ASUS creates a new substance: Ceraluminum, which fuses aluminum and a ceramic
- Reference: 1717474573
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/06/04/asus_ceraluminum_amd_copilot_laptops/
- Source link:
Announced yesterday at an event staged alongside the Computex conference in Taiwan, Ceraluminum was described as the result of four years' effort to "transform aluminum into high-tech ceramic." Ceraluminum has been baked into a new ASUS laptop, the Zenbook S 16.
The Register was told the substance is synthesized by immersing a sheet of aluminum in hot water, then introducing a mystery ceramic component that, during a complex process, bonds with the metal, producing a speckled finish that somewhat resembles pottery. We suggested to an ASUS rep at the event that the process sounds a little like anodizing, which bonds a material to the surface of metal, and were told that wasn’t a terrible supposition but the Ceraluminumization process – what a wonderful word – is more complex.
[1]
The substance has only been applied to the rear of the Zenbook 16's screen – a panel that in your correspondent's experience schlepping laptops around the world is prone to scratching. Why Ceraluminum isn't worthy of wider use wasn't explained.
[2]
[3]
When we poked and prodded the Zenbook S 16's Ceraluminum panel, it felt like plastic. And, when tapped with a fingernail, it produced a low but crisp tone we'll call "posh polymer kitchen benchtop" rather than the slight ring of keratin on tableware or the click of metal.
[4]
The Zenbook S 16's Ceraluminum cover – Click to enlarge and behold its glory
Whatever the device's properties, or shortcomings, it helped ASUS's designers to produce a machine that's just 1.1cm (0.43 inch) thick and weighs 1.5kg (3.3 pounds) – the same weight but a little thinner than the [5]15-inch MacBook Air . A vapor chamber just 0.7mm thick helps to keep the laptop slim, and other heat management ideas – including a "geometric grille" with lots of little holes in lieu of a more open vent – mean it can consume 28W without overheating.
The lappie runs on Ryzen AI 3000 CPUs – complete with 50 TOPS NPU – that were also [6]announced at Computex yesterday. Machines packing the lower-end model 9 365 CPU will cost $1,399 and include 24GB of memory.
Ceraluminum is not unobtanium or vaporwareum – the 16-inch Zenbook lappie can be ordered now, although delivery dates are uncertain.
[7]ASUS thinks outside the 4″ x 4″ box with plans for custom NUCs
[8]Lenovo sues Asus for patent infringement, seeks US ZenBook ban
[9]Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo sign up for $42 billion scheme to make kit in India
[10]Asus blames 'thermal stress' for fried SD card readers in Ally handhelds
ASUS has also put AMD's new Ryzen 300 AI-centric SOCs into other lappies, a pair of the ProArt machines it aims at video pros, plus 14 and 16-inch versions of its TUF gaming laptop range, and the Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop. The gaming machines also get Nvidia GPUs.
Speaking of GPUs, another ASUS announcement at the event concerned the "ASUS ESC AI POD" – a rack full of servers that in a configuration dubbed the "GB200 NVL72" comes packed with 36 Nvidia Grace units, 72 Nvidia Blackwell Tensor Core GPUs, a trio of 1GB management switches and 200GB data switch – all using 5th Gen Nvidia NVLink.
[11]
ASUS suggests using the rig for trillion-parameter LLM inference and training with Nvidia. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zl7lxX2I2zNRPMmDxkTeQwAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zl7lxX2I2zNRPMmDxkTeQwAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zl7lxX2I2zNRPMmDxkTeQwAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/06/03/asus_supplied_zenbook_s_16_ceraluminum.jpg
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/11/macbook_air_15_2023_review/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/03/amd_ryzen_300_ai/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/asus_nuc_plans/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/22/lenovo_takes_asus_to_court/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/20/asia_tech_news_brief/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/13/asus_sd_card_heat/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zl7lxX2I2zNRPMmDxkTeQwAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
So it is just an anti-stick frying pan?
Aluminium with a layer of quartz bonded to it.
"a machine that's just 1.1cm (0.43 inch) thick"
Why this obsession with 'thin'? Aiming for light I'd entirely agree with, but so many potential problems accompany extreme thinness (heat management, resistance to flexing, impact protection etc.) that it seems a rather strange to aim for it as a primary design (or indeed marketing) goal.
Re: "a machine that's just 1.1cm (0.43 inch) thick"
Agree. Same for phones. Make them 1 or 2 mm thicker and give me more battery and/or more toughness. It'll still fit in the same pockets and purses. Who cares about extreme thinness?
Re: "a machine that's just 1.1cm (0.43 inch) thick"
Couldnt agree more - I prefer the heft of a smartphone with a 1000 mAh battery and in a ruggedised case. Similarly I'd prefer a laptop with plenty of ports for convenience and expandability over a bendy fragile under-powered fashion-accessory laptop/tablet
Sounds like Enamel ware - like my Gran's bath or your Dad's old tin mug.
Agreed, but it also sounds like the ceramic coating that was applied to high end aluminium bike wheels a few years ago, to prolong their braking life, before disk brakes became the norm. (i.e. the end material isn't necessarily very novel, but the process to apply it sounds like it might be.)
Light, blingy and with lotsa Ceraluminum !
From the Asus website:
---
Security
Trusted Platform Module (Firmware TPM)
Microsoft Pluton security processor # WTF?
IR webcam with Windows Hello support
Disclaimer
This product has only been tested for compatibility with the Windows 11 operating system, and may encounter compatibility issues if Windows 10 or older OS versions are installed.
---
That is enough to stop reading.
And what about the battery? Is it replaceable?
Very light and blingy (there's another new word for you) with a very heavy price tag.
There's probably a market for this among boardroom/CEO/AH-PHB types and chaps with more cash than common sense.
.
Wake me up when they have transparent aluminum
Wake me up when they have invented transparent aluminum.
Live long and prosper.
Re: Wake me up when they have transparent aluminum
How about sapphire? Although a 14" slab would be tricky to manufacture;)
Elemental options now?
Sapphire? Only if they make the rest of it out of Steel.
Re: Wake me up when they have transparent aluminum
It was invented 8 years ago:
https://screenrant.com/star-trek-transparent-aluminum-real/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride
Marketing
The problem is that Marketing departments drive new product releases and they are all fixated on the same old faster/lighter/thinner/prettier paradigms. They are incapable of thinking of new ways of marketing a product because "fit for purpose" or "sturdy" or "efficient" just aren't sexy enough for your average image obsessed consumer. Personally I have never bought anything based on how it looks. I buy based on how well it works, how well it suits me and my intended use for it, and how well-made/reliable it is. Just because something looks a certain way is no indication of how good/bad it is.
Re: Marketing
By definition half the world is below average on lots of measures, including resistance to bullshit marketing (I work with some). But they still have money to spend and are a valuable part of society. The rest of us (ahem) may make different choices, but we are in the minority and we probably spend less on consumer goods anyway.
> Ceraluminum is not unobtanium or vaporwareum – the 16-inch Zenbook lappie can be ordered now, although delivery dates are uncertain.
Isn't that the very definition of vaporware?
They will happily take your money, but there is guarantee if or when you will receive anything.
Not the weak spot
A durable surface coating doesn't help with Asus having a warranty so fragile that many say it doesn't exist at all.