One of the stars of ASUS' Computex line up is this, the gorgeous new all-in-one PC with the world's most original name. It's the Zen AiO, and it wants to make your desk both pretty and powerful.
While nothing was discussed by way of official pricing and availability, and the units at the press event were locked into a demo reel, we did at least get a good chance to ogle it.
And it's really, really nice.
Recapping the specs, there are options up to an Intel Core i7 CPU, which ASUS also says is the "latest generation of quad-core" chips. Add to that up to 32GB of RAM, upto 512GB of PCIe SSD storage and an NVIDIA GTX 960M graphics card, USB 3.1 and USB-C support, and the Zen AiO is prepared for all situations.
And that's one of the things that impresses us the most about it. It doesn't just look good. ASUS hasn't cut corners on the hardware. There are still options there for folks who need some serious performance as well as something that'll look great. It also has the Intel RealSense array staring at you round the front, and it's also fully equipped for voice recognition, with Cortana getting a friendly mention.
But, there are still some hardware details we don't know. While the Zen AiO will be available in 21.5- and 23.8-inch models, we don't know what resolution the respective displays will be and whether they're touch or not. We can't imagine they're not touchscreens at this point, but judgement has to be reserved for now.
We also don't 100% know whether this will be running Windows 10 or not at launch. ASUS didn't talk about software at all, and we did hear that this might be one of the feature devices during Microsoft's Forum on June 3 in Taipei.
And the inevitable: People will compare this to the iMac. Of course they will. There are only so many ways to make a metal unibody all-in-one PC, and regardless, ASUS has done a fine job with the Zen AiO. All we need to know now is when, where and how much.
Reader comments
First look at the stunning new ASUS Zen AiO
I have literally never seen anything like it before
I wonder why Gold? You barely see the back if people put these on home desks. I get laptops, because they are portable and can be almost like a fashion statement, but this? Why?
Is that an SD card slot on the back? Please tell me my eyes are playing tricks on me. That is truly a horrific place to put an SD car slot.
Where else would you put it? All ports are in the back, the side is way too thin. Logically back is the only place.
Please no touch, please no touche, please no touch..
I wish they had made that L-shaped bracket with a pivot so you could drop the monitor down then tilt it back so it sits nearly flat; good for use then as a drafting board, or even just to make touch easier. Of course it would also allow you to raise the monitor a few inches, which would be good for standing or for a final tweak to the height.
The ASUS TransformerBooks/EeeBooks look exactly like MacBooks. The ASUS All-in-one PCs look exactly like iMacs. What's next, a small form factor PC that resembles the Mac Mini? I mean they would never copy industrial design with their VivoPC... wait... nevermind.
Looks awesome. I really like it. And 32gb ram. Holy smokes.
Why did they make an iZen?
Seems like iMac :/
oh ASUS make iMac's too now?
They either paid Apple a huge amount of money to use this design or there's a lawsuit incoming...
Or people don't care because it doesn't matter?
Why would it matter what people think? That's crazy talk!
does ANYONE actually want an all in one pc?
i'm not a fan of them either. they are especially a pain if anything goes wrong. dragging around a 27" piece of glass attached to a computer to a repair shop gives many opportunites for a shattered mess.
Carrying around a big PC tower isn't a lot better.
ALL I CAN SAY IS I WANT IT!!!
You’re kidding yourself if you can’t see the design cues this one took from iMac.
“There are only so many ways to make a metal unibody all-in-one PC.” Heh. Yeah right. Except for the other hundreds of ways you can make it to not look like an iMac. Just look at all the other AIOs.
Imac Copy.. Stop Copying Other's Think to Do something different
I think ASUS is aspired to be Apple for Windows. From their high-end laptop design, this AiO and even touchpad gestures, it's evident.
I'm fine with that. I just wish they could match the build quality of what Apple craps out on a regluar basis. I remain unimpressed with my Zenbook 2 years down the road.
Looking at picture 2, it looks like it has some kind of kinect-like gesture control...
Intel RealSense
Looks too much like an iMac.
It's the same basic shape... But that's what an all in one PC looks like. Doesn't really look like it all that much.
The Acer Aspire 7600U, Dell XPS 27 and Dell Vizio 27 are some really nice looking AiOs (personal opinion) which don't look like a copy of apple's products. But almost all of them have these big side bezels :\ why cant they go in for an ultra slim bezel like the Dell XPS 13? That would look gorgeous on an AiO.
Say hello to Windows Hello :)
Looks like a fucking mac,no thanks
But it's not, so who really cares? It's a fine piece of technology. A bit small for my taste, but still: it looks great (the bezel is a bit big though).
Bit big? Its huge, its kinda ruining the otherwise good looks of it.
OK what does those multiple cameras do, you highlighted the pics but didn't say anything?
Windows hello?
"It also has the Intel RealSense array staring at you round the front"
The multiple cameras are used for gesture sensing, similar to Microsoft's Kinect sensor. They've done the same in some of their other models.
Same question..... When, where and how much??
You can fit the rest of ASUS' Computex lineup in that bezel.
It's so damn big, they just wasted most of the screen with that oversize shit!
Perhaps it is a matter of fitting in the RealSense camera?
I agree, I'd really like to see it without the bezel and if some bezel is necessary then offer it in some other color than black!
Other than that it is really nice looking.
It's the same size as an iMac which has been very successful for many years.
Lolllll