Ultra-thin Asus ZenPad 3S 10 coming soon to the US, possibly for $299

Asus today announced that it's ready to launch its ZenPad 3S 10 tablet in the US. The company says the slate is arriving "this month", but we're pretty sure that this actually means sometime in November, since October - this month - is ending today.

Already available to buy in some European and Asian markets, the Asus ZenPad 3S 10 has a premium design - thanks to a 5.8mm-thin aluminum body and a 78% screen-to-body ratio. The tablet can be seen as a more affordable alternative to the Apple iPad Air, not just because of its premium look, but also because it sports a similar a 9.7-inch IPS display with 1536 x 2048 pixels and 264 ppi.

The ZenPad 3S 10 is powered by a hexa-core MediaTek MT8176 processor, further featuring a fingerprint scanner, dual speakers with DTS HD Premium Sound, 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB or 64 GB of internal memory, and a 5900 mAh battery with quick charging. The new tablet has an 8 MP camera on the back, plus a 5 MP camera on the front, and runs Android 6.0 Marhsmallow (with an update to Android 7.0 Nougat likely arriving after launch). A Z Stylus Pen will be offered separately, at extra cost.

Asus didn't reveal the price of the ZenPad 3S 10 for the US market, but retailer B&H suggests that the 64 GB model will cost $299. This will be the second tablet that Asus is launching in the US this fall, following the Verizon-exclusive ZenPad Z10. Any takers?