Asus announces VivoBook Pro 15 with GTX 1050 graphics

Asus announces VivoBook Pro 15 N580VD with GTX 1050 graphics

The all-aluminum 15-inch Asus will be larger, thicker, and heavier than the XPS 15 despite carrying similar i7-7700HQ CPU and GTX 1050 GPU options.

by Allen Ngo, 2017/05/10

Laptop

The 15-inch multimedia space is becoming a bit more crowded this week with the launch of the Asus VivoBook Pro 15. Core specifications for the notebook include:

15.6-inch FHD (or 4K UHD) display @60 Hz
Core i7-7700HQ up to 3.8 GHz (or i5-7300HQ up to 3.5 GHz)
GeForce GTX 1050 w/ 2 GB or 4 GB GDDR5 VRAM
16 GB RAM (2x SODIMM)
Up to 512 GB SATA III SSD or 2 TB HDD
2x USB 2.0, 1x USB Type-C Gen. 1 (w/ DisplayPort support), HDMI, Gigabit RJ-45, SD reader
WLAN 802.11ac, Bluetooth
Integrated Harman Kardon speakers
380 x 256 x 19.2 mm
2.2 kg

Other notable features are its unibody aluminum design and optional fingerprint reader with Windows Hello support. Asus is promising this to be the lightest notebook in its VivoBook Pro series and, indeed, a quick glance at its design shows many similarities to the existing ZenBook 3 series of Ultrabooks.

The base display option will be 1080p TN with just 45 percent NTSC color coverage while the higher-end SKUs will carry 2160p IPS panels that promise full sRGB coverage. There will be no touchscreen versions in contrast to the XPS 15 that the new VivoBook Pro will be competing directly against.

The manufacturer has yet to announce specific launch dates or availability of the new VivoBook Pro 15 series, but it's likely that we'll start seeing SKUs in stock through retail channels soon.