ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih today revealed details of the company’s latest innovations in mobile, wearable and home computing technology, plus the latest gaming innovations from ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG), in a pre-IFA 2015 press event held at the Bolle Meierei, in Berlin, Germany.
New products announced included RT-AC5300, the world’s fastest Wi-Fi router, and VivoStick PC, a slim and stylish ultra-miniature Windows 10 ‘stick’ PC. The latest ZenFone lineup, including the new ZenFone Zoom model, was introduced to Europe, along with the announcement of pricing and availability for ZenWatch 2 and the latest models in the ZenPad and Zen AiO families.
Featuring in the incredible lineup were the G752 gaming laptop, ROG Maximus VIII Extreme/Assembly, ROG Matrix 980Ti, ROG Swift PG348Q, ROG 7.1 headset, and ROG G20 Special Edition. The 165Hz ROG Swift PG279Q gaming monitor was also showcased. Before leaving the stage, Mr. Shih surprised the audience with a sneak preview of GX700, the world’s first water-cooled gaming laptop.
“We are incredibly proud to offer our customers the incredible Zen experience by achieving the perfect balance between beauty and strength,” said Mr. Shih. “Today's lineup of Zen-inspired products not only provide the most intuitive user experiences, but also deliver empowering luxury for everyone to enjoy.”
Joining Mr. Shih on stage, Intel’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Client Computing Group, Kirk Skaugen, spoke about the successful collaboration between ASUS and Intel® on these brand new mobile and computing devices. “ASUS and Intel have been working closely together for almost three decades to bring the best experience possible to consumers with the latest technology innovation,” said Mr. Skaugen. “We are excited to have worked with ASUS on their incredible new products – from all-in-ones and gaming laptops based on the new 6th-generation Intel Core processor to compute sticks, tablets and smartphones based on the Intel Atom processor. Intel technologies bring great performance, immersive experiences, long battery life and slim form factors across a range of beautiful ASUS devices.”
ZenWatch 2 is a remarkable evolution of the original ZenWatch, with an incredible 2-day battery life and a choice of 2 sizes, 3 case colors and 18 strap options.
ZenPad S 8.0, ZenPad 8.0 and ZenPad 10 are elegant and powerful Android™ tablets. They pioneer many world-first technology innovations including built-in DTS-HD Premium Sound™, and interchangeable covers for ZenPad 8.0, including an Audio Cover that adds 6-speaker, 5.1-channel surround sound.
Zen AiO S is a stunningly-beautiful, high-performance all-in-one PC that fuses art with the latest technology to create a true masterpiece for the home or office.
RT-AC5300 is an ultra-fast tri-band 802.11ac router capable of combined total speeds of up to 5334Mbit/s, with supreme coverage and stability.
The revolutionary VivoStick PC is an ultra-miniature PC that turns any HDMI-enabled TV or monitor into a fully-functional Windows 10 PC, and which can be controlled remotely from a smartphone.
The groundbreaking ZenFone Zoom is the world’s thinnest smartphone to feature a camera with a 3X optical zoom capability.
All new Zen and ROG products will be on display at our Sales and Media Lounge located at Berliner Freiheit 2. The Lounge will be open from 3rd-4th September and 7th-8th September from 9am – 7pm (except on September 7th, when the Lounge will open at 11am).
ZenWatch 2: Time-honored craftsmanship, infinite style
ZenWatch 2 is a stylish and personalized wearable device powered by Android Wear and produced in partnership with Google. Crafted with absolute attention to detail using high-quality materials, ZenWatch 2 is a precision watch that serves as a smart assistant to Android and iOS smartphones, providing wearers with timely information at a glance and letting them get things done with a simple touch or voice command.
ZenWatch 2 is designed to be a truly personal device that wearers can customize even further to express their unique sense of style. Available in two sizes and three case colors, with 18 different strap material and color combinations, ZenWatch 2 also includes over 50 professionally-designed and instantly-changeable watch faces, along with a FaceDesigner app that lets wearers design their own, so there is truly a ZenWatch 2 for everyone.
ZenWatch 2 builds upon the original ZenWatch, offering an even more refined design, an improved user experience, a full-featured activity tracker with industry-leading accuracy, and a workout coach. ZenWatch 2 now includes a metal watch crown, enhancing the user experience by a providing new way to interact with the watch. It also comes with an all-new magnetic charger that features effortless attachment, and which can charge ZenWatch 2’s battery to 50% capacity in just 36 minutes..
ZenPad: World-leading innovations with premium style
ZenPad S 8.0 (Z580CA) is an 8-inch tablet offering users a premium Android™ experience, and delivering ultimate style and beauty along with extreme performance. Powered by an Intel® Atom™ Z3580 processor, ZenPad S 8.0 is the world’s first[1] tablet with 4GB RAM. It has a beautifully-crisp and clear QXGA IPS screen with a stunning 324ppi pixel density and ASUS Tru2Life+ display technology, which performs intelligent contrast and sharpness adjustments to boost dynamic range. ZenPad S 8.0 supports the optional Z Stylus for intuitive writing and drawing input, and features DTS-HD Premium Sound™ — another world-first on a tablet — for the ultimate audio experience..
ZenPad 8.0 (Z380C) combines refined styling, incredible entertainment capabilities, and customizable functionality with interchangeable covers to redefine the tablet experience and bring true luxury to consumers. It also features integrated DTS-HD Premium Sound, and the innovative Audio Cover option brings immersive 5.1-channel surround-sound to a tablet for the first time, with 6 powerful speakers for a totally-immersive entertainment experience. Audio Cover is also included in ZenPad Theater, an entertainment-focused ZenPad 8.0 bundle.
ZenPad 10 (Z300) combines refined styling, incredible entertainment capabilities and blazingly-fast performance with optional accessories that enhance functionality to redefine the tablet experience and bring true luxury to consumers. Available in three models with LTE/Wi-Fi (Z300CL), 3G/Wi-Fi (Z300CG), and Wi-Fi (Z300C) connectivity, there is a ZenPad 10 to suit any kind of user.
ASUS Audio Dock is a detachable keyboard with Bluetooth stereo speakers that provides enhanced entertainment and productivity for ZenPad 10. ZenPad 10 also supports the optional Z Stylus for intuitive writing and drawing input.
Zen AiO S: The Art of Performance in Stunning 4K/UHD Detail
Zen AiO S is a family of premium all-in-one Windows 10 PCs that fuse art with industry-leading technology. Zen AiO S provides a perfect balance of beauty and superb performance, providing the ultimate computing experience for discerning home and professional users.
For truly-immersive family entertainment, Zen AiO S is equipped with up to an ultra-detailed 4K/UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS display with a 185ppi pixel density and 178-degree viewing angles, plus a powerful six-speaker ASUS SonicMaster Premium sound system that delivers 16W of incredibly rich and clear stereo sound.
Featuring a stunningly-elegant all-aluminum unibody design with a seamless integral stand, Zen AiO S looks amazing. The anodized Icicle Gold finish is enhanced with a finely-brushed texture at the rear, and the front fascia features our iconic spun-metal detailing. Superb performance is delivered by 6th-generation Intel Core™ up to i7 processors and gaming-grade NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 960M graphics with up to 4GB of video memory. Other leading-edge technology showcased in the Zen AiO Series includes the latest USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, up to PCIe® 3.0 x4 M.2 SSD storage, and up to an Intel RealSense™ camera that enables futuristic capabilities such as biometric login and accurate motion-sensing.
RT-AC5300: The world’s fastest Wi-Fi router
RT-AC5300 is an innovative AC5300-class tri-band wireless router that delivers the world’s fastest Wi-Fi — with Broadcom® NitroQAM™ RT-AC5300 delivers up to 1000Mbit/s on the 2.4GHz band and up to 2167Mbit/s on each of the two 5GHz bands, for a combined total of up to 5334Mbit/s. This gives users a low-latency gaming experience and ultra-fast 4K/UHD video streaming anywhere in the home.
With eight powerful external antennas in a four-transmit, four-receive (4T4R) configuration, both Wi-Fi range and signal stability are dramatically improved, giving our widest-ever coverage up to 500 square meters. AiRadar beamforming focuses the Wi-Fi signal, giving faster, clearer and stronger Wi-Fi performance for each device.
RT-AC5300 incorporates many advanced technologies to enhance performance, ease of use and stability. Tri-Band Smart Connect ensures that each device is assigned automatically to the most appropriate band for maximum speed and stability. Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) enables multiple devices to connect at their maximum speeds without slowing down the network, and Link Aggregation (802.11ad) can combine two LAN ports into one superfast 2Gbit/s wired connection using two network cables.
AiProtection with Trend Micro™ security provides three-pronged state-of-the-art home network protection, and AiCloud 2.0 is a personal cloud storage service that lets users access, share and stream their files from anywhere.
VivoStick PC: The PC that breaks the boundaries
ASUS VivoStick PC heralds a new and convenient way of computing. This remarkable ultra-miniature Windows 10 ‘stick’ PC is incredibly slim, compact and light with a modern, elegant pen-inspired design, and a stylish cap to protect the HDMI connector. VivoStick PC is designed for everyday enjoyment, turning any HDMI-enabled TV or monitor into a fully-functional PC, and allowing users to stream and share content anywhere, anytime. It can even be remotely controlled from a mobile device using a special ASUS app.
Measuring just 137.9 x 34.0 x 14.9mm, weighing only 68g, VivoStick PC can also be used for essential daily computing, with full connectivity including fast 802.11n Wi-Fi, two convenient USB ports, an audio output jack, plus Bluetooth® 4.0 for connecting a keyboard and mouse. VivoStick PC comes with 2GB of RAM for smooth performance.
ZenFone Zoom: The world’s thinnest 3X optical zoom smartphone
The groundbreaking ZenFone Zoom is the world’s thinnest smartphone to feature a 13MP camera with a 3X optical zoom. ZenFone Zoom’s rear camera features a precision-engineered 10-element lens with up to a 12X zoom for even finer close-up detail. ZenFone Zoom also has an optical image stabilizer (OIS) for shake-free photos and professional Panasonic SmartSFI® sensor for optimized image, combined with a revolutionary lightning-fast laser auto-focus for incredibly-sharp images every time.
Powered by a high-performance 2.5GHz Intel Atom™ Z3590 quad-core processor with 4GB RAM for ultra-fast performance, ZenFone Zoom redefines expectations for smartphone photography — packing DSLR-style shooting experiences into a metal unibody that tapers to a mere 5mm, so it slides comfortably into a pocket.
Advanced users will appreciate the flexibility of ZenFone Zoom’s Manual mode, which allows professional-grade manual control of ISO settings, shutter speed and more.
