The Asus B9440 (also known as Lingling 3 in China) has been around for over six months since its debut at CES 2017, yet it remains largely unnoticed by mainstream media in the country. When it first came out, it was celebrated as the world's lightest 14-inch business laptop, but just a day later, LG’s Gram 14Z970 stole that title away. It’s unfortunate how quickly such achievements can be overshadowed.
The high-end version of this notebook I’ve been testing comes with impressive specs. Here’s what they look like:
This is the front side of the laptop casing. You’ll find detailed configuration info on the back and side panels.
The packaging includes: the laptop itself, a power adapter, a CD with instructions, a leather sleeve, and an ASUS Mini Dock for USB Type-C expansion, featuring one standard USB port, an HDMI output, and another USB Type-C port.
The power adapter supports outputs of 65W, 45W, 27W, and 15W.
Let’s dive into the details now.
This sleek business laptop is part of Asus’ Ultrabook lineup. Unlike the Zenbook series with its concentric design, the B9440 falls under the ASUSPRO series. Made of magnesium aluminum alloy with a gray finish, it exudes an industrial vibe.
Closing the lid reveals the ASUSPRO logo on the back.
Since the B9440 features a dive-type screen, there are two rubber feet at the base of the A surface to prevent wear on the desktop and enhance stability.
On the B side, there’s also an ASUSPRO logo on the bottom of the screen (I imagine there’s a story behind this design choice).
The Harman/Kardon logo in the lower right corner of the keyboard signifies that this device has been tuned by Harman/Kardon. The sound quality is impressive, though personal preferences vary. Ultimately, it’s up to the user to decide.
The power button is located in the top right corner of the keyboard, and above it lies a fingerprint recognition button supporting Windows Hello biometric login. Pressing it allows for quick identification.
In the lower left corner of the keyboard, you’ll find stickers indicating the Intel i7 7th Gen processor, Energy Star certification, and ASUS’ worry-free service available in business offices.
The D surface features a Windows 10 sticker and some additional specifications. There’s an air intake in the middle of the chassis, with two Harman/Kardon-tuned speakers on either side. The two non-slip foot pads and the screen hinge provide additional stability. The D surface is held together by 10 Phillips screws, making it easy to disassemble the machine. The edges and corners give the D surface a sharp appearance.
Opening the laptop reveals a keyboard that is raised slightly due to the dive-type screen design. This creates an incline that makes typing more comfortable. Additionally, the space provided by the keyboard helps with heat dissipation, adding another practical feature.
The maximum opening angle of the laptop is 180 degrees, but due to the recessed screen design, the screen doesn’t lie flat on the desk when fully open. The top of the A surface remains slightly elevated from the desk. While typing isn’t affected, touching the screen could cause the machine to wobble (though I don’t think many people would use it that way).
The exhaust vents are located on the hinges, blowing hot air toward the screen.
The display uses an AUO 14-inch 1080P 72% NTSC matte screen, preventing glare and making it more comfortable for long hours of work compared to glossy screens. It also features a 5.4mm narrow bezel design, but this comes at the cost of removing the built-in camera. However, for most users, the camera is not a necessity.
The keyboard uses a scissor mechanism with 1.5mm travel distance and a water-repellent design. Typing long texts feels good on this laptop, except perhaps when compared to those with mechanical keyboards. The touchpad is also smooth with ASUS SmartGesture, and I often forget I even have a mouse unless I need precise control.
Boot time is fast, and the machine handles both productivity and entertainment well.
For entertainment purposes, the laptop performs decently.
Tests show that the performance of the low-voltage U-series processor isn’t significantly affected by whether the laptop is running on battery or AC power.
SSD tests reveal that the machine is equipped with a SATA channel SSD, which naturally lacks the speed of a PCI-E interface. The lower-end version of the B9440 uses a SATA channel SSD, while the higher-end version uses a PCI-E. Regardless of the version, the SSD in the B9440 is on the SATA channel. Still, it’s functional enough for everyday use.
3DMark FS and SkyDiver scores were recorded (unfortunately, 3DMark refused to read the system configuration info, likely due to my use of a genuine copy of Steam).
Due to the thin design of ultrabooks, battery capacity is limited. The B9440 uses a 48Wh 4-cell battery. At 60% brightness with WiFi on and minimal usage (like text editing), the battery discharge rate hovers between 6-9W. Based on my experience, using the laptop for editing documents for 2.25 hours consumed about 1/3 of the battery, suggesting a battery life of around 6-7 hours in an office setting.
When browsing websites on Chrome, the discharge rate is approximately 11-14W, providing roughly 4 hours of battery life.
Regarding temperature: In an air-conditioned room under normal use, the CPU temperature stays around 40 degrees Celsius. Under load, the experience is less than ideal. As shown in the thermal images and Aida64 data, after 10 seconds of stress testing, the power consumption drops to 12W, and the temperature stabilizes at 74°C. There’s no Turbo boost, and after 10 minutes, the keyboard gets warm, though the impact on the key positions is manageable.
The touchpad experience is fantastic: Even with a bit of sweat, the touchpad remains smooth with virtually no blockages. ASUS has also developed a Touchpad Handwriting feature specifically for this model, allowing users to write via the touchpad. Most people might find this feature unnecessary, but for those who need it, it’s better than having nothing.
In addition to ASUS SmartGesture, the era of Windows 10 has seen giants standardizing touchpad experiences. However, ASUS' SmartGesture offers additional features like RemoteLink, which lets you control your computer remotely via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth—this includes mouse control, text typing, music playback, PPT presentations, and waking up the computer. RemoteLink is compatible with Android phones but not iOS devices at the moment (although promotional materials claim iOS support, there’s no RemoteLink app in the App Store). This feature works not only on ASUS devices but also on other notebooks.
The B9440 supports Windows Hello fingerprint recognition. Setting up a fingerprint requires creating a PIN first. To register a fingerprint, tap the identification area multiple times.
Unlike typical home entertainment laptops, Asustek’s Business Edition (PRO series) not only offers a 3-year warranty but also includes ASUS Business Butler and ASUS Worry-Free services. These services cover power management, software updates, file security, system backup and recovery, network sharing, BIOS settings (you can customize the BIOS boot interface logo to suit your company), and more. Asustek’s Worry-Free system includes free remote assistance to help users troubleshoot issues and perform system maintenance.
Out of curiosity, I decided to take a peek inside the machine (it’s actually quite easy to disassemble, with only ten screws holding it together).
The SSD model is the SanDisk X400.
A very quiet cooling fan—well, this is an ultrabook, so we can’t expect too much, right?
After that, I didn’t dare to go further. Accidentally breaking it would be costly. Here’s a summary:
**Advantages:** Unique design, excellent build quality; high enough configuration that upgrades aren’t necessary (unless you have specific demands for the SSD); three-year warranty.
**Disadvantages:** SSDs that don’t use PCI-E channels; limited expandability, only two USB3.1 Type-C Gen1 ports and no Thunderbolt; average battery life.
The B9440 is a solid business laptop with a 14-inch screen weighing just 1 kg. However, for the average user, the price is steep, with the base model starting at nearly $8,000. For the high-end version with an upgraded processor, add another $1,000. Asus hasn’t heavily promoted this product in mainland China, effectively burying it. This could indicate that Asus isn’t entirely satisfied with this generation of products, suggesting that the next generation might bring significant improvements. For users who aren’t overly price-sensitive and need a reliable machine for their work, this laptop is a good choice.
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