Unboxing the Asus ZenBook 13

In celebration of Asus Philippines’ 11th anniversary in the country, they have aptly released the first consumer laptop powered with the latest and much-anticipated 11^th Gen Intel Processor, making them the first PC brand in the Philippines to accomplish such a feat. The ZenBook 13 UX325, priced at P54,995, is perfectly built for young professionals as it boasts a blend of power and premium design. 

Design

Covered in an all-metal material, the ZenBook 13 comes in either a pine grey or a lilac mist-colored hue, giving off a calm and peaceful aesthetic. Furthermore, the laptop is both conveniently sized at 13.9mm thin and weighs 1.11kg, ideal for any young and mobile professional. Despite its slim frame and light weight, it has met the MIL-STD-810G US Military standard for reliability and durability, which consists of survival in harsh environments, power-on drop tests and operation at extreme altitudes and temperatures.

The ZenBook 13 is also the world’s thinnest 13-inch laptop with a full set of I/O ports for versatile connectivity, including a USB-A port and a micro-SD card reader on the right side, 2 USB-C ports and an HDMI port on the left. Its 2 USB-C ports are powered by Thunderbolt 4 for fast charging, 4k UHD external displays and up to 40GB/s data transfer.

Another feature of the ZenBook 13 is its exclusive Asus NumberPad 2.0 that functions as a touchpad with an integrated LED-illuminated numeric keypad, extremely practical for any number-crunching professional. Even while the NumberPad 2.0 is activated and in use, the touchpad can still be used for cursor control. Its keyboard, meanwhile, has both a simple and an ergonomic edge-to-edge design. For added comfort and functionality, the keyboard has a full-size backlight with 1.4mm key travels.

In terms of design, the ZenBook 13 has an ErgoLift hinge that lifts its rear in order to improve typing position, optimize the cooling of the device and enhance audio quality.

Under the hood

The headlining feature of the ZenBook 13 is its 11^th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 Processor, which is advantageous for productivity, multitasking and entertainment. The processor is further complimented with the new Intel Iris X Graphics for high-quality visuals, superb all-around performance, and a transformational GPU to support both an immersive gaming experience and greater speeds for designers and creators. For swift and easy data transferring between devices, the ZenBook is also equipped with the latest Intel Wi-Fi 6 (902.11ax) which allows 4 times more network capacity, up to 75% lower latency, and is 3 times faster than the previous generation.

The ZenBook 13 has a battery capacity of 67Wh, which translates to around 15 hours of total battery life. With its Fast-Charge feature, the laptop can restore up to 60% battery capacity in only 49 minutes. It also has a sufficient storage capacity at 512GB for those with multiple files and data.

Its Asus SonicMaster stereo system is certified by audio specialists Harman Kardon for an excellent sound for both entertainment and communications purposes. For a convenient experience when logging into the laptop, the ZenBook 13 also has an integrated infrared (IR) camera for fast and reliable face recognition with Windows Hello. Moreover, even if the user’s surroundings may be dim, the IR will not have a problem with low lighting and will still operate soundly.

The ZenBook 13 also features next-level AI noise-canceling audio technology to ensure the best experience and quality, especially with the recent rise in the use of work and video conferences. Its ClearVoice Mic feature normalizes individual voices and filters out ambient noises for optimum group conference-call quality, while its ClearVoice Speaker feature filters out ambient noise from both human speech and surrounding areas for a clear and precise sound quality.

Display

The ZenBook 13 has a four-sided NanoEdge display with slim bezels (2.9mm side bezel and 12.9mm bottom bezel) which result in an impressive 88% screen-to-body ratio. Its screen is 13.3 inches with Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution at a 16:9 aspect ratio. It also features an anti-glare screen that can reach up to 300nits brightness.

So that’s the rundown of the key specs and features of the ASUS Zenbook 13. From what has been previewed so far in this article it seems to be a quality all-around work companion and great for the young professionals out there. Stay tuned for our full review to know more about this exciting new laptop from ASUS.