The ASUS Zenbook UX305 Review
by Brett Howse on March 25, 2015 8:00 AM ESTFinal Words
ASUS has crafted an elegant experience with the UX305. The body is a sleek creation of aluminum, the device is very thin, and at 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs) in weight, it is very portable. The UX305 could easily be mistaken for a device which costs far more than its $699 starting price. When one thinks of the mid-range laptop, one would expect a thick, heavy, and boring device with a TN display panel, a spinning hard drive, and a short battery life. ASUS has thrown all of this on its head.
The Core M processor in the UX305 which we received was the 5Y10 model. For now, the higher spec 5Y71 model will not be coming to North America in this device. However the performance was surprisingly good. In shorter, burst workloads, the 5Y10 struggled to compete against 5Y71 with its much higher boost clock speed, nor could it compete against Broadwell-U based devices with their 15 watt thermal envelope. However on sustained workloads, due to the cooling solution and higher surface temperatures that ASUS has allowed, the UX305 performed much better than the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. Gaming was a big difference on this device, and while it is certainly not going to be the next Crysis killer, for lower demanding games like DOTA 2, it performed very well even over long periods of time.
The amount of components which lead to a better overall computing experience that ASUS packed into the UX305 is very impressive. At just $699, you still get 8 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB solid state drive. This is unheard of at this price point. The Dell XPS 13, for example, starts at $799 with just 4 GB of memory and a 128 GB drive.
The keyboard and trackpad are both quite good, especially when we consider the price, and the thin profile of the UX305. The keys had good travel, and while I would question the layout of having the power key as part of the keyboard, really the only thing missing from the keyboard experience is a backlight, and perhaps I only expect a backlight because the UX305 feels much more expensive than it is. The trackpad served me very well, and is quite large. ASUS has had some issues in the past with trackpad drivers, but I experienced no issues at all during my time with the device.
Battery life, while not class leading, is still very good, and bests any laptop we tested before 2015 with the exception of the MacBook Air under OS X. Even under a heavy load, the Core M kept its composure and ensured that the battery life did not slip away too quickly.
There are of course a few issues which need to be mentioned. The already mentioned keyboard backlight would be a great addition to the lineup, even if it was just on a higher priced model. I really do not like the display hinge which is crafed to lift the rear of the laptop up when the display is opened. It makes the laptop much more unstable, causes the display “legs” to dig into soft materials like a wooden table, and all of this is for an extra millimeter or two of height. ASUS would have been much better off with slightly thicker feet.
The display is both good and bad, but it has to be counterbalanced against the price point of this device. It is an IPS display, which is excellent to see even in a more budget offering, and it has excellent brightness and contrast levels. The matte coating is also something that many people prefer to knock the glare down. It performed very poorly in our accuracy tests though, and while that can also be attributed to the cost of the device, the post-calibration numbers on this display were fantastic. If only ASUS could take the effort to include an icc profile to help it out.
Overall, even with the knocks against it, this is a heck of a device for just $699. A Core M processor, which allows a fanless and therefore silent device, but still offers good performance, and much more performance than any other CPU which would allow for a fanless design. 8 GB of memory standard. A 256 GB solid state drive standard. A 1920x1080p IPS display, once again standard. ASUS has really raised the bar for what someone can expect in a mid-range device.
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djvita - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - link
This is why I love anandtechYou explained the differences in performance in core M very well (thermal throtlling basically) and the heating across the Yoga 3 and UX.
theverge reviewed the T300 recently (hope you guys do too!) and just compare the difference:
"The Core M processor in my review unit is clocked at 1.2GHz and combined with the 8GB of RAM on tap, has no trouble handling most basic computing tasks. It surely won't play any modern 3D games, but working in Chrome, Word, and other Windows 8.1 apps is no issue. I'm able to have as many tabs open in Chrome as I need without the system grinding to a halt, and switching between apps is quick and painless. I often forgot that I was using a computer that was more tablet than laptop, though the heat from the back of the T300 was enough to remind me that this is a full-blown Windows 8.1 machine and not a crippled charlatan faking the role."
As an engineer i prefer graphs and empirical evidence to support claims, specially in a tech product. "The screen is nice", how nice? is it well calibrated? This is why i cant take some websites reviews seriously.
Michael Bay - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - link
Verge was left-leaning with Topolsky and went full bananas when he left. Race this, opression that on what seemed to be a tech site.Oh, and Apple can do no wrong, of course.
Laxaa - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - link
Performance seem to be around Surface Pro 3 levels, so perhaps we will see the Pro 4 with a Core M CPU. Perhaps even the same CPU as the new MacBook?The Surface Pro 3 is termal restricted after all, so maybe the move to a fanless design will help overcome that issue.
digiguy - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - link
Core M does make sense to replace the i3 (which I own and which is virtually fanless anyway), probably with the superior 5y10 but 5y70/1 is half way between i3 and i5, not to mention i7. It will be interesting to see what MS will decide to do with the i5 (which is what most people have bought with SP3), keep it (just moving to Broadwell) or change to Core M 5y71...Speedfriend - Thursday, March 26, 2015 - link
" so perhaps we will see the Pro 4 with a Core M CPU. "I am hearing a smaller screen version with the new Intel Atom and the Surface 4 with Core M. Though If I was MS I would keep a version with the new i5 and i7 for power users. It is a amzing that they sold over 1m Surface 3 last quarter, which is probalby about the same as Apple sells of MacBook Pros
dragonsqrrl - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - link
Wow, it's like a MacBook except with connectivity options. 3 USB 3.0 ports, instead of just one?! That's madness. A dedicated display out? Whaaat?! And cheaper?... I just can't see a reason, any reason, for anyone to get that new MacBook. There are better low TDP, long battery life, ultra portable options out there. I think this is one of them.
FwFred - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - link
I'd still consider the Macbook for the touchpad. My Yoga 2 Pro is OK and my work Thinkpad T440 is awful. I even use a mouse at work my writs trigger the stupid touchpad and randomly highlight/erase things. My Macbook Air (Sandy) is still top notch with the touchpad.dragonsqrrl - Friday, March 27, 2015 - link
That is something the MacBook (and really any Apple laptop) has going for it. In general, superior tracking on the touchpad. But does that really outweigh every other drawback of the new MacBook for you? I've already seen several MacBook Air owners (tech journalists) who've sworn off the new design for the lack of connectivity alone.OrphanageExplosion - Friday, March 27, 2015 - link
Just bought a Broadwell rMBP13 with the new trackpad. The trackpad truly is a revelation. People seem to get rather obsessed with processing specs and completely overlook the quality of the interface with the machine.wintermute000 - Saturday, March 28, 2015 - link
Agree with the t440 comment. Great machine except for the stupid bleedin' trackpad..... how many times have we said that about a windows laptop, how hard can it be (obviously not as easy as it may appear on the surface lol)