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Laptop manufacturers are nevertheless striving for the thinnest and lightest merchandise they are able to expand. Apple has been the leader on this marketplace for a while, producing excessive first-class designs like the MacBook, but over the last 12 months we’ve visible 30manufacturers be part of the party in a massive way. Just some months ago I was reviewing the attractive HP Spectre, which became surprisingly respectable for a computer so thin.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been checking out Asus’ competitor in this area, the ZenBook three. Of all of the ultrathin laptops I’ve reviewed, the ZenBook is maximum like Apple’s MacBook from a design perspective. It packs a 12.5-inch display, an aspect-to-facet keyboard, and a single USB-C port for charging and all connectivity.

Where the ZenBook pulls far from Apple's ultraportable is at the internal. While the present day MacBook packs an Intel ‘Skylake’ Core M processor, the ZenBook uses a modern-era, full-powered ‘Kaby Lake’ Core i5/i7 CPU. The performance difference among Core M and Core i7 is huge, and allows the ZenBook to address more duties simultaneously.

The ZenBook three is absolutely remarkable from a design attitude. The whole pc is 11.9mm thin and 910 grams heavy, which makes it barely thicker than the HP Spectre however a very good 200 grams lighter. It’s greater carefully matched with the modern-day MacBook, and no question Asus is celebrating the very mild length and weight gain over Apple’s supplying.

As soon as I unboxed the ZenBook three, I became inspired with its portability. The lightweight construct is mainly magnificent, even more so than the intense thinness.

The footprint of the ZenBook isn’t appreciably smaller than my Dell XPS thirteen – in part due to the fact the ZenBook packs large bezels around its smaller show – but it’s a step up in portability in basic terms as it’s so narrow and mild.

Asus hasn’t skimped on build excellent, rather giving the ZenBook 3 the maximum magnificent layout I’ve seen from the organization. The metal unibody each seems and feels great, and I’m a large fan of the blue end with gold trim. The sleek finish to the display, even as now not a touchscreen, enables complete the top rate, expensive vibe you get from viewing and preserving the pc. The round brushed finish to the lid is a pleasant contact as nicely, as it keeps one among Asus’ greater acquainted layout factors.

For the maximum element, though, the ZenBook is clearly stimulated by using the MacBook. The wedge layout, the curved aspect around the lid, the brink-to-part keyboard, the hinge, or even the cutout under the trackpad are all functions ripped without delay from Apple’s laptop. That’s now not a terrible thing, as the MacBook is a lovely piece of hardware, however Asus must be careful there.

Above the massive keyboard are described speaker grills, which paintings in tandem with two additional bottom firing speakers for a “distortion-unfastened, cinema-great” enjoy, according to Asus. I wouldn’t describe the ZenBook’s audio as cinema fine, but the Harman Kardon-better audio system are first rate first-class and provide a whole lot of quantity. With that stated, the speakers do lack bass, making them greater applicable to video than audio.

One of the extra exciting aspects to the ZenBook 3 is the incorporated fingerprint sensor, which supports Windows Hello. Rather than placing the sensor near the power button, which makes the maximum feel, Asus has unusually chucked it in the upper proper corner of the trackpad. While the sensor is responsive and brilliant for protection, its role is awkward and now and again influences the usability of the trackpad.

For some inexplicable cause, Asus determined to duplicate the MacBook's single USB Type-C port.

I don’t understand why the ZenBook 3 had to have only a single USB port, whilst there may be simply sufficient area alongside the rims for a 2d or maybe 1/3 port. The ZenBook’s unmarried USB-C port does now not guide Thunderbolt three, and you’ll want to load up on dongles to use this pc with multiple peripherals. You’ll additionally struggle to rate the pc and plug in a USB tool at the identical time with out a hub of some sort. The ZenBook 3 is surely a product for those comfortable with #donglelife.

Oh, and I attempted two fundamental USB-C to -A adapters and each didn’t paintings at the ZenBook three, which changed into irritating. This is why I select not to apply dongles anyplace possible.

Ideal laptops % multiple complete-sized USB-A ports, however manifestly on the ZenBook 3 this isn't viable due to its thinness. The next pleasant thing is a couple of USB-C ports, so it’s disappointing that Asus couldn’t even manipulate that. But howdy, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack, too, so at least that’s some thing.

It’s also really worth mentioning that the ZenBook’s blue design is a fingerprint magnet, specifically on the lid, which has received a sleek finish. It is probably an awesome concept to shop for some cleaning cloths at the side of the ZenBook to ensure its finish stays in pristine condition.