Asus announces release date for its super-thin MacBook competitor

Asus has finally announced US release dates and pricing for the biggest products it unveiled back at IFA in August.

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The ZenBook 3, which the company had advertised as a thinner and lighter version of Apple’s MacBook, comes in two configurations. A $1,099 model includes an i5 processor, 256GB SSD, and 8GB of RAM, and a higher-end $1,599 model includes an i7 processor, while doubling both memory and storage to 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD, respectively. Both are available now.

Asus is also releasing multiple variants of the ZenFone 3 Deluxe, Asus' latest line of smartphones that the company proudly notes is the first unibody aluminum phone without antenna lines. The flagship ZenFone 3 Deluxe 5.7" Special Edition will cost $799 with a Snapdragon 821 processor and 256GB of storage when it ships at the end of October.

The remaining variants are available for preorder, but no concrete release dates have been announced. These include the ZenFone 3 Deluxe 5.7", which offers a slower Snapdragon 820 chip and only 64GB of RAM, but at a reduced price of $499. The smaller ZenFone 3 Deluxe 5.5" cuts the processor even further to a Snapdragon 625, and the price to $399, while the budget ZenFone 3 Laser runs for $199.

Meanwhile, Asus' latest Android Wear watch, the ZenWatch 3, will cost $229 when it makes its United States debut in early November.

Lastly, for anyone still clinging to the dream of Android tablets, the ZenPad 3S 10 offers a 9.7-inch screen, and will cost $299 when it launches in November.