Asus releases new MacBook Air rival with metal design, 16 GB RAM, and 120 Hz OLED display

Asus has officially launched the ExpertBook A7 in the US. It’s the first model under its newly established A-series commercial laptop family, joining the B and P series and the ExpertBook Ultra in the brand’s roster. The company’s new business laptop comes as a direct competitor to Apple’s latest MacBook Air M5 and ships with an interesting set of features. Dimensionally, it measures 0.46 inches (11.68 mm) and weighs around 2.82 lbs (1.28 kg). In comparison, the Air M5 (curr. available at $1,234 on Amazon) is slightly slimmer than the A7, although both laptops weigh almost the same.  

Under the hood, the machine is powered by up to an Intel Core 7 processor paired with an integrated Intel Graphics GPU, up to 16 GB LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 512 GB PCIe SSD storage. The Intel Core 7 has 6 cores and 6 threads and can reach up to 4.8 GHz. Asus promises to provide five years of BIOS and driver security updates for the laptop. 

Furthermore, the business laptop boasts a 14-inch OLED panel that outputs at 2890 x 1800 pixel resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, a peak brightness of 500 nits, and 100% DCI-P3 color space coverage. The laptop contains a 65 Wh battery, which Asus rates for 26 hours of battery life when web browsing and video playing. Plus, it supports 65 W fast charging, and according to the company, it can juice up the machine up to 50% in just 30 minutes. 

Connectivity options include 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, 1 x HDMI 2.1, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. Other features of the ExpertBook A7 include a backlit chiclet keyboard, dual speakers with Dolby Audio, a 1080p FHD webcam, and an Intel AI Boost NPU. The laptop features a CNC-milled aluminum unibody chassis and MIL-STD-810H military-grade-certified durability. 

As for price, the Asus ExpertBook A7 Intel Core 5 model starts at $1,299.99, while the Intel Core 7 variant is priced at $1,599.99. Asus has also confirmed that the laptop will be available with AMD Ryzen AI processors, although the company has yet to reveal further details. Buyers can now purchase the ExpertBook A7 in the US directly from Asus’ official store.