Asus Pulls the Plug on Arc B390 ROG Zephyrus G14, Leaving Intel in the Dark

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 made a notable appearance among this year’s top gaming laptops at CES last week. If you were among the early attendees, you might have caught a glimpse of a unique model at the Intel booth. Teased late last year, a version of the 2026 G14 powered exclusively by Intel Panther Lake processors was showcased during the initial hours of the event before being quickly whisked away.

Asus opted to demonstrate the new G14 using the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics, skipping the addition of a dedicated Nvidia GPU for maximum performance. However, it seems this project was scrapped at the last moment.

Reports indicate that the integrated graphics laptop was prominently displayed at Intel’s CES booth, even after Asus had removed it from its own lineup. The device vanished entirely shortly thereafter. This machine was first identified on Geekbench mid-last year and had undergone press testing in December, confirming its existence before it seemingly disappeared.

Asus has previously dabbled in integrated graphics, notably with the AMD Ryzen AI Max 390 featuring Radeon 8050S graphics in the Asus ROG Flow Z13. This device stands out as one of the best gaming tablets available, showcasing impressive performance and stability during testing.

While integrated graphics are on the rise, the cancellation of the Intel Arc B390 version of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 highlights that we’re not quite ready to move away from discrete GPUs just yet. My experience with last year’s Flow Z13 was eye-opening, as it handled modern games with surprising ease.

This tablet managed to run everything from Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to Avowed without a hitch, despite its price tag reaching up to $2,799.99. The tablet form factor benefits significantly from integrated graphics, and the best gaming handhelds are demonstrating the capabilities of these chips.

However, gaming laptops may take a bit longer to fully embrace this shift. While the reasons behind the abandonment of the Intel-only Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 remain unclear, it’s easy to envision a future where more budget-friendly gaming laptops become a reality.

I keep a close eye on the latest gaming laptop deals, and one trend has become evident over the past year: finding a solid RTX 50-Series machine around the $1,000 mark is much tougher than it was for the RTX 40-Series. If integrated graphics can match the performance of lower-end discrete GPUs at a more affordable price, count me in.

Currently, I’m exploring the range of Asus gaming laptops available and comparing them with the best Razer and Alienware options for some variety.