Asus has a new laptop on the way, and and although the Zenbook UX410 has a 14 inch display, it’s expected to be the size of a laptop with a 13.3 inch or smaller display thanks to slim bezels around the screen.
According to the new product page for the laptop, the Asus Zenbook UX410 has a display with 6mm bezels on the left and right sides, which are just a tiny bit thicker than the 5.2mm bezels on Dell’s XPS 13 laptop.
But unlike the Dell XPS 13, the upcoming Asus laptop has a webcam above the display, rather than below it.
That’s significant, because while Dell’s thin and light laptops are excellent in many ways, one weird quirk is that if you try to use the webcam for video chat or web conferencing, your knuckles will show up in the shot any time you try to type… among other problems related to the camera angle.
First spotted by Notebook Italia, the Asus Zenbook UX410 webpage seems to be a work in progress. The spec sheet for one model doesn’t currently have the dimensions or weight of the laptop. And there’s some inconsistent information: some photos show a laptop with thicker bezels, and in at least one place there’s a picture that says the laptop has a 14 inch display… with a paragraph of text directly below it describing the notebook as having a 13.3 inch screen.
So take the specs with a grain of salt for now, but it looks like the notebook will be available with Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 Kaby Lake processor options, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 1TB of hard drive and/or 512GB of solid state storage, and with a 14 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel matte display.
There’s also a model with NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics.
It’s not clear when the new laptops will be available, how much they’ll look like the pictures on the website, or if the estimated size and weight will match what’s listed for the model with NVIDIA graphics (12.7″ x 8.8″ 0.75″ and 3.5 pounds), but the UX410 certainly seems like a laptop worth keeping an eye on.
It has a full-size keyboard, with a physical numeric keypad. It also offers an optional world-facing camera, located next to the keyboard, which can be used for the mixed-reality application. https://www.uaetechnician.com/asus-laptop-battery-replacement.html helped me to get all the detail about this.
The Dell Company recently Launched Dell XPS 13, it’s includes a faster, Intel 7th generation Core Series “Kaby Lake”. Intel first debuted the 7th generation Core on August 30, Now, just over a month later, it’s first versions of it appear in Dell XPS 13.
https://www.technoblink.com/gad…
I wish Asus would shy away from the Apple trend of overstuffing the spec of 15inch laptops to justify Mac-ish prices. Sure, sell your crazy spec units for crazy gamers, but I’m certain MANY people do not need a ‘Pro’ 15 inch laptop. They merely need a solid laptop with a 15 inch screen.
I’m writing this comment from a fanless 1080p Core M 256SSD 8GB non-touch unit. It’s asking price was $699 but routinely available for $599. I’m close to certain this means the same unit could be offered as 15inch for $1099 asking but sale price $999. Of course phase in 512SSD when it’s affordable but until then this described unit would DEVOUR Mac and Dell sales.
Note that these notebooks have an empty slot so they can be upgraded to 16gb. I’m a bit confused with the new Intel branding are the CPUs for these the fanless ex core-m or the traditional i3/i5/i7 ?
If you go to the product page — the bezel changes from thin to fat depending upon the photo. Sloppy.
Kaby Lake… didn’t Microsoft say that nothing prior to Windows 10 will install and run on these?
I don’t see where that arrival mentioned an older OS, but to answer your question. Microsoft said that they are not supporting older OS’s on new CPU’s like Kaby Lake and Zen. Windows 7 may, and probably will, install and run just fine.
If that is an issue, Microsoft’s solution is to install Windows 10.
If that is a new feature that requires OS support, you just won’t get it in widows 7. For example the new SpeedShift tech in Sky Lake that let’s the processor jump to high clock speed in about a third the time. On windows 7 the OS will handle this the old slow way, on windows 10 the OS had been updated to pass off clock speed control to the CPU.
“Unsupported” means that Microsoft is not going to spend time and resources retro fitting an old OS to support features that were not even on the drawing board when the OS was released, not that of you start a windows 7 install it will stop and say “unsupported hardware” and refuse to move forward for no good reason.
Another example of Asus’s quickly diminishing ability to organize their product lineup, and purposeless laptop design.
“Let’s roll the specs dice and see what we sell this year”…
“It’s a Kaby Lake ultrabook… with a mechanical HDD… and an outdated GPU from last generation, that is no more powerful than the integrated Intel HD 620”.
Don’t worry, UX410, you’ll find a purpose in life.
I’d like entry level 14 inch and 15 inch Core Ms with SSDs. Mirroring their VERY successful UX305s. Fanless with thin bezels. The 15 inch would fly off shelves at $999.
Just a note for Kaby Lake, only the M3 option is still under the Core M branding… The M5/M7 range are now under the Core Y-Series branding (mind that is the series that Core M originated from, so a bit of a reversal of branding)…
There are other differences but mostly something to keep track of going forward as Intel is moving away from previous marketing as they gave up competing in the mobile/tablet range…
Thanks for the heads up
I think you mean Core i branding, Core M have always been Core Y line processors but they did start being called Core i3, i5, i7.
Nope, look up the last generation of Core M models… Intel has been giving them similar naming scheme as the regular core series to distinguish between low, mid, and upper range models… But now with Kaby Lake they’re moving away from the Core M branding and back to Y-Series, with the Y-Chips replacing the mid and upper Core M options…
Though, Y-Series also confuses as it can be either a Core or Celeron/Pentium branded model name…
Specs are different from Core M as well… Tend to not offer Turbo clock, but has higher base clock, among other differences…
It seems you are confusing “Core i” branding with the “Core Y line”, the latter is one of several lines of Intel Core processors, there is also Core U, H and S (from the top of my head), “Core Y” processors were introduced with Ivy Bridge and barring some exceptions were sold under the Core i3, i5 and i7 brands, identified in the model number by the presence of a “Y” ( Core i5-3439Y), this changed, as you said, with Broadwell, when Intel decided to change their name to Core M, then Core m3, m5, 7 with Skylake and again, as you said, they are backtracking on their branding decisions with Kaby Lake. We are mostly on the same page, is just the fact that “Core Y” is not a brand and Core M never stopped belonging to it.
Uh, no, seems you’re confusing what I’m saying… I never intended to obfuscated the difference between the Y-Series and the other Core series but the Y-Series is no longer limited to the Core branding, like stated before there is also Celeron/Pentium branded Y-chips now. So it’s not a simple Y/U/H difference anymore…
The Pentium 4405Y, for example…
Second, you’re confusing the Core M… Yes, it was developed from the original Y-Series but it also diverged because it was optimized for the mobile/tablet market and was treated separately from the other Core options…
For example, the new Y-series no longer comes default with 4.5W TDP but rather 6W with optional 4.5W configurability. So it’s not just a name change…
How Intel markets the product invariably effects how the chip is optimized and what features it does and does not support… With Kaby Lake Intel only released a new Core M3 option, leaving the other two options as only the new Y-Series and as pointed out they have different spec optimizations than what we have come to expect from Core M’s…
So similar but not exactly the same and like I said in my first post it’s mainly something to keep track of in the future in case it starts to change even more as well as more variables on model options as Celeron/Pentium are specifically Intel’s budget range offerings and that diverges from the premium pricing of the Core M models, which means they’ll be cutting features, etc. to fit that market… Just to show one example of the changes that can happen going forward…
No sorry, you are the one confused, check Intel’s ARK very thoroughly.
Pentium, Celeron and Core have never been exclusive to any one series, there have been Pentium/Celeron Y-series in the past just as there have been Pentium/Celeron U-series, they have always been repurposed faulty chips that didn’t make the cut for the Core brand and that’s why they are the budget offerings.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/f…
Kaby Lake Y-series Core chips still have a 4.5W TDP, that hasn’t changed.
Core M didn’t diverge from the Y-series chips, they are Y-series chips, Intel just became much more aggressive with turbo boost utilization and efficiency with the Broadwell generation rather than keeping the status quo of under clocked afterthought of U-series that they used to be.
So just to reiterate Core i =/= Core Y-series
Sorry but you’re confusing product concept, along with inaccurate generic product details, from product reality!
The modern Y-series is no more similar to the original than the modern ATOM is similar to the original that were introduced with Netbooks…
There’s both marketing and technical realities that make very real differences in how a product is optimized and what features are offered when it targets the mobile/tablet space versus the traditional portable PC market.
Celeron/Pentium isn’t just a matter of making use of chips that don’t make the cut for the higher end… These are specifically marketed for the budget range and thus regardless of how they got made Intel specifically sets limits on specs and features to meet the target market…
Prior to ATOMs joining the Celeron/Pentium market, features like Intel Quicksync was typically disabled by default on all Core based Celeron… These branded chips typically have lower clock speed, may or may not have Hyper Threading, tend to lack Turbo Clocks, etc. all to better meet the target price range.
When Intel introduced the Core M branding is when they introduced major changes to how they optimized their architecture… The Broadwell and Skylake updates to the Core M were game changers in terms of power efficiency performance ratios and they changed how the Core M was marketed from the previous Y-Series.
Like, for example, the Core M ended any other variant of the Y-series, from Ivy Bridge to Skylake it was either Core M or nothing! There was no Celeron/Pentium version of the Core M and unlike how they treated the i3 and Celeron/Pentium, again for example, the Core M retained many features that Intel normally only provided with the premium Core i5 and higher range products, like Turbo Clock, and many other features, which is one of the ways they justified the premium pricing of the Core M…
The original Y-series was barely more than a cTDP version of the Core architecture that performed badly because the architecture wasn’t optimized to perform well at low power ranges… It was also not targeting the mobile/tablet market like the Core M…
We’re talking more than just cTDP… The Core M was a premium priced product targeting the mobile/tablet space… The 4.5W TDP was because it needed to be fan-less and that meant needing to be below 5W, with a SDP of at least 4W…
Sure, it was technically still Y-Series because that was what the Core M evolved from but to say it was always the same belies all the changes it went through and the effect of Intel targeting the mobile/tablet market, along with specifically treating the Core M like it’s own branch of the Core series which is not how they’re treating the Y-series, which brings it back to more of a class than a separate branch with the way they’re treating it now that they’re bringing the Y-series naming back…
Intel giving up the mobile/tablet market is not something to just be dismissed as that is what shaped how the Core M was marketed and optimized… The new target is 2 in 1’s and OEMs are no longer expected to design around 4.5W but can choose whatever is best for the product they’re making with the range the new chips support…
Y-chips like the Pentium 4405Y are 6W TDP, not 4.5W…
https://ark.intel.com/products/…
The 4.5W is no longer the default that you can assume will always be followed now except for the still being produced Core M3-7Y30… Intel just still mentions it for the other Y-series because the OEM can still choose the TDP to 4.5W… The slides also don’t fully take into account how the recent choice to drop out of the mobile market is reshaping Intel’s road map as it has just started… But one of the things to realize is the Core M/Y-Series was more of a place holder to reach a target market that is no longer being targeted… SDP has gone done to 3.5W and max TDP has gone up to 8W…
Core M took advantage of the max TDP with Turbo clocks… Since that’s how Intel Turbo Boost works, it allows temporarily exceeding rated TDP to achieve higher clock for as long as there is thermal room before throttling and cooling down before it can Turbo again.
But now that mobile/Tablet is no longer the target market many OEMs will instead opt for higher TDP for higher base clocks for more consistent performance… Larger 2 in 1’s means it’s easier to keep cool enough at higher TDP than smaller tablets required and still be fan-less. So design considerations are significantly different now…
Liquid cooling options also means OEMs can go even higher and still offer a fan-less option that doesn’t have to be higher priced than what a previous Core M offered but offer at up to 40% more performance…
The Intel® Core™ i5-7Y54 Processor that replaces the Core M5 for Kaby Lake actually has a configurable TDP that can be set as low as 3.5W and as high as 7W… This is the same chip you’re calling 4.5W TDP, but like I said that’s no longer the default and it’s actually up to OEM now what the TDP will be.
While Y-chips like the Pentium 4405Y are specifically listed as 6W TDP to begin with…
With the Core M’s OEMs only had to worry about unlocking the chip for max Turbo clock or stick to default limitations that were again designed to fit the mobile/tablet market…
So don’t try to draw too much from the basic road map charts Intel releases… They are very basic, haven’t yet had time to reflect changes in their market strategy, and leave out a lot of details…
You should also not gloss over the history of the product and how the changes in how it is marketed and what architecture changes have happened to reflect those choices has effected the product and will continue to…
Mind, Kaby Lake is really just a “Optimization” update… So any real changes aren’t to be expected yet. Meaning the new market direction will likely be more pronounced over the next two updates…
Like you’re own chart shows the next update will change the advertised default TDP from 4.5W to 5.2W… If Core M is still offered by then it will mean a wider divergence between the Core M and the rest of the Y-Series going forward, beyond what the OEMs can now choose to do now…
The configurable TDP ranging from 3.5W to 7W is also available for the Core m3-7Y30
https://ark.intel.com/products/…
And is an staple of Y-series Core since Broadwell, it’s not a new development.
https://ark.intel.com/products/…
“from Ivy Bridge to Skylake it was either Core M or nothing!”
The Core M brand was introduced with Broadwell, there are no Haswell and Ivy Bridge Core Ms, they were marketed as Core i3, i5 or i7 and there were Y-series Pentiums from those two generations
https://ark.intel.com/products/…
https://ark.intel.com/products/…
Broadwell was the odd one out as there are also Skylake Y-series Pentiums (4405Y).
The great majority of what you say is completely accurate and not in disagreement with what I say at all, in fact a lot of your latest comment only further develops on the things I said (how Y-series used to be, why the improvements in the Broadwell generation deserved a brand name change) so I have no idea what is the point of writing all that, except perhaps deflection from your part to not admit that you were wrong in confusing the Core i branding with the Y-series product line and in that process you have made more mistakes, for what? just to avoid saying “I was wrong”? perhaps you sincerely think that wasn’t a mistake but I’m unable to make you see that, either way I have no interest on further wasting each other’s times.
Again, I never confused the Core i branding with the Y-Series… That was entirely your interpretation…
I simply pointed out what Intel is doing and how it is now different!
The Core M 3/5/7 existed because they treated the Core M differently than the previous Y-Series… They are moving away from that but Kaby lake is mainly a optimization, not a change, and the decision to drop the mobile/tablet market was very recent… So the changes are going to be that big until later but they’re already starting to change enough to see the start of the trend and that’s part of my actual point you didn’t seem to get…
The Core M also wasn’t using cTDP to be configurable in the same way… It used the low end for SDP and the high end for Turbo clock… The new Y series lets OEMs actually configure the TDP and not just choose how much to throttle it… While again, these changes are just starting and insisting they’re still the same only misleads consumers on how this will evolve going forward…
The Pentium example clearly shows that they are no longer focusing on 4.5W TDP and the next update shows its changing for all with the 5.2W TDP… Assuming they don’t change it even more now that their target market has changed from when that update was first planned…
So no, I never confused the Y-series with the Core i… It’s just that the Y-series has a more complicated history than you accounted for…
Looking at Notebookcheck’s data, both on 15w TDP, the non-GDDR5 version of the 940MX is still ~40% faster than Intel HD 620. The product page reads as if it includes both an SSD and an HDD which wouldn’t be that bad I guess.
Maybe I was a bit harsh on the GPU, but I still wouldn’t buy a Kaby Lake laptop with a GPU that low-end. I’d sooner pick better battery life and no discrete GPU.
I can agree on that.