Laptops tend to resemble each other – especially in the Windows-based PC worlds. There are cheap ones with components that allow you to surf the Internet and open a Word document, but nothing more; There are those for the intermediate market intended for students, those who enjoy or work with their computers at home or in the office; Expensive and heavy gaming and video editing laptops; And work laptops that are usually purchased by organizations or professionals for heavy use. For the most part, the highest quality computers such as Lenovo’s ThinkPad series, or Dell’s XPS are from the latter category – even if they are actually purchased quite a bit by private users. This category is unquestionably dominated by four manufacturers – as mentioned Lenovo, Dell, HP and Apple, which is very popular among development engineers and creative people. Asus has always had its eyes on this direction – but until the last few years it didn’t really manage to provide a worthy alternative.
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Nice to meet you
(Raphael Kahan)
Two years ago Asus started marketing the ExpertBook B9 which according to its claims is the lightest and thinnest work laptop in the world. With the introduction of the corona virus into our lives, the importance of the size and weight of computers decreased, and thus many went back to using simpler (and heavier) laptops or desktop computers – it’s cheaper and when working from home it’s less important. But now, with the return to life outside the home, the workers also have to think about their backs. The manufacturers returned to offer light computers and the average weight of a modern laptop dropped below 1.5 kg. The new version of ExpertBook B9 is based on 12th generation Intel Alder Lake processors and is designed to compete with Apple’s MacBook Pro and Air computers as well as hybrid computers with a detachable screen such as Microsoft’s Surfs, Acer’s Spin or HP’s Dragonfly. Can Asus finally play on the court of the greats and beat them? We checked.
Design and structure: light and thin, a computer in the body of a tablet
We’ve had thin and light computers since the days of Apple’s MacBook Air, which is the standard by which everyone is measured. There are two categories of such computers – the hybrids, or 2 in 1, which are a combination of a tablet and a traditional laptop. This category includes all kinds of tricks – from a keyboard that is attached to the screen and body with a magnet to a screen that can be rotated 360 degrees and attached to the back of the computer. The second category offers traditional computers in a very thin body and usually also in a premium Apple-style design.
The Asus is a bit of a combination of the two in this respect. Its body is very thin – 1.49 cm when closed and its weight ranges from 880 grams to one kilogram depending on the size of the battery. These are very impressive figures that currently (at least in the lighter version) only Fujitsu offers besides Asus. But the first’s mobiles are not imported per Israel, and the latter is the only one that currently offers in Israel, in the category of business laptops, computers that weigh less than 900 grams.
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Slim but with a full size HDMI jack
(Raphael Kahan)
However, the light weight does not mean that the computer is delicate or uses less durable components. The B9 complies with the MIL-STD-810 standard which is considered very strict regarding durability and is based on toughness tests by the US Army. That is, it is resistant to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, can work at high altitudes or absorb shocks and falls without significant damage. Asus used a strong magnesium-lithium alloy in its body and it feels very high quality and durable. We didn’t try to slam it on the floor, but in the use that included traveling by train, bus, events and conferences, it is not apparent that anything was wrong with it – there was not a scratch on it, and in fact it looks exactly as it did the day we received it. Another thing that really impressed us is the screen: it’s a 14-inch panel on a computer that’s as big as a laptop with an average 13-inch screen. It may not seem like a big difference – but when working on a computer, every inch makes a big difference in the quality of the display and the layout of the windows. And here it is definitely evident.
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The monitor’s stand makes it difficult to use it on your lap
(Raphael Kahan)
But not everything is perfect in the kingdom of Essos. We found two main problems that are very distressing in daily use. The first – a pair of rigid legs that are used to stand the computer when the screen is open; They are really uncomfortable when using a computer on your lap, a common situation when working on the road. In fact, in shorts it is almost impossible to put the computer on your lap for more than a few minutes without feeling the legs digging into you. The second problem is that the ventilation slots are located at the bottom of the computer, which means that when the computer is working hard and is placed on your lap, you will feel the evaporation of the heat very well. These may be small – but it’s important to remember that a work laptop is no laughing matter and that ergonomics is an important thing. Regarding this, Asus still needs to work a little, as we found another such problem with the keyboard, but more on that later. All in all, this is a computer with high assembly quality, which feels completely premium.
Hardware: The power of a server in the body of a tablet
The most impressive part of the B9 is its specs. The manufacturer managed to cram Intel 12th generation Elder Lake processors into it in the vPro version up to i7 with Iris Xe graphics chips; Two SSD drives can be combined in a RAID configuration, which means that they can work simultaneously to prevent data loss and with a storage volume of up to 4 terabytes in total. This is a lot of power: you can open heavy Excel documents here or run engineering software and even simulations without too many problems. The only limitation is the heat that, as mentioned, accumulates in a thin body – but this is already a physical limitation and it is of course not a mobile device designed to replace a server even though on paper it has the power. On the other hand, in terms of the working memory – here Asus saved a little – and it’s a shame – and settled for 16 or 32 gigabytes in the LPDDR4X standard, which is not the latest.
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When it gets hot, the air blows down – again on the user’s poor knees
(Raphael Kahan)
There is a complete set of sockets, two in USB-C format in the fast Thunderbolt standard, one of which is also used to connect the charger; USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A socket; full-size HDMI jack; Another one in the micro HDMI standard that allows you to connect to a wired network (RJ45); Full audio and microphone output in 3.5 mm format; and a Kensington-format socket for attaching a lock. That’s more than most competitors who usually give up one or two sockets.
The B9’s screen is good, but not the most impressive in the category. This is an LED panel with FHD resolution in 16:9 format. This format is not perfect for work but more for watching media. Too bad, 3:2 or even 16:10 format would have been more suitable here because they allow to get more vertical display area – useful for data tables or for displaying websites and documents.
The brightness of the 400 nit screen is not exceptional, but it is sufficient for working outside even in sunlight thanks to a matte coating that prevents reflections. It’s not a photo or video editing screen – but it’s enough for basic editing. The battery comes in two versions – 33 watt hour or 66 watt hour. Our version was based on the larger battery and we were able to easily get more than 12 hours out of it in mixed use that included browsing, working in the office and even viewing multimedia documents.
Interface and multimedia: good keyboard but with one annoying problem
The B9 is equipped with a variety of interfaces that allow you to work with it comfortably. Let’s start with the keyboard. In the past I claimed that Asus keyboards suffer from too much softness in the keys – but here you get good resistance that allows fast typing with comfort and precision. If you tend to type a lot at work, this is very satisfying. But it has one problem that ruins the experience. Asus engineers stuck the delete key next to the on and off key – and they are also the same size and there is no way to differentiate between them by blind typing. I found myself many times accidentally turning off the computer because I wanted to delete a letter or word. It’s very frustrating when this happens and I don’t understand how Asus fell so short in this big one. Especially when it happens a lot when typing relatively long documents (like writing articles for example). Unlike the keyboard, the trackpad actually works great. It is very comfortable, accurate and large. Here, too, Asus has added the ability to turn it into a virtual number pad – and it works well, although I think it’s more of a gimmick. The fingerprint scanner located on the right side of the computer under the arrow keys is extremely fast.
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The delete button is adjacent to the activation button on the upper right side of the keyboard
(Raphael Kahan)
The computer also supports unlocking by the built-in webcam, but for some reason it didn’t work completely smoothly 100% of the time and sometimes it asked me to try again or switch to the fingerprint scanner. By the way, the camera provides only 720P quality resolution. It also has a privacy shutter that allows you to cover it manually. In terms of multimedia, the computer does a good job in the sound section, it is equipped with an AI mechanism that should filter out background noise in both the speakers and the microphone. It’s for zoom calls when you’re in a noisy office or at home with kids running around in the background and it works pretty well. At least for me, no one complained about poor audio quality.
In terms of using the B9 as a computer for movies or graphics, it is already less recommended. Although it is capable of this, the quality is not exceptional and you will not get a display here that will impress you. By the way, it is also not recommended for gaming except for casual games or relatively old titles and in any case not in high quality display settings. It comes with Windows 11 Pro and no unnecessary applications except for two – the McAfee antivirus and the Asus management application which is far from convenient to use.
Summary and alternatives: the lightest of its kind in Israel
In conclusion, if you are looking for a light, powerful work computer with 12th generation Intel processors and RAID support, the new B9 is definitely a good option, even if not the cheapest.