Introduction
The Asus ZenBook UX310UA is the 2016 successor of the popular UX303 series and what you are getting is a portable and pretty capable 13.3-inch laptop that isn’t taxing on your wallet. It is a top spec model which has got the flagship Core i7-6500U processor, 8GB RAM, a quad HD+ IPS display panel with a resolution of 3200x1800p. For storage, you get 256GB SSD and a 500GB HDD. You get all the high-end specs at a reasonable price of around $900 which competes against the likes of Dell XPS 13, MacBook Air and HP’s Spectre X360S.
If you do not want to spend that much, then you can also consider its base variant which comes with a full HD (1920 x 1080) panel, 128GB SSD and 4GB RAM. However, it will be less efficient than UX310UA. Regardless of what version of the HP ZenBook you go for, it is the best laptop for writers, office work photo and video editing, web browsing and watching videos and movies. It is pretty much par for the course with the ultrabooks.
In this guide, we are going to give a detailed review of Asus ZenBook UX310UA so that you can decide yourself whether it is worth to invest in this laptop or not. However, before we go ahead, let’s have a quick look at its good and bad points.
The Good
- Outstanding ergonomic design and beautiful display.
- Tilting backlit keyboard tray.
- Stable performance.
- Great travel companion thanks to the sleek and compact design.
- Quick boot time (7sec)
- Anti-glare display with right viewing angles
- The Harman Kardon speakers are loud and crisp
- Good built quality
The Bad
- Big chunky bezels
- Less connectivity port options
- Not suitable for intensive gaming
- Disappointed battery life
- Spongy keyboard
- Slow and imprecise trackpad
- Less storage
For more details and price, click here.
Bottom Line
It’s a good looking and reasonably priced ultrabook. Despite its flaws, it is preferred by most of the students and budget-conscious office workers. It’s too much more powerful to handle all your office work efficiently due to its Intel Core i7-6500U processor, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. And, while it may not be the lightest laptop in the world, we appreciate its sturdiness. It does suffer from ordinary battery life and a bendy keyboard. None of that is a deal breaker, though. Overall, it’s a traditional laptop done right.
Contents
A Comprehensive Review of 13.3” Asus ZenBook UX310UA Laptop
Price
The Asus Zenbook UX310UA is a very budget-friendly laptop, designed keeping in mind the basic user base. The Zenbook series has been a hit line up from the brand Asus because of the high-tech specs comes with the overall package. The prices are kept low and the product is truly value for money. The price range starts from $600-$900, depending upon the specifications you choose for this laptop.
Design
First up, the Asus Zenbook UX310UA is incredibly pretty, arguably better looking than the MacBook Air, in case you couldn’t tell from the spun metal glare on its all-metal finish. All those concentric circles emanating from the Asus logo are just as impressive in real life as they are in our photos. And, the smooth lines around the edge are even more apparent. The icing on the cake, though, is that you’re saving money by going for a ZenBook.
The Asus Zenbook UX310UA gets an amazing 13.3-inch screen. The screen gets a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. In this series of Zenbook, Asus has made it possible to keep bezels as low as possible. As a result, it has also kept its overall weight low. The UX310UA weighs only 1.4 Kg, and its thickness is just about 18.3 mm which makes it portable and easy to carry to any place.
Screen and Interface
Reviewing the Asus ZenBook UX310UA, not only it has a beautiful design but also sports an attractive display. This QHD panel is a glory to behold, too. With wide-viewing angles and Anti-Glare that works, it’s hard to find anything to complain. The Zenbook gets a 13.3-inch display unit with stretched out bezels. The significance of this amazing display is the anti-glare property that it carries. Now, you can get a better viewing experience which allows you to work for a long duration without facing any difficulties. You can also enjoy videos with a wide viewing screen.
You won’t find much in the way of edge burn when the screen is blacked out, and the colors are well-defined, in-depth and don’t look obnoxious. This display could work for photographers on the move, thanks to its color accuracy. If there is one criticism, the bezel is a little large, but it’s not too obtrusive.
At first thought, the keyboard looked like it wasn’t up to scratch, as typing causes a slightly disorientating bend in the center. However, the curve isn’t a detriment to the usability, as once you get used to it, it’s a perfectly functioning mechanism with low noise and reliable keys. But you may need to give it time to adjust if you’re used to rock-solid keyboards. Similarly, with the trackpad, it took a bit of setup and getting used. The pinch zoom doesn’t work, as it would often get set off while using two-finger scrolling.
In the end, you have to turn off the zoom and use keyboard shortcuts. Not an ideal solution, but it is preferred to be able to use two-finger scroll and can do without pinch zoom. The pad itself feels a little slippery compared with others. But again, this is not a deal breaker, and these niggles are fixable.
Connectivity Ports
There are three ports present on the 13.3” Asus ZenBook UX310UA. On the left, you’ll get around charging socket, a USB 3.0, HDMI, USB-C and a headphone jack with an integrated microphone socket. On the right, there are two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader and a couple of lights, one for the hard drive and the other one let you know that it’s on, or if the battery is charging. It’s a pity that the two USB inputs on the right aren’t 3.0 like the one on the left, but it’s handy that there’s a USB-C port included. Similarly, the USB 3.0 port on the left-hand side of the device supports USB Charger+ technology, which allows you to quick charge external devices even while it’s off or hibernating. Asus software will help tweak the battery performance while using this functionality.
Performance
There are many competitors to the Asus ZenBook UX310UA in this price range including Dell XPS 15 9570. However, thanks to the Intel Core i7-6500U processor in the UX310UA, it can hold its own in Cinebench, scoring a respectable 310 points, and in both Geekbench tests, it gets 3,545 in single core performance and 6,667 in multi-core. In general office work, there isn’t much of a discernible difference. The 3DMark tests are predictably low seeing as there’s no discrete graphics card; it has only an onboard Intel HD Graphics 620. It scraped 4,000 on the Cloud Gate test. If you’re looking to play games, then you should go for some other alternative. Asus Zenbook UX310UQ having an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX tucked inside, it suffers from thermal throttling which is not ideal for prolonged gaming sessions.
The brain behind this laptop is a Kaby Lake Intel Core i7-6500U, 2.5GHz processor. Asus has overclocked it to 2.7GHz for the extra boost. It’s coupled with an ample 8 GB of DDR4, 2,133MHz RAM upgraded to a humongous 20GB. Specs-wise, you’re getting a pretty good deal.
Battery Life and Fan
The battery life of Asus Zenbook UX310UQ was decent at 4 hrs 13 mins on PC Mark’s harsh battery test. It suffered a bit with our film loop test, though, only reaching 5 hours 24 mins. In everyday use, you will find the battery life passable. It would last a working day at a push, and longer with more casual use.
There was a slight issue with fan management – fan is always on. It’s not loud, but it will be noticeable in a silent room. Mechanical operations usually consume more power and drain out the battery fast (one of the many reasons CD drives are nowhere to be found in modern portable machines), and it’s curious shy Asus has, in turn, ditched its Fan Xpert software which could have helped in this situation. There is third party fan management software out there, but none that are specifically tailored to this machine.
The sound Quality
Coming to the speaker review, the sound quality is excellent, less tinny and more defined. The stereo pair is found on the underside of the front which, if placed on a firm surface, it will push the sound into it, adding to the warmth of the audio.
Conclusion
Concluding the review, the Asus ZenBook UX310UA is the best for writers as well as photographers. It is the product that happens when a practical everyday laptop and an expensive all-aluminum Ultrabook fall in love. It gets you the pricey look and feel of a portable, stylish machine with the features of a workhorse and a price way below that of a rival MacBook.
