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 has received very little coverage or evaluation from major domestic media outlets. When it first came out, it was hailed as the world's lightest 14-inch business laptop, but unfortunately, that title was quickly snatched away by LG’s Gram 14Z970 the very next day. It's quite unfortunate.
The high-end configuration version of this laptop I've got has the following specs:
Front view of the laptop case; detailed configuration on the back and side electrical specifications:
Package contents include: laptop, power adapter, CD and manual, leather case, ASUS Mini Dock (for USB Type-C expansion, including a standard USB port, an HDMI output, and a USB Type-C port).
The power adapter supports 65/45/27/15W output:
Then we move onto the design. This elegant commercial product falls under the Asus Ultrabook lineup, but unlike the Zenbook series' concentric design, the B9440 belongs to the ASUSPRO series. Its magnesium-aluminum alloy body gives off a professional, industrial feel.
Close-up of the ASUSPRO logo on the back of the notebook:
Because the B9440 has a diving screen design, to prevent wear on the desktop and enhance the stability of the laptop, there are two protruding rubber pads at the bottom of the A surface.
Now let's look at the B/C side. There's also an ASUSPRO logo on the bottom of the screen on the B side (I wonder what kind of technology is behind this monitor).
Harman/Kardon logo in the lower right corner of the keyboard indicates that this is a stereo system tuned by Harman/Kardon. The audio quality is indeed impressive. However, personal experiences vary, so ultimately, the user's opinion will prevail. It hasn't been tested here (actually, I'm a bit of a tech enthusiast).
Power button located in the top right corner of the keyboard. Above the power button is a fingerprint recognition button that supports Windows Hello biometric login. Touch to identify.
In the lower left corner of the keyboard is the Intel i7 7th Gen, Energy Star, and the ASUS worry-free service sticker available in the business office.
Body D surface with Windows 10 sticker and some features. There is an air intake in the middle of the chassis. Two Harman/Kardon-tuned speakers on each side. The two non-slip foot pads and the screen shaft collectively elevate the D surface. The D surface is fixed by 10 Phillips screws, making it easy to disassemble the machine. The sharp edges and corners give the entire D surface a sleek look.
After opening the camera, the keyboard is lifted by the diving screen to create an angle with the desktop, making text input more comfortable. Additionally, the space provided by the keyboard aids in heat dissipation, which is another distinctive feature.
Maximum opening angle of the notebook is 180°, but due to the recessed screen design, the screen isn't lying flat on the desktop when the notebook screen is at its maximum opening angle. The top of the A surface is slightly elevated from the desktop. While typing, the screen doesn't get affected, but touching the screen causes the machine to wobble (though I don't think this should happen often, who would use it to poke the screen anyway?).
Outlet on the shaft, with hot air blowing towards the screen:
The screen uses AUO's 14-inch 1080P 72% NTSC 60Hz matte screen to avoid the glare that can make viewing difficult. For business people who work long hours abroad, matte screens are more comfortable than glossy ones. It also features a 5.4mm narrow bezel design, but this comes at the cost of canceling the camera configuration. However, for most people, the camera is basically an optional feature.
Then there's the keyboard: The keyboard uses a scissor mechanism with 1.5mm keystrokes and a waterproof design (I haven’t spilled anything, but I’m cautious about splashing). Typing long texts on laptops is generally good (except for those that come with mechanical keyboards). The touchpad is also quite smooth with ASUS SmartGesture. Most of the time, I forget I even have a mouse unless I need precise operations (anyway, not gaming, so a mouse isn’t that critical).
Boot, entertainment master:
Entertainment test:
Chess left and right are battery mode/AC mode. This shows that the performance of low-voltage U processors is not significantly affected by AC or battery mode.
SSD test: The machine is equipped with a SATA channel SSD, so it doesn’t reach the speed of a PCI-E interface... it’s bound to be slower. The low-end version of the B9440 uses a SATA channel SSD, while the high-end version uses a PCI-E one. Regardless of whether it’s high or low-end, the National Bank B9440 uses a SATA channel SSD. However, upgrading it is straightforward. Is a SATA SSD useless? Not necessarily.
Followed by 3DMark FS and SkyDiver running points (don’t know why, 3DMark Life and Death couldn’t read the system configuration info, using Steam genuine, I might be a victim of genuine software):
Due to the reduced thickness of the ultrabook, the available space for the battery is much smaller. It uses a delicate 48Wh 4-cell battery. At 60% brightness, with WiFi on for light usage scenarios (like text editing), the battery discharge rate floats around 6-9W. As shown in the image below, I’ve used a total of 2.25 hours since editing documents, consuming 1/3 of the battery. It’s estimated that this battery can provide 6-7 hours of battery life in an office environment.
If browsing sites online on Chrome, the discharge rate is about 11-14W, providing roughly 4 hours of battery life.
As for the temperature: In an air-conditioned room, under mild use, the CPU temperature is about 40 degrees Celsius. The baking machine is as follows:
It can be seen that the experience of using the B9440 under high load conditions is still slightly poor. Under full load, the frequency drops immediately as shown in the graph and Aida64 data: After 10 seconds, the power consumption of the baking machine drops to 12W, and the temperature remains at 74°C. There is no Turbo boost at 2.8GHz. After 10 minutes, the keyboard gets warm, but the impact on the key positions isn't too significant.
The touchpad experience is awesome: Even with a little sweat, the touch on the touchpad is smooth and there is almost no blocking. ASUS has also developed a Touchpad Handwriting specifically for this type of machine. It allows handwriting input through the touchpad. For most people, this feature might seem unnecessary... but if someone has this need, it’s better than having nothing at all.
In addition to ASUS SmartGesture. In the age of Windows 10, giants began to unify the touchpad experience, but Asus’s SmartGesture also has a RemoteLink function in addition to basic gesture functions: RemoteLink allows you to control the remote mouse, type text, control music playback through WiFi or Bluetooth, present PPTs, and wake up the computer. However, this feature only supports Android phones. iOS devices do not currently support it (the promotional videos claim it supports iOS, but there’s no RemoteLink found in the App Store). And RemoteLink can be used not only on ASUS devices but also on other notebooks. (Sounds great in theory, but still very practical when needed.)
The B9440 supports fingerprint recognition in Windows Hello biometrics. To set a fingerprint, you need to set a PIN first. Fingerprint entry requires tapping the identification area multiple times.
Unlike ordinary 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 service. The content includes power management, software updates, file security, system backup and restoration, network sharing, and BIOS settings (BIOS settings can change the BIOS boot interface logo, customizing it for your company) and updates. Asustek’s worry-free system, which comes with free remote assistance services, helps users troubleshoot issues, maintain their systems, and more.
Out of curiosity, I decided to take a quick look inside (in fact, it’s held together by ten screws, so it’s not too hard to open):
The SSD model is the SanDisk X400:
A very weak cooling fan ~ (Ultrabooks, you can't ask for too much, right?)
Then I dared not go any further. In case of accidentally tearing it apart, it would be a disaster like this: Here’s a summary:
Advantages: Unique appearance, excellent feel; high enough configuration, no need for upgrades (unless there’s a higher demand for SSD); three years of solid security.
Disadvantages: SSDs that don’t use PCI-E channels; average expandability, only 2 USB3.1 Type-C Gen1 ports and no Thunderbolt support, requiring a DOCK; mediocre endurance performance.
The B9440 is a relatively good business laptop, featuring a 14-inch screen in a 1kg weight. However, for the average user, the price is too high, with the lowest price for the low-end version being close to 8k. For the high-end upgrade with an additional processor and 8GB memory, it adds another 1k. Asus products haven’t been promoted much in mainland China, and it can be said that they were deeply buried. This might reflect the fact that Asustek wasn’t entirely satisfied with this generation of products (just a guess), suggesting that the next generation might have greater improvements (another guess). For users who aren’t overly price-sensitive and have a long-term need, this laptop is suitable.
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