ASUS Zenbook 13 (UX333) Hands-On, First Impressions

First released in 2018, ASUS has re-introduced their Zenbook 13 lineup, this time adding a sleek, elegant shade of Burgundy Red. We did a quick hands-on of this small, lightweight, yet powerful ultrabook. Check it out!

As mentioned, it’s a compact laptop that looks and feels premium. It’s incredibly small, to the point that it’s smaller than an A4 paper (yes, we measured!) Despite being small, it packs pretty big features! You could say it’s pretty much a little giant among laptops.

The Zenbook 13 we have on my hands came in the flavors of Royal Blue and the stunning Burgundy Red. It has a spun-metal finish on the outside, with the Royal Blue one having a gold accent while the Burgundy Red has a silver one. Opening up the lid, we’re greeted by a similar shade of the laptop’s outer body, this time in a matte finish.

The screen is surrounded by slim bezels, apart from the lower part that’s a little thicker than the other three sides. One thing to note is the trim bar; it hides the slightly thicker lower bezel, giving the impression that the Zenbook 13 has an almost full-screen display. The upper portion of the screen also houses the laptop’s webcam.

One of the Zenbook 13’s key features is its ErgoLift Hinge. True to its name, it slightly lifts the body of the laptop, putting less strain on the wrists and hands of users when typing. As for the keyboard itself, the keys are tactile and are quiet when typing on them, even at a fast pace.

The trackpad is rather broad, responsive, and has a glass layer on top. Looking closely at the upper right corner, one can see a small icon. Pressing the icon will enable the virtual NumPad on the surface of the touchpad. Choosing the Royal Blue version will have the NumPad’s light in white while the Burgundy Red has a pink one. The trackpad functions can still be used even with the NumPad enabled.

The speakers of the Zenbook 13 are located at the bottom. Thanks to the ErgoLift Hinge, the Harman Kardon speakers provide a rather loud sound, bouncing off any surface that the laptop may be placed on. Their cooling system located at the back has improved thanks to the new ErgoLift technology. If you’ve seen the 2017 ZenBook models, then you’ll know how the hinge blocks the airways of the vents, preventing them to disperse heat properly.

Even with its compact size, the Zenbook 13 houses a number of ports on each side. On the left, there’s the charging port, HDMI port, a USB Type-A port, and a USB-C port. An audio jack, a microSD card slot, and another USB Type-A port are situated on the right side.

The Zenbook 13 is powered by an 8th Generation Intel Core i5 Processor and runs on either NVIDIA GeForce MX150 or GTX 1050 Max-Q graphics. It comes with 8GB RAM and has storage options of 256GB/512GB/1TB. Users may have their SSDs upgraded in ASUS service centers should they wish to do so.

Overall, the ASUS Zenbook 13 is small in size but relatively big in power. It’s perfect for those looking to do things on the fly; it’s incredibly lightweight and fits in any bag that’s as big as an A4 size paper. No need to lug around huge laptop bags with this little one.  The body is solid and excellent, the display is pretty, the keyboard and trackpad are decent, it can run heavy programs, and let’s face it, that NumPad is rather attractive. If you’re looking for a replacement for your larger laptop, definitely consider the ASUS Zenbook 13 in your picks. However, we’ve yet to take it for a full spin to see how well it performs. Stay tuned!

ASUS Zenbook 13 UX333 specs:

• 13.3″ 1920×1080 16:9 resolution, 95% screen-to-body ratio
• 8th-Gen Intel Core i5 processor
• NVIDIA GeForce MX150 / GTX 1050 Max-Q
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB/512GB/1TB storage
• Windows 10 Home/Pro
• Backlit keyboard
• Harman Kardon speakers
• 1x USB 2.0 Type-A
• 1x USB 3.1 Type-A
• 1x USB-C Gen 2
• 1x HDMI port
• microSD Card Slot
• DC Jack
• 3.5mm audio jack
• NumPad
• ErgoLift Hinge
• WiFi 802.11ac
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 50Wh
• 303 x 189 x 16.9mm
• 1.09kg

Variants of the ASUS Zenbook 13 are priced as follows:

• ASUS Zenbook 13 UX333 (No NumPad) – PHP 54,995USD 937INR 79,446EUR 893CNY 6,825
• ASUS Zenbook 13 UX33 (NVIDIA GeForce MX150 / 256GB / No NumPad) – PHP 63,995USD 1,090INR 92,447EUR 1,039CNY 7,942
• ASUS Zenbook 13 (with NumPad) – PHP 66,995USD 1,142INR 96,781EUR 1,087CNY 8,314

The ASUS Zenbook 13 is available in all ASUS Concept Stores nationwide.