Tag Archives: aluminum

ROG Zephyrus G16 laptop at CES 2024 brings a thin, all-aluminum frame to your game

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Gaming laptops are powerful beasts, sometimes almost as powerful as some desktops. Most of them, however, almost feel as heavy and as bulky as those towering computers because of how much technology they pack inside, including the required cooling systems. Thanks to the laws of physics and limitations in manufacturing, it almost seems like having a gaming laptop that’s as slim and sleek as a MacBook is just a pipe dream. Consider those dreams fulfilled, then, with the newest duo in the ASUS ROG Zephyrus line, bringing to the CES 2024 crowd the first glimpse of an all-aluminum CNC machined gaming laptop that maintains a mind-blowing thin and light body despite the power it crams inside.

Designer: ASUS Republic of Gamers

Although the typical laptop might have plenty of metal on the outside, the majority of gaming laptops use plenty of plastic or only plastic for the chassis. It’s more resilient to pressure and is cheaper to manufacture, helping to offset the costs of the expensive hardware. However, it also has poorer heat dissipation, is prone to deform from excessive heat, and makes the laptop feel less premium than its price would suggest. The Republic of Gamers is, fortunately, challenging the status quo with the 2024 ROG Zephyrus G16 and its slightly smaller sibling, the ROG Zephyrus G14, bringing a sleek and elegant look you won’t easily find on most of its kind.

With an all-new, all-aluminum CNC-machined chassis, the ROG Zephyrus G16 and G14 bring a touch of class to your gaming gear. It isn’t all just for show, of course, because the change in materials also improves the structural rigidity of the laptop, reduces its overall weight, and increases the space for components inside. That means more room for more things while still keeping the laptop thin and light. At only 1.49cm thick and 1.85kg light, the Zephyrus 16 is pretty much on par with the gold standard of lightweight pro notebooks, the MacBook Pro. For reference, the Zephyrus G14 stands at 1.59cm thick and 1.5kg heavy only.

Of course, Zephyrus laptops are heavy-duty gaming slash workstations, and ROG hasn’t forgotten the traits that truly mark this mobile PC as such. There’s a brand-new LED lighting array, one that runs diagonally across the lid. Appropriately called Slash Lighting, this lighting accent can display customized patterns and animations that quickly set the laptop apart from other premium-looking notebooks. This 2024 generation also welcomes a new colorway, Platinum White, with a matte finish that cements the Zephyrus G16 and G14 as luxury items for gamers.

In terms of hardware, the two aren’t lacking in any department either, sporting the latest Intel and AMD processors paired with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or 4090 laptop graphics. In fact, these two boast the first ROG laptops to carry an OLED monitor under the ROG Nebula Display branding, offering rich blacks that truly make graphics pop. They both possess the latest cooling solutions, but the ROG Zephyrus G16 additionally carries a custom vapor chamber to make up for the more powerful hardware. These two stylish and powerful laptops are scheduled to land in markets in the first quarter of the year, though exact dates and pricing have yet to be announced.

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This aluminum lounge chair is built for easy repairs, not so much for comfort

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Chairs are designed to be comfortable to sit on unless they’re meant to be art or statement pieces rather than usable furniture. Of course, not all designs hit the mark, and some tend to value other traits like aesthetics or features over comfort. That isn’t always intentional, though, especially for chairs that are meant to be sold commercially. This lounge chair, for example, seems to check off boxes like minimalism, repairability, and sustainability, but its rather imposing industrial aesthetic might make some think twice about parking their bodies on its thin body, even if there’s a comfy cushion on the seat.

Designer: Haus Otto

Truth be told, the AL13 lounge chair doesn’t inspire much confidence because of its super thin construction. Each component is made from laser-cut aluminum sheets that seem to be too thin to support heavy objects, like your body for example. Of course, looks can be deceiving, and this chair was designed to be really stable and safe, at least enough to be sold and used both for indoor as well as outdoor use.

The chair’s extra-wide seat is flanked by extra-wide armrests that might seem too high for actually placing your arms on them. Instead, they function better as small side tables to hold your phone, book, or drink, though you have to be careful with the latter that you don’t accidentally knock it over with your arm. It can also hold your laptop, but it might not be comfortable much less ergonomic to use it in that position.

Perhaps the more interesting aspect of the AL13 lounge chair is its somewhat modular construction so that parts can be easily disassembled. This makes it easy to repair, replace, or recycle parts, which are just bent sheets of aluminum. Its distinctive shape and the added function of the armrests make the chair suitable for any spatial environment, whether indoors or outdoors.

That said, the rather hard and cold appearance of the chair might feel a little intimidating, especially if you’re a fan of softer and cozier chairs. There’s an option for upholstered seat cushions, but that still leaves out the back and armrests, not to mention making it unsuitable for outdoor use. It’s still an interesting brutalist design, though, and could be an inspiration for other variations that add a bit more comfort to the equation.

The post This aluminum lounge chair is built for easy repairs, not so much for comfort first appeared on Yanko Design.