Asus StudioBook fits 17-inch screen into 15-inch MacBook Pro rival

Apple’s latest MacBook Pros weren’t quite right for pros, and Windows laptop manufacturers have been gleefully taking advantage of Apple’s stumble ever since. Now, Asus has announced a laptop that looks to positively leapfrog the MacBook Pro in some rather professional ways — most notably fitting a 17-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio, color-calibrated, Pantone validated, 97-percent DCI-P3 color gamut, 180-degree layflat screen into a notebook small enough that it’ll fit into bags designed for thin 15-inch laptops.

The Asus StudioBook S can hold up to 64GB of memory and 4TB of PCIe SSD storage alongside a hexacore Intel Xeon E-2176M processor and Nvidia Quadro P3200 graphics. It’s not quite as small as a 15-inch MacBook Pro — roughly 1.25 inches wider and 1.75 inches deeper — nor as high resolution with a 1920 x 1200 panel instead of a Retina-class display, which is a shame. But it does come with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, plus way more ports than the Apple competition. You’ll need to use the included USB adapter if you want Ethernet, but dongle hell is at a minimum:

Plus, Asus says its two specially-designed fans and five heatpipes can keep those chips “library-quiet”: under 35dB even when running at full speed.

Oh, and it’s got this crazy touchpad that lights up to become a numpad for some reason:

“NumberPad solves the age-old problem of the lack of a numeric keypad on compact laptops. Tap the NumberPad icon at the top right corner of the touchpad, and an illuminated numeric keypad appears,” reads the company’s description. I guess that could be handy for data entry, but I feel like I’d have a hard time getting used to the placement.

Asus tells The Verge that the StudioBook S will launch in late Q1. Pricing is yet to be announced.