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This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon.
The Asus ExpertBook B9450 is the “world’s lightest 14-inch business notebook,” Asus says, with a starting weight of 1.9 pounds (0.9 kg), but it’s far from the only thing that makes it interesting. Co-engineered with Intel for its Project Athena program, the laptop is designed to deliver the same type of performance experience you get from your phone.
Part of Intel’s verification requirements is a battery life long enough to get you through an entire workday; the base model B9450 gets up to 12 hours, but you can get it with a larger battery that doubles that time. And it’ll charge up to 60% in 39 minutes.
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The components are pretty much the same as what we’re seeing from competitors in the category including processor options up to a 10th-gen Intel Core i7-10510. Where this Asus stands out is the design. Along with being light, the magnesium-lithium alloy body is tested to Mil-Spec 810G standards for drops, shocks, vibration, dust resistance and more.
One thing you definitely won’t find on others is the NumberPad 2.0, an LED-illuminated numeric keypad that appears on the touchpad when you tap an icon in its upper right corner. What’s nicer is you don’t have to turn it off to use the pad for cursor control because the software is smart enough to know the difference.
The B9450 has a numberpad built into the touchpad and a light on the front edge for Alexa activity.
Asus
The ErgoLift hinge is nice, too, which puts the spill-resistant keyboard at a more comfortable angle for typing on such a thin laptop. Also, just below the touchpad on the front edge is light that works with the integrated Amazon Alexa support letting you know when the digital voice assistant is active.
Pricing wasn’t announced, but Asus expects the ExpertBook B9450 to be available some time in Q1 of this year.
See also
- CNET’s 20 favorite products of CES 2020
- All the cool new gadgets at CES 2020
- Full coverage of CES 2020
The best laptops from CES 2020
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