Pros
- Super slim and lightweight design ( 2.45 pounds )
- Backlit keyboard with digital NumberPad
- Core i5 (10th generation)
- Face recognition via Windows Hello
Cons
- Lacks headphone jack
- The speakers leave a lot to be desired
Today we tackle the ASUS ZenBook 13 UX325JA-AB51, a laptop that marks a before and after in terms of multitasking performance and mobility while preserving a budget-conscious price-point, something that's not all that common within the upper mid-range of the market.
Proof of that is the fact that many of its buyers have pointed out its excellent battery performance (±12 hours), incredible visibility of its FHD IPS screen from any angle, the inclusion of a digital NumberPad within the touchpad, as well as the spectacular efficiency shown by its Core i5 CPU.
The ASUS ZenBook 13 UX325JA-AB51 is a laptop that's best suited for demanding professionals who need a laptop with sufficient horsepower to take on a professional-grade level of multitasking whilst also delivering all of this on a compact and lightweight form to allow for easy portability.
Index
- Who's it for?
- Technical specs
- Design and Display
- Processor and RAM
- Storage and Graphics
- Battery life and Connectivity
- Verdict
Who's it for?
The ASUS ZenBook 13 UX325JA-AB51 is a laptop that's best suited for demanding professionals who need a laptop with sufficient horsepower to take on a professional-grade level of multitasking whilst also delivering all of this on a compact and lightweight form to allow for easy portability.
It's well suited for students, accountants, programmers as well as casual users who'll use it mainly to browse the internet, listen to music, stream movies, and do zoom calls.
Who's it NOT for?
It is not, however, a laptop that was intended to be used by audiovisual professionals such as graphic designers, video editors, and the likes as it lacks a dedicated graphics card to deliver a high-end experience on that front.
If that's your case you'd be far better off with the Asus ZenBook 15 UX534FTC-AS77, a laptop that was designed to meet the needs of this collective thanks to its dedicated Graphics card, Core i7 CPU, and a slew of other interesting specs at a very competitive price point.
With the premise of taking mobility to a whole new level, this ultraportable boasts a profile only 13 millimeters thick and a weight that doesn't even reach the 3-pound mark (2.62 pounds). This makes Asus's ultrabook not only the thinnest laptop in the market but also one of the lightest.
But don't let this fool you into believing Asus's laptop is fragile. Far from it. This laptop packs a MIL-STD-810G certification which offers military grade resistance for light falls as well as tolerance to excessively high and low temperatures.
Technical specifications
| Make model | ASUS ZenBook 13 UX325JA-AB51 |
| Dimensions | 12 x 8 x 0.55 inches |
| Weight | 2.49 pounds |
| Panel | IPS-Level LED (13.3 inches) |
| Resolution | Full HD (1920 x 1080 píxeles) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1035G1 (4 núcleos a 3.60 GHz) |
| RAM | 8 GB (LPDDR4X) |
| Graphic Controller | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Storage | 256 GB (SSD) |
| Drums | 4 cells (Li-Po) |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 USB 3.2 USB Type C | Thunderbolt 3 (x2) HDMI HD webcam Digital microphone microSD card reader Face recognition |
Setting new records of portability
But don't let this fool you into believing Asus's laptop is fragile. Far from it. This laptop packs a MIL-STD-810G certification which offers military grade resistance for light falls as well as tolerance to excessively high and low temperatures.
What's more, it's slightly tilted keyboard (called an ergolift keyboard) provides a way to easily ventilate the internals allowing it to keep cool even when pressed for more demanding tasks.
Stretching from edge to edge, this keyboard features ergonomic, backlit island keys and a very wide trackpad with a digital number pad, (the trackpad transforms into a numeric pad) to simplify spreadsheet editing. Overall delivering a comfortable typing experience. What's absent, however, is a fingerprint reader as this laptop works with Windows Hello's Facial Recognition System.
More screen in a diagonal that has hardly changed
Thanks to the ultra-thin bezels on all four sides (nano-edge bezels), the Full HD display of 13.3 inches manages to deliver a truly immersive viewing experience with sharp and crisp images and a very good level of contast, all whilst managing an 88% screen-to-body ratio.
In addition, this screen boasts a remarkable level of brightness ( 450 nits ), a panoramic aspect ratio of 16: 9 perfect for multimedia entertainment, IPS-Level technology with viewing angles of up to 170º, and a matte finish to reduce reflections outdoors, meaning you may use this laptop in a cafe or in your back yard.
Let's dig into the performance
When it comes to the memory, we've got 8 GB of RAM soldered on the board, whose LPDDR4X architecture offers a qualitative leap in performance (+ 15%) compared to the previous generation RAM and energy savings above the 17% mark to increase battery life.
Unfortunately, one of the side-effects of being an ultrabook with a compact size is that it doesn't allow for a RAM upgrade, meaning you're stuck with 8 GB throughout the entirety of this laptop's life cycle.
That said, 8 GB is alright at the moment as it allows multitaskers to work comfortably without breaking a sweat but, you should know, it might fall short 5 years from now if you've still got this laptop and you're still demanding it perform in tip top shape.
Ergo, if you're a high-powered user who's set on performing memory-intensive tasks you should definitely consider the aforementioned Asus ZenBook 15 UX534FTC-AS77 which comes with 16 GB of RAM and a better processor amongst other virtues.
What can you expect from this laptop?
If nerdish is not your native language then you should know that with this laptop you can expect a solid performance on tasks such as editing documents, chatting up with friend on Skype, streaming music, watching movies, doing some light image retouching, and even more demanding tasks such as programming (both back-end and front-end) and running virtual machines.
Overall, I would say this covers pretty much 90% of use cases with the exception, of course, of people who require a dedicated graphics card (gamers, graphic designers, professional video editors and the likes).
Of course, 256 GB might not sound very impressive if you come for a laptop that used a Hard Drive, as those storage options typically offered between 500 GB and 1 TB of space.
High loading speed in every work session
Moving onto storage, we would like to highlight the incorporation of a solid-state drive ( SSD ), equipped with 256 GB so you can take your personal information with you wherever you go.Of course, 256 GB might not sound very impressive if you come for a laptop that used a Hard Drive, as those storage options typically offered between 500 GB and 1 TB of space.
However, when you're buying a laptop with an SSD what you're gaining is a massive bump in speed on just about everything you do from downloading files to rendering images to turning the computer on/off, the difference in speed translates into a massive upgrade in your everyday life, trust me.
In terms of graphics, the UX325JA-AB51 packs an integrated Intel UHD Graphics card which is well suited for 4K video playback and very light gaming on games such as Fifa and the likes. However, as I've mentioned previously, this is far from a gaming laptop.
Battery Life and connectivity options
One of the most appreciated features of this laptop is the unbeatable performance of the integrated lithium polymer battery. Specifically, Asus states that this ultrabook can deliver up to 22 hours worth of juice. However, we all know by now to not trust battery claims made by manufacturers.On that front, many customers have attested to averaging somewhere along the lines of 12 hours worth of battery. A very respectable number indeed and far more than most of its competitors but a far cry from the advertised 22-hour mark. For reference, average battery life within this range is typically along the lines of 6-7 hours.
What's even better is the fact that despite offering a massive battery life it doesn't take forever to get this laptop all the way to 100%. Far from it, since it features a quick charging technology which allows us to charge up to 60% of its capacity in just 40 minutes. Impressive.
The connectivity aspect has also received very good reviews, due to the implementation of cutting-edge technologies such as Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and a pair of USB-C inputs with Thunderbolt 3 interface to enable the connection of external monitors.
It also has an HDMI output, a conventional USB 3.2 port, a microSD reader, an HD webcam with 3D infrared facial recognition technology, and a pair of speakers certified by Harman / kardon.
Boasting a super-manageable design, impressive image quality, crushing performance, and outstanding battery life, this 13.3-inch ultrabook has everything you need to meet your goals be them professional or academic.
In addition, its next-generation connectivity solutions simplifying the connection of your mobile devices,whilst drastically shortening the waiting times between each data transfer and charging of the integrated battery. Ultimately, an excellent laptop for most users that's priced very competitively considering everything it offers.
What's even better is the fact that despite offering a massive battery life it doesn't take forever to get this laptop all the way to 100%. Far from it, since it features a quick charging technology which allows us to charge up to 60% of its capacity in just 40 minutes. Impressive.
Quickly connect anywhere
The connectivity aspect has also received very good reviews, due to the implementation of cutting-edge technologies such as Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and a pair of USB-C inputs with Thunderbolt 3 interface to enable the connection of external monitors.
It also has an HDMI output, a conventional USB 3.2 port, a microSD reader, an HD webcam with 3D infrared facial recognition technology, and a pair of speakers certified by Harman / kardon.
That's a wrap
Boasting a super-manageable design, impressive image quality, crushing performance, and outstanding battery life, this 13.3-inch ultrabook has everything you need to meet your goals be them professional or academic.
In addition, its next-generation connectivity solutions simplifying the connection of your mobile devices,whilst drastically shortening the waiting times between each data transfer and charging of the integrated battery. Ultimately, an excellent laptop for most users that's priced very competitively considering everything it offers.