Interview | Asus bestätigt Ally-X-Nachfolger und strebt Vorreiterrolle bei Nachhaltigkeit an
Asus sieht das Handheld-Segment als überaus wichtig und verweist auf den Erfolg der Asus ROG Ally und ROG Ally X Handhelds. Hier läge großes Potential für die Zukunft, auch durch das nunmehr breite Angebot an einsetzbaren Chips von AMD, Intel und Qualcomm. Laut Huang arbeitet man aktuell an einem möglichen Nachfolger des Ally X, der 2025 auf den Markt kommen und für überraschte Gesichter sorgen soll. Worauf sich diese "Überraschung" bezieht, darüber darf spekuliert werden. Denkbar ist ein neuer Formfaktor, eine neue CPU-Plattform oder gar eine Verbreiterung des Angebots durch zukünftig mehrere verfügbare Geräte.
I'll say stay tuned, you'll be surprised. We definitely have something under cooking and I'll say the thing will be ready 25.
Im Zentrum der weiteren Entwicklungen steht bei Asus das Thema AI. Huang sieht künstliche Intelligenz als das ultimative Instrument, um die Produktivität zu steigern. Nichtsdestotrotz ist man bei Asus der Überzeugung, dass weiterhin eine gelungene Balance aus Größe, Gewicht und Leistung essenziell für erfolgreiche Laptops sein wird, während AI den User vorrangig softwareseitig unterstützen wird.
Überraschend klare Ansagen liefert Huang bei Fragen zu Nachhaltigkeit und Umweltschutz ab. Hier will man EU-Vorgaben übertreffen und im Asia-Pazifischen Raum bereits 2025 CO2-neutral operieren. Als ultimatives Ziel setzt sich Asus eine vollständige CO2-Neutralität im Jahr 2035, inklusive Herstellung der Geräte. Auch in puncto Service- und Supportqualität in Deutschland will man sich verbessern, mehr noch, wie in allen Bereichen strebt Asus auch hier nach der Bestplatzierung. Konkrete Schritte werden nicht genannt, vielmehr will man die bestehende Situation zuerst ausführlich analysieren und daraus möglichen Handlungsbedarf ableiten.
Angesprochen auf die neue Situation bei CPUs mit drei Playern und die weiter ungebrochene Dominanz von Nvidia im High-End GPU-Segment sieht Huang durchaus die Möglichkeit einer Verschiebung von Anteilen in der Zukunft. So hat Qualcomm gezeigt, dass dies im CPU-Bereich machbar ist. Auch im GPU-Segment könnte sich demzufolge in einigen Jahren eine veränderte Landschaft zeigen.
Folgend das (teilweise gekürzte) Transcript des Gesprächs:
NBC: [...] Are you seeing the handheld as a new, very important future segment in the market or do you think it will stay kind of a niche segment in the future? [...]
WH: Good question. Since the launch of last year with Ally, we actually see the potential and then for this segment we actually have a very strong demand for this kind of segmentation. [...] So, so far with the new launch of the Ally X, it's even more appreciated for the market and we're sure this will be the second we can continue to build it and like, you know, at the beginning of the meeting, I'm saying that the possibility or diversity is actually become possible.
[...] everything can be possible because we are the partner with now in AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, everybody and so we are looking for the best combination and then the best performance that we have to bring into the market. [...]
NBC: Are you happy with the sales so far?
WH: [...] I think it's really on the track with how we foresee and predict the market development. So we are pretty happy, especially with Ally X, like everything, all the review, all the feedback we are getting from our customers. I'm super happy with the latest generation.
NBC: So we might see an next version of the Ally X?
WH: I'll say stay tuned, you'll be surprised. We definitely have something under cooking and I'll say the thing will be ready 25. Just let us, you know, to keep the secret a little bit and then just you can actually still have some expertise for next year with a new version coming up.
NBC: Asus is known for its willingness to experiment with new user concepts, especially for laptops. Can you give us an idea on which current technologies and trends in the development of new concepts are particularly exciting for Asus at the moment? [...]
WH: [...] Moving forward, AI is really actually, you know, will be central for the attention and focus. Because AI actually creates another, the perfect reason why you need to have something can help to improve the efficiency of your work for your life.
[...] So AI will definitely be a central focus for Asus moving forward, how we can blend in the AI into our devices and make sure it actually provides the performance required for our customers and for the market. [...] AI can actually help to improve their efficiency. So everybody don't need to spend that amount of time. We can actually make it more like concentrated and really valuable output with AI's assistance. So that would be definitely a central attention when we actually develop the next generation of our products.
NBC: Do you think AI can change the devices as we know them? Like how they look like, how we use the devices?
WH: I would say no. AI is still more like software driven, right? [...] It's the design, the thickness, the weight and all the IT, all those kinds of core value we have been building for the last 15 years. [...] So we will not just sacrifice those kind of core value in order to bring those kind of the future or application into that. We still want to find the best balance. [...] Not only the Intel AMD x86, but also Qualcomm base, we are looking for the best combination, which bring the best value for the end user. And that's our mission. [...]
NBC: We think that sustainability is an important aspect, also with laptops. We saw some very interesting concepts from Asus at last year's Computex, there was a big focus on sustainability. Can you tell us what Asus current strategy for sustainability and more environmental protection is?
WH: [...] So we do take that as a very tough mission for ourselves. And along with all the requirements from the EU standard, we definitely want to be a step ahead to actually make our manufacturing more responsible and more environmental.
NBC: Anything on the horizon this year or next year that will be like carbon free or CO2 emissions for every device?
WH: Yeah, that's why we said our goal is 2035, everything will be carbon free. [...] 2025, we want to make sure within the Asia Pacific, within headquarters, that will be the first step we will move forward and then 2035, that will be the goal.
NBC: And with carbon free you mean the full production process of all the devices?
WH: Yes, that's our mission. It's not easy, sure. But at least we set out as our ambition that we want to accomplish and we want to be the leader in moving to that direction.
[...]
NBC: We annually ask our readers in Germany to rate their satisfaction with service in case of a defective device, and last year, Asus was able to place itself right in the middle of the field of the manufacturers. What actions is Asus taking to improve the situation in the future? [...]
WH: Well, there is always a room for improvement. So we are definitely not satisfied with the survey cause we want to be number one in every aspect, right? Because we want to be showing our capability to be a leader. So for the service part, we definitely see the possibility to improve. Meanwhile, I'll definitely follow up with our German team to see what else is the expectation for the end user. Sometimes it's just the lead time for repairing, or sometimes it's actually are we providing the right information? Because the US accident is like somehow there's a miscommunication. So I need to go further step by step with my customer service team to figure out what will be the pinpoint for the current enduser experience, and then we can improve on that.
NBC: I remember the surprised reaction from the audience a couple of years ago at Computex when you announced the first device that combined a AMD CPU and a Nvidia GPU. Now we have three players on the CPU side but we still have only one player on the GPU side. How do you see this situation [...]?
WH: Well, I wouldn't say there's only one supplier with a GPU, because you have Intel Arc and still have AMD with the GPU solution. [...] But for now, yes, I still think Nvidia is actually in the driver's seat [...] But, you know, the future last year, probably nobody has anticipated on base the Qualcomm or computer feature. So things can be changed very soon and can be changed overnight. Of course.
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