Hands-on: Hybrid Worker's Day with Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

OCT. 30 2022

I do digital marketing for ASUS. My day usually consists of writing articles, analyzing web performance, conducting keyword research, reviewing and publishing creative and marketing materials, as well as frequently attending meetings and discussions with colleagues, vendors, clients, and our international teams. And I do that in a hybrid working model — working interchangeably at home and in the office.

I recently had a chance to try out the new Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, and I must admit, this machine might be the game changer I’d never realized I needed. Are you curious why? Read on to find out!

When I first received the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, I was curious about the laptop that has created such a buzz. The star of 2022’s IFA , this laptop certainly gained my attention. I was really looking forward to trying it out.

I finally got my chance. When I received the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, it was folded completely — like a closed, traditional clamshell laptop. The size of the laptop was smaller than I was used to seeing: At just 12.5 inch when folded, it can easily be carried with a single hand.

It was lighter than I expected, too. Together with the ErgoSense Bluetooth keyboard and touchpad, this laptop weighs only 1.8 kg. It’s less than the 15-inch machine I have at home.

And the way it looked! The top cover of Zenbook 17 Fold OLED comes with an elegant dark blue metallic finish and it has a new arrow-like ASUS monogram, which reflects light in a very interesting way. Part of the top surface and the bottom of the device have a black leather cover that also serves as a kickstand that allows comfortable work in different usage modes.

As I unveiled the screen surface and the ErgoSense Bluetooth keyboard and touchpad, the top half of the screen — the part not covered by the inserted keyboard and touchpad — lit up. I noted how the part under the keyboard automatically turns off when covered to save energy, and the screen automatically adjusts the orientation based on the mode the device is in (and whether the keyboard is attached or not).

The colors immediately popped, thanks to the OLED technology employed in the Zenbook Fold 17 OLED’s foldable screen. I particularly noticed how black the blacks were. A sharp and crisp image with 2.5K resolution provided me with a much higher-quality viewing experience that I am accustomed to.

Out of curiosity, I lifted the keyboard to reveal the second half of the foldable display. The screen immediately adjusted itself to the full-size Laptop Mode. Now a huge 17-inch piece of screen real estate, it displayed the Windows interface in a vertical format.

I launched Microsoft Word to try out the typing experience. At first, the window opened in a large format. When I touched the area of the screen displaying the document, a virtual on-screen keyboard appeared. I typed a couple of sentences comfortably before turning on the ErgoSense Bluetooth keyboard and touchpad again. Now displaying the document on a full screen, I continued typing via the physical keyboard, detached from the laptop, in an Extended Mode.

Smooth in touch and thin, the keyboard provided a comfortable typing experience. The full-size key pitch, long key travel, and dished keycaps all make for a satisfying affair.

Then, I picked up the laptop and completely unfolded the screen, turning it into a huge 17-inch tablet. I opened a browser and visited YouTube to test the viewing experience. I landed at an 8K EYE channel and played a wildlife video. The colors and sharpness of the image were impressive, to say the least — especially once I flipped the screen to a horizontal orientation and displayed the video on the full 17-inch screen.

I opened the leather kickstand on the back of the laptop and propped it on my desk in Desktop Mode. The video on this huge, bright screen attracted my colleagues, who came over to also see the new laptop. I unmuted the video and together we enjoyed the spectacle of lifelike colors, with the sounds of wildlife flowing from the quad speakers. Everyone could see the image clearly, thanks to the wide viewing angles enabled by the OLED displays.

Someone pointed out that the audio quality was also impressive. While I was in awe of the colors, I somehow didn’t notice the sound at first. But once I started paying attention, I realized my colleague was right. With the quad speakers certified by Harman Kardon and Dolby Atmos, the laptop emitted a clear, loud sound that was a great pleasure to listen to. All high and low notes sounded life-like.

As we reached the end of the workday, I closed the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, packed it into my backpack, and headed home.

Playing E-Mail Catch-Up Anywhere

My remote work day starts with an inbox catch-up.

Seated at my study-room desk, I opened the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED in Laptop Mode, launched an email app and began checking my inbox. I quickly realized I hadn’t had my morning coffee yet, so I detached the keyboard and unfolded the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED to full-screen Tablet Mode. I grabbed the device with one hand and headed to the kitchen, without interrupting the morning catch-up. For a more comfortable holding position, I switched to the Reader Mode, with horizontal orientation and the screen slightly folded. As the coffee was brewing, I finished reviewing all the mail I’d received, including an invite to a discussion 15 minutes later.

Taking Meetings from the Couch

I grabbed my coffee and installed myself on the sofa in the living room. By opening the kickstand, I was able to put the Zenbook Fold 17 OLED on the coffee table in Desktop Mode. I picked up the ErgoSense Bluetooth keyboard with a touchpad, sat on the sofa, and put it on my lap.

With the computer screen on the coffee table and the keyboard on my lap, I was able to launch the Microsoft Teams meeting while in a comfortable, slightly reclined position. I still saw the screen contents with no issues, thanks to the large 17-inch display size. As my colleagues joined, we started the discussion. I heard everything clearly, and my colleagues heard me well, too — regardless of the morning traffic noise coming through the slightly opened window in my living room. This is thanks to the AI noise cancelation function and the quad array microphones installed in the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED.

As we were discussing a contract, I minimized the meeting window so that it occupied only the left side of my screen, and I opened the contract document and displayed it on the right side of the screen. The 17-inch screen is big enough to display both windows at the same time and view them comfortably, in an appropriate size.

I input my feedback on some contract provisions by typing on the keyboard. I must admit, I had my doubts regarding the keyboard since I am used to the mechanical, gaming-type one I use in the office, but the experience was pleasant and smooth. The key travel was long enough to assure me of a successful click. The dished caps allowed me to easily find the appropriate buttons without looking at the keyboard. The key pitch is full-sized as well, so I did not face the same adjustment I usually experience when switching from my usual keyboard to a small laptop.

Cozy Writing

The meeting ended, and it was time for me to write an article. I decided to continue working on the L-shaped sofa, but with my legs extended on the long part of it. I folded the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED into the Laptop Mode, attached the ErgoSense Bluetooth keyboard with a touchpad on the lower half of the screen, and reclined to begin writing in my favorite relaxed position.

Now a 12.5-inch laptop, the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED rested comfortably on my lap as I worked on the article.

17-inch Cinema

Hours passed unnoticeably — three of them, to be specific. At that point, I was four hours into my workday. Since I left my desk to make coffee, I have used the laptop away from the electrical outlet. The battery held up very well because, at that point, I still had over half of the full charge available.

At lunchtime, as I was eating on the couch (a bad habit of mine), I propped the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED on the coffee table in the fully unfolded horizontal format, and I played a show I was behind on. Falling into the Sci-Fi category, the show employs a lot of bright colors and strong sound effects. The viewing experience was incomparable to any other laptop I’ve used. A much larger, vibrant screen was the key. The true-to-life colors and deep blacks of the OLED screen provided me with the image quality that not even my two-year-old LCD TV can offer.

Accurate Creative Feedback

When it was time to get back to work, I decided to take a small break from writing and start the second half of the day by reviewing our company’s creative materials library in search of appropriate graphics for the article I was writing.

I could be sure that what I see on the screen is what the designer had in mind. This is thanks to the fact that the OLED displays in ASUS laptops are PANTONE-certified for color accuracy.

Multitasking Space

After selecting the image, I returned to the balcony and continued writing. This took up most of the remaining workday. When finished, I once again opened up the leather kickstand and detached the keyboard, enabling the Desktop Mode. I then opened a browser window side-by-side with the document I was working on, launched an SEO tool, and made sure that the article was optimized for the keywords we were targeting. I once again realized that 17 inches are all the space I need for multitasking.

Whole Day’s Work on a Single Charge

A prompt informing me of a low battery charge appeared in the bottom-right corner. That made me take a look at the clock. Only then did I realize that my workday was nearing the end.

The Zenbook 17 Fold OLED lasted a whole working day on a single charge. The credit for such achievement lies with the powerful 75 Wh battery and the built-in battery-life optimization software.

Throughout the day, I noticed that whenever I looked away from the screen, it immediately became dim, only to shine bright again as soon as my attention returned to the laptop’s display. When working in Laptop Mode, with the keyboard on the lower half of the screen, the covered part of the display simply turns itself off, saving energy. This is possible thanks to the characteristics of the OLED display technology employed here.

In OLED screens, each pixel serves as its own light source, as opposed to backlit LCDs. The depth of the black color and the energy-saving are made possible thanks to this unique trait. Think about it. If this laptop employed an LCD-like backlit technology, the covered half of the screen would simply display black color instead of completely turning off half of the pixels. Either that, or the laptop would be composed of two separate displays that turn on and off independently of each other.

My experience with the Zenbook Fold 17 OLED allowed me an insight into the near future of what hybrid work devices might look like.

It may be that the days when I have to keep two sets of keyboards, mice, and monitors ― one set at home, and one in the office — are long gone. Not to mention the productivity compromises such as adjusting workflows to a much smaller screen (which hinders multitasking) that need to be reached when setting myself up in the nearby café or while traveling.

Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is the versatile, many-faced productivity beast that I hadn’t known I needed. If you are a professional who works in a hybrid work situation like myself, the unique new Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is something that you should definitely consider!