Watch out Microsoft: Asus’ new 2-in-1 takes on the Surface Pro with a bundled keyboard

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Asus announces a new 2-in-1 laptop with detachable keyboard.
• The ProArt PZ14 is similar to the Surface Pro but includes the keyboard and stylus.
• The laptop lacks an integrated kickstand.

Alongside the Asus ZenBook Duo and ZenBook A14, I had the opportunity to get my hands on the Asus ProArt PZ14 at CES 2026. It is a new 2-in-1 laptop with a detachable keyboard, similar to the Microsoft Surface Pro. However, the difference is that you get the keyboard in the box, without needing to spend an additional $150 on an accessory that you’d definitely need in day-to-day use. 

The ProArt PZ14 (HT7407NA) is being positioned as a high-performance, ultra-mobile workstation designed for creators who require professional-grade tools in a portable form factor. It weighs just 1.7 pounds (0.79kg) and measures 0.35 inches (9mm) thick.

Also: CES 2026 live updates

Asus’ Surface Pro rival features a 14-inch OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, a 3K resolution, and a 144Hz refresh rate: a configuration that feels just right to comfortably use as a tablet. It is a bright panel and is designed for color accuracy, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits for supported HDR content.

The ProArt PZ14 is powered by the Snapdragon X2 Elite 18-core processor. It delivers up to 80 NPU TOPS with the integrated NPU. This performance is supported by a 25 W TDP thermal profile, and is paired with up to 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD storage.

All of this sounds good, but this 2-in-1 laptop doesn’t have an integrated kickstand — something I consider a drawback, especially if you want to use this machine as your on-the-go device. You get a back cover alongside the bundled keyboard, which also has a place to hold the stylus. However, it might not be as stable as the Surface Pro’s keyboard.

Also: The new Asus ZenBook A14 gets a powerful upgrade – and fixes my biggest gripe

I didn’t get a chance to use the ProArt PZ14 on my lap, but I expect the experience to be flimsy because the top part of the keyboard doesn’t attach magnetically to the tablet’s bottom bezel. This is one of the design elements where Microsoft’s Surface Pro outperforms its rivals. 

The Asus ProArt PZ14 features two USB 4.0 Type-C ports, an SD card reader, and a 3-month Adobe Creative Cloud subscription to support creators purchasing its new machine. The PZ14 is built to US Military Grade MIL-STD 810H standards and is rated IP52 for dust and splash resistance. It is scheduled for release in Q2 2026.