ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED official in PH

ASUS has announced its latest breed of Zenbook Creator laptop for the on-the-go creative multitasker, the all-new Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402).

This premium and powerful yet compact dual-screen laptop features a next-generation ScreenPad Plus secondary touchscreen, combined with the brand-new Active Aerodynamic System Ultra (AAS Ultra) auto-tilting design that improves cooling and ergonomics.

This Intel Evo-certified machine packs a flagship 12th Gen Intel Core i7 H-Series processor and creator-grade NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU, powering a studio-grade world-leading 2.8K OLED HDR 14.5-inch 16:10 touchscreen main display with a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Visual precision like no other

Work and create with visual precision with the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED’s world-leading 14.5-inch 2.8K 120 Hz OLED NanoEdge touchscreen. With its expansive 16:10 aspect ratio for an immersive visual workspace.

The main touchscreen is PANTONE Validated to ensure accurate color grading and printed outputs. It’s also VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified to render ultra-realistic detail in even the darkest scenes. Its cinema-grade DCI-P3 color gamut delivers ultra-vivid colors.

The ultra-high 120 Hz refresh rate and 0.2 ms response time can make all the difference with a smoother-than-ever experience, whether scrolling through a document, online browsing; or for entertainment purposes such as video streaming.

Complemented by Dolby Vision and Atmos technologies, every creative is bound to have the best cinema audio and visual experience.

To keep the user’s eyes comfortable and safe during extended content creation sessions, it’s also TÜV Rheinland certified for low blue-light emissions. Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED puts its rivals in the shade, making it the ultimate compact OLED laptop for all-around creative professionals.

Next-gen ScreenPad Plus

Multitask like a pro with the next-generation ScreenPad Plus with AAS Ultra in Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED.

The 12.7-inch, full-width secondary touchscreen supports the latest high-precision styluses, such as ASUS Pen 2.0, included in the box.

This nifty secondary display allows efficient and more comfortable workflow for nitty-gritty operations, such as image touch-ups, digital calligraphy, animation, and graphic design.

It also allows more seamless productivity-related tasks such as notetaking during virtual meetings or taking down creative ideas during brainstorming sessions. The multiuse AAS Ultra also raises the rear of ScreenPad Plus and tilts it by 12 degrees when the laptop is opened, creating a seamless and optimized viewing angle for easy cross-screen operation.

The ASUS ScreenPad Plus is now made even better with the new ScreenXpert 3 software to make creative workflows more efficient and seamless.

With this upgrade, the built-in apps, such as App Switcher and App Navigator, can now be used with external displays, such as the ASUS Zenscreen and ASUS ProArt.

ScreenXpert 3 also has a Control Panel feature that allows control of various Adobe application tools. Giving a more precise and intuitive creation and editing experience, users can manipulate brush size, saturation, opacity, and the like with Dial, Button, Slider, and Scroll controls.

Control Panel is fully customizable and works with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom Classic, Premiere Pro, and After Effects — and more compatible apps on the way.

In addition, users get free three months Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for every purchase of Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED.

Taking content creation to the max

The Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is an Intel Evo-certified laptop built to meet the demands of all-around creative entrepreneurs and on-the-go professionals.

It comes with the flagship 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H Processor, tested to handle intensive creative workloads and designed for real-world multitasking.

With fourteen cores and a Turbo Boost speed of up to 5.0 GHz, this laptop delivers speedy performance to meet even the tightest deadlines. This powerful CPU perfectly matches the studio-grade NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics, an essential component for graphics-intensive tasks.

Users can blitz through the most demanding visual tasks, such as 3D rendering and video editing, with less waiting time. Supported with the NVIDIA Studio drivers, users can maximize all creative apps usage and compatibility.

Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is also packed with 16 GB of RAM and an ultrafast 512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD. This ensures no memory and storage bottlenecks could slow the user’s creative process. Plus, its high capacity 76Wh battery can run up to 9.5 hours for those long working hours.

For a more cohesive create-and-work ecosystem, the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is equipped with full I/O ports for every need. The dual 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports support fast charging and 4K external displays, and there’s also a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and a high-speed HDMI 2.1 port.

The latest high-performance SD Express 7.0 card readers ensure ultrafast file transfers, and the audio combo jack makes communications easy.

To ensure that the laptop reaches its full potential, the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED comes with an exclusive ASUS IceCool Plus cooling system. This uses two quiet IceBlades fans with up to 97 3D-curved blades that cool the two 8 mm heat pipes from the CPU and GPU.

Complemented by the 38% more hot air vented to the exterior of the new AAS Ultra mechanism, the device promises that the CPU and GPU can run at up to an 85 W combined TDP sans the throttling.

Snag the latest ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402) in Tech Black color, featuring the iconic spun-metal finish and an illuminated ASUS Monogram lid design available at the nearest ASUS Concept Stores and authorized shops for only PhP 159,995.00.

Check out the complete store list here. Filipinos can also score this productivity and creativity beast with up to 12 months of 0% installment via Home Credit for as low as PhP 4,807.00.

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Build your smart home: starter kit and smart security

10/24/2021

Getting started on your smart home can seem like a daunting task, especially now with the growing selection of devices. But with most of us working remote or from home, now’s the best time to upgrade.

You can always opt to pick your own devices, a la carte, to start with but this may not be a task everyone is up to. And that’s why bundles, kits, combos, packages — whatever you call it — exist.

These are usually designed by companies to introduce you and help you get familiar with its products or connected devices in general. We’ll also be delving into how you can integrate smart security into your homes.

There are many products available but today, we’ll be taking a look at the SiMPNIC Home Kit and Yale Smart Lock Pro + Connect combo. These are both simple and what you may want to look into when setting up your smart home.

SiMPNIC Home Kit

Let’s start with the Simpnic Home Kit. If you’re looking to transform your home into a smart one, the SiMPNIC Home Kit offers a good array of products to help you get you familiar with different types of connected devices.

Unlike starter kits from Philips Hue, the SiMPNIC Home Kit offers not just smart lights but a set of smart products. These, of course, are part of the same ecosystem so they can work together.

What you’ll find in this kit are the SiMP Keeper, SiMP Plug, SiMP Bulb, SiMP Remote, SiMP Motion Sensor, and the SiMP Contact Sensor.

It also comes with the accessories you need to connect these including cables, batteries, and even screws for mounting.

SiMP Keeper

Let’s explore this kit by starting with the brain of the system, the SiMP Keeper.

Connected either by Wi-Fi or LAN, this device acts as a hub that controls and automates the other devices in the kit as well as any other compatible ones.

It works together with the free Simpnic app where you can set up your home and get an overview your devices.

To set up the Keeper, simply plug it in and follow installation instructions found on the SIMPNIC App.

There are two buttons on the device as well that you can press to activate a pre-set scene or condition with the devices you own; for dimming all your lights for example, or for turning on appliances. The buttons are customizable through the app.

SiMP Bulb

Now that you have your hub set up, let’s move on to the other devices in the kit, starting with the SiMP Bulb.

If you’ve read our connected lights piece, you should have a good grip on how smart bulbs operate.

The SiMP Bulb isn’t too different. It also connects via Wi-Fi, can adjust to different colors and temperatures, and is controlled through the app or through assistant voice commands.

According to the company, the bulb has a life time of up to 10,000 hours meaning it should last you a while before you need to switch.

SiMP Smart Plug

Moving on to our next device in the kit, the Smart Plug. Plug in a ‘dumb’ appliance and it becomes ‘smart’, sort of. Using the app or your virtual assistant, you can switch the plug on or off remotely.

For example, you can plug in a charger and remotely turn it off when you’re device is done charging to protect its battery. You can also use this with electric kettles, lamps, and much more.

Smart plugs are probably one of the few things worth stocking up on if you don’t have smart appliances yet. They’re straightforward, simple to use, and can connect to your existing appliances.

SiMP Contact Sensor

SiMPNIC also gives you a taste of smart home security with the Contact Sensor. This is essentially a smart latch that can be placed on windows, doors, drawers, cabinets, and the like.

Set it up on a window, for example, and the Contact Sensor will notify you on your phone when it’s been opened. You can also set it up on doors and be notified of a break-in or unwanted entry if you’re not home.

It will also work for medicine cabinets, or maybe secret snack drawers, where you can monitor and prevent unwanted entry.

SiMP Remote

Now the aim of smart home technology is to provide a seamless experience. The next device on the list aims to clean up the remote controllers around your house by making them all accessible in the app.

Find a nice spot for it and once you’ve plugged it in and added it to the app, you can start searching for your controllers to build your library. You can choose to add remote controllers for TVs, air conditioners, lights, and more.

Once you’ve added all your remote controls, you can simply swipe to switch between them. No more delaying movie nights by fumbling for the right remote controller.

SiMP Motion Sensor

And last on the list is a SiMP Motion Sensor that, as the name suggests, senses motion.

Imagine entering a room and immediately your fan turns on. Or maybe your lights switch to full brightness when there’s someone sneaking around in the middle of the night.

The Motion Sensor can help you do just that. It triggers your smart devices to a pre-set condition, like powering on smart plugs or lights, once it notices movement.

SiMP says it’s long and wide-sensing so you’re assured that a good amount of area is covered. Additionally, it’s able to send notifications to your phone once it’s triggered so you can monitor your home’s activity.

Again, the great thing about these kits is that all of these devices are ready to work together. The SiMPNIC Home Kit and other packages like it are a great way to really get to know how a connected home works and helps direct you to what else you’d want in your home.

Yale Smart Lock Pro + Connect

Now while the SiMPNIC Home Kit is a great package to start with, you might be looking for more specific products for a specific task.

If you’re just looking for lights, for example, then that’s where Philips Hue starter kits come in. Ecobee can get you started on a smart thermostat system or maybe a smart doorbell from Ring.

Another thing you can focus on is security. There are a lot of starter kits out there that are great at introducing smart home security.  But we found the Yale Smart Lock Pro + Connect is a great combo to start with.

With this bundle, you’re also getting the Yale Wi-Fi Bridge which unlocks additional features like Voice Assistant integration, remote access and control, and instant alerts.

You can use the smart lock without it but you won’t be able to experience its full potential.

Now if you’re worried about replacing your door locks, Yale Smart Lock Pro is designed to works with your current hardware instead of replacing it.

It’s compatible with single-cylinder deadbolts and is installed on the rear side, allowing you to keep your door’s facade the same. There are different adapters included for different bolt sizes as well.

Setup and calibration are simple and done through the app. Once everything is in place, you now start using your phone to lock or unlock your door. No keys needed.

And as mentioned earlier, with the included Wi-Fi bridge, you can do all this remotely too. You can, for example, unlock the door for a visiting family member even when you’re not home.

The Yale Smart Lock Pro is also able to automatically unlock the door once it senses you nearby. Useful for situations where your hands are full and you can’t reach for your keys.

It also has an auto-lock feature that, as you may have guessed, automatically locks the door if it’s left open for a set period of time. This is customizable in the app as well.

This smart lock also has a feature that allows you to grant entry codes or virtual keys. You can send a key to your family or friends through the Yale app so they can unlock your door, too.

Additionally, you can monitor the activity of the lock on the app and see who has been going in and out of your homes, and get alerts as well. It’s also compatible with Google Assistant so you can use voice commands to trigger the lock.

And if you ever start missing the feel of real keys, the Yale Smart Lock Pro still allows the use of these, no problem. Again, another great way to transition to a smarter home.

Final thoughts

All-in-all, if you’re not too keen on researching individual products, find a brand you like and see if they offer a bundle. Some, like the SiMPNIC Home Kit, offers a wide variety of products in an all-in-one package, perfect for testing the waters and figuring out which devices you need in your home.

You can also go for more task-specific bundles like the Yale Smart Lock Pro + Connect combo that offers a good hybrid smart lock with useful features that’s easy enough to set up and use.

Either way, both are simple and easy to use to transition to a smart home.

If you’re interested in these products, you can find them over at OnWard. The Yale Smart Lock Pro + Connect combo retails for PhP 10,799 but is currently on sale for just PhP 6,990. The SiMPNIC Home Kit, on the other hand, is priced at PhP 10,499 and is also on sale for just PhP 7,499 and you get a free smart accessory of your choice, too.

OnWard’s promo prices will be available until the end of the month.  You can also check out other smart devices and gadgets on its official website. 

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