy height and tilt adjustment, but you can't swivel or rotate the screen. Therefore those downward-facing ports are a bit of a pain to plug cables into, but that's by no means something unique to this monitor or to Asus. 

Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM review: features & picture

Testing out the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM with some of our favourite games – involving the cities of San Andreas, Night City, and Saint Denis, to give you a clue – we found the monitor excels in just about every area, from the balance of the colours to the fluidity of the motion. Sometimes we found ourselves just sitting back in appreciation of what was on the screen.

Thanks to the OLED panel on show here, pictures look vivid and rich, and contrasting colours and brightness ranges are handled very well indeed. Think the blinking lights of the Del Perro Pier at night in GTA V, for example. Brightness is good without being best in class, but then that's a limit that still applies to OLED technology across the board, and it definitely makes up in other ways.

The specs here are a 31.5-inch size, a 4K (3840 x 2160 pixel) resolution, a 0.03 millisecond response time, and a maximum 240Hz refresh rate. It's certified for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro variable refresh rates, provides both HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR support, and reaches up to 1000 nits of peak brightness. Asus' Extreme Low Motion Blur (ELMB) tech is included too.

And all these specs add up to a really high-performance screen when you're actually using it. Input lag is non-existent, HDR is excellently implemented, and details are clear and crisp. When gaming time is over and you're watching movies, browsing the web, or actually having to do some work, again everything looks gorgeous – even spreadsheets. But it's gaming where the screen really peaks.

There are no integrated speakers here, which is always a disappointment – even basic, budget speakers are better than nothing – because you're set up straight away for sound and can then improve on it if you need. Here, you're not going to hear anything unless you've got separate speakers or headphones connected, or you make use of the 3.5 mm audio jack on the monitor itself.

Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM: verdict

Dropping this amount of money on a gaming monitor is clearly not something for everyone – as you could buy yourself a capable gaming PC for less. The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM is therefore strictly for those who want the best screen technology for their gaming sessions. For that specific group, however, this is a monitor that doesn't disappoint.

The Swift OLED PG32UCDM certainly puts big, bold ticks in most of the boxes you need. Just about every game is going to look stunning on this screen, with the caveat that you're going to need a pretty highly-specced PC attached to make the most of the visuals – especially at 240Hz.

The design of the monitor is very 'ROG' style, and there's no arguing that it's well put together, boasting some relatively thin bezels around its edges. We're impressed with the selection of ports too, and the ability to use it as a KVM switch (keyboard, video, mouse) is an added bonus.

While OLED continues to have some inherent limitations when compared to other panel technologies, such as Mini LED, the pros far outweigh the cons here. Ultimately the Swift OLED PG32UCDM will transform your gaming experiences straight out of the box.

Also consider

If you really want to go big on your OLED gaming monitor, consider the fantastic Samsung Odyssey OLED G93SC: it's curved and ultra-wide, stretching 49-inches from corner to corner. It'll cost you even more than the Asus monitor we've reviewed here, but it performs brilliantly in a lot of the key areas that matter, and will make your gaming experience more immersive than ever before.

There's also the curved Acer Predator X45 to think about putting on your shortlist. At 44.5-inches, it's not quite as huge as the Samsung monitor, but it still offers you all the benefits of OLED (and has a price to match). Unlike the PG32UCDM, there are integrated speakers, and in our time with the monitor we were particularly impressed by the colour, contrast, and motion handling.

ASUS has confirmed that it's adding a welcome new feature to the already impressive ROG Ally PC gaming handheld this week.

A new software update for the handheld will add AMD Fluid Motion Frames, the chip manufacturer's frame-generating tech, to hopefully up the frame rate of your games in some situations. 

The feature basically generates extra frames between those being rendered, making the game even smoother and potentially boosting your frame rate quite considerably.

The only real downside is that it can add tiny amounts of input lag in some scenarios, but even that can often be hard to notice. 

ASUS' Steam Deck rival is one of the more powerful PC gaming handhelds on the market, but it's still constrained by its size, so being able to boost its capabilities like this could be really welcome. 

We also know that ASUS is working on a follow-up to the ROG Ally, so it's doubly nice to see it continuing to add new features to the first version, in that light. 

Best of all, AMD Fluid Motion Frames isn't a per-game setting – it's something you can toggle on at a system level, to enjoy its benefits across all your titles. This means you don't have to wait for individual developers to toggle on the setting by releasing patches. 

The PC gaming handheld race has been a hot one over the last couple of years since it was ignited by the arrival of the Steam Deck. That now has an upgraded version available in the form of an OLED model, but ASUS won plenty of plaudits for its slightly more powerful offering. 

Features like frame generation can be a huge asset to handhelds that aren't able to ship with massive discrete GPUs running at high heats, and instead have to find ways to maximise their performance without either getting as hot as a volcano or weighing as much as a small car. 

You should be able to download the latest update for the ASUS ROG Ally today if you have one, though. You'll be looking for iGPU driver V31.0.24027.1012, to make sure that you're getting the latest one, and it should be available from ASUS' website or your Armoury Crate SE app on-device. 

Reviewing the best gaming laptops is a great privilege, as I get to try out the newest machines and play some of the latest games as part of my job. But I am asking for your pity today dear reader, for the sake of my back. 

Too often lugging around these gaming laptops is an ordeal – they are often heavy machines, and the chargers make the total package even heavier. On top of my usual backpack load, I find myself sinking into the pavement when out and about. 

But not this time. Thanks to the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, herein lies a stellar gaming laptop package in a smaller footprint than most, cutting the weight – but not compromising on power.

ROG Zephyrus G14: Price & availability

The ROG Zephyrus G14 I was loaned to review features an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU and AMD Ryzen 9 8000 series CPU. This is pretty much the top specification you can get for this machine (there is no RTX 4080 or 4090 version) and will set you back around £2399/$2499. 

ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Design

If you come from the school of thought that MacBooks are the best-looking laptops out there, then the ROG Zephyrus G14 will be right up your alley. It resembles Apple's machines quite a bit. 

The G14 has an ultra-slim profile (it's just 1.59cm thick), is gloriously lightweight (only 1.5kg) and has a lovely premium quality to its all-aluminium body. It's even available in a choice of black (the same colour as my review model, as pictured) or a brand new Platinum White finish that looks very slick. 

One thing you won't find on a MacBook is an illuminated slash on the back of the lid. A ROG trademark, I'm a really big fan of this indulgence. It's the one feature on the laptop that screams 'gaming!' and makes it feel special, especially when you customise it with different lighting patterns.

The drop from a 16-inch display to 14-inch one shouldn't feel like a lot, but it really does make travelling around with this laptop a breeze. Design-wise the G14 is one big (or not so big) tick. There is of course a place in my heart for giant RGB lighthouses, but this is a rare gaming laptop I wouldn't mind using in any location. 

ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Display

Yes the screen on the G14 is only 14-inches across the diagonal – but that's not to say it doesn't pack a punch. 

The G14 and the new ROG Zephyrus G16 are the first ROG gaming laptops with OLED displays – and it shows. OLED is particularly great for displaying rich blacks, thanks to individual per-pixel illumination, so games with lots of sneaking and shadows like Deathloop look great. 

The G14 has a 3K (2880 x 1800) resolution display and a refresh rate of 120Hz. That's an impressive showing, and while we would have loved a slightly higher refresh rate, 120fps is more than enough for smooth gaming, especially with the 0.2ms response time. 

ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Performance

You might think with its dinky size that the G14 can't play with the big boys when it comes to performance. And while admittedly it's not quite king of the playground, it very much holds its own. 

The model I have on review features an AMD Ryzen 9 8000 series processor – which is a pretty serious CPU, especially when paired with 32GB of RAM, as it is here.

As for the graphics, Asus has opted to max out the G14 with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070. There is no way for a 4080 or 4090 option to fit in the laptop's tiny frame, and I think 95% of users won't notice. 

Obviously, with any gaming laptop, the proof is in the playing – and I did indeed put the G14 to the test. An RTX 4070 isn't the most expensive GPU out there but it's still enough to get some fantastic performance on AAA titles, and the quality of the display will go a long way to making visuals pop. 

Playing Deathloop on the mouth-watering Ultra settings, I managed a consistent frame rate of just over 40fps. When running on battery power I managed an impressive 35fps (which is nice to see). Running Starfield on Ultra I was impressed to get between 30-40fps, while on battery power it was locked to 30fps – pretty impressive to have a whole galaxy running smoothly on such a small machine.

When pushing it to the limit the fans will become more noticeable, but never obnoxiously so. It isn't one of the louder gaming laptops I've tested. However, I did find that the G14 would occasionally get pretty warm, never dangerously so, but not comfortable to the touch. 

If you're into your benchmark scores then I can provide those too: the CPU registered a single-core score of 1222 and a multi-core score of 5747. As for the GPU, the G14 posted a measure of 92,264 using Geekbench to measure.

ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Features 

In general use, this laptop is a joy to use. There's plenty under the hood to get everyday tasks done and the keyboard is a very satisfying one to use that's well-spaced – even in such a small frame. 

Some 14-inch ultra-slim laptops are very stingy when it comes to ports, but that's not the case here. While you won't find Thunderbolt 4 speeds, there are two USB-A 3.2 ports, a 3.2 USB-C port, and a USB4 Display Port connection. Throw in an HDMI and 3.5mm audio jack and you should be covered for pretty much any eventuality. 

There's a 1080p webcam too for crystal-clear video calls, too, and while it doesn't have a privacy slider that's nothing a bit of tape can't fix. 

ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Battery life 

I find myself saying it every time with gaming laptops, but the battery life of the G14 isn't going to win any prizes. Understandably given the machine's size, the battery isn't a full-sized 99Whr unit. Instead, we have a 73Whr battery which, when using the G14 as a normal machine (i.e. not playing games), can get you around 4-5 hours.

It's a little bit disappointing that a machine so portable requires you to be chained to the wall so much though. When gaming you will realistically be lucky to get an hour of unplugged play. 

The saving grace is that the charger is much smaller than some other gaming laptops I've seen, and barely a little chunkier than a regular laptop charger. 

ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Verdict

The 16-inch laptop space is a heavily congested fight between some big-name machines, but the 14-inch pool is comparatively quiet. In my mind, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is the best 14-inch gaming laptop for most people. 

While the slim design is obviously eye-catching, this laptop is more than just a pretty face. The display is superb and the gaming performance is solid. 

Yes, the battery life is lacklustre, but provided you're not on top of a mountain, you should have no problems carrying both the charger and laptop around to enjoy your favourite games anywhere. 

Also consider

If portability is your main concern and you don't fancy the G14, then you'll probably want to look at the HP OMEN 16 Transcend. It's not as slick as the ROG in my view, but has a 16-inch display without the bulk of other offerings. It's also not particularly showy, so if you're trying not to stand out that might appeal. 

Perhaps you don't mind going bigger? Then sticking with the ROG brand is a compelling thought. The ROG Strix Scar 16 is a powerhouse machine with a price tag to boot, but it also features some of the best audio we've seen (well, heard) on a gaming laptop. 

Of course, our favourite is the MSI Raider GE 78 HX, but the massive price tag isn't going to be for everyone. It's worth it if you can afford it though.

If you're aware of the likes of ChatGPT and Google Bard, you'll know that two letters are set to dominate our lives for the next few years: AI. Yes, artificial intelligence is already in our phones, our smart speakers, and it's even creating art in seconds. But the new generation of Intel processors is also bringing an AI boost to the best laptops. 

One machine running on these brand-new Intel Core Ultra chips is the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED. A lightweight laptop that's just a little bit smaller than the 2023 Asus Zenbook 15 OLED that I reviewed last year.

That was an impressive machine with a beautiful display, smart look and feel, and an AMD processor. Is the OLED 14's switch to Intel a big deal and has it fixed some of my qualms with the Zenbook series? Let's find out, as I've been living with the Zenbook 14 OLED for review for many weeks now.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Price & Availability

If you're after the latest innovation in processors I'm afraid it won't come too cheap. Having said that, if you've got a MacBook budget but prefer Windows then the price is fairly standard. 

The UX3405 model I've reviewed here, complete with the Intel Ultra Core i7 155H processor, will set you back around £1299/$1299/AU$2399. You can also plump for an Intel Ultra Core Ultra i9 if you want to stretch your budget another couple of hundred pounds/dollars. 

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review: Design & Display

This is where I really could copy and paste my review of the Zenbook 15 OLED, as the similarities in design terms are clear to see. Both laptops have a premium aluminium finish, both look very smart in their Ponder Blue hue (and come with a silver option too), and both sport the same triangle-patterned design on the lid – which I'm a fan of!

Ultrabook laptops need to be stylish but also slight – and that's definitely the case with the Zenbook 14 OLED. It weighs just 1.29kg (a smidge lighter than the 15-inch variant) and is just 14.9mm thick.

Compared to the 2024 13-inch MacBook Air with M3 that sits atop our guide of the best Macbooks, it's a fraction heavier and thicker – but not by much.

If you want something that runs Windows but looks sleek, without the outlandish designs of the best gaming laptops, then this Asus laptop is an excellent choice. 

Asus has long been a supporter of OLED displays, and with the Zenbook 14 OLED, I'll give you a clue, the company has only gone and used another OLED panel.

Seriously though, the display on this laptop is something else. The 14-inch panel features a 16:10 aspect ratio with a 2880 x 1800 resolution and 550 nits of peak brightness. It's super-smooth too thanks to a 120Hz refresh rate.

One of my biggest gripes with the 15 OLED I reviewed was that it looked like it had a touchscreen but didn't. That's not the case with the 14 OLED, though, and Asus has even included its pressure-sensitive Pen 2.0 to play around with. 

If you're a big TV and movie streamer then you'll really appreciate the rich blacks and colour pop that OLED panels are famous for showing. There's plenty to watch, too, especially if you're awaiting the biggest shows on Netflix in 2024. 

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review: Performance & Features

A lot has been made of the processor within this laptop – and that's understandable. As the latest generation of Intel processor, the i7 Core Ultra is suitably speedy and makes regular computing look effortless. The 32GB of RAM on board is also a real luxury, giving you no drama when having multiple windows and programmes running. 

The biggest addition of the Core Ultra series is its compatibility with AI features, aided by the newly added Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This is handy if you love Microsoft Co-Pilot, or blurring your background in video calls, for example, but there simply aren't enough practical uses to make it a standout feature... yet. You will, however, be in good stead for when the inevitable flood of AI features comes into our lives. 

Something that I was surprised to see make an appearance was an Intel Arc GPU. Coupled with the laptop's raw power this makes the Zenbook 14 OLED not a terrible option for some light to middling gaming. That's recently improved with a significant Arc firmware upgrade too.

In terms of noise and heat, I experienced a bit of both when putting the laptop under load, but it was far from obtrusively loud and never uncomfortable to touch. 

In terms of typing, the Zenbook 14 OLED's keyboard offers a superb experience. The keys feel satisfying and are well spaced (save for the arrow keys), while the Asus ErgoSense touchpad my unit was fitted with features a light-up num pad that's easily toggled on and off. The touchscreen is obviously also a big selling point, plus it's smooth to use with the provided Asus Pen 2.0.

Ultralight laptops are often a bit lacking when it comes to the number of ports – but that's not the case here. You get one USB-C 4.0, one USB-C 3.2, and even an old-fashioned 'fat' USB-A, alongside an HDMI 2.1 port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Webcam-wise you get a handy full 1080p effort, which is always good to see. 

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review: Battery life 

When I review gaming laptops I'm always dismayed at their battery life only stretching to a couple of  hours tops. As a regular laptop I'm glad to see that's not the case with the Zenbook 14 OLED. 

It has a 75Wh battery and improved efficency from the new processor. I didn't quite manage to get the 15.5 hours of battery life that Asus touts. More like 10 hours in general use. But, realistically, that's still pretty good going. The MacBook Air 15-inch remains the king of longevity though. 

What's even greater is that the Asus Zenbook OLED 14 charges via USB-C, so you'll never be too far from a connection. Quick top-ups are super handy, so I never felt as though battery was a stress.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review: Verdict

As an all-rounder for work, life and even a bit of light gaming, there's little wrong with the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED. That sounds like damning it with faint praise, but it does have a standout quality – the display is simply divine and among the best you'll find anywhere. 

So if you want something sleek, portable and not fruit-flavoured then the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is a terrific choice. It helps that it's powered by the newest-generation Intel processors – and while there's not much to show off in terms of AI features yet, you can bet the future will be full of them. 

Also consider

After something light and portable but don't want to break the bank? You should check out the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i which is available for a comparative pittance.

When it comes to sleek high-performing machines, MacBooks will also be stiff competition, so check out the likes of the 2022 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 or 2024 M3 model as similarly-priced rivals. If you want a Windows option then the Dell XPS 13 Plus is among our favourites for general use. 

When you're on the hunt for one of the best Android phones on the market, a little personality can go a long way. That could be something as simple as a quirky colour, or as grandiose as a small footprint which goes against the grain.

Both were true of the Asus Zenfone 10. When I tested that back in June, it blew me away, offering a truly flagship performance in a small format. But beyond just having horsepower under the hood, it was jam packed with personality.

From the fetching green hue of the textured back panel to the stepped dual-camera setup or the blink-and-you'll-miss-it 5.9-inch display, the whole thing felt like a product designed to do its own thing – and do it well!

Can the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra follow in those footsteps? Well, let's dive in and take a closer look.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review: Price and Release Date

The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra comes in two different storage variants. You'll pay £869.99 / $899.99 for the 12+256GB model, or £949.99 for the 16+512GB model. Pricing for that one isn't given in dollars, so it may not be on offer in that region.

The model was unveiled on the 14th of March 2024.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review: What's new?

The first thing you'll notice here is the size. As mentioned in the intro, the Zenfone 10 was a pocket-sized powerhouse, with a 5.9-inch display. That's absolutely not the case here, though.

A 6.78-inch display places this firmly back among the pack of large Android handsets. In fact, if you're wondering how big it is, it's exactly the same size as the Asus ROG Phone 8.

Let's quickly address that elephant in the room. Because yes, these two devices are almost identical. They use the same chassis, with the buttons in the same location. The camera modules are shaped very slightly differently, though broadly the same there too.

What the Zenfone 11 Ultra does is strip away some of the gaming finery from the ROG Phone. You won't find the Air Triggers or the AniMe Vision display on the rear. You also won't find the side-mounted USB-C port.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review: Design and Display

Quite aside from the growth spurt this model has had, the whole design is very pretty. This is an anniversary year for Asus, and they have a nice geometric pattern on the rear which is present here, too.

My review unit has a grey finish, which is really smart. There's an almost holographic quality as you roll the phone across a light source, which gives a lovely three dimensional quality.

Then there's the display. You'll find an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate on this 6.78-inch AMOLED panel. That can even boost up to 144Hz when gaming, for smooth motion when you really need it.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review: Camera

Let's take a look at the camera system. A triple rear sensor system can be found here, with main, ultra-wide and telephoto lenses.

The main sensor is a 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor. That is coupled with a 13MP ultra-wide with a 120 degree field of view, and a 32MP 3x telephoto with an f/2.4 minimum aperture.

So, is it any good? Well, yes, by and large. The cameras are pretty good, with decent colour grading across the spectrum. The 2x zoom setting is the only one which looks out of place, with a pale character that loses some saturation.

The three lenses are impressive and detailed, with the telephoto my pick of the bunch. That offers some really lovely images, with the low minimum aperture offering neatly blurred backgrounds.

That being said, the images which come out of this device can often appear pretty over-sharpened. That's not entirely uncommon with modern smartphone cameras, but it can be frustrating, lending a slightly unnatural look.

One saving grace here is the videography. That main sensor is loaded up with the Hybrid Gimbal Stabiliser 3.0, meaning you can enjoy brilliantly smooth video footage. It's one of the shining lights of the Asus phone range, and it's every bit as good here.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review: Performance

There is very little to say here. If you've used any device powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, you'll know the kind of thing to expect. Day-to-day use wouldn't even cause it to break a sweat, while all but the most intense of tasks will be easy pickings.

I've tested this with all sorts of regular tasks and seen it perform really well. Throwing something more intense like a mobile gaming session at it is still well within remit. Performance was generally good, only lagging after a while of use.

I did notice a distinct drop in battery life in these settings, though. While regular use can see the battery last for days, the gaming test saw it drop by 5% in half an hour. That would see the full battery drain in just ten hours.

That's not exactly the best performance on the block. However, there is a saving grace for this device in the form of wired charging speed. 65W charging will fuel that 5,500mAh battery in no time, making it easy to get topped up again in a jiffy.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review: Verdict

This is an unusual review to write. There is no question that the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra is a good phone. It's almost like the blueprint for an Android phone in 2024, and it's solid.

With that being said, it doesn't really offer anything to get too excited about. The performance is good, though it can fall down under intense load. The camera is good, but has issues with over-sharpening.

Ultimately, the biggest issue it's going to face is comparison to the Asus ROG Phone 8. Sure, these models run a little cheaper than the ROG range, but I'd wager that it probably isn't enough to steer people away – particularly when the ROG Phone has dialled down its gamer-centric design language.

In short, this is a really capable handset which represents decent value in the current market. If you're a fan of the design – and want some really top-tier videography hardware – this should certainly be on your list.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra review: Alternatives

As we've mentioned countless times here, the Asus ROG Phone 8 is the most direct competitor. The two spec sheets are almost identical, and the chassis' are almost the same, too.

If you're just on the hunt for a top Android handset, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a safe bet. That offers a similarly gargantuan footprint, with top hardware and software in a really familiar package.

If you're on the hunt for a small phone, the Asus Zenfone 10 is probably still your best bet. It's a little outdated now, but as it was the only real competitor in that space, it remains a top pick.

Reviewing the best gaming laptops, I'm always shocked whenever I unbox them at just how chunky the machines are. Aside from deliberately slight efforts like the HP OMEN Transcend series, they often feel a bit like a relic from the 00s, especially when compared to the best ultra-light laptops. But Asus' new ROG laptops are changing that. 

We're big fans of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and G14 here at T3, they are high-performing gaming machines in a stylish shape, but the 2024 iterations (unveiled at CES) are even more sleek. The 16-inch G16 is just 1.49cm thick and weighs only 1.85 kg, while the 14-inch G14 has a 1.59 cm thickness and is positively dinky at just 1.5kg. 

They so good things come in small packages and that's definitely the case here. These are the first ROG gaming laptops to feature OLED displays with the G14 sporting a 3k resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The G16 meanwhile has a 2.5k resolution at 240Hz. 

Processor-wise, the good news continues. The G14 sports up to an AMD 8000 series unit and an RTX 4070 GPU while the G16 features Intels brand new Intel Core Ultra processor and up to a monster 4090 GPU. This new intel silicone introduces a so-called Neural Power Unit or NPU that allows for ultra-fast AI use, and it's all performed locally on the machine. 

ASUS has confirmed that the G14 will start from £1899 and the G16 from £2299. That's not all ASUS has in store for us with the ASUS ROG Phone 8 expected to surface very soon. As for the non-gaming machines we've already seen some of the next generation with the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED.

CES is almost over for another year! The Consumer Electronics Show is like a tech lovers Christmas, with heaps of new technology on display from the biggest and best companies in the land.

There has already been a diverse range of tech on offer. That includes everything from new EV tech to ultra lifelike TVs. We're sure to see some oddities thrown in there, too. At CES 2023 we saw the PlayStation VR2 for the first time, BMW's colour-changing concept car, the BMW iVision Dee, and LG's completely wireless TV, the LG G3. 

This page will be updated with some of the highlights and big announcements as they happen, so keep checking back. We will also be bringing you the T3 Best of CES Awards (see last year's winners here). 

When is CES 2024?

CES is always one of the first events in the tech calendar. That gives brands a chance to come out strong and showcase the best and brightest they have to offer for the year ahead.

In 2024 the trade show will run from 9th to 12th of January and unlike some European shows, is purely for industry members – there are no tickets for consumers. 

What products have been announced at CES 2024?

Even before the event kicked off, a whole range of brands were eagerly announcing their latest and greatest tech. While there is almost certainly more to come from the event itself – we'll be sure to keep this page updated as the event plows on – here are a selection of the top bits so far:

• Hyundai might have just killed parallel parking
• DJI could deliver all of your parcels with drones
• Amazfit joins the smart ring club with new Helio Ring
• Garmin HRM-Fit heart rate monitor clips into your sports bra
• Airthings launch a smart air purifier
• Kia shows off modular electric van concepts
• L'Oreal unveils the Airlight Pro hairdryer
• Ultrahuman unveil smart tracking device
• New Tineco smart vacuum cleaners
• First Nanoleaf outdoor lights
• HP announces the ultimate gaming monitor
• World first mirror telescope that needs no manual adjustment
• Kia will let you control Samsung smart devices
• LG bring new gaming laptops to market
• Samsung and Google headset update
• LG unveil a transparent TV
• A Samsung Gaming controller is coming
• The LG DukeBox might revolutionise music listening
• Samsung set to unveil a robot cleaner and mop
• Hisense to enter car market with... lasers?
• Govee is using an AI bot to control your smart lighting
• Samsung fridge uses AI to battle out of date food
• Kandao unveils a new camera

How to watch CES press conferences

At the show, many brands will be hosting press conferences and events to show off their devices to the public. Much of the time, these events are livestreamed, giving those of us who aren't lucky enough to be live in the desert a chance to watch along.

We'll be listing how to watch each of the biggest ones below:

• LG press conference
• Nvidia press conference
• Hyundai press conference
• Panasonic press conference
• Samsung press conference
• Sony press conference

Past CES highlights

• I tried PlayStation VR2 with Horizon at CES – it’s the ultimate PS5 upgrade
• BMW iVision Dee brings augmented reality and E-ink to an electric car
• Sony and Honda unveil the Afeela concept car
• LG G3 OLED suddenly looks like the ultimate TV upgrade
• Move over Apple, satellite SOS coming to Android thanks to Qualcomm
• QD-OLED TVs just got a massive upgrade from Samsung – literally
• Panasonic's new OLED TV suddenly looks the most appealing at CES 2023
• Struggle to hear in busy places? You need to try these new Sennheiser earbuds
• Lenovo's YogaBook 9i is the wildest laptop I've ever seen
• PlayStation's new controller makes gaming accessible to more people
• LG's transparent OLED TV is the coolest thing I've seen at CES 2023
• Alienware's latest 500Hz display could be this year's must-have gaming monitor
• LG C3 OLED looks like an even more appealing TV
• Samsung's new sliding screens could be game-changing
• Samsung's 2023 smart fridge is a massive TV too
• This 45-inch HP curved monitor will seriously upgrade your desk setup
• LG's best laptop suddenly looks like the ultimate lightweight option
• Dell G15 and G16 gaming laptops get a brave new look
• Samsung SmartThings Station is one device to rule them all
• Roborock S8 Ultra Pro is a killer vac and mop with a self-cleaning dock
• Is this the best-looking Chromebook ever made? HP's latest is a stunner
• Asus unveils its glasses-free 3D laptop displays at CES 2023
• HiSense says it's bringing mini-LED TV to the masses
• Nanoleaf brings Matter to its stylish smart lights
• Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Twist takes convertible laptops to another level

We're big fans of the ASUS Zenbook range here at T3. As super trendy digital nomad types, we're often working on the go, and their ultra-light design has mercifully spared our backs agony. 

This is why we're excited whenever ASUS has some new machines for us. With CES 2024 not far away now we're expecting a slew of laptops from all the top manufacturers but ASUS has treated us to a new one before Christmas even. 

The ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2024) is the latest cab of the rank, and it boasts a very impressive first impression. We'll bring you an in-depth review very soon but for now, let's get a grip of the basics of this 1.2kg powerhouse. 

First off and most obviously, the Zenbook 14 OLED features a glorious 14" OLED 3K display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Offering a choice of touchscreen and non-touchscreen options, it should be a superb choice for general use and jobs requiring more attention to detail like design work. I recently reviewed the Zenbook 15 OLED and was blown away by the display, and this is no different. 

The most exciting aspect of this laptop however isn't visible to the naked eye, unless you look at the Intel sticker in the corner. That's because the Zenbook 14 OLED features Intel's brand new 14th-generation processors, up to an Intel i9 Ultra Core Meteor Lake CPU. Expect to see this chipset in most of the leading laptops in 2024. The new 'Ultra' cores from Intel offer vastly improved power efficiency and integrated graphics. Safe to say, the Zenbook 14 OLED is one nippy little machine. 

That's still not all however as with up to 32GB of RAM, multitasking should be a breeze, while the battery life (something that was a bit mediocre with the Zenbook 15 OLED) can stretch to over 15 hours. 

Powerful gaming phones can take your PUBG and Fortnite battles to the next level, with supreme performance and enhanced controls – and for the serious mobile gamers out there a new entry is set to hit the market soon.

The Asus ROG Phone 8 launch date has been confirmed for 16 January according to 91Mobiles, with an event happening in China on that day. It's not clear whether this will be a "local" launch aimed solely at the Chinese market, but it's likely a global launch will follow at a later date.

We’ve also been given our first glimpse of the ROG Phone 8, after Asus posted a teaser image on its global X account, confirming the name of the handset and that it is indeed "coming soon".

By brightening the image (below), we can get a better look at the redesigned (vs the ROG Phone 7) camera module on the rear of the ROG Phone 8, and it's clear there are a trio of cameras and a LED flash present. A large main camera is seen to the left of two smaller sensors of the same size.

You can also see a USB-C port along the long edge of the phone, a slightly unusual position given the charging port tends to be found on the bottom of handsets - but there's a good reason for this. This is a gaming phone, so Asus knows it will be held landscape a lot of the time and the position of the port allows users to charge the handset while playing, without the cable getting in the way of their hand.

With the previous generation of ROG phone, Asus also gave us the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, which added a 2-inch screen and built in motorised cooling vent to the rear of the phone. If we're going to get a ROG Phone 8 Ultimate, the handset in the picture above isn’t it, as it lacks the fancy rear additions.

What can you expect from the ROG Phone 8?

The ROG Phone 7 seriously impressed in our review, as it not only provided an excellent mobile gaming experience, but it also offered great battery life and dazzling display. Add to that a unique design compared to a lot of smartphones on the market, and it was an eye-catching flagship alternative.

We expect Asus to follow a similar route with the ROG Phone 8, packing in plenty of power along with a striking design helping it stand out from the crowd. If you’re after RGB lighting in your phone, the ROG Phone 8 will likely deliver. Plus, with sizable rear cameras it may also pack a punch when it comes to photography.

It’s already been confirmed that the phone will use Qualcomm's top-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and it's rumoured to offer up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. As for the rest, all will be revealed in a month’s time.

Mobile gaming is often seen as a poor relation compared to PC and console gaming, but the Asus ROG Phone 8 could soon change all that. We consider Republic of Gamers' current flagship, the ROG Phone 7 to be the best gaming phone out there, so colour us excited to see it level up. 

In fact we need to make a distinction here, as it is the ROG Phone 8 Ultimate that has piqued our interest the most. As reported by 91 mobiles the Geekbench scores have been spotted and it looks like a phone determined to make sure you never touch a dedicated handheld console again.There will also be a third model, dubbed the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, that sits between the standard and ultimate specs. 

The headline is that all variants of the phone will seemingly be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. The 8 Gen 2 effort on the ROG Phone 7 blew us away with its balance of raw performance and battery life so needless to say we are buzzing for its successor. Geekbench also indicates that the phone will launch with Android 14 and a hefty 16GB of RAM - twice that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. 

The previous phone only launched in April this year so don't expect a release till 2024 but Geekbench benchmark scores of 2213 (Single-Core) and 7048 (Multi-Core) are mighty impressive. There might however be another challenger to the crown. Interestingly, Apple went big on gaming performance for the iPhone 15 Pro Max with ray tracing a particular focus, indeed the iPhone fares even better on Geekbench with scores of 2880 and 7125 respectively. However, the ROG 7 had a 165Hz refresh rate display while the latest iPhone caps out at 120Hz, so gamers may prefer the extra smoothness of the ROG. 

Of course, if you love handheld gaming but still aren't convinced by phones, you could always try The Asus ROG Ally for something more powerful than a Nintendo Switch.

Earlier this year, we saw the unveiling of the Asus ROG Ally. That offered a top platform for gaming on the go, giving users a Windows-based platform which could host all of their games in all of their libraries.

Now, a second variant has launched in the UK – and you can pick it up for even less than the first launch! The new variant still utilises an AMD Ryzen Z1 processor, but drops the Extreme moniker of the first.

That uses a six-core, 12-thread processor, rather than the eight-core, 16-thread arrangement of the Extreme. Expect a little less power from the chip, then. Still, that should be more than enough to power most games with ease – particularly if your favourites are less intensive titles.

Beyond the processor, everything else is identical to the original variant. You'll get the same dual-fan, Zero Gravity thermal system, which helps to keep the ROG Ally cool regardless of the orientation it's held in. You'll still get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, with a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

The display is the same 120Hz FHD panel as the original, which boasts exceptional motion clarity. When I tested the first model, that was one of my favourite things about it, so it's good to see that you'll find the same great part on this less expensive model.

Of course, you can still use it in exactly the same way, too. Users will enjoy a Windows-based system, which enables you to load all of your different game libraries in one place. 

That's perfect for those with titles spread across multiple platforms, and makes it really easy to use. You won't ever have to worry about being unable to play your favourite games, even when out and about. 

The new variant will cost just £599 in the UK, saving £100 against the retail price of the higher spec model. That makes it a great option for those who want some of the gaming goodness of the original, but with a slightly lower price tag.

Devices will be available from the 3rd of October.

When it comes to the best laptops, it's usually your typical clamshell designs that come up top. And while HP features such designs and delivers them with great success, the California-based company has gone all-out with its latest – the HP Spectre Foldable PC, which, as the name suggests is a tablet-meets-laptop that folds across its screen area. 

Folding tech is increasing in popularity, from the latest folding phones, to folding tablets and laptops, which I've really enjoyed exploring at various tech showcases (CES 2023, IFA 2023) in recent months and years. But the Spectre Foldable PC looks to be on another level – and I want this $4,999 dream machine in my hands already (yes, that's a massive over-£4,000 equivalent here in the UK, making it pricier than many of the best gaming laptops)!

The HP Spectre Foldable PC is the thinnest and lightest of its kind – although given the sheer heft of the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, and the large scale of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Gen 2, it was all for HP to take advantage of other designs' shortcomings. That's still impressive, seeing as this is a 17-inch tablet-like OLED display is bigger than the already large Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra's 14.6-inch panel.

This is no pipe dream of a product either: the Spectre Foldable PC will go on sale in the USA, with pre-orders from BestBuy available from 14 September 2023. I'm not sure how many people will be laying down a cool $5K for a laptop-meets-tablet two-in-one device, mind, but for those of you who can afford to splash out, this is how you go big. 

Well, HP calls it a "3-in-1", as the 17-inch panel also comes with a keyboard attachment, plus a kickstand, so you can use it as a 12.3-inch laptop by folding the screen, a 17-inch tablet standalone, or a 17-inch PC with the keyboard detached by sitting the panel up on its stand. There's also a stylus included for additional input included as part of the package.

Beneath this foldable exterior, the Spectre Foldable PC houses 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processors, 16GB RAM, and Intel's Iris Xe graphics solutions. Yes, there are more out-and-out powerful options on the market, but with the promise of 12 hours on a single charge, it's that balance of power, productivity and longevity that is all-important here. I'm sold anyway, so here's hoping the Spectre comes to wider markets in the future...

The Asus RT-AXE7800 review is in contention for our best wireless router and best Wi-Fi 6 router lists, although it actually goes all the way up to Wi-Fi 6E. If you're looking to seriously level up your home networking kit, this could be the perfect way to do it.

Of course it's not going to be exactly the right purchase for everyone though: our detailed Asus RT-AXE7800 router review will tell you one way or another whether it deserves a place on your shopping shortlist, based on what your needs and your budget are.

Should you need any further tech buying advice, then we've got you covered there as well: after you've finished digesting our thoughts on the Asus RT-AXE7800, you might want to check out our guides to the best mesh Wi-Fi systems and the best standing desks.

Asus RT-AXE7800: price & availability

The Asus RT-AXE7800 review is available to buy right now, and the widget embedded above can direct you straight to the best prices on the web for this Wi-Fi 6E router. At the time of writing, we're seeing the hardware available for around £250 / $330. In the UK, you can pick it up from retailers including Amazon and Scan.

Asus RT-AXE7800 review: design & setup

You shouldn't have any difficulty at all when it comes to setting up the Asus RT-AXE7800 in your home. A little technical networking knowledge helps but is by no means essential, and you can configure the router as a new device through a web interface in your browser or through the companion apps for Android or iOS. In total, you won't be spending more than about 10-15 minutes getting it ready for use.

As far as the aesthetics of the device go, there's no doubt that this router wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi series set in the near future. It's rather bulky and angular, with six external antennas that fold back against the unit, presumably to make it easier to package and transport. We don't think everyone is going to love the design, but some people will – and the majority probably don't care what their router looks like anyway.

The device measures 264 x 262 x 114mm with the antennas extended, and weighs in at 880g. It's fairly compact, especially considering the capabilities of the router, and a row of LED lights on the front of the unit do the job of keeping you informed about what is working and what isn't – though we didn't have any problems or downtime during our testing.

Around the back of the unit there's a power socket, four 1Gbps Ethernet ports, and a 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN port for hooking up to your existing router or modem. There's also a USB 3.0 (Type-A) port here for connecting up an external hard drive that can then be accessed by any computer, phone or tablet that you hook up to your W-Fi – it's a nice little extra that some users will appreciate.

Asus RT-AXE7800 review: performance & features

The process of attaching devices to the Asus RT-AXE7800 was quick and straightforward, and we were pleased to see solid speeds and connectivity all around our two-storey semi-detached property. With 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands to pick from, you're covered for both range and speed – the router lets you keep all three separate, or combine the 2.4GHz and 5GHz together and leave the 6GHz on its own.

We appreciate that extra flexibility, and with top speeds of 7.8Gbps, this is going to offer performance that's more than enough for most home users (that 2.5Gbps port means it's ready for high-speed fibre broadband too). It's also worth noting that two Ethernet ports can be combined for a 2Gbps wired connection – perfect if you have a laptop or console that needs the fastest possible link to the web.

Performance was pretty much flawless during our testing, with gadgets close to the router reaching speeds close to the maximum possible, and decent speeds achievable further away as well (especially on the 5GHz band). Adding dozens of devices didn't seem to trouble the router, and wired performance was impressive too – though you are then limited in terms of physical positioning of course. 

The accompanying software features are great, including traffic optimisation tools and comprehensive parental controls for limiting time online and specific device access. What's really good is that none of this requires an extra subscription, or even an Asus account – something that we wish was the case with more manufacturers. There is a paid-for subscription for extra security features, but it's not pushed on you.

Asus RT-AXE7800 review: verdict

No router is ever going to increase the speed of the internet coming into your home of course – you'll need to speak to your broadband provider for that – but upgrading to a Wi-Fi 6E router like this means that more of your devices can stay connected, and get decent wireless speeds further away from the router. The Asus RT-AXE7800 scores highly in those respects, and offers plenty more too.

Parents will appreciate the restrictions they can control, while more advanced users are going to like the traffic optimisation tools and the ability to separate the bands out into separate networks. There's a bit of something here for everyone, though it helps to have a smattering of technical knowledge to make the most of everything the router has to offer – complete beginners might prefer something more basic.

While many home users will be looking to one of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems to eliminate dead zones and improve coverage, a lot of smaller homes can actually get by perfectly well with a single router – and bear in mind that the Asus RT-AXE7800 can function as part of a mesh network if you buy some extra hardware. For a standard-sized two-storey home or something smaller, you should get coverage just about everywhere.

Making router recommendations is difficult, because we can't know what hardware you already have in place and how big your property is. However, if you're not completely happy with your current setup and have plenty of Wi-Fi 6E devices to hook up, then the Asus RT-AXE7800 is an excellent option – especially if you don't need the range (and don't want the extra expense) of a mesh system.

Also consider

Another excellent Wi-Fi 6E router we've tested recently is the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E. Again, you get three bands to work with, and setup is simple and straightforward, with the option of parental controls included as well. It's not quite as sophisticated or as powerful as the Asus RT-AXE7800, but you should be able to find it for a little bit less money, so it might suit your needs better.

If you've got more to spend and a larger space to cover, but you still want the Asus brand name and the Wi-Fi 6E speeds, then consider the Asus ZenWiFi Pro ET12. This mesh system costs about four times as much as the Asus router we've reviewed here, but you'll have yourself a Wi-Fi network that is pretty much unbeatable – so it's a worthwhile investment if your home has a lot of floors and hundreds of gadgets to connect.

Lenovo has officially announced its first full-fledged gaming handheld – the Lenovo Legion Go.

First leaked a couple of weeks ago, the device follows the likes of the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally, but also borrows heavily from the Nintendo Switch.

That's because it has detachable controllers, much like the Switch's Joy-Cons. And, also like the Switch, you get a kickstand to prop up the display unit in order to play in desktop mode wherever you are.

It also rivals the Ally directly, more than than the Steam Deck, as it runs on Windows 11 so is not limited to just one digital PC storefront. And it is similarly powered by the AMD Ryzen Z1 series – one of the most powerful mobile processors around.

You do get a larger screen though. The Legion Go sports an 8.8-inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) IPS touch display with a 144Hz refresh rate. It is capable of brightness up to 500nits.

There's up to 16GB of LPDDR5X (7500MHz) RAM on board, plus up to 1TB of PCIe Gen4 SSD storage. You can also add extra storage through microSD, which supports up to 2TB cards.

To keep things cool, the handheld houses a liquid crystal polymer 79-blade fan and proprietary Coldfront thermal technology.

As well as being able to be removed and used independently, its TrueStrike controllers come with a dedicated FPS mode for shooters. This works through an included base stand for the right controller to effectively turn it into an optical mouse.

There are dual USB-C ports for docking and/or charging, while DisplayPort 1.4 support means you can also use it with a separate monitor.

One of the good things about running Windows 11 on the machine rather than a Steam front end is that you can access different services, including cloud gaming platforms. Lenovo includes three-months worth of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership for good measure, so you can immediately access 100s of games through Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E are provided for connectivity.

The Lenovo Legion Go will be available from October 2023 starting at €799. We're still awaiting UK and US pricing, although we expect it to be around the same equivalent cost in each region.