Thirty years. Asus celebrated their thirtieth anniversary this week with an elaborate launch in Taipei during Computex 2019. It was an interesting event for me as an observer because when you look back at what the company has done, it’s hard to say that they haven’t been consequential.
Even if we don’t touch on their massive contributions in the realm of PC components, their influence through gaming, mobile and laptops has certainly been impactful. And, from the looks of their latest launch, they’re not slowing down.
Even their recent devices have been absolutely fascinating — some might even throw the word game-changing in there. The ROG Phone, for example, I think is the most proper gaming phone there is. Then, you have the Zephyrus with its active aero cooling system that lifts the laptop off its bottom panel to improve cooling. And the ZenFone 6, with its convention-breaking price and features.
Even this past week in Computex 2019, Asus launched something we’ve basically never seen before, in the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo. A multi-screen laptop that doesn’t look like some awkward concoction of additional screens and awkward folds. Truly, it’s an exciting time in the laptop market and a lot of that can be traced back to Asus.
So, to commemorate these past 30 years, the company has launched a couple of Edition 30 devices that are designed specially for those fans that have stuck around.
ZenFone 6 Edition 30
While I think the ZenFone 6 is one of the most interesting ZenFones the company has launched in a long time, I did notice something very peculiar: There wasn’t a single concentric circle to be found. I’m personally not a fan of that particular design element, but I know there are plenty of hardcore ZenFone fans who love that.
That’s why Asus is launching the ZenFone 6 Edition 30, complete with a subtly concentric circled back. Now, I wasn’t able to hold the device because Asus wouldn’t let me, but in their blurb, the company says that it features “the iconic Zen-inspired concentric circle patterning in understated Matte Black, covered with ergonomic 3D curved glass”. So, even though it looks kinda metal-y in the photos, it looks like it’s actually glass.
Inside, Asus has also beefed up the Edition 30 smartphone with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Everything else, including its Snapdragon 855 SoC, 5,000 mAh battery and flippity dippity camera remains the same.
Asus will be making 3,000 units of these limited Edition 30 smartphones, and each will come with a 30-month warranty.
ZenBook Edition 30
Asus also released the ZenBook Edition 30 laptop which comes with a sexy stitched Pearl White italian leather cover over the top of the laptop’s lid. Honestly, it looks pretty darn sexy in person, especially when it’s accented by that 18K rose gold metal frame. That said, I’m not sure that I can be the kind of person to keep something this white clean for very long.
Inside, the 13″ ZenBook Edition 30 can be configured with up to an 8th gen Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce MX250 discrete GPU, and 16GB of RAM. Naturally, it features Asus’ ScreenPad 2.0 as well as a 95% screen-to-body ratio.
Asus also launched an Edition 30 motherboard called the Prime X299 Edition 30, but I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough about motherboards to be able to talk about it.
You may also have noticed that the new Edition 30 devices come with a new Asus 30th Anniversary logo. To me, it looks suspiciously like the Star Trek logo, but I suppose that’s apt too. Because, if Asus continues to introduce funky, interesting tech products, then I think all of us from the tech community would wish that they lived long and prospered.
