Let’s say you have a lot of editing work to do and you still want to take a light gaming break to refresh yourself. Is there any device that serves both the purposes and yet swiftly fits into the backpack? Here is, Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN welcomes you to the world of ultrafast and ultraportable notebooks.
Asus boasts it as ‘the world’s thinnest laptop with discrete graphics’. It pops up in premium range but at the lower end. Asus ZenBook 13 price is $999 which is worth for a laptop with the premium graphics chip.
Let’s explore more on Asus ZenBook 13 performance along with design and features here.
ASUS ZENBOOK 13 REVIEW: DESIGN
What to do when you are running out of time, need to attend an after-work party and want to ensure that hair looks good? Here is Asus Zenbook 13 that will serve the purpose of a mirror. Yes, close the lid of the latest Asus thinnest laptop and its glass-like finish will reflect your best quality picture. No pun intended here, just try it once. Asus describes it as ‘a breathtaking work of art’.
Asus boasts ZenBook 13 as ‘the world’s thinnest laptop with discrete graphics’. Source: Asus
Covered in an all-aluminum body, the Asus laptop under $1000 is available in two hues – Slate Grey and Royal Blue. Applying a high-tech nano-imprinted lithography process, both the models get ‘that trendy crystal-like metal finish’.
The 13.3-inch Asus ZenBook 13 is 13.9mm thin and carries the only 1.12kg on shoulders. Its dimensions are 310mm * 216mm * 13.9 mm (W*D*H). And the slim 6.88mm bezel gives 80 percent display to body ratio. However, with similar dimensions, Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre 13 fit in 4mm, and 5.5mm bezels respectively.
Asus laptops are known for their solid built. Contrarily, ZenBook 13 bends when pressed on the lid, keyboard and bottom of the chassis.
ASUS ZENBOOK 13 REVIEW: FEATURES
Asus ZenBook 13 possesses a wide-view technology stretching up to 178 degrees, best for entertainment. Also, the NanoEdge touch screen with 4 K UHD resolutions of 3840 x 2160 pixels is best features for creative professionals and gaming. The display, of course, supports ASUS Pen.
Covered in an all-aluminum body, the Asus ZenBook 13 is available in two hues – Slate Grey and Royal Blue. Source: Asus
The Asus’s latest laptop under $1000 includes an eighth-generation Core i5 8250U Processor, 8GB of RAM, which can go up to 16GB and a 256GB storage space.
Asus’s ‘the world’s thinnest laptop’ claims makes sense when coupled with the integrated graphics chip. It is difficult to employ a premium graphics chip like NVIDIA GeForce MX150 in such a compact frame. On this feature, Asus ZenBook 13 beats the other compact and priced under $1000 laptops. It enables the users to work smoothly on large documents, effortlessly edit HD pictures or movies or play high-powered games without any interruptions.
Calling it the master of ergonomics, the ZenBook 13 keyboard illuminates white backlit. The keys travel a distance of 1.4mm for comfortable typing experience. The fingers set perfectly on the keyboard on the first go. The touchpad is covered with glass fiber and it easily supports multi-finger gestures and handwriting.
Asus has changed the placement of fingerprint sensor on the ZenBook 13 keyboard deck. It is now located under the arrow keys on the right-bottom. The built-in fingerprint sensor in the touchpad and Windows Hello enables a user to log-in without typing a password.
ZenBook 13 dimensions are 310mm * 216mm * 13.9 mm (W*D*H). Source: Asus
Connectivity
The world’s thinnest laptop has multiple connecting points. On the left side, there is an HDMI port, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, and a USB-C 3.1 port. On the other side too, there is another USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port and a point for microSD card reader along with an audio jack.
Though the laptop has Type C connectivity, it doesn’t support Thunderbolt 3. This feature is available in Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre 13. At this point, Asus ZenBook 13 seems less impressive as it is not futuristic. Asus is compelled to add a Thunderbolt 3 supporting port to really hit the competition.
There is a VGA web camera installed, an integrated 802.11 AC (2×2) Wi-Fi feature, and a built-in Bluetooth connectivity in the ZenBook 13.
Battery Life
Coming on to the Asus Zenbook 13 battery life, the 50Wh lithium-polymer battery works up to 14 hours. The fast-charge technology takes 49 minutes to recharge the thinnest laptop to 60% capacity.
The fast-charge technology takes 49 minutes to recharge Asus Zenbook 13 to 60% capacity. Source: Asus
ASUS ZENBOOK 13 REVIEW: PERFORMANCE
Integrated with Windows 10 Pro, Asus ZenBook 13 ranks top in a serious processing power combined with high-quality graphics card laptop category. The modern standby feature in Windows let the customer instantly switch on and off the laptop, similar to the Smartphone.
Subsequently, Asus tells about utilizing a thermal management system to keep the internal components cool. This system works for ZenBook 13 to keep keyboard deck cool and quite. But, the fan sound gets louder as the notebook starts heating up.
The 13.3-inch Asus ZenBook 13 is 13.9 thin and carries only 1.12kg on shoulders. Source: Asus
Technowize Verdict
Proclaimed as ‘the world’s thinnest laptop with discrete graphics’ Asus ZenBook 13 stands parallel with Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre 13 on varied factors, except a sturdy graphics card. ZenBook 13 is an ultralight and ultrafast notebook, though the lack of Thunderbolt 3 support is quite disappointing when it comes to future-friendly connectivity. So when you go to buy a laptop under $1000, it may not be a bad idea to check out other available options in the market.
