ASUS has launched the ExpertBook Ultra, a Copilot+ ultraportable built for mobile professionals. On paper, it is unmistakably premium: 2.18 lbs, a 14" 3K OLED display, up to 24 hours of claimed battery life, Windows 11 Pro, and a 50 TOPS NPU for running AI features locally. In plain English: this is a laptop designed for executives who spend their lives between trains, meeting rooms, and video calls, with one simple promise — work faster, longer, and with less dependence on the cloud.
For an SME, the real question is not “does it look good?” but “does it deliver business value?” And here, the answer is nuanced.
The SME opportunity: mobility, privacy, and better working comfort
The first advantage is mobility. Under the 2.2-pound mark, this kind of machine becomes a credible companion for a founder, consultant, attorney, or accountant who moves from one meeting to the next. It is a workstation you can carry everywhere without feeling like you are hauling a brick.
The second strength is onboard AI. Thanks to the NPU, certain tasks can run locally without systematically sending data to the cloud. For an SME handling sensitive files, that is far from a gimmick. It can reduce friction, improve responsiveness, and lower network dependency.
Add the ambitious battery life and a high-end OLED display, and you get a machine that checks the boxes for high-value users: leadership, advisory roles, creative functions, and highly mobile support teams. In short: if the user spends most of the day in documents, presentations, meetings, and a few targeted AI workflows, the comfort gain is real.
The caution: premium pricing and showroom effect
The problem is the entry price. At ?,499, the ExpertBook Ultra is not a standard SME purchase. For a company with fewer than 10 employees, the ROI will be difficult to justify against serious alternatives that are less prestigious but far more rational. For many businesses, a solid ThinkPad or EliteBook will already get the job done.
Another point to watch is the AI software layer. ASUS is pushing its MyExpert assistant, but adoption of a new tool is not automatic. Users need training, use cases must be defined, and above all, you have to avoid the classic “super laptop with a super promise… that ends up as an expensive paperweight.”
And then there is the usual Copilot+ marketing trap: the promise of seamless, local, intelligent AI… without always being clear about what really runs on the device, what is sent back to the cloud, and under what conditions. For an executive, that ambiguity is not trivial.
The compliance issue
As soon as customer, HR, or financial data is involved, you need to look closely at where information flows. Local processing via the NPU is good news from a privacy standpoint, but it is not enough. You need to verify exactly where Copilot+ processes data, how onboard AI features are governed, and whether there are any transfers into the Microsoft ecosystem.
For a Swiss SME or any company handling sensitive data, this is not a theoretical issue: you need to map the flows, identify what stays local, and determine what may leave for external data centers. In short, before rolling these machines out at scale, a compliance audit is not optional.
Conclusion & Cohesium support
The ASUS ExpertBook Ultra is an excellent machine for premium executive use. But this is not a standard laptop buying decision: it is an IT governance, security, and workplace strategy decision. For a mobile executive, the investment can make sense. For an SME equipping multiple employees, the premium price and the gray areas around embedded AI mean you should look under the hood before signing off.
Instead of improvising, Cohesium AI can conduct a Copilot+ / MyExpert governance audit, map GDPR / nLPD data flows, and test the AI use cases that actually matter to your SME before any rollout. Contact us