Our friends at Asus have sent us another laptop to fiddle and play with. A new laptop to unbox is always an awesome feeling. I believe this experience enhances the overall feel of the product. This time we were unboxing the ZenBook 13 OLED.
Switch it on and you are greeted by a vivid colors, the true to life OLED display is a serious and major point of improvement from the previous model. It makes a difference immediately.
The price point for this laptop is reasonable if you compare it to the dual screen ZenBook Due we reviewed previosly, so it’s more attainable but it maintains the stunning good looks and light weight alluminium build. It’s a slick design, it mainatins the circular brushed finish, the textured metal captures your attention immediately. No putting skins on this one, absolutely not. That’s how good this thing looks. Super impressed.
It again packs the impressive Harman Kardon audio system that they also had in the ZenBook dual screen. So it looks and sounds great at the same time.
Screen
OLED HDR Display with 100% DCI-P3 Color Gamut. The ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED has a 13.3-inch OLED HDR display that supports 1920 x 1080 resolution. The display offers an ultrawide color gamut of 100% DCI-P3, which is widely used in the motion picture industry, and is PANTONE® Validated to provide the most precise color accuracy.
Perfomamance
With thin and light form factors, the ZenBook 13 OLED is equipped with the 11th gen Intel® Core™ processors, and supports up to 32 GB of memory and a 1TB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD as well as Thunderbolt 4, standard HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, along with a microSD card reader. All of these options ensure comprehensive connectivity.
Design
The chassis and lids of the ZenBook 13 OLED is made of diamond-cut aluminum alloy. As with all other ASUS ZenBooks, the unique concentric-circle ZenBook finish is featured on their lids, presenting a surface that is soothing and sophisticated in appearance. The ZenBook 13 OLED weighs 1.14 kg, respectively. Along with a thin and lightweight design, it features a side profile of 13.9 mm, which results in a sleek form factor that’s easy to carry.
Keyboard
The ZenBook 13 OLED has an Edge-to-edge full-sized, backlit keyboard – The keyboard achieves a 19.05 mm pitch (the distance between the middle of a key to the middle of its adjacent key) while retaining many commonly used function keys, and of course it‘s backlit for convenient typing in dark environments such as flights
Battery Life
Up to 18 hours battery life is possible on the ZenBook Oled, but you will have to turn the brightness levels down a little. It’s got a fast type C charger which will take it from 2% to 60% in just 49 minutes. In other words, you can use it unplugged the entire day in the office without a worry.
Unique Detail
Exclusive ASUS NumberPad 2.0 – ZenBook 13 OLED is available with the ASUS NumberPad 2.0, an LED-illuminated numeric keypad integrated in the touchpad that makes up for the lack of physical numeric keypads in compact laptops. A single-touch sensor at the top-right of the touchpad turns NumberPad on and off, and a tap on the icon at the top left lets you choose one of two brightness levels. You can also swipe from the top left icon in any direction on the NumberPad 2.0 to activate the Calculator app on the main display.
Verdict
For it’s price point, there is no argument in terms of build quality, the OLED screen for me is above and beyond the competition. It works great and looks good while at it. You get to have a machine that will stand the test of time while others catch up to it.
The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED (UX325) laptop is available in Kenya at DN Solutions Limited at Ksh.120,000
Key Facts
Incredible 1.14 kg light weight
- The chassis and lids of the ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED is made of lightweight, diamond-cut aluminum alloy.
- The 13.3 inch ZenBook 13 OLED weighs 1.14 kg accordingly.
- The ZenBook 13 OLED features a side profile of 13.9 mm
11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor & rich connectivity
- Equipped with the latest Intel 11th Core i7 processors.
- Supports up to 32 GB of memory, 1TB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSDs or optional Intel Optane Memory H10 storage as well as Thunderbolt 4, standard HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, along with a microSD card reader.
OLED HDR NanoEdge with 100% DCI-P3 gamut
- OLED HDR NanoEdge display
- 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and PANTONE® Validated
- 70% less harmful blue light than normal LCD
- TÜV Rheinland Eye Care certification
ASUS WiFi Master
- ASUS WiFi Master Technology and WiFi 6 and for ultrafast downloads, smooth streaming, greater range, and incredibly stable network connections.
NumberPad 2.0 & edge to edge keyboard
- Edge-to-edge keyboard with independent function keys.
- Second generation NumberPad 2.0.
MIL-STD 810G military-grade durability
- Ultra-light yet strong aluminum alloy helps ensure durability
- MIL-STD 810G standard tested proves their strength and durability.
Up to 13-hour battery life and fast charge support
- Up to 13 hours of battery life
- Fast-charge function charges battery from 2% to 60% in under 49 minutes.