ASUS ZenBook UX433 – Review: What the MacBook Air should have been!

ASUS ZenBook 14 UX433 is the new symbol of thin and light laptops. ZenBook 14 is incredibly thin, at just 0.63″ and weighs just over 1kg. The ZenBook comes with a 14″ display. Would you believe if I say that the laptop is just a little bit bigger than an A4 size paper? This one is thinner and lighter than Apple’s 2018 MacBook Air, yet, it comes with bigger display. Read on to know more how the real world performance of ASUS ZenBook 14 is.

Specification

• Upto Intel® Core™ i7-8565U processor

• NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 GPU.
• 14” FullHD display with 92% screen to body ratio.
• Up to 16GB 2133MHz DDR4 onboard
• Up to 1TB PCIe® SSD
• 1x Type-C™ USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Thunderbolt™ 3), 1 x Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 2, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Combo audio jack, 1 x MicroSD card slot.
• Full-size backlit, with 1.5mm key travel
• 3D IR HD webcam.
• Dual-band 802.11ac gigabit-class Wi-Fi.
• Bluetooth 5.0.
• 50Wh battery, up to 12 hour battery life.
• Weight: 1.09 kg
• Dimension : 12.56″ x 7.83″ x 0.63″

ASUS ZenBook UX433 vs MacBook Air

The 13″ MacBook Air is priced at ₹1,14,900, priced lot higher than the UX433. The Air comes with a dual core i7 chip, 8GB of RAM, 128GB SSD, ASUS ZenBook UX433 on the other hand comes with Quad core Core i7 chip, Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card, 14″ FullHD display with extremely thin bezels, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of SSD. Unlike MacBook Air that only has two USB Type-C ports, the new ZenBook comes with wide range of ports (USB Type-C, Type-A, HDMI, microSD card reader etc). Yet, the 14″ ZenBook UX433 has dimensions very similar to that of the MacBook Air. Even at battery life, the ZenBook betters MacBook Air. In short, there is no comparison between the two.

Design

The ASUS ZenBook 14 UX433 has MIL-STD-810G military rated durability. When I hold the notebook, this is evident. When I open the lid or push the lid, there is no flex at all. Even when I am typing the laptop while it is places on my lap, the lid does not flex or shake. I even shook the laptop while holding the base and the lid was solid. This is mainly due to powerful hinges that hold the lid to the base and high quality metal uni-body shell.

The UX433 comes in Royal Blue, Icicle Silver colors and the review unit dons Royal Blue color. Without any doubt, this is the better color. The golden trim panel above the keyboard at the top of the base goes really well with the blue shell and it gives a classy look to the ZenBook. The golden trim panel has ASUS ZenBook logo etched at the centre. To the left, there are couple of ports (headphone jack, full size HDMI, USB Type-C and Type-A USB). There is nothing at the front and on the right side, there are microSD card slot, USB Type-A, audio input ports. Power and battery indicators too are on the right side. We cannot expect any ports on the back side as the lid goes under the base to create slight lift that helps typing. ASUS calls this ErgoLift.

The ErgoLift hinge slightly raises the laptop when the lid is open, creating better airflow for the internals, increasing component life.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard comes with six rows of keys. Though the laptop is housed in such a small shell, the keys size is comfortable, spacing is much smaller (as expected). The 1.4mm key travel is very good. In first 10fastfinger typing test, I was above to hit 86 words per minute and it went up to 90wpm. 90wpm is usually the minimum that I hit when I use a normal laptop or desktop keyboard. The only gripe for me about this laptop is the position of the power key.

Given that ASUS had to cram a 14″ display and full size keyboard into a 13″ body, the trackpad is of relatively small size. What makes the trackpad special though is the built in number pad function. NumberPad solves the age-old problem of the lack of a numeric keypad on compact laptops. Tap the NumberPad icon at the top right corner of the touchpad, and an illuminated numeric keypad appears. Tap the icon again to return to normal touchpad mode — it’s not magic, but it’s close! With NumberPad you can quickly perform data entry or calculations, and in touchpad mode the glass covering provides super-smooth and precise fingertip control with multitouch gesture support.

Display

With 92% screen to body ratio, the ZenBook UX433 display is surrounded by minimal bezels that are just 2.9mm thin. The review unit comes with semi glossy display and there is no glare yet the clarity of glossy display is there. Thanks to IPS panel, there is no change in colors even if you look at it from 178 degree angle. Also, the display supports 100% sRGB color gamut, making it ideal for content creators. As usual, Windows looks stunning on this display. Turn on Windows Spotlight and every time you turn the screen on, you will see stunning lock screen wallpapers, accentuating NanoEdge display. The bummer though is that the display is not a touch screen. Given that I use a Yoga at work, I miss touch capability, especially given that the laptop is strongly in ultrabook category.

When I first saw the Dell XPS 13 with InfinityEdge display, I was in awe. Among all those thin bezel laptops in the market, I believe the XPS 13 is the only real competition to the ASUS ZenBook 14 UX433. While the XPS 13 is smaller than UX433, with smaller bezels, the UX433 comes with better configuration and also costs less. The best part is that the UX433 has the webcam above the display. ASUS has added IR scanner that works like FaceID so that you can unlock your notebook by scanning your face. This is lot more secure than typical face scan that relies on camera. After registering my face, the laptop logs in the moment you open the lid and you can see two IR sensors blinking on either side of camera.

Connectivity

Even though the ASUS ZenBook UX433 is ultra-thin, there are enough number of ports. The addition of microSD card slot is a big positive as it is easier to transfer content from a camera (where one can use hybrid card) and then copy the same using microSD card.

ASUS ZenBook UX433 is equipped with gigabit class Wi-FI, powered by
ASUS Wi-Fi Master technology. With supporting router, one can hit up to 1734Mbps Wi-Fi speed, 12 times faster than 802.11n. As expected, the notebook supports dual band Wi-Fi. In ideal conditions, the ZenBook can catch signal as far as 300 metres from the router (without interference).

Audio Quality

The built in stereo speakers of ASUS ZenBook UX433 are very good and will do the job of watching movies etc at home. There is good amount of bass too, surprising for such a thin and lightweight laptop. ASUS worked with engineers at harman/kardon to deliver best possible audio experience on this ultrabook.

Battery Life

For those who travel a lot, the ASUS ZenBook UX433 is the perfect companion. I took this one to my native when I was on a four day trip. Never did I feel the weight of the laptop. The super thin body meant that I could stuff more in my bag. Also, the build in battery could easily last 5-8 hours depending on how you use it. I had used the UX533 from morning till like 4pm, mainly for blogging and browsing and I surprised that it did last this long. If I turn on full performance mode, I get 2-3 hour battery life, which again is very good.

Performance and Benchmarks

Thanks to the dual core Intel Core i7, fast SSD and GeForce MX150, the ASUS ZenBook UX433 breezes through day to day work. I had multiple tabs open in firefox, had other apps were open. There was absolutely no lag. File copy, file compression etc operations were quick. What you cannot make this laptop win is benchmark contest. This laptop is designed to half perfect balance between speed, battery life and portability. From my usage, it felt exactly that way. Here are few benchmarks that I ran on this laptop.

Conclusion

I still remember the first laptop that I used, the IBM Thinkpad T410. 2.3kgs weight and 1.1-1.3″ thick. And my colleagues who had older ThinkPad laptops saw this one and felt that it was unbelievably thin and light weight. Yes, back in 2004, 2.3kg laptop was considered lightweight. That was the time when laptop bags were as heavy as school bags. Weight of laptops gradually started to come down. After almost half a decade, I got T430 in office and the T430 was the first laptop that I felt was actually ‘thin and light’. Yet, for next many years, though the weight of laptop came down, they were still big. Till Dell XPS and ASUS ZenBook series came out. Dell’s InfinityEdge and ASUS NanoEdge have redefined laptop design.

There are laptops and then there are laptops that redefine the industry. ASUS’s new ZenBook series is one such breed. Gone will be those days when you either get a Windows laptop that is either small but weak or big and powerful. ASUS ZenBook UX433 is made to last long and breeze through day to day work.

ASUS ZenBook 14 UX433 comes with may useful features that are not aesthetic. MIL-STD-810 military grade certification, given after performing series of tests designed by U.S. military to test limits of equipment in various conditions.But, do note that this does not mean that you can throw your laptop across the room and expect it to not have a single scratch.

The IR scanner unlocks UX433 the moment you sit in the chair and click on power key. the 92% body to ratio display is gorgeous, dual speakers generate great sound and the battery lasts long, really long, ting tong!

If you are in the market looking for a laptop that is small, powerful and lasts long, look no further. The ASUS ZenBook UX433 is the best one for you.