After the brief stint with a laptop capable of crushing a man’s skull, ASUS then proceeded to tell me, “Hey, here’s a lighter, less dangerous one. You might want to try it.” The looks of the ASUS Zenbook UX305CA by then was definitely appealing, prompting me to immediately say a resounding “YES!” thus giving you the review article that you’re currently reading.
Looks
Apologies for the crappy pics, my camera’s been having some problems lately. Or I might be the problem.
As thin as a biscuit, one would be more than wise not to eat the ASUS Zenbook UX305CA. It’s made out of an aluminum body that’s 1.2kg heavy and just 1.23cm thick. It can snugly fit inside an envelope and no one would notice that you’re bringing one sweet-looking piece of technology.
Top-side, there’s nothing to see aside from the glowering silver ASUS logo. The unit lent was white and it did show some smudges after the pictorial.
Behind the cover shows a 13.3″ IPS panel that’s capable of displaying at 1920×1080. Above it sits a web camera.
We go to the workspace. Here, we see a chiclet keyboard minus the numpad. It’s not backlit but it sports lowered keys, leveling the users fingers with the wrists, thereby allowing for easier typing. Below is the keyboard is a standard touchpad.
Left-side, we’re treated to two USB 3.0 ports and a slot for a MicroSD card. On the other side, is another USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, the power port, and 3.5mm for input/output audio.
Located at the left and right edges of the ASUS Zenbook UX305CA’s bottom face are holes for the ultrabook’s speakers.
Hardware
The hardware of the ASUS Zenbook UX305CA leaves more to want. It is powered by a modest Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor clocked at 1.51Ghz. From memory, it comes with 4GB of RAM and since this is an ultrabook, the user is stuck with it and without room for upgrade. Storage-wise, it’s fast. But that comes with a hefty price. The ASUS Zenbook UX305CA utilizes a Micron M200 128GB of M.2 SATA storage and that’s about it. If you see yourself using more than about 120GB of usable space, be sure to bring a trusty external drive.
For connectivity, the ASUS Zenbook UX305CA is capable of Bluetooth 4.0 connection and 802.11ac.
Thermal Design
This thing is cool. While we can take that both literally and subjectively, the ASUS Zenbook UX305CA manages its temperatures well. The design keeps up to the usual “office-load” tasks such as crafting documents, writing up spreadsheets, or casually surfing the net. Its hardware limitations and choice can also be determined to be of help in the ultrabooks management of heat.
Conclusion
There’s nothing much to tease or be disappointed about with the ASUS Zenbook UX305CA. It’s a well-built laptop that’s incredibly mobile and does its intended job well. The design makes good use of its thinness and despite that, temperatures are kept at very acceptable levels.
But again, all of these come at a price. You’ll be sacrificing hardware prowess for the device’s increased mobility. A similarly priced laptop can pack more firepower minus the form and finesse. The ASUS Zenbooks UX305CA’s hardware may prove to be limiting to some users and this in turn numbers the programs that can be run. Also, we’re not keen to test its durability but by experience, we fear of its integrity after accidental slips.
For the last peeve, the power adapter could’ve been improved by allowing the prongs to be folded instead of them being permanently standing at attention.
A word of advice if you’re planning to buy the white one: prepare to clean, rinse and repeat.
With that,we can say that it is up to no contest that this is one sweet looking piece of technology. The ASUS Zenbook UX305CA is a refined design of the older Zenbooks at a price that’s more affordable. The sample that we had for review might not be the powerhouse beast of your dreams but with its silent purr and incredibly mobile build, it’s one of those things to always have inside your bag together with your wallet and phone.
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