Asus’ new ExpertBook Ultra is finally on sale, and yeah, this one is not aimed at the average Shopee laptop hunter.
The Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA was first shown earlier this year as a super-premium business laptop with Intel’s new Panther Lake hardware, but Asus kept quiet on the price. Now that it is available in the US, the number is out: US$3,599, which works out to roughly RM17,000 before local taxes, shipping, or Malaysia retail markup.
That is gaming laptop money. Actually, that is high-end gaming laptop plus monitor money. But Asus is clearly positioning this as a top-tier work machine for executives, frequent flyers, and companies willing to pay for thin-and-light hardware that still has serious specs.
What makes it special?
The big flex here is the design. The ExpertBook Ultra weighs just 990g, or around 2.18 pounds, making it lighter than many 14-inch laptops people already consider portable. It is also very slim, measuring 16.4mm at its thickest point and 10.9mm at its thinnest.
For anyone in Malaysia or SEA who travels often — KL to Singapore meetings, regional esports ops, creator shoots, agency work, airport-to-cafe grind — that weight matters. A sub-1kg laptop with proper business features is the kind of thing your shoulders will appreciate after a full day at KLCC or Changi.
Inside, Asus is using an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, a 16-core Panther Lake processor paired with Intel Arc B390 12-core integrated graphics. This is not being sold as a gaming laptop, but the integrated GPU should make it much more capable for light creative workloads, media work, multitasking, and maybe some casual gaming when you are stuck in a hotel room.
The US model also comes with 32GB LPDDR5x-8533 memory, plus a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD in an M.2 2280 slot. That is a proper premium configuration, not the sad 8GB RAM nonsense we still see on some expensive laptops.
Premium screen, premium build
The display is another highlight: a 14-inch tandem OLED panel with up to 600 nits brightness. For creators, consultants, and anyone who edits decks or watches anime after work, OLED is a nice upgrade — punchy colours, deep blacks, and generally a more premium feel than standard IPS panels.
Asus also uses what it calls a “ceraluminum” finish, basically a magnesium-aluminium alloy chassis treated to feel more ceramic-like and scratch-resistant. There is also a backlit chiclet keyboard and a large haptic touchpad.
Connectivity is very modern too: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and dual Thunderbolt 4 ports. The laptop also includes a 70Wh battery, six speakers, dual microphones, a 1080p webcam with privacy shutter, an IR camera for Windows Hello face login, and a fingerprint sensor.
Why the price is so high
The painful part is obvious: US$3,599 / roughly RM17k is a serious ask. For Malaysian buyers, that puts it far above mainstream ultrabooks and into luxury business laptop territory.
But Asus is also bundling business-grade extras. It ships with Windows 11 Pro instead of Home, and the US listing includes a three-year warranty, which is better than the usual one-year coverage common on consumer laptops.
There may also be even more expensive versions later. Asus previously said the ExpertBook Ultra could eventually be configured with up to an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, 64GB RAM, and 2TB storage, though those higher-end options are not available in the US yet.
For most gamers and students, this is overkill lah. But for companies, founders, regional managers, and power users who want a featherweight work laptop with next-gen Intel hardware, the ExpertBook Ultra is the kind of machine that makes sense — if the budget department does not faint first.
Source: Liliputing