ASUS ZenBook 3.
Apple must be feeling exceedingly flattered. The ASUS ZenBook 3 is as close to a MacBook lookalike as we’ve seen, and we don’t even mean that in a disparaging manner.
From its sleek aerospace-grade aluminum alloy chassis to its high-end specifications, the ZenBook 3 already looks set to one-up the MacBook right from the start. For one, it can be equipped with up to an Intel Core i7-7500U processor, whereas you’re stuck with a 4.5 watt Core M chip on the MacBook.
ASUS paid an unprecedented amount of attention to detail with the ZenBook 3, and despite being the fifth ZenBook from the company, it feels like a brand new start to the series.
The ZenBook 3 is the first laptop available locally with Intel’s new Kaby Lake processors, which means it stands to benefit from greatly improved 4K graphics support and battery life when playing multimedia content. This is thanks to a new video block on the graphics engine that provides hardware-accelerated support for encoding and decoding HEVC 10-bit 4K video, which is what most 4K content is encoded in, as well as decoding Google’s VP9 format for 4K YouTube videos.
That aside, performance was zippy in day-to-day use, and we did not encounter any noticeable stutters or slowdowns. In PCMark 8, the ZenBook 3 outstripped the MacBook by a whopping 68 per cent, and was faster than certain Skylake-equipped notebooks by up to 23 per cent. Kaby Lake may not represent a huge jump from Skylake, but there are still decent improvements to be had.
However, power efficiency is where the ZenBook 3 and Kaby Lake really shine. While there was no beating the power-sipping Core M processor on the MacBook, the ZenBook 3 outstripped all our other tested notebooks. The HP Spectre illustrates this point well, where its larger 46Wh battery still failed to outlast the 40Wh pack on the ZenBook 3.
The 12.5-inch screen on the ASUS notebook has a modest 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution, and while that’s not the most pixel-dense screen around, it is still plenty sharp. The thinner bezels are also a welcome departure from the thicker ones on past models like the ZenBook UX305. Reflections from overhead lighting may be an issue because of the glossy display, but the 300-nit panel should be bright enough to mitigate that.
The display itself also isn’t touchsensitive, perhaps because enabling that would require extra hardware and add to the thickness of the notebook. This is one of the thinnest and lightest notebooks around, measuring just 11.9mm thick and weighing a meager 910g. If you’re looking for a powerful, ultra-portable notebook, this is right up your alley.
ASUS went through quite a few engineering contortions to cram the 15 watt Core i7 chip into a design this slim. The cooling apparatus is only 3mm thin, and the fan is made from a liquid crystal polymer that enables the blades to be a mere 0.3mm thick. Warm air is channeled away through hidden vents in the hinge, thus maximizing the use of available space and allowing for quiet and effective cooling in such a thin design.
CONCLUSION
A powerful and sleek-looking notebook for those who prize portability above all else.
Of course, the svelte build does come with certain trade-offs. Like the MacBook, the ZenBook 3 has just one USB-C port for charging and all your connectivity needs (it also has a 3.5mm headphone jack). The most glaring limitation of this is that you won’t be able to both charge and connect the notebook to an external drive, which could be a problem for power users.
There is also no Thunderbolt 3 support, but the USB 3.1 standard still enables maximum transfer speeds of up to 5Gbps and display output.
That said, ASUS is clearly aware of these limitations, and the notebook comes bundled with an ASUS Mini Dock, which gives you an extra USB 3.1 Type-C port, one USB 3.0 Type-A port, and a full-sized HDMI connector.
Naturally, the keyboard isn’t the greatest. It offers just 0.8mm of key travel, and the typing experience is just what you’d expect from a notebook this thin. Still, it’s by no means horrible, and it’s just one of those things that you’ll learn to live with.
PICTURES ASUS.
