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ASUS' ZenBook 3 Is Thinner, Lighter and Faster Than the MacBook (engadget.com)
At the ongoing Computex trade show in China, Asus unveiled the ZenBook 3 laptop. The ZenBook 3's chassis measures 11.9mm while the whole body weighs 910g. At the event, the company's executive said that ZenBook 3 is better than both MacBook Air and the 12-inch MacBook. As for the specifications, the ZenBook 3, which is crafted from aerospace-grade aluminum alloy, sports a 12.5-inch full-HD display (1920x1080 pixels), and offers up to Core i7 processor, 16GB of 2133MHz RAM, up to a 1TB PCIe Gen 3 x4 SSD, a next-gen USB Type-C port (for power and data transfer), powerful quad-speaker audio by Harman Kardon, and a fingerprint scanner. Do note that there is only one USB port on the device. The entry-level variant featuring Core i5 processor, 256GB of SSD and 4GB of RAM is priced at 999, while the top-of-the-line model will set you back by $1,999. Asus also had nice things to say about the keyboard, though Engadget's reporter was not impressed. More details here.
Looking out how the great shrink has been progressing, I predict that that 12 inch MacBook Pro will completely disappear from this Universe in about a decade. You can still go out an buy it however since it will be infinitely thin and light, you won't be able see or use it.
You'll just have to take Tim's word for it.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Personally I think laptops are thin enough, maybe too thin. I like the slightly thicker laptops because I find them easier to handle, plunk down, and open the lid. The macbook air amost requires a fingernail to open. Why not make the laptop 1/2" thick and stick a bigger battery in it? Thinness seems to be the latest trend in ADD fashion.
I also don't want my phones to get any thinner. I always buy a case for my phones these days not because I need to protect the phone, but I want to make it a bit thicker so it's easier to handle and use.
The MacBook already has mediocre battery life, and its case is pretty much solid battery except for the tiny logic board.
So ASUS comes along, shrinks the case and puts in bigger and more power hungry CPU / RAM / SSD plus extra components like the mini CPU fan and Thunderbolt controller. Guess what's gonna give?
It sounds like the original MacBook Air; great on paper but in reality a bunch of overpowered components packed in too little space, leading to crappy battery life, overheating and throttling.
I realize everyone wants ultra-mobile devices these days, but if you're tethered to a charger it's not so mobile anymore, is it?
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
If skinny eliminates all but one USB port, fuck right off.
I have the previous Zenbook and it has 3 ports. Too skinny for an Ethernet Jack, but I was willing to live with that. One USB port isn't enough.
enjoy your debate over paid advertising
Ten or so years ago I could not have imagined that someday I would not be a Mac user. OS X was part of my holy trinity of favorite operating systems. Linux had long since established it's mainstay, while FreeBSD was and is just plain fantastic as a server os.
People argue that Apple's whole lineup was and continues to grow stale. This is true, but I personally have no allegiance to brands that put out an OS, I have allegiance to the operating systems. As the first few years of my fling with Apple OS, X seemed to be getting better and better. Minor UI tweaks, smaller and smaller OS. I'm going to get to into because I'm not here to give a review but there was a point for me personally where I felt they just kinda fucked up the whole gui. I was out.
I am very particular of operating systems. I recently got a BlackBerry Classic (and yes I get maid fun of ) Everyone has asked why I didn't get the Priv. Then they are confused since I "Like BlackBerry" yet tell them if I was going to get an Android it would be a Samsung. I try to explain how it all about the os and what that means, but I only receive blank stares.
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
I care about lighter, but not thinner. When traveling, every ounce in the bag matters, but mm of thickness are unnoticeable (unless it's so thin that it bends easily).
One: the PC vs Mac spec war is basically meaningless, because people who buy Macs want OS X, and people who buy PCs don't want OS X or don't care, and never the twain shall meet.
Two: "At the event, the company's executive said that ZenBook 3 is better than both MacBook Air and the 12-inch MacBook... it sports a 12.5-inch full-HD display (1920x1080 pixels)..." -- OK then, it's NOT better than the 12" MacBook's 2304 x 1440 screen.
Three: Remember when laptops were as big as a phone books? Like in the 166 MHz ThinkPad 380 days. BACK THEN, making them thinner and lighter was a worthy pursuit. But bragging that your laptop is 11.9mm thick instead of 13.2mm, and 910 grams vs. 920? WHO GIVES A SHIT! That's a difference of 1.3mm and the mass of two US five-cent coins. Are you fucking kidding me? Ugh. They're thin enough now. Quit making them thinner and put some battery or ports back in. (This goes for all OEMs, and double for Apple.)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
The Unix-based OS has to have some kind of fruit logo or it's no good, obviously. And 120 missing pixels from the horizontal? Ho. Lee. Fuck.
the following connectors embedded/extensible and accessible with dongles - power, 2 X Display Port 4K , multiple 10GE connections, as many USB 3 as you might want as well as extension of the system PCIe to even allow external graphics adapters (Although I think the internal Core i7 Skylake graphics will be pretty good) and huge amount of direct connect NVMe (direct to processor cache) external SSD drive support. That little USB-C port is why you don't need any other ports.
I care about lighter, but not thinner.
People don't buy Macbooks because they are lighter, or thinner, or faster. They buy them because they run Mac OS X.
People don't buy Macbooks because they are lighter, or thinner, or faster. They buy them because they run Mac OS X.
But then they have the choice between different models, and buy different models depending on whether they want fast, light, or cheap.
But you are right, this won't move people from buying a MacBook to buying an ASUS laptop. It will move some people from buying a heavy Windows laptop to buying an ASUS laptop.
Dot buy new. go find a used 2012 and get the best macbook pro ever made.
My 2012 is as fast as anything sold today. and it is faster than the Piece of shit Lenovo 5th gen i7 laptop work bought me. Sad that lenovo only makes garbage now.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
people (who aren't programmers looking for a Unix that works) buy Mac books because they're a Veblen good. At least that was the reason my college bound kid had when pressed for it.
Well, Macs don't have systemd - so their Unix is obviously broken anyway.
#DeleteChrome
If carrying a 4 pound laptop is a physical issue for you, then you got some serious, SERIOUS health problems to address...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Never mind the metal. Can anyone confirm that this laptop comes with military strength encryption? I'd also hope that for that price it's fitted with an ergonomic keyboard made from space age polymers, is protected by marine grade sealing, and features superfast wifi, audiophile speakers, and a True (We Really Mean It This Time) Ultra HD display.
The glare finish which Apple popularized (thanks, Apple) is profoundly irritating to use under almost any lighting conditions other than complete darkness.
At least that was the reason my college bound kid had when pressed for it.
Buy him the Macbook. If you don't, he will never get a date in college. My college aged daughter has informed me that all the cool kids use Macs, and the students that use Windows are "dorks". If he is stuck with a Windows laptop, his self-confidence will be crushed, he will do poorly in job interviews, and his life will be ruined.
What for? At 12.5" diagonal and 1920 columns, each pixel is 1/100" across and subtends at 16" a 0.02 deg angle, which is the angular resolution of a young eye. Going much beyond that is just paying to brag about specs.
This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
I've done that and learned that some TN panels have their viewing angles biased towards the top, so when you rotate them they look terribad from the side that gets the bottom edge. Maybe IPS looks better but my 30" Dell doesn't rotate - one of these days I'll try laying it on one side.
This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
Just to sidestep the PC vs Mac comparison, let's compare this to its predecessor the UX305CA.
UX305: $699, Core M, 8 MB RAM, 13.3" 1080p matte IPS screen (option for 3200x1800) covering 90% of sRGB, 256GB SSD, 3xUSB 3.0, mini HDMI, 12.3mm height, 1.192kg, 45 Wh battery giving 6+ hours. About the only thing it was missing was a backlit keyboard and a fan.
Zenbook 3: $999, Core i5, 4 MB RAM, 1080p IPS screen (implied touchscreen), 256GB PCIe SSD, 1xUSB 3.1/Thunderbolt, presumably HDMI via Thunderbolt, 11.9mm, 0.910kg, supposedly 9 hour battery though I usually reduce claims to 2/3 which would put it at 6 hours. Backlit keyboard, has a fan.
The UX305 was a worthy ultrabook that I've been recommending to a lot of people who otherwise would've settled for a low-end laptop. Usually their budget was around $500, while the UX305 frequently went on sale for $600 - the size, build, SSD, screen, and generous number of ports made it an easy up-sell for an extra $100. The Core M processor isn't a limitation for most people's computer use.
The new Zenbook 3 comes in at an extra $300 putting it out of reach of budget shoppers. It has a better CPU but lower base RAM, a faster SSD but only people doing video editing will notice the extra speed, loses all those ports (many people I know leave a nano receiver plugged in and use a wireless mouse), shaves a little off the weight and height, and has a backlit keyboard. Honestly, that doesn't seem worth an extra $300.
To be or not to be, that is...wait, that is a tautology! Couldn't that be reduced to just true?
Ezekiel 23:20
Stop trying to make things thinner unless your going to do something with the saved space. If you can't figure out more features then default to big fat battery.
I would carry around one of those 1985 brick phones if it meant I didn't have to charge it all the time.
I have a dream that one day all people will only need to charge their phones and laptops once a week...
People don't buy Macs for the specs they buy it for the glowing Apple symbol when they flip it open. Then everyone can see they have a Mac. Hipster status symbol. I worked previously at Asus and liked the Zenbooks. I actually have a Republic of Gamers laptop. Bulky but stacked specs vs any Macbook
I care about lighter, but not thinner.
People don't buy Macbooks because they are lighter, or thinner, or faster. They buy them because they run Mac OS X.
I hate to push back here, but a large number of people buy them because of the glowy apple on the lid. I've had Macs, minis, and a Mac Book Pro (although, I've never actually paid for one of these out of my private funds...) - OS X was/is... not terribly exciting, to me.