Back in December 2025, before CES 2026 really kicked off, ASUS invited Wccftech and other members of the press to downtown Toronto for a sneak preview at what ASUS would be bringing to the coming show in Las Vegas. It was an afternoon packed with information and a look at ASUS's lineup of 2026 products, and as you might imagine, there were more than a few intriguing devices shown off.
That said, everything that was in the showroom that day and all of the tech that is currently descending on Las Vegas comes with a cloud hanging over it: memory shortages. The shortage is threatening (and in some ways, already succeeding) to send the entire tech world into disarray, which honestly makes it difficult to get excited about anything coming from ASUS or any other tech hardware manufacturer.
Even with the gloomy realities of the world creeping around every new device that was shown off, I was still able to find a few items that stood out to me as what to look forward to, and what might actually be worth saving up for, if you're in the market for some of the latest and greatest tech.
I also got the chance to speak with Sascha Krohn, global director of technical marketing at ASUS, about the company's 2026 lineup and what it's bringing to CES. You can check out that interview here.
Some housekeeping, these picks are just what stood out to me based on their specs, what actually seems exciting about the device, and how I'd be interested in using it. I only got to spend an afternoon getting up close and personal with these devices, and I'm not at CES 2026 personally, so these won't be hands-on impressions. We're sure to learn more about these devices as CES 2026 kicks off, so check out our full coverage of the showcase here for more.
ROG G1000 - The Outrageous
There are always a few products that make their way to CES that aren't ever going to make it to consumers, and are just expensive showpieces for the show floor. The ASUS ROG G1000 straddles the line between a product that's actually going to be available to consumers and something that is better suited as a showpiece for CES.
It's that duality that makes it an impressive machine that can be easy to get excited for, with holographic fans and three-zone cooling. The fact that the chassis is so big, you can fit practically any component you want in there, not to mention ASUS's mandate that only the top-of-the-line hardware gets anywhere close to meeting this tower's standards.
After all, what else would you expect from the flagship ROG desktop in ASUS's 2026 lineup? But unless you have the storage space and, more importantly, the wallet space, the G1000 might as well be one of those impossible products you see at CES that you know you'd never actually get to try unless you were on the show floor.
It's cool and exciting to have a holographic fan and to see an LED show on steroids going on in your PC at all times, but with the price of all tech products in fluctuation, the G1000 may live up to its "Built to be Seen" tagline more than ASUS would like, as all we can do is 'see' it through our own computer screens without a hope of actually getting to see one at our desks while playing the latest release at max settings.
| Size | 104L |
| Color | Black |
| Form Factor | Tower |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen™ 9 9950X 3D Processor 4.3GHz (16MB Cache, up to 5.7 GHz, 16 cores, 32 Threads) N/A |
| CPU Cooler | 420mm Liquid Cooler |
| Chipset | AMD® X870 Chipset |
| DIMM Memory | 32GB DDR5 U-DIMM *2 |
| Memory Speed | Memory speed is 4800 MT/s by memory configuration |
| Memory Max. | 128GB |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5090 ROG 32GB GDDR7 OC : 3xDP, 2x HDMI |
| Integrated GPU | AMD Radeon™ Graphics |
| Storage | 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 SSD *2 |
| LAN | Realtek RTL8125D-CG 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps |
| Audio | High Definition 7.1 Channel Audio |
| On board Wireless | Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) (Tri band) 2*2 + Bluetooth®5.4 Wireless Card |
| Power Supply | 1000W power supply (80+ Gold, peak 2000W) |
| Rear I/O Port | 1x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet 1x HDMI 2.1b 3 x Audio jacks 4x USB 2.0 Type-A 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2x USB 4 Gen 3*2 Type-C |
| Front I/O Port | 1x Headphone 1x Mic in 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A |
| Serial ATA | 6 x SATA 6.0Gb/s ports |
| Expansion Slot(includes used) | 1x PCIe® 5.0 x 16 3x PCIe® 4.0 x 16 4x M.2 2280 connector for storage 4x DDR5 U-DIMM slot |
| Keyboard & Mouse | Gaming RGB Keyboard(USB) Gaming RGB Mouse(USB) |
| Dimension (WxDxH) | 29.00 x 58.27 x 61.48 cm (11.42" x 22.94" x 24.20") |
| Weight | 40.00 kg (88.18 lbs) |
| Antivirus | McAfee® 3 years |
| Ecolabels & Compliances | RoHS |
| Base Warranty | 1Y Send-In |
ROG Zephyrus G16 - The Respectable
This entry comes with a fair share of bias, because I bought an ROG Zephyrus G15 laptop back in 2021, and it's been an incredible piece of kit for me since day one. It's easy for me to get excited about the ROG Zephyrus G16 because it's a better version of a laptop I already love, so take my recommendation of it with that in mind.
As someone who has been working and gaming on an older model in the Zephyrus line of laptops, what stands out to me about the 2026 G16 is how ASUS redesigned the cooling structure for the device, as I've found my current model to run hotter than I'd like while gaming. That's a personal highlight based on my own experience with my older laptop, but the undeniable highlight of the 2026 G16 model is its Nebula HDR OLED display panel.
At 2560x1600 and 240Hz, and up to 1000 Nits, this will undoubtedly be one of the best displays on a laptop this year. It'll be so crisp it might actually distract you long enough that you forget about the memory shortages for a few fleeting moments.
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
| Copilot+ PC? | Y |
| CPU | INTEL PTL U9-H484 (16C) |
| CPU TOPS | Intel® NPU up to 50TOPS |
| GPU | NV RTX5080 16GB |
| RAM | 64GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 2TB |
| Display | 16.0 WQXGA(WQ) 2560X1600 16:10 240Hz |
| Nits | 500nits(HDR 1100nits) |
| Color Gamut | DCI-P3:100% |
| Camera | 1080P FHD IR Camera for Windows Hello |
| Battery | 90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion |
| Connectivity | 1x Thunderbolt™ 4 with support for DisplayPort™ / power delivery (data speed up to 40Gbps) |
| 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with support for DisplayPort™ / power delivery / G-SYNC (data speed up to 10Gbps) | |
| 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (data speed up to 10Gbps) | |
| 1x card reader (SD) (UHS-II, 312MB/s) | |
| 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack | |
| 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL | |
| Wifi Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) (Triple band) 2*2 + Bluetooth® 6.0 Wireless Card (*Bluetooth® version may change with OS version different.) |
| Dimension: | 1.95 Kg (4.30 lbs) |
| 35.4 x 24.6 x 1.49 ~ 1.79 cm (13.94" x 9.69" x 0.59" ~ 0.70") | |
ROG Zephyrus Duo - The Innovative
I know devices like the Zephyrus Duo and Zenbook Duo aren't anything brand new. It's not exactly innovative to be putting out yet another version of a device we've already seen before. But to me, if the ROG Zephyrus Duo 2026 ended up becoming the best dual-screen laptop so far, that would be innovative enough, because I truly believe dual-screen laptops are the future of laptops overall.
I don't think we'll be abandoning the kinds of laptops we've all been used to for decades, but I do see Duo laptops becoming the 'everything device' for the next generation. It's a tablet when you want it to be, without losing any of the features you get from a full laptop. You can fold it any which way you need whether you're relaxing by watching something online or if you're making a presentation to a group of people.
It's got two standout Nebula HDR OLED displays, all the ports you'd want with little need for any adaptor dongles, and it's got power to spare, especially if you get the model that is spec'd out below with an RTX 5090 and Intel's latest Panther Lake CPUs.
I don't necessarily need a new laptop, but if I did, the Zephryus Duo is what I would try to save my pennies for.
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
| Copilot+ PC? | Y |
| CPU | INTEL PTL U9-H484 (16C) |
| CPU TOPS | Intel® NPU up to 50TOPS |
| GPU | NV RTX5090 24GB |
| RAM | 64GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 2TB |
| Display | 16.0 WQXGA+(WQ+) 2880X1800 16:10 120Hz |
| Nits | Bend+500nits(HDR 1100nits) |
| Color Gamut | DCI-P3:100% |
| Camera | 1080P FHD IR Camera for Windows Hello |
| Battery | 90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion |
| Connectivity | 2x Thunderbolt™ 4 with support for DisplayPort™ / power delivery (data speed up to 40Gbps) |
| 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (data speed up to 10Gbps) | |
| 1x card reader (microSD) (UHS-II, 312MB/s) | |
| 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack | |
| 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL support HDMI switch | |
| Wifi Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) (Triple band) 2*2 + Bluetooth® 6.0 Wireless Card (*Bluetooth® version may change with OS version different.) |
| Dimension: | 2.80 Kg (6.17 lbs) |
| 35.5 x 24.6 x 1.99 ~ 2.49 cm (13.98" x 9.69" x 0.78" ~ 0.98") |
ROG Flow Z13 Kojima Productions - The Cool
Lastly, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 Kojima Productions collaboration stood out because it is just plain cool. Yes, it is last year's ROG Flow Z13; the hardware inside isn't anything new, but even with that in mind, it's tough to say 'no' to a laptop designed by Yoji Shinkawa and Hideo Kojima.
The hardware won't take you as far as even some of ASUS's more budget-friendly laptops from its Vivobook or TUF Gaming lines will, but those don't come with Yoji Shinkawa's brush stroke.
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
| Copilot+ PC? | Y |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen™ AI MAX+ 395 Processor 3.0GHz (80MB Cache, up to 5.1GHz, 16 cores, 32 Threads) |
| AMD XDNA™ NPU up to 50TOPS | |
| CPU TOPS | AMD XDNA™ NPU up to 50TOPS |
| GPU | Radeon 8060S Graphics |
| RAM | 128GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 1TB |
| Display | 13.4 WQXGA(WQ) 2560X1600 16:10 180Hz |
| Nits | Bend+500nits |
| Color Gamut | DCI-P3:100% |
| Camera | 13MP camera and 5MP IR camera |
| Battery | 70WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion |
| Connectivity | 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (data speed up to 10Gbps) |
| 2x Type-C USB 4 with support for DisplayPort™ / power delivery (data speed up to 40Gbps) | |
| 1x card reader (microSD) (UHS-II) | |
| 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack | |
| 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL | |
| Wifi Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) (Triple band) 2*2 + Bluetooth® 5.4 Wireless Card (*Bluetooth® version may change with OS version different.) |
| Dimension: | 1.72 Kg (3.79 lbs) |
| 300.3 x 204.5 x 14.56 ~ 14.99 cm (118.23" x 80.51" x 5.73" ~ 5.90") | |
| Weight of keyboard: 0.47 Kg | |
| Dimension of keyboard: 300.3 x 212.1 x 7.15 cm | |
| Bundle | ROG Flow Z13 case (2026) |
For more on everything ASUS brought to CES 2026 and the rest of the show, check out our full coverage of everything CES here.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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