ASUS is kicking off 2026 with a new business laptop line, the ExpertBook B3 G1, aimed squarely at hybrid workers and IT teams that want something light, secure, and ready for AI-heavy workflows. It comes in 14‑inch and 16‑inch variants, both starting at under 2kg, with a 180° lay‑flat hinge and a design built to survive the daily commute, the office hot desk, and the occasional coffee spill.

At the heart of the B3 G1 are Intel’s latest Core Ultra chips (including vPro options), complete with integrated Arc graphics and a built-in NPU that can hit up to 13 TOPS for on-device AI tasks. In practice, that means things like live meeting transcription, real-time translation, and AI noise cancelation can run locally instead of hammering the cloud every time you hop on a call. ASUS backs that up with room for up to 96GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 6TB of SSD storage (via two slots), so IT can spec these anywhere from basic office machines to serious multitasking workhorses.

ASUS is also using the B3 G1 as a showcase for its new MyExpert suite — a built-in AI assistant layer focused on day-to-day productivity rather than flashy demos. You get natural-language help for PC tasks, smart document summarization and rewriting, and a unified local + cloud search to quickly surface files, images, and previous meeting notes. During calls, MyExpert can automatically generate transcripts, translate conversations, create summaries, and even spit out follow-up to‑do lists, which is exactly the kind of unsexy but genuinely useful AI most office workers will actually appreciate.

On the security side, ASUS is leaning hard into the “enterprise-ready” message with its ExpertGuardian framework. That covers NIST SP 800‑193-compliant BIOS protection, TPM 2.0, dual ROM recovery, a dedicated security processor, chassis intrusion detection, and cloud recovery options. The idea is that even if firmware gets corrupted or someone tampers with the device, IT has multiple layers to fall back on, plus at least five years of BIOS and driver updates promised for long-term fleet deployments.

The hardware itself checks most of the boxes you’d expect from a modern business notebook. You can configure up to a 2.5K (or WQXGA) 16:10 anti‑glare panel with up to 144Hz refresh for smoother scrolling and UI animations, plus an FHD IR webcam with a physical shutter and Windows Hello support for fast, secure logins. ASUS adds dual speakers with Dirac tuning, AI noise-canceling mics, and its ExpertCool thermal design to keep performance consistent under load without screaming fans. Battery options go up to 70Wh, paired with a 65W USB‑C charger for straightforward top-ups.

Connectivity is also ready for hybrid work life: depending on configuration, you get Wi-Fi 6E or optional Wi-Fi 7, dual Thunderbolt 4 or a mix of Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, a combo audio jack, Kensington Nano lock slot, and a full-size RJ45 Ethernet port for those environments where wired is still king. Both the 14‑inch and 16‑inch models are tested to MIL-STD-810H standards with 24 procedures, and the keyboards are spill‑resistant up to 355cc, which should cover the classic “coffee over the keys” moment.

All told, the ExpertBook B3 G1 feels like ASUS doubling down on that “sensible business laptop with actually useful AI” niche rather than chasing ultra-thin fashion points. For IT, the pitch is clear: configurable specs, long-term support, and serious security; for users, it’s a light, durable machine with enough AI smarts to quietly make meetings and document work less painful. Pricing and regional configurations will vary, but if your org is already in the ASUS ecosystem, this looks like a very natural next-gen fleet option to keep an eye on.