The lightest notebook we’ve ever seen
If overall weight was the metric that defined a good business notebook, then the ASUSPro B9450 is one helluva fantastic machine. Despite an overall weight measured in grams, not kilos, the ASUSPro B9450 still manages to pack all the tech that a busy modern professional needs in a device that’s tougher than most notebooks today.
Hi-tech materials for a lightweight body
ASUS says that their new B9450 notebook weighs in at just 870 grams, which makes it the lightest notebook in its class. We had a chance to measure a fully working notebook during our visit to ASUS’ Taipei HQ a few days ago and found that the company’s estimate was off – by a few grams. Yes, the close-to-production notebook that we tested was incredibly a few grams lighter than ASUS’ claimed 870-gram weight, coming in at just 851 grams.
The notebook’s weight is apparent when you first pick it up, as the B9450 weighed less than your typical glossy magazine. You can easily carry this one-handed as you carry your coffee, on the other hand, walking through your office reviewing your deck for a presentation. ASUS managed to achieve these incredible weight savings by using a new type of alloy made of Lithium and Magnesium. The new alloy is 30% tougher than regular aluminum but weighs far less.
Because the alloy is so tricky to produce, ASUS needed to use new production and casting processes to make the lid and chassis of the notebook. But the effort paid off – not only is the B9450 so light, it’s incredibly tough too, and has passed MIL-STD 810G testing during its production and development.
14-inch screen for maximum impact
The B9450 has a 14-inch full HD panel, though its overall footprint puts it more in line with a traditional 13-inch notebook. That’s made possible thanks to the incredibly slim 4mm bezels around the panel, giving it a screen-to-body ratio of 94%.
The display has an anti-glare treatment, and even with the tiny bezels ASUS still managed to stuff in a webcam on the top that has a physical switch to block it off when not in use.
The keyboard is backlit and feels nice to type on despite having unusually short travel. The touchpad transforms into a number pad if you need it, and the notebook uses ASUS’ Ergolift hinge that angles the keyboard a few degrees for maximum typing comfort.
No compromise internals
Despite being so incredibly light, the B9450 still sports a full array of ports on the side, including two Thunderbolt 3 capable USB-C ports, a USB 3.1 Gen 2 port, full-size HDMI port and RJ45 via micro HDMI.
Despite being a skinny boy, the B9450 doesn’t skimp out on power. Users will be able to choose between a 10th gen Intel Core i5-10210 processor or a Core i7-10510 processor, 8GB or 16GB of 2133MHz DDR3 memory and up to 2TB of SSD storage.
ASUS is also claiming that the B9450 has enough juice in it to run for 24 hours on a single charge, thanks to its 66Wh li-polymer battery. We’re obviously not going to take that at face value – we’ll have to see if the notebook really has that much endurance when we get a device in for review.
In an event filled with flashy notebooks and gaming rigs, we were really pleasantly surprised by the B9450. This incredibly light notebook is a definite game-changer, especially for people tired of carrying heavy notebooks around. We’ll have to see though how much of a price premium that insane weight savings will cost you though when it launches officially in our country later this year.
