Laptop manufacturers are still striving for the thinnest and lightest products they can develop. Apple has been the leader in this market for some time, producing high quality designs like the MacBook, but over the past year we've seen PC manufacturers join the political party in a meaning way. Just a few months agone I was reviewing the attractive HP Spectre, which was surprisingly decent for a laptop so thin.

Over the past few weeks I've been testing Asus' competitor in this space, the ZenBook iii. Of all the ultrathin laptops I've reviewed, the ZenBook is most similar Apple tree'southward MacBook from a design perspective. Information technology packs a 12.five-inch display, an border-to-border keyboard, and a unmarried USB-C port for charging and all connectivity.

Where the ZenBook pulls abroad from Apple tree's ultraportable is on the inside. While the current MacBook packs an Intel 'Skylake' Cadre G processor, the ZenBook uses a current-generation, full-powered 'Kaby Lake' Core i5/i7 CPU. The functioning difference between Core M and Core i7 is pregnant, and allows the ZenBook to deal with more tasks simultaneously.

The ZenBook 3 is certainly impressive from a design perspective. The entire laptop is xi.9mm sparse and 910 grams heavy, which makes it slightly thicker than the HP Spectre simply a good 200 grams lighter. It'due south more closely matched with the current MacBook, and no incertitude Asus is celebrating the very slight size and weight advantage over Apple's offer.

As soon equally I unboxed the ZenBook 3, I was impressed with its portability. The lightweight build is particularly impressive, even more then than the extreme thinness.

The footprint of the ZenBook isn't significantly smaller than my Dell XPS 13 – partly because the ZenBook packs larger bezels around its smaller display – however information technology'due south a step up in portability purely considering it's so slim and calorie-free.

Asus hasn't skimped on build quality, instead giving the ZenBook 3 the most impressive blueprint I've seen from the company. The metal unibody both looks and feels excellent, and I'one thousand a huge fan of the blue end with gilt trim. The glossy finish to the display, while not a touchscreen, helps consummate the premium, expensive vibe you get from viewing and holding the laptop. The circular brushed finish to the lid is a nice touch every bit well, every bit it retains one of Asus' more familiar blueprint elements.

For the most role, though, the ZenBook is clearly inspired by the MacBook. The wedge design, the curved border around the lid, the edge-to-edge keyboard, the hinge, and even the cutout beneath the trackpad are all features ripped directly from Apple's laptop. That's non a bad thing, as the MacBook is a cute piece of hardware, but Asus should be conscientious there.

Above the large keyboard are 2 defined speaker grills, which piece of work in tandem with two additional bottom firing speakers for a "baloney-costless, picture palace-quality" experience, according to Asus. I wouldn't describe the ZenBook'due south audio every bit picture palace quality, simply the Harman Kardon-enhanced speakers are decent quality and provide a lot of volume. With that said, the speakers do lack bass, making them more than suited to video than sound.

1 of the more interesting aspects to the ZenBook iii is the integrated fingerprint sensor, which supports Windows Hello. Rather than placing the sensor virtually the power button, which makes the nigh sense, Asus has strangely chucked information technology in the upper right corner of the trackpad. While the sensor is responsive and slap-up for security, its position is awkward and occasionally impacts the usability of the trackpad.

For some inexplicable reason, Asus decided to replicate the MacBook'southward unmarried USB Type-C port.

I don't understand why the ZenBook 3 had to have just a unmarried USB port, when there is comfortably enough space along the edges for a second or even third port. The ZenBook's single USB-C port does not support Thunderbolt iii, and you'll need to load up on dongles to use this laptop with multiple peripherals. You'll also struggle to accuse the laptop and plug in a USB device at the same time without a hub of some sort. The ZenBook 3 is definitely a product for those comfy with #donglelife.

Oh, and I tried two basic USB-C to -A adapters and both didn't work on the ZenBook three, which was frustrating. This is why I adopt non to use dongles wherever possible.

Ideal laptops pack multiple full-sized USB-A ports, but manifestly on the ZenBook 3 this is not possible due to its thinness. The adjacent best thing is multiple USB-C ports, so it'south disappointing that Asus couldn't even manage that. Only hey, you get a iii.5mm headphone jack, too, so at least that's something.

Information technology'south also worth mentioning that the ZenBook's bluish design is a fingerprint magnet, particularly on the chapeau, which has received a glossy finish. It might exist a good idea to buy a few cleaning cloths along with the ZenBook to ensure its end remains in pristine condition.