Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA Hands-On Review, First Impressions

Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA has been unveiled to the public in Asus' Transcendence event last March 15. In one setting we could definitely say that the new Zenfone 3 Deluxe is the bigger and improved successor to last year's Zenbook 3. It caters improvements in several aspects of the original Zenbook 3 like the battery life, necessary ports, fingerprint scanner and keyboard familiarization. We were very lucky to have experienced the new Zenbook 3 Deluxe, please join us as we dish out our hands-on review and first impressions of this solid computing device.
  
Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe Review


Design: Display, Keyboard, Harman Kardon Speaker, Touchpad

The golden chamfered edge separates the new Zenbook 3 Deluxe from its little brother, Zenbook 3, in terms of design. This means that it still has the faultless spun-metal design philosophy that we all love. The flagship color is now in blue-gray hue which gives this powerful device more premium register in the eyes.

The Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe


Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe Review Philippines


Likewise, we now have thinner bezel which frames the 14-inch (in diagonal) Full HD display. Talking about Php 104,995 price, we do feel that the device could have a QHD resolution. Asus, however, is very keen on the said department. The company is stressing that the display covers 100% of sRGB gamut with its 300nits of light intensity which is more than enough for visual-centric users. Nevertheless, the screen still looks stunning with the glossy layer Gorilla Glass 5 on top of the actual display module.



The frame also houses the new Harman Kardon four-way speaker system. Though we have not tested how these speakers punch in real world, we could tell that it's going to be an up-scaled experience basing on how we love the original Zenbook 3's speaker.



There's also a noticeable difference in the keyboard. Its backlit keys are now softer and offers convenient typing - Asus claims this to have 1.2mm depth of travel. The Zenbook 3 Deluxe's touchpad stages the return of the fingerprint sensor on the top right corner. It's now wider with character-based scribbling feature as text input to the device.

Hardware and Internals: Kaby Lake Intel Core i7, 16GB

The Zenbook 3 Deluxe body is slightly bigger than its smaller brother. Likewise, this gives room for additional space for your processor to cool down on top of the Asus proprietary liquid-crystal polymer cooling system. Plus, the body now offers a generous number of ports for connectivity. To be specific, the Zenbook 3 Deluxe sports three USB Type C ports, all can be used for charging.


Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe Review Philippines


Plus, it’s also a breath of fresh air to know that two ports have Thunderbolt 3 inputs. This means that you can have the flexibility in using this ports for display, data transfer, etc. There may be no SD card slot but the inclusion of a 3.5-mm standard audio jack could patch the former’s shortcoming. The top of the line WiFi 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 4.1 also offer the best wireless connectivity.

Under the hood, there’s a 7th Generation Kaby Lake Intel Core i7 processor and a beefy 16GB DDR4 memory running at 2,133 MHz speed. In terms of memory, you’ll get a whopping 1TB solid-state storage.


Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe Review Philippines



The Zenbook 3 Deluxe has a juicier battery life than the standard Zenbook 3. The company stresses that it’ll have a reliable 10-hour battery life. Given the fact that this iteration of the Zenbook line only weighs 1.09kg and measures 12.7-mm thin, its definitely the ultraportable computing device to beat.

Conclusion

Posing itself as the main competitor of the Macbook Pro, the Zenbook 3 Deluxe could exceed expectations. The current offering is absolutely an improvement to the very popular Zenbook 3. Though I must say that Asus should’ve given an extra boost in the screen resolution at this price standpoint, the exquisiteness of the design and hardware muscle could easily make you forget that you’re looking at a Full HD display.

ASUS ZenBook 3 Deluxe (UX490UA) Specs


14-inch LED-backlit Slim 300nits FHD (1920 x 1080p)
16:9 Anti-Glare Panel, NTSC 72%, WV 60Hz
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Intel Core i7 7500U Processor, 2.7 GHz (4M Cache, up to 3.5 GHz)
Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620
16GB DDR4 RAM
256GB/512GB/1TB SSD
Illuminated Chiclet Keyboard
Multi-format card reader
VGA Web Camera
Integrated 802.11 AC
Built-in Bluetooth V4.1
Microphone-in/Headphone-out jack
2x USB 3.1 TYPE C port (Thunderbolt)
USB 3.1 TYPE C port
Fingerprint reader
Quad-speaker w/ 4-channel smart AMP powered by Harman Kardon
Windows 10 Pro
4-Cell 46 Whrs Li-Ion Polymer Battery
32.9 x 21.6 x 0, 1.29 cm
Php 104,995 for 1TB SSD variant
Php 89,995 for 512GB SSD variant
Php 81,995 for 256GB SSD variant


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