Review Verdict: ASUS got it right with the design and functionality of the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED in the Philippines. While it is very expensive at Php 220k, it is the most refined laptop that has a large, foldable OLED display that can be used for different use cases.

Pros

• Decent battery life
• Very sturdy folding mechanism
• Functionality is well-thought-of

Cons

• Bulky when folded
• Expensive

It has been close to a year since ASUS unveiled its first-ever foldable laptop with the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED back in CES 2022. It took some time before ASUS was able to refine its design and make it ready for commercial sale–and we were given the opportunity to try out the retail version of the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED. Having tried the prototype version months ago, we can safely say that ASUS was able to refine the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED to be one of the best foldable laptop designs in terms of both form and function.

Read our review to see if the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED is the most groundbreaking laptop in the Philippines.

 

Design

When folded, the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED is bulky, with its leather-covered spine resembling that of a hardbound book. The leather-covered areas are made for both form and function: aside from protecting the folding mechanism, they also serve as a stylish look to the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED, giving you a reminder that this foldable laptop is truly premium.

On the outside, you have ASUS’ new monogram branding on one side, while the Zenbook branding found on the leather part acts as a kickstand when you unfold the laptop. You have two display options when opening the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED: a 12.5-inch Full HD display when you used the attachable Bluetooth keyboard, and a 17.3-inch 2.5k display when you completely unfold the display.

When using the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED in its 12.5-inch mode, you have the IR sensor and a 5-megapixel camera on the top bezel, while the top part houses two speakers, a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port, and a volume rocker. The right side has the power button, another USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port, a headphone jack, and a vent for heat dissipation.

The right side has rubber feet for when using the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED completely unfolded, while the bottom part has another pair of speakers to deliver a full quad-speaker sound when using the laptop in its full 17.3-inch mode.

Because the unfolded display has a 4:3 aspect ratio, ASUS incorporated software on the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED to utilize multiple windows–up to three different windows depending on your needs.

Display

The ZenBook 17 Fold OLED has a BOE-sourced 17.3-inch foldable OLED display with a 2.5k resolution. Depending on your use case, the display can be either a 17.3-inch 2.5k panel or folded into a 12.5-inch Full HD panel if you need a more compact setup.

The display itself is very bright and showcases vibrant colors that are typical of OLED panels. While you have rubber-coated bezels protecting it, do note that there’s no glass protection on the foldable display itself, so you will need to be extra careful in handling the display. This is important especially when you utilize the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED’s touchscreen functionality, where you don’t have native stylus support and the touchscreen only works with your hands.

ASUS claims that the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED’s display covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and our Spyder colorimeter notes that it covers 90% of the DCI-P3 gamut, along with 97% AdobeRGB, 99% sRGB, and 91% NTSC.

Those numbers are really good for a unique foldable display, making the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED a suitable workhorse for multimedia work. You can check the full results here.

 

Keyboard and trackpad

The ZenBook 17 Fold OLED comes with a detachable Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad that has the same keyboard layout as your usual ZenBook. The trackpad does not have any of ASUS’ NumberPad gimmicks, and the top part of the detachable keyboard has a leather-like cover to keep it premium.

Because the detachable keyboard is slim (you place it in between the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED when folded), the key travel is rather low and not as tactile as your typical, non-folding ZenBook. The same goes for the trackpad: while it’s serviceable, the trackpad is not as good as your regular ZenBook due to it being skinny.

Aside from the shallow key travel, our key complaint with the detachable keyboard is the lack of backlighting, which makes it not practical to use if you are working in a dimly-lit environment.

If you are not comfortable with the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED’s detachable keyboard, do note that you can use any Bluetooth keyboard with it.

 

Internals and battery life

The ZenBook 17 Fold OLED that will be sold in the Philippines comes with a Core i7-1250U processor, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, 1TB PCie 4.0 SSD, and Iris Xe integrated graphics. While it’s not a powerhouse (it’s using a U-series CPU that’s focused more on power efficiency), the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED’s internals is good enough for most use cases that include a bit of multimedia work.

The ZenBook 17 Fold OLED comes with Windows 11 Home out of the box, and ASUS optimized its UI to seamlessly adapt between 12.5-inch and 17.3-inch modes. With the latter, you get a multi-window option that’s useful for displaying up to three windows to maximize productivity. During our time with it, we find the two-window option on the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED to be very useful in our line of work.

The ZenBook 17 Fold OLED comes with a 75wHr battery, and it managed to last for 4 hours and 21 minutes with our video loop test, which is not bad and not great. With real-life use, we manage to stretch the battery life close to six hours by doing mostly web browsing, music playback, and writing articles–including this review.

 

Wrap-up and Conclusions

Despite being a very expensive piece of tech (considering that you don’t get a dedicated GPU with it), the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED defines the future of 2-in-1 laptops in the Philippines–especially with the many ways you can use its 17.3-inch foldable OLED display.

As far as foldable laptops go, ASUS nailed the form factor of the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED to be a very versatile laptop that can transform seamlessly according to its user’s needs.

ASUS ZenBook 17 Fold OLED Review Philippines Price

The ZenBook 17 Fold OLED is priced at Php 219,995. To make it special, ASUS will only sell 100 units in the Philippines–but it will be available in select ASUS Concept Stores and Partner Dealers nationwide. It will also be available for purchase via Home Credit at 0% interest and up to 12 months of flexible payment terms.

The ZenBook 17 Fold OLED is also covered by ASUS Platinum Protection Warranty, which means for any physical damage within the first year, ASUS will cover 100% of the labor cost and 80% of the parts replacement cost of the repair.