These are research notes, not a hands-on review. I have not used this laptop personally. Specs below come from Asus’s US product page for the ExpertBook Ultra, ITPro’s hands-on review of the B9406CAA, the Notebookcheck CES 2026 launch coverage, and Ultrabook Review’s follow-up preview. Where I could not verify a claim from a primary source, I say so.
What this is
The Asus ExpertBook Ultra (B9406CAA) is Asus’s 2026 business-flagship ultralight, announced at CES 2026 on the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (“Panther Lake”) platform. The “B9406” model code is part of Asus’s ExpertBook line, but the product positioning and design language are closer to the Zenbook S series than to prior ExpertBooks — Asus is treating this as a halo product rather than a volume corporate refresh.
Headline specs: 0.99 kg, 10.9 mm thin, 14-inch 3K tandem OLED touchscreen with 30–120 Hz variable refresh and 1400 nits HDR peak, up to Core Ultra X9 Series 3, up to 64 GB LPDDR5x, Wi-Fi 7, 2× Thunderbolt 4 + 2× USB-A.
Launch price was reported as $3,599 by Notebookcheck. Pre-orders opened in Malaysia at RM 7,999 (≈ $1,700 USD-equivalent at exchange — note the wide regional pricing gap). US retail availability and pricing as of May 2026 have not been confirmed against Asus’s order page.
Verified spec sheet
From Asus’s official US ExpertBook Ultra (B9406) product page:
- Weight: “just 0.99 kg” (lightest configuration)
- Thickness: 10.9 mm
- Display: 14-inch 3K tandem OLED, 30–120 Hz variable
refresh rate, up to 1400 nits HDR peak brightness, 100%
DCI-P3 and 100% sRGB, touchscreen
- “3K” in Asus marketing equates to 2880 × 1800 per the ITPro hands-on. Pixel density at 14 inches is roughly 243 PPI.
- CPU: Up to Intel Core Ultra X9 Series 3 (Panther Lake); ITPro’s review unit was the Core Ultra X7 358H.
- NPU: Series 3 includes Intel AI Boost; Copilot+ certification expected based on the platform.
- GPU: Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics (per Notebookcheck launch coverage, on the X7 358H part).
- RAM: Up to 64 GB LPDDR5x, soldered.
- SSD: Up to 2 TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe (review unit configuration).
- Ports (verbatim from Asus US page):
- 2× Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)
- 2× USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 1× HDMI 2.1 TMDS
- 1× Audio combo jack
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4
- Battery: 70 Wh (per ITPro hands-on; Asus’s US page does not state Wh directly). Fast charge: 50% in 30 minutes.
- OS: Windows 11 Pro
- Chassis finish: All-metal with Nano Ceramic Technology coating. Asus claims 9H surface durability.
What stands out (on paper)
Tandem OLED at this weight is the headline. Tandem OLED stacks two emissive layers, which doubles brightness and substantially extends panel life vs. conventional OLED. 1400 nits HDR peak is genuinely TV-grade brightness — it puts the ExpertBook Ultra closer to a 14-inch MacBook Pro’s mini-LED than to a typical OLED laptop. 30–120 Hz VRR matters: low-refresh idle for static work saves power, 120 Hz scrolling and animations feel modern.
The port mix is unusually generous for 0.99 kg. Two Thunderbolt 4 and two full-size USB-A is a port loadout normally associated with heavier 14-inch laptops. Most sub-1-kg ultralights drop USB-A entirely or include just one. HDMI 2.1 TMDS adds direct big-display output without a dongle.
The chassis is competing on durability, not just weight. Nano Ceramic Technology with a stated 9H hardness is Asus’s pitch against common OLED-laptop concerns — bright finishes that scratch, paint that wears off keys. Whether the coating actually holds up beyond spec-sheet language is something only long-term ownership reveals; TBA from independent reviews.
Series 3 brings real efficiency. Early Panther Lake reviews show meaningful battery-life improvements over Lunar Lake at similar TDPs. ITPro’s hands-on reported over 20 hours in their video-loop test on the 70 Wh battery. Real-world office workloads will be shorter, but the platform is a clear step up.
X9 silicon in a sub-1-kg laptop is rare. The Core Ultra X9 designation is Intel’s top Panther Lake tier. Most ultraportables in this weight class top out at Core Ultra 7. If sustained CPU throughput matters to your work, the ExpertBook Ultra is one of the few sub-1-kg machines that lets you spec it.
What’s worth thinking about before buying
- The price. $3,599 launch is MacBook Pro 14 territory and significantly above the Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 14’s $1,999 start. The ExpertBook Ultra’s display is brighter and the chassis is thinner, but it’s a substantial premium for those advantages. Cross-shop carefully.
- Tandem OLED is a new technology in laptops. Mass-produced tandem OLED panels appeared in laptops only in 2025–2026. Long- term burn-in behavior in mixed-content workloads (taskbars, IDE chrome, browser tabs) is not yet well-characterized in independent testing.
- Touch on a glossy OLED. The display is touchscreen, which implies a glossy finish. Outdoor and bright-window usability will trail matte panels — though 1400 nits HDR peak helps offset that more than most.
- No discrete storage upgrade slot. SSD is the standard M.2 form factor and is replaceable, but RAM is soldered LPDDR5x, so the RAM tier is a permanent purchase decision.
- Brand-new platform, brand-new chassis. First-revision Asus hardware sometimes has firmware/thermal quirks that get ironed out in updates. If you depend on this laptop daily, waiting for sustained reviews (3–6 months in) is reasonable.
- Business-line positioning. “ExpertBook” is Asus’s commercial brand; some support paths, warranty terms, and accessory compatibility differ from consumer Zenbooks. Verify the SKU you’re buying matches the support tier you want.
How it compares (briefly)
Against laptops the site has covered:
- vs. Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura (2026) — ThinkPad is 6 g heavier (996 g vs 990 g), has the legendary keyboard and TrackPoint, ThinkShield security, and 9/10 iFixit repairability, starts at $1,999. ExpertBook Ultra is brighter (1400 nits HDR vs unconfirmed Lenovo OLED nits), goes up to X9 silicon vs X7, and has tandem OLED with touch. Different shoppers: Lenovo for enterprise + keyboard + price; Asus for display + halo silicon.
- vs. Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304MA, 2024) — Zenbook S 13 is 13.3” 60 Hz OLED at 1.0 kg with Meteor Lake; ExpertBook Ultra is 14” 120 Hz tandem OLED touch at 0.99 kg with Panther Lake. The ExpertBook Ultra is the Zenbook S line’s ideas pushed to a halo price point — same Asus design DNA, much steeper spec ladder.
- vs. HP OmniBook 7 Aero (2025) — OmniBook is 1.00 kg with a 2560×1600 IPS panel and Ryzen AI 7 350; ExpertBook Ultra is the premium-tier alternative at 3.5× the price with a far better display and Intel platform. Different segments entirely.
What I still don’t know
- US retail availability and price. $3,599 is the reported launch number; whether Asus’s US ExpertBook Ultra page shows current buyable SKUs at that price is unconfirmed as of May 2026.
- Battery Wh. ITPro reports 70 Wh; Asus’s US page does not state it. Want to see this confirmed against an Asus spec PDF.
- Real-world battery life under typical office workloads. ITPro’s 20+ hour video-loop is best-case; mixed productivity numbers will be 8–13 hours.
- Sustained CPU performance and thermals under load — the 10.9 mm chassis is thin, and Series 3 H-class parts have meaningful TDP headroom. Throttling behavior matters for spec’d-up configs.
- Keyboard feel and trackpad behavior. Reviews of business-class Asus keyboards have been mixed across the ExpertBook line; the Ultra may be closer to the Zenbook standard, but I haven’t typed on one.
- Long-term tandem-OLED behavior. Burn-in, color shift, peak brightness sustainability — all open questions until reviewers run these panels for a year-plus.
- Webcam quality. Asus’s US page doesn’t itemize a megapixel count or sensor; relevant for a laptop sold on video-call use.
Caveats
- Desk research only. I have not handled the ExpertBook Ultra in person.
- Specs above reflect Asus’s US product page at the time of writing. Configurations and pricing change regularly in the first months of a launch.
- Asus product page material used in editorial context with attribution. No commercial relationship with Asus.
- No affiliate links anywhere in this article.
If I get hands-on time with one — at a Best Buy, Micro Center, Asus pop-up, or similar — there will be a separate dated article rather than edits to this one.