ASUS ZenBook UX305UA 13.3-Inch Laptop (6th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10), Titanium Gold

I wanted to post my thoughts on the switch from a retina MacBook to this ZenBook.

I’m aware that I’m comparing an almost 00 machine to a 0 one, but honestly overall I feel that it’s not that big of a difference, other than the processing power and memory, of course.

First impressions

I didn’t like the initial start up to be honest. It seemed kind of buggy and didn’t have a very sensible user-flow. That might sound picky, but I really like how Apple handles the start ups, it just seems like they put a lot of care and thought into your first experience with the machine. I didn’t get that with the ASUS. I was taken to the same screen multiple times that read something like "We are setting things up for you. This shouldn’t take long." After it asked me for some info, it took me back to the same screen. This happened probably 2 or 3 times. Again, super picky and not a huge deal, but the first experience with the computer was just kind of "meh."

Quality

Overall I think the computer is made beautifully. I love the aluminum and the color, and the size is incredibly sleek. I love the way it looks. The screen opens beautifully from a closed position without lifting the bottom, which is not always the case for a laptop this size. It’s sounds like a small thing but I really enjoy that aspect of it.

Trackpad

One of the first and biggest differences I noticed about the computer was the trackpad. I’m a huge fan of the MacBook trackpad – it’s incredibly smooth and highly responsive. The ASUS trackpad feels much cheaper and requires a much stronger touch to get a response. Definitely will take some getting used to.

Keyboard

Honestly I expected worse. I read several reviews complaining about the lackluster keyboard, but I really don’t mind it much at all. It’s easy to type with, comfortable spacing and the keys feel like they’re pretty quality. I do still prefer the MacBook keyboard, but the ZenBook keyboard really isn’t bad at all. One thing I do miss is the music control keys on the F7-F10 (or whatever it is) keys. On the ZenBook you can’t control your music with the keyboard (as far as I can tell) and as an avid music listener this is kind of a bummer.

Screen

This was one of my biggest concerns. I had a retina display on the 15 inch, and I loved it. I was also worried about the ZenBook having a matte display instead of a glossy one. But honestly, I kind of like it after I’ve been looking at it for a couple of days. The glare is virtually non-existent, and the 1080 screen at 13 inches is plenty of clarity. Of course it’s not as clear as the rMBP, but it’s pretty damn close to my eye.

Operating System

I thought this was going to be one of the biggest adjustments to make. I’ve been a Mac user for the past 7 or 8 years, so my last experience with Windows I think was Windows XP. That being said, Windows 10 isn’t too bad at all. It’s very user friendly, and honestly wasn’t a very big adjustment and I’m fairly used to it after a few hours of using. I do miss some of the trackpad gestures on the MacBook (like using two fingers instead of clicking the back button to go back in the browser), but there are some useful gestures on here as well, and I’m still learning them as I play around with it.

Speakers

Probably one of my biggest gripes with this machine is the speakers. Granted it is a pretty small computer, but it’s just not very loud at all. The sound is pretty tinny. I was aware of this before as many reviewers have mentioned it as well, but I thought I’d throw it in there. I mostly use headphones, so it’s not a huge deal.

Overall thoughts

For the value I’m getting with this computer, I’m very happy. I spent a fraction of the price and got better specs than if I had spent 00 on a 12 inch MacBook. The computer is responsive, beautiful, easy to use and has everything I need. 9/10, would definitely recommend.

TL;DR: The computer is a great value. As a long time Mac user, the switch was very easy to make. I don’t feel that I’m missing out on much at all with this computer and I spent a fraction of the money on it.

UPDATE YOUR WIFI AND OTHER DRIVERS! This is a great machine, but is still a little glitchy, probably due to Windows 10. Right out of the box, the wifi would randomly stop working or become really slow. The problem was easily resolved after updating the wifi drivers, which can be found here[…]

Other than that, what a beautifully designed laptop! I’d been looking for a decent non-touch screen laptop for a few months and was pleasantly surprised when Amazon started selling this. I almost settled for the UX305CA with the Core M processor. Nothing wrong with it, but I needed something with a little more power.

The battery really lasts over 10 hours if your screen is in low brightness, so kudos to ASUS for not BSing about the battery life like Dell in their XPS line. The matte screen is beautiful and the keyboard is very comfortable. The trackpad is only okay, but everyone already knows that.

Don’t be misled by the pictures! This model has a little “underbelly” to make room for the larger battery needed to power the i5 processor, which adds about 30% to the thickness implied by the side pictures. However, this is still a very light and thin machine, so no complaints here. It is also pretty fast, and can even handle some light games without any problems. The fan rarely turns on, and when it does, it’s barely noticeable.

I was very surprised by the lack of bloatware. Maybe I got lucky, but my laptop only had a few ASUS utility apps preinstalled. No McAfee, Norton or other annoying programs.

I really recommend this machine to anyone, but beware of hiccups associated with Windows 10. Do your homework and update the drivers. If your trackpad, screen, wifi, or other part of your unit is acting up, an update will likely resolve that.

I’ve had this laptop for several days and thus far it has exceeded my expectations. The wireless adapter has worked flawlessly from any point in my home. Using Speedtest, I clocked downloads at 185 mbps and uploads at 25 mbps. This is roughly equal to the upload and download speeds of my hardwired desktop computer. I am going to be using the laptop quite a bit over the next several weeks and will be updating this review after its shakedown period.

June 6, 2016 Update – After the computer was automatically updated to the latest Windows 10 build, the sleep function does not work properly. If I close the cover and open it, I get a blank screen. The only way to recover is to hold the power button for 5 seconds and reboot. (The hibernate function appears to work and I am using that when the cover closes.). I contacted Asus tech support via their website and they wrote back saying the the computer is not Windows 10 certified. Needless to say, they are a bit confused. I wrote back and asked them to provide me with the correct solution.

June 8, 2016 Update – Asus support staff have now advised me to update a driver and bios. But both the driver and the bios are the latest versions. Still no resolution to the problem.

June 12, 2016 Update – I’m now being advised to reset Windows which would involve re-installing all of my programs. I have the sense that the technical support staff at Asus use the same solution for every problem: update the drivers, update the bios and reset Windows, They make no attempt to review installation logs or do any real troubleshooting.

June 16, 2016 – Because the problem with the sleep function has been unresolved and appears to be an issue with other users, I have downgraded my rating.

July 26, 2016 – After reading many posts from other users and trying a variety of fixes, I believe that I have solved the sleep problem — at least for the moment. In looking at the properties of the video driver, I noticed that the version on my laptop was installed after I received the computer. This must have happened when Microsoft automatically installed a new build of Windows shortly after I received the laptop. I downloaded and installed the older version of the video driver from the Asus website and the problem resolved itself. (During the installation, I received a warning the I was replacing a new driver with an older version. I proceeded nevertheless.) I suspect that the problem will reemerge when Window does another update, so I’ll need see if automatic driver updates can disabled. Based on what I’ve read, Intel video drivers are tweaked by manufacturers to work with their computer models and problems can occur when generic drivers are downloaded from Intel’s website. If that’s the case, then Microsoft’s automatic updates of Windows can cause systems to fail or have problems. One would like to think that Asus support would know this or that they would be updating their drivers as Intel updates the generic version. Either way, Asus is not providing good service to their customers. I still like the computer, but I can’t say that it is a good value for the money since I have spend so much time trying to fix the problem.