Early Verdict: For the team, the Asus ZenBook 13 has always been an easy recommendation for people looking for a thin and light notebook and that hasn’t changed with this newest iteration. We’ve only been testing it out for awhile but the new hardware that we’re getting in the UX325E is definitely promising.
Packaging and Contents
Not much has changed with the unboxing experience of this refreshed Zenbook. You get a grey box with hints of the brand’s signature concentric circle design element with all the pertinent information on the back.
Inside the box, you get the ZenBook 13 itself alongside the usual charging brick, which is as nice and compact as the notebook. There’s the usual set of documentation and a couple of dongles in case you want to plug directly into your network and a USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack.
There’s also a free sleeve and Asus definitely gets an extra point for including that out of the box.
Same Exterior, Beefier Interior
This is definitely a case of “Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” for the ZenBook line. Not much has changed by way of design from the last time we last saw this laptop line from Asus but that’s not really a deal breaker.
You still have a metal chassis with the metal spun finish that we see on most of the Taiwanese brands’ notebooks and it retains its thickness of 13.9mm, which they say makes this the thinnest 13-inch laptop with full I/O ports. It’s a hair heavier than the previous model but only by .04 grams so that’s definitely no biggie.
Speaking of the ports on this new ZenBook, well, that hasn’t changed either with the right side housing a USB-A 3.2 port and a microSD card slot.
While on the left side there’s an HDMI port and 2 USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports. We’re still a little bummed that Asus has done away with the 3.5mm audio jack on this particular line but you can also go wireless or use the dongle that comes inside the box.
It also wouldn’t be an Asus notebook without their ErgoLift hinge system. If you’re not familiar with it basically, when you lift up the lid on the ZenBook, it automatically elevates the rear to give it a bit more clearance for better airflow and to make typing a bit more comfortable.
There’s also the edge-to-edge keyboard to give keys ample spacing so that it doesn’t feel cramped when you’re typing despite the notebook’s smaller form factor.
Asus has also done a great job with their trackpads. It’s glass covered so it’s been a joy to use so far and pretty accurate. For you spreadsheet warriors out there, the ZenBook is also equipped with their NumberPad 2.0 so you can easily input those numbers into Excel.
You’re still getting the same 13.3-inch 1080p display on this updated Zenbook as well with their NanoEdge design so you get extremely thin bezels around the screen; giving you a screen to body ratio of 88-percent. It’s been great for watching content so far and has a 100% sRGB color profile so doing color sensitive work should be pretty good on it as well.
Despite the smaller frame, Asus still manages to put a webcam on top of the display. It’s a 3D IR HD camera that supports Windows Hello for faster logins.
While the outside of the ZenBook 13 is nothing new, Asus has outfitted the UX325E with the 11th-Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor that’s paired with 8GB of DDR4 RAM at 4266MHz, a 512GB NvMe SSD, and Intel Iris X Integrated Graphics.
We’ve been hearing a lot of good things about this processing package and we’re curious to see just how much more of a workhorse this new ZenBook is. Stay tuned for the full review for a more in-depth look of what it’s capable of.
Juicing up the system is a 67Whr 4-cell Lithium-Polymer battery that Asus says can last up to 15 hours. We’ll have to see how it does with more use and in our standard battery drain test how it does.
Wrap-Up and Early Conclusion
On the surface, there isn’t anything new with this updated version of the ZenBook 13 and that’s okay. In our opinion, Asus has always provided one of the best options if you’re looking for an ultra-slim notebook and the new hardware it’s been given just sweetens the pot even more. We still have to put it through its paces but everything looks promising so far.
The Asus Zenbook 13 UX325E is priced at Php 54,995 and should already be available in ASUS Concept Stores, IT Multi-brand Stores, ASUS E-Store, and ASUS Shopee and ASUS Lazada official stores.
