The Asus ZenBook S13 comes with a reversed notch, 97 percent screen-to-body ratio

[Redaktion]

Powered by an Intel Whiskey Lake processor, the new ZenBook S13 is allegedly the thinnest laptop that features a discrete graphics solution. However, its main selling point is the impressive 97 percent screen-to-body ratio that has been achieved by placing the webcam in a notch that extends above the display area.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Asus-ZenBook-S13-comes-with-a-reversed-notch-97-percent-screen-to-body-ratio.392096.0.html

[Andrew]

The reverse notch is a stroke of genius. I like it.

[Alejandro]

The reverse notch concept wouldn't probably work on a phone, but in a laptop, it's a great idea. Kudos to Asus.

[Mecan]

Reverse notch is definitely not a deal breaker visually. My concern would be about how durable and prone to scratches it would be. Reversed V photo of the laptop is promising though.

[sticky]

And what happens when you accidentally drop the laptop notch first onto the ground? A rectangular laptop already has 4 extremely fragile corners and now add on to the list the most delicate edge responsible for screen deaths.

Zenbooks are not built to the standard of Thinkpad or LG Gram. The notch won't last.

[Codrut Nistor]

If you accidentally drop the laptop notch first onto the ground... it happens what would happen without the notch. After all, that notch part is made of aluminum as the rest of the ZenBook S13. It would probably get as damaged as it would without the notch. I am not worried about the durability of the reverse notch at all, in fact I was afraid that many people would dislike its looks. It seems I was wrong. Speaking for myself, I just can't decide. If I would work for Asus, I would rather have a 99.9 percent screen-to-body ratio and put a wireless camera in the package that can be attached magnetically to the case. What do you think about this approach?

[sticky]

I'm not a fan of the whole "eliminating existing features only because a dedicated device can replace it better" cliche.

Essentially their wireless camera remedy is equivalent to removing the headphone jack on phones, then instead offering dongles as a solution. That doesn't improve upon anything from beforehand. Real upgrade would look like putting a USB-C at bottom as usual, add another one on side, and the 3.5mm jack (Asus ROG phone).

I'm the minority that uses webcam often and I carry a Logitech one with me. But I still want the built-in webcam for the same reason I want a touchpad despite also using a MX Master or want a pen slot in my Thinkpad Yoga despite also using a Bamboo Ink pen.

Sorry I couldn't relate to you. Probably since I never cared much for the "form over function" tech trend. Uniform bezels are there to protect the screen. I'm sure we'll progress to a point where we can finally live without bezels for durability purposes but we're not there yet.

[Jesse]

The camera is fine.  It gives you something to lift to open it.   

Do my eyes deceive me or did Asus FINALLY dump their proprietary power connectors and go to USB-C power?   

Now they need a 15" 1.2kg Zenbook that does NOT have a crammed in numpad.

[Ines]

Anyone knows if the GPU is going to be 25W or 10W MX150?