What comes to mind when you think of ASUS? For me, one word in particular sticks out: bold.
I’m no expert when it comes to the brand, but it’s shown me that it doesn’t shy away from pushing the envelope in consumer tech.
So it’s no surprise that when asked what ASUS’ standout milestones are, Lenny Lin, Business Development Manager of ASUS Malaysia, told Vulcan Post:
“Our proudest milestones would be how far we have come in offering truly innovative viewing experiences in various form factors.”
“We are very proud to be the only PC brand to offer a wide selection of multi-display form factors, with our ScreenPad, ScreenPad Plus and of course, our most recent ASUS Zenbook DUO that gives you two full 14-inch OLED displays in one ultraportable laptop.”
Granted, these technologies may not be for everyone. However, Lenny did share results from a survey performed to gauge the interest in dual-display technology, and they were quite promising.
Regardless, seeing laptops that deviate from the norm is always an exciting thing to witness, and ASUS seems set on paving the way for more innovation.
Welcome to our new future
According to a 2023 report from market company research GfK, ASUS dominates in market shares for both the global and Malaysian market when it comes to OLED laptops.
The exact figures are P&C, but we have verified that they justify ASUS’ claims of market dominance.
That’s a significant result, because Lenny candidly shared that ASUS had invested heavily to become the leaders in OLED laptops (and multi-display laptops too), a move that has paid off.
What’s next for the brand, then?
Doubling down on AI, it seems.
ASUS has already been integrating AI features into their laptops, Lenny shared. This includes their AI noise cancellation, and the ASUS AiSense Camera for 3D noise reduction, eye contact correction, appearance filter, and automatic framing, among other things, to improve how users experience virtual calls.
“The reason why we are making AI the next big thing to focus on is thanks to the wider availability of AI-capable hardware from our partners,” he explained.
“Now with Intel and AMD integrating NPUs (Neural Processing Units) into their designs, these features will only improve while making a minimal impact on battery life, which is key to a great user experience.”
Part of what that enhanced user experience would look like involves a more efficient workflow through features such as:
- Call summarisation and raw data analysis (Microsoft 365 Copilot)
- Optical character recognition capabilities to extract text from screenshots (Snipping Tool on Windows)
- Transcribing video to text (Premiere Pro)
Beyond all that, AI in gaming is already quite mature, Lenny pointed out. An example would be NVIDIA using AI for Frame Generation in order to deliver higher FPS.
“And even with all that said, I would say that we are barely scratching the surface of what we can do with AI.”
From doubts to demand
You’re not alone if you feel like everything online seems to revolve around AI this and AI that. Sometimes you might even wonder, is it really AI, or are brands just using it as a marketing buzzword?
Many of us would be none the wiser, after all.
Despite that, Lenny is confident in the direction that ASUS is taking.
“ASUS AI-ready laptops are here to stay, and the advantage of having AI-ready hardware will only keep growing.”
He did acknowledge though that it’s a new field of PC that will take some time to develop depending on consumer response and technology maturity.
Thus, to promote user experience, ASUS is working with upstream and downstream partners to enable AI PCs to become an important driving force in the PC industry.
Lenny shared, “We are seeking to democratise AI by making AI models that are trustworthy, inclusive, secure, and affordable, and we are also collaborating closely with our key partners on a range of innovative AI solutions which everyone will get to see this year onwards.”
So, gamers and creators can keep a keen eye out for ASUS’ AI PCs to drop sometime in the second half of this year, and ASUS expects single-digit penetration of AI PCs in 2024.
“Whether there will be double-digit penetration in 2025 depends on the development progress and user response in 2024.”
“But we are confident that once consumers see the practical benefits of AI laptops, the uptake of AI laptops in the market will be on the uptrend,” Lenny concluded.
I may still be a skeptic with my doubts about AI PCs, but I truly look forward to being proven wrong by ASUS’ signature bold approach.
Featured Image Credit: ASUS
