The UX550 Zenbook Pro is Asus's answer to Dell's XPS 15

Asus's Zenbook Pro (UX501) has been in need of an update for quite a while, and fans of portable but powerful workstations have been waiting eagerly to see what would emerge from the Taiwanese manufacturer. Based on a fresh leak from Finnish website Verkkokauppa, the Zenbook Pro looks to be a sleek and well-rounded package.

The Zenbook Pro UX550 packs an i7-7700HQ, 4GB GDDR5 GTX 1050Ti, 512GB SSD (M.2, not PCIe standard), and 16GB DDR4 RAM into a svelte 4.4-pound 20cm thin chassis styled in the same diamond-cut aluminum of the Zenbook 3. In keeping with modern sensibilities, the bezel around the 15.6-inch FHD IPS display has been reduced to a slim (but certainly not world-beating) 7.3mm border. It's enough space to fit a 720p camera up on top of the screen where it belongs, but not so much that the laptop looks bulky or dated. Combined with an 8-cell 73 Wh battery, the FHD display should net around 6-7 hours of solid usage, depending on software optimization. 

Like any other laptop bearing the "Pro" name, the Zenbook Pro sports a very solid array of ports, including 1 Thunderbolt 3, 1 USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 HDMI, and 2 USB 3.0 Type-A. While it doesn't have an Ethernet port, Asus does have the good sense to include a USB-to-RJ45 adapter in the box.

Whether the Zenbook Pro looks better than the XPS 15 is up to individual taste, but its Geforce GTX 1050Ti means that it will be objectively more powerful in the gaming department. The Zenbook Pro with its 1050Ti should be between 25-50% faster than the XPS 15 in benchmarks and games.

The website promises delivery by June 2 and lists the price as 2000 euros, or around US$2200. However, since imported electronics are more expensive in northern Europe than most other countries, it should be a safe bet that the UX550 will debut at a significantly lower price in the USA. Based on the June 2 delivery date, a worldwide release is likely coming soon, as well.