Asus joins hands with Intel, revolutionizing AI laptops

Despite fierce competition, Intel’s strong research and development efforts have kept the company ahead of the curve, continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in computing. Partnering with Asus on multiple AI laptops, especially the latest Zenbook S 14, the all-in-one AI laptop is here to ensure the company’s continued relevance and dominance in a highly competitive market.

In an interview, Mr. Dino Strkljevic - Regional Director - Consumer Division of APJ and India region of Intel - and Mr. Eric Lee - General Director of Asus SEA 2 region (including Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos) - shared the vision of the two brands in this cooperation.

- Could you explain more about the improvements that Intel Core Ultra 2 Series brings in terms of energy efficiency and AI capabilities, the formation of the partnership between Intel and Asus, especially in terms of AI laptop improvements?

- Mr. Dino Strkljevic: The Intel Core Ultra 2 Series processors are designed for high performance, energy efficiency and leading AI computing capabilities. These include P cores based on our new Lion Cove architecture, E cores based on the powerful Skymont architecture for fine-grained power management, our new Xe2 graphics microarchitecture and the 4th generation NPU. With this new processor, the NPU has received a significant increase in AI performance, up from 11 TOPS in previous generations to 48 TOPS, the GPU has also received a large increase in AI performance.

Overall, the system is capable of delivering a total of 120 platform TOPS. We have focused on ensuring good performance across the board, as well as placing a major emphasis on breaking the myth that x86 platforms are not energy efficient. We have used a number of architectural innovations, including the use of on-package memory, to reduce overall system power consumption, with the end result being that consumers can now expect all-day battery life from laptops powered by the Intel Core Ultra 2 series.

Helping key OEM partners like Asus solve problems and create best practices along the way is one of the many ways Intel helps the PC ecosystem succeed. This is part of the ongoing collaboration between Intel and Asus.

- Mr. Eric Lee: Asus values its decades-long partnership with Intel Corporation. Together, our years of collaboration have consistently delivered incredible solutions and innovations to customers around the world . Asus is excited to mark the continuation of this extraordinary alliance with the pioneering next-generation AI laptop powered by the Intel Core Ultra 2 series. We look forward to the amazing possibilities that await in the next chapter.

- Please share about the design philosophy and technology behind Zenbook S 14. How do aesthetics and functionality blend in this AI laptop?

Eric Lee: Asus is leading the way to make AI accessible to everyone, everywhere, and to enable everyone to benefit from the capabilities enabled by artificial intelligence. The Zenbook S 14 is an ultra-thin and ultra-light AI laptop with a premium chassis featuring exclusive Ceraluminum, a high-tech ceramic hybrid material that comes in a variety of colors inspired by nature.

Inspired by nature, the balanced Zen lifestyle, the breath of modern life and high fashion , Zenbook S Series has become an essential technology device for work and a luxurious fashion accessory for every owner. Zenbook S 14 carries three elements: intelligent innovation, timeless craftsmanship and precision machining. Zenbook S 14 uses Ceraluminum, a high-tech ceramic material inspired by the luxury watchmaking and aerospace industries.

This industry-breaking innovation delivers exceptional durability and abrasion resistance. Not only is it durable, it’s also a symbol of resilience and individuality. Ceraluminum uses a unique process to transform the aluminum lid into Asus’ proprietary plasma ceramic aluminum. The process uses pure water, without the use of organic compounds, strong acids, or heavy metals. Instead, this low-impact dyeing method creates a chemical and physical transformation of the aluminum. The result is improved abrasion resistance, wear protection, heat management, hardness, and longevity.

This AI laptop is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 processor with a system-on-chip (SoC) design. The SoC design reduces the motherboard size by 27% to increase overall cooling efficiency. With up to 32 GB of fast RAM and up to 1 TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD, the processor has a TDP of up to 28 W and 120 TOPS for the latest AI applications. The Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 AI chip also offers incredible optimization for power efficiency, providing up to 27 hours of use or a full working day with a 72 Wh battery.

As the first PC Copilot+ laptop line equipped with the new Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 AI chip in the Vietnamese market, Zenbook S 14 brings AI experiences such as answering questions, creating or summarizing content instantly, ensuring superior video call quality, creating real-time subtitles for the video being watched, creating automatic videos easily, automatically arranging and searching for images and videos in StoryCube, automatically removing photo backgrounds to remove unnecessary details...

- How does the Intel Core Ultra 2 series contribute to achieving outstanding power efficiency in the Asus Zenbook S 14 and how does this impact the user experience? What are the goals and vision for the Zenbook S 14, especially in terms of performance and battery life? How does Asus ensure that the high-performance needs of modern users are met?

- Dino Strkljevic: The Asus Zenbook S 14 is incredibly thin at just 1.1cm, so it was imperative that any processor powering this form factor was not only efficient, but also high-performance. The Intel Core Ultra 2 series was the obvious choice, and we worked with Asus to ensure that the final product met all performance requirements, delivered great battery life, and avoided any thermal bottlenecks that can arise when housed in such a thin chassis.

- Mr. Eric Lee: One of the standout features of this device is its impressive battery performance, which is important for professionals, office workers and anyone who needs reliable power throughout the day. When it comes to improving power efficiency, with Intel Evo certification and the Intel Core Ultra 2 series, things go even further, with battery life lasting up to 27 hours.

Remote workers, freelancers and digital nomads know the challenges of working remotely or away from the office. They are always on the lookout for a good place to work, which, in addition to being quiet and comfortable, must have a power outlet. Free yourself from the power outlet and stay productive anywhere with the all-day battery life of the Zenbook S 14. This is a game changer for these on-the-go professionals.

Not only does Zenbook S 14 enable users to stay productive in any situation, it also has a long-lasting battery to keep you going all day. When it’s time to recharge, USB-C Easy Charge is fast and convenient, always ready for you to use, enjoy uninterrupted productivity with unrivaled endurance. Battery life pushes the boundaries on Zenbook S 14, with the laptop increasing its charge cycles from 1,000 to 1,200 during rigorous testing. This ensures your laptop will serve you for a long time, providing long-term benefits.

- What upcoming advancements can we expect from Intel in the AI PC space and how do you envision the future of low-power laptops? How does Intel plan to position itself against other chipset competitors, especially in the AI and power-saving space?

- Dino Strkljevic: Obviously with the Intel Core Ultra 2 Series processors, we have set a new standard for performance, efficiency on laptops, and you will continue to see us make more innovations in this area. We have differentiated ourselves from other competitors in the industry in PC AI. If you look at AI, we provide AI workload acceleration across all three compute engines: CPU, GPU, and NPU, all purpose-built for these tasks. Our Intel Core Ultra 2 Series processors deliver up to 120 platform TOPS across all three accelerators, and you have seen how power-efficient these new processors are. We are also in a unique position from a software perspective, as we have worked with over 100 ISVs to create over 300 AI experiences. We also passed the milestone of having 500 AI models running optimized on both generations of Intel Core Ultra processors.

- What are the key challenges Intel faces in the AI laptop competitive landscape and how do you plan to address them in the future? Are there any unique opportunities that Intel wants to capitalize on with the introduction of Lunar Lake chips, especially in terms of AI integration in consumer laptops?

- Dino Strkljevic: We believe that our Intel Core Ultra-powered AI laptops will continue to win customers across all segments. We plan to continue working with the entire ecosystem, including independent software developers, hardware vendors, and teams involved in the development of AI models. Only Intel has the ability to cover all of these areas, bringing them together to move the entire industry forward. By enabling the ecosystem, we ensure that any new AI features (hardware or software) that are developed, they will continue to work seamlessly on Intel-powered AI PCs.

- Eric Lee: Today, most AI-powered applications are web-based or require an Internet connection. To use AI today, you will “plug” online into the server where the AI is running and use the server’s powerful processing capabilities. It is trending that other AI capabilities will be available offline in the near future. To take advantage of that, you will need a laptop that is ready to handle complex AI-powered tasks.

AI-powered features give a big advantage to high-end laptops. With the help of AI tools, you can edit and enrich content much faster. As more offline AI tools become available, a new Asus laptop with an integrated NPU will ensure that you are ready to take advantage of them.

Asus sees growth potential in the AI laptop market in Vietnam, especially as consumers become increasingly familiar with AI features in their daily work. Our goal is to expand our AI laptop lineup, providing optimal hardware and software solutions to meet the diverse needs of users from students to professionals and businesses.

In early 2024, Asus announced a rich AI laptop lineup, meeting the growing demand for devices that allow users to take advantage of this important new technology. In the future, Asus aims to increase its AI laptop presence in Vietnam, with the expectation that AI PC product lines will account for up to 10% of the total market by 2025. Asus has the ambition to capture up to 50% of the market share in this segment. This demonstrates a long-term vision and commitment to developing and improving AI technology for the personal computer market.