I got to use the new Asus Experbook B9 for a couple of weeks and I\u2019m frankly impressed \u2014 it\u2019s sleek, it packs a lot of features, and it\u2019s got excellent battery life.<\/span><\/p>\n Before we talk more about the device, let\u2019s take a look at its specifications. Keep in mind that, some of the specs are customizable, so you might have a different configuration than the one I tried. <\/span>You can check out all the possible options here<\/a>. The model below costs \u20b9167,771 ($2,285).<\/p>\n The Expertbook B9 is designed for enterprise, so it still follows boxy design principles, but it doesn\u2019t look outdated. The body\u2019s made out of magnesium-lithium and magnesium-aluminum alloys and it\u2019ll supposedly hold up against minor falls and bumps. However, it might not last drops more than a few centimeters.<\/p>\n \u201cHoly shit! It\u2019s light,\u201d is the first thing that\u2019ll go through your mind when you pick up the device.<\/span> The Asus laptop weighs under a kilogram and it\u2019s amazing how the company has managed to fit in a 66 kWh battery in this machine.<\/p>\n Asus ships a 65W charger with the machine, and the good thing is that you can charge the laptop with either of the USB-C ports on the left side. There are plenty of small-sized chargers and power banks available now that can juice up a laptop through a USB-C port in case you don\u2019t have the official charger around.<\/p>\n The laptop also has a quirky number pad that\u2019s embedded right into the touchpad \u2014 and spreadsheet users might be delighted. You can enable it through by tapping the top right-hand corner. While the touchpad recognized the difference between clicks and keying in numbers, it might take a while for you to get used to it.<\/p>\n The Expertbook B9 packs nifty security features that would be useful in and out of the office. There\u2019s an IR-camera on the top bezel that allows you to use Windows Hello for login. There\u2019s also a hardware killswitch for the camera.<\/p>\n The device also has a fingerprint scanner next to the keyboard for authentication. And there\u2019s Kensington lock port so you can lock it up on your desk. Because Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge is FIDO2 compliant<\/a>. You can also use your security keys with it to login to applications.<\/p>\n The 14-inch screen is nice and bright, but as Windows 10 defaults to 150% zoom, everything seems big and grainy. You might want to shift to 125% zoom as fonts at 100% might be too small to read.<\/p>\n I also wish that the aspect ratio of the screen wasn\u2019t 16:9. It\u2019s nice for watching movies. But this is laptop is not meant for entertainment. I\u2019d be more comfortable with 3:2 or even 16:10 so as to I can concentrate on the content in front of me in an easier manner.<\/p>\n The Intel Core i7-10510U \u2014 comet lake processor meant for power-efficient mobile usage \u2014 with 16GB RAM is sufficient for running multiple applications given they\u2019re not graphics heavy. This was never meant to be a gaming device, so don\u2019t count on taking advantage of your Steam library after work \u2014 even non-resource intensive games are sluggish on it.<\/p>\n The hinge placement nicely hides the bottom bezel, but if you\u2019re using the device literally on your lap, it digs into your skin and might feel a tad bit uncomfortable.<\/p>\n You can achieve 180-degree flex with the screen and lay the laptop flat. The only time I\u2019d use that is when I\u2019m lying on my bed with my knees bent and I want to keep the device on my legs. While it doesn\u2019t have tablet-like use of 360-degree flexible laptops when you might want to try out a tablet format, it\u2019s good to have flexibility so as to not break the screen at awkward angles.<\/p>\n The Expertbook B9 has excellent battery life, and that\u2019s important for traveling executives. While I didn\u2019t get the advertised 24 hours of real-life juice out of the device,I could easily last throughout a day of writing, watching movies, playing music and taking calls on a single charge.<\/span><\/p>\n The company claims that the laptop\u2019s speakers were designed by Harmon Kardon. But they\u2019re not loud enough. I couldn\u2019t listen to anything at full volume if I had a fan or air conditioner running in my room. I\u2019ve never had this problem with my old MacBook Air. The 4-mic array is good enough for Zoom calls but to hear other participants, you might need to use earphones anyway.<\/p>\n The laptop is ideal for any executive doing a lot of traveling in the post-COVID world. It\u2019s super lightweight and compact enough to fit into any of your office bags. Plus, its excellent battery life ensures that you won\u2019t have to run around the airport to find a charging point.<\/p>\n Asus has managed to make the Expertbook B9 into a lightweight laptop that providers security and portability instead of power. If you\u2019re someone who has to do a lot of number crunching and graphics-intenstive work through applications, you should rather keep a desktop system in your office, and use this as your on-the-go device.<\/p>\n The Expertbook B9 starts in India from \u20b9102,228 ($1,391) and it\u2019s available for purchase on Amazon, Flipkart, and Croma.<\/p>\n For more gear, gadget, and hardware news and reviews, follow Plugged on Twitter<\/a> and Flipboard<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n Published October 15, 2020 \u2014 11:51 UTC <\/p>\nSpecifications<\/h2>\n
\n
Design and features<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/Asus-flat.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\nPerformance and observations<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/5rtzn0pt6lcfykj5_setting_fff_1_90_end_500.jpeg\")
![](\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_1050.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\nWho\u2019s it for?<\/h2>\n