When ASUS said they are going to offer a compact 13-inch laptop that boasts powerful specs, a lot of techies were immediately hooked. Just how far can the company take an ultrabook that is arguably the smallest of its kind? Meet the ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN, and read on to see what we think!
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| ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN Review; Great Thing In Small Package |
PHYSICAL:
The ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN is one of the smaller and lighter members of the current ZenBook series. Its main selling point is the 16.9mm x 302mm x 189mm body -- smaller than an A4 paper -- that weighs only around 1.19 kilograms. The device is crazy light that you can carry it in one hand for quite a long time. This also makes it the perfect laptop to lug around anywhere without sacrificing your back.
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| ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN in Royal Metal Blue |
The UX333FN is dressed with a spun-metal finish on the lid that gave it this sleek, classy look. It comes in three different colors: Burgundy Red Metal, Royal Blue and Icicle Silver. However, I personally am not a fan of this as I prefer matte finishes that do not attract as much smudges and fingerprints as this one did.
Upon opening the laptop, you'll immediately notice the difference between its keyboard and the other keyboards out there. It is noticeably smaller, a sacrifice that ASUS made to remain true to the dainty chassis. This is a bit of a learning curve, especially for someone who is used to typing on regular PC keyboards. I struggled with the power button being so close to the delete and backspace buttons. I had two mini heart attacks after turning off the laptop while I was doing some heavy video editing stuff. There were also one too many times that I had typo errors owing to this tiny feature, but it gets better once you get used to it so it's not a deal breaker.
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| The Asus ZenBook 13 UX333FN sports a compact keyboard |
The backlight is another handy feature, which can easily be adjusted by pressing Fn+F7.
See Also: 5 Reasons Why You Should Consider Getting the ASUS ZenBook 13
It also has a trick up its sleeve. The track pad doubles as a NumberPad, which is very convenient, especially for those who deal with numbers often on their machines. Just tap the number pad icon and it will appear, complete with numbers and legends.
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| Asus ZenBook 13 UX333FN Ports and ErgoLift Hinge |
I gushed about the lightweight construction of the device, but the next best thing that I found was the ErgoLift Hinge. It promised to go the extra mile for comfort and it delivered. When you lift it open, the hinge automatically tilts the keyboard to give the best typing experience while giving the laptop chance to cool down and enhancing its audio performance.
DISPLAY:
Among the many impressive things about this compact ultrabook is its display. The 13.3-inch screen squeezed in a body of a 12-inch notebook is truly a thing of beauty. The NanoEdge design makes for more immersive and less distracting visuals. The ultraslim bezels1 are just 2.8mm thin at the sides, 3.3mm at the bottom and a mere 5.9mm at the top to accommodate the 3D IR HD camera.
The IPS display has a 1920x1080 full HD resolution and promises 100% sRGB color gamut, which assured that the images seen on screen are true to its colors. We used the laptop a lot for photo and video editing, and it did not disappoint in terms of the color. Its Anti-Glare coating is also super helpful when working outdoors.
PERFORMANCE:
Inside is Intel Core i5-8265U processor, NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2GB GPU, 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM, and a 512GB PCIe 3.0 x2 SSD. This looks good on paper, but did it really translate well in real life?
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| The ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN in Burgundy Red Metal |
The answer is definitely yes. We tested out the laptop for multi-tasking and it rose to the challenge. Not once did I experience any lag when it comes to browsing the web, even though I opened about 10 tabs at once.
It also ran very smoothly on Windows Explorer and took mere seconds to open a number of multimedia files for preview, including large photos and videos.
Also Read: ASUS ZenBook 13 Burgundy Red Hands-on and Initial Impression
Even when I used it under pressure for a lot of Adobe Premiere Pro editing, I did not notice it slowing down. Video rendering of a typical unboxing vlog took about as long as the video rendering, meaning three for three minutes.
I noticed it running a bit hot when immersed in multimedia editing, but it did not go overboard.
The speaker, which is developed by experts at Harman Kardon, was shockingly loud, especially for such a small device. Sound is not distorted at normal volumes, but pushing it to its highest level has downsides.
In terms of connectivity, the ASUS ZenBook 13 comes with a DC Input, a full-sized HDMI port, a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port, and a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port that is not Thunderbolt 3 capable on the right side. On the left, it sports a single USB 2.0 Type-A port, a MicroSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, and charging and HDD lights.
BATTERY:
ASUS promised that its 50Whrs 3-cell Li-ion battery could run up to 14 hours. In our test, the laptop lasted about eight hours on a single charge with a lot of browsing and editing tasks.
It also filled up the juice pretty quickly, taking just about two hours to fully charge for the next round of use.
FINAL WORDS:
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| ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN |
As the saying goes, good things come in small packages. Such is true for the ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN. Its performance is competitive enough, but coupled with its super compact and lightweight body, this premium ultrabook may just be the perfect one for many users out there. You can bring this device practically anywhere you want and it will fit into your bags just fine. However, you might have to save up a little for this as it is priced at Php66,995. But honestly, this notebook is well worth every buck.
ASUS ZenBook 13 UX333FN Specs (Philippines):
- 13.3-inch Ultra Slim FHD (1920 x 1080) display, NanoEdge
- Dimensions: 16.9mm x 302mm x 189mm
- Weight: 1.19kg (with 3 cell battery)
- Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8265U
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2GB GDDR5
- RAM: 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3
- Storage: 512GB SSD PCIe 3.0 x2 SSD
- Ports: 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x USB 3.1 Type-A, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x HDMI, 1x MicroSD Card Reader, 1x audio jack
- WiFi 802.11 ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Full-Size Backlit keyboard
- NumberPad
- Battery: 50WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion
- 3D IR Camera
- Color: Burgundy Red Metal, Royal Blue and Icicle Silver
- Price: Php66,995