The ASUS ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA is a fascinating piece of hardware. It represents a significant pivot for ASUS ExpertBook series, moving their business flagship into the “Copilot+ PC” era with Intel’s latest Panther Lake architecture.
Having spent more than two weeks with it—specifically the Core Ultra x7 358H variant with 32GB of LPDDR5X-8533 and a blazing 2TB Samsung PM9E1 Gen 5 SSD—I’ve put together a comprehensive review.
A Glimpse into the Future of Business Portables
The “B9” name has always been synonymous with two things: lightness and utility. However, with the 2026 ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA, ASUS is attempting to add “absolute performance” and “cutting-edge AI” to that list. But does the pursuit of ultra-thin perfection come with too many compromises? Let’s dive into the details.
Build Quality: Magnesium, Aluminum, and Nano Ceramics
The first thing you notice when picking up the ExpertBook Ultra is the weight—or lack thereof. Starting at just 0.99kg, it feels almost like a mock-up until you open the lid. ASUS has utilized a Magnesium-Aluminum (Mg-Al) alloy for the chassis, but they’ve added a unique twist: a Nano Ceramic coating.
This isn’t just marketing fluff. The finish gives the laptop a slightly textured, stone-like feel that is significantly more robust than the “plastic-y” sensation often found in ultra-light magnesium builds. It’s incredibly resistant to fingerprints and scratches (rated at 9H durability), making it one of the few laptops I’m comfortable tossing into a bag without a sleeve.
The Display: Tandem OLED Brilliance
The crown jewel of this machine is undoubtedly the 14-inch Tandem OLED display. At a resolution of 2880 x 1800 (16:10) and a 120Hz refresh rate, it’s a visual treat.
The “Tandem” part of the name refers to the dual-layer OLED structure. In practice, this means it hits a staggering 1400 nits of peak HDR brightness while consuming up to 40% less power than traditional OLED panels. Whether I was working on technical articles or reviewing 4K HDR footage, the color depth (100% DCI-P3) and contrast were spectacular. Even in bright office environments, the matte finish on the glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus) does an excellent job of killing reflections without making the screen look “grainy.” It is also especially useful at “rejecting” fingerprints since the display is a touch screen.
Input Experience: Keyboard vs. Haptic Touchpad
ASUS consistently nails their business keyboards, and the ExpertBook Ultra is no exception. With 1.5mm of key travel, the typing feedback is tactile, precise, and satisfying for long-form writing. It feels stable, with zero deck flex even when I’m typing aggressively to meet a deadline.
The haptic touchpad is a massive 110 cm² glass surface. The haptic feedback itself is excellent—mimicking a physical click with adjustable intensity. This makes clicking consistent on the entire touchpad surface. However, I did found a design quirk that might divide users. ASUS has left the bottom half of the touchpad’s internal glass surface somewhat “exposed” or integrated into the edge design.
As someone who tends to rest my palms at the very edge of the laptop, this caused some software confusion. The palm rejection is good, but resting a thumb or palm at that specific edge often triggered accidental multi-touch gestures. I would have preferred a more traditional, recessed border to act as a physical “dead zone.”
IO and Connectivity
Despite being only 10.9mm thin, ASUS has managed to fit a proper selection of ports:
- 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) for charging and high-speed data.
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (a rarity in this thickness).
- 1x HDMI 2.1 port.
- 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack.
Having two USB-A ports on a 1kg laptop is a godsend for those of us still using legacy wireless dongles or high-speed thumb drives without needing a hub.
Security and the ExpertMeet Suite
As a business flagship, security is baked in at the hardware level. It features a Match-on-Chip fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button and an IR webcam for Windows Hello facial recognition. It also includes the Microsoft Pluton security processor for chip-to-cloud protection.
The webcam itself is a 1080p FHD sensor supported by ASUS ExpertPanel & ExpertMeet suite of software.
They are genuinely useful for conference calls, offering AI-driven noise cancellation and even screen watermarking—a niche but valuable feature for sharing confidential slides during a video call.
Performance and Battery Life
With the Intel Core Ultra x7 358H and Intel Arc B390 graphics, the performance is stellar for a thin-and-light.
CPU Performance: Intel Core Ultra x7 358H
The “x” in x7 358H is the key. Unlike the standard “U” series chips found in some thin-and-lights, this Panther Lake-H chip uses a 16-core (4P + 8E + 4LP-E) configuration.
- Multi-Core Power: It is roughly 35-40% faster than the previous Lunar Lake (Series 2) chips in multi-threaded tasks like video rendering or heavy Excel crunching.
- The AI NPU (NPU 5): The NPU alone delivers 50 TOPS, meeting the “Copilot+ PC” requirement for local AI features (like live captions, Co-creator, and the ASUS ExpertPanel features). When combined with the GPU, the platform TOPS hits 170-180, making it a beast for local LLMs or AI-assisted photo editing in Lightroom.
Graphics: Intel Arc B390 (Xe3 Battlemage)
This is where the biggest leap occurred. The B390 iGPU (12 Xe3 Cores) is a massive upgrade over the previous Alchemist graphics.
- Gaming Benchmarks: In 1080p gaming, the B390 is trading blows with the NVIDIA RTX 3050 Laptop GPU (60W) and is consistently 15-20% faster than AMD’s Radeon 890M.
- Modern Features: It supports XeSS 3.0, which includes AI Frame Generation. This means you can actually play titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Forza Horizon 5 at 1080p High settings with smooth frame rates—something previously unthinkable on a 1kg business laptop.
- Pro Workflow: For those who plan to do light video editing, this GPU handles 4K video timelines with ease thanks to improved hardware encoding for AV1.
Storage: The Samsung “Presto” Speed Demon
The Samsung MZVLC2T0HBLD (PM9E1) is one of the fastest SSDs currently in production.
- Throughput: Sequential reads of up to 14,500 MB/s. To put that in perspective, it’s twice as fast as the best Gen 4 drives (like the 990 Pro) and nearly 30 times faster than a SATA SSD.
- Practical Impact: Game levels load almost instantly, and moving 100GB of 8K footage takes less than 10 seconds (provided the source is equally fast).
- Efficiency: Because it’s built on a 5nm process, it doesn’t throttle as quickly as first-generation Gen 5 drives, though in a chassis this thin, you’ll still see it warm up during a 1TB transfer.
Efficiency & Thermal Reality
Because the Intel Core Ultra x7 358H is manufactured on the Intel 18A process, it manages its power much better than the 14th Gen chips.
- Balanced vs. Performance: In “Balanced” mode, it sips power to give you that “all-day” battery life you mentioned. However, to get the full 4.8 GHz boost and 14,500 MB/s SSD speeds, you generally need to be plugged into the 90W charger.
- Acoustics: ASUS tuned the B9 to be silent. During your “business” usage (tabs and writing), the fans likely aren’t even spinning. You’ll only hear them if you fire up a game or render a video.
The 70Wh battery is the MVP here. ASUS claims 24 hours of life, but in my real-world testing—browsing, writing, and emailing with the HDR display active—I consistently got a full 8-to-10-hour workday out of it. I’ve reached a point where I don’t even pack the 90W USB-C charger for a day at the café, which is the ultimate compliment for any portable machine.
Verdict
The ASUS ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA is a masterclass in material science and display technology. It is incredibly fast, impossibly light, and lasts a full day on a charge. At RM9,999, the ASUS ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA is an investment in the future of mobile work. While it faces stiff competition from the usual suspects in the premium space, the combination of the Tandem OLED and the raw efficiency of the Panther Lake architecture makes it a unique proposition for local professionals who refuse to carry a charger. If you can look past the slight hinge quirk and that exposed display cable, this is arguably the most advanced business laptop you can buy in Malaysia today.
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