The latest refresh of the ASUS Zenbook pro is a step up from last year’s iteration. But before we even delve ourselves deeper to how it outperforms last year’s Zenbook Pro, let’s us first marvel the beauty and elegance this year’s version.
It is crazy thin at 18.9mm and weights a little lighter than the latest Macbook Pro with Touchbar (1.8kg vs 1.83kg). Its overwall built, Zen-inspired spun-metal finish and design give it a pompous look, thanks to its solid-aluminum unibody features with diamond-cut edges.
It has a 15.6″ 4K UHD display with 100% sRGP and 72% color gamut – a treat to creative producers. Pixels per inch is outstanding at 282 pixels, which gives viewable content look sharper compared to other screens.
As for connectivity and peripherals, the device has 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type A ports, 1 SD card slot and 3.5mm headphone jack on its right side. There are also 2 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C and HDMI ports on its left side.
The new Zenbook Pro also comes with a full-size silver-backlit keyboard with 1.5mm key travel. It’s a little cramped up in my opinion, but some consumers may fin it comfortable and accurate to use. Its touchpad, just like the Zenbook Flip S, is glass covered for smooth control and features a palm-rejection technology.
ASUS made sure to make every bit of features of Windows 10 available on the Zenbook Pro. In fact, the latest Windows Hello technology is fully functional on the new laptop. To know more about what Windows Hello is, check the video below:
https://youtu.be/1AsoSnOmhvU
As for performance, the new Zenbook Pro is powered with the latest 7th generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ with 6MB cache for Zenbook Pro UX550VD and Intel Core i7-7300HQ with 6MB cache for Zenbook Pro UX550VE.
It is also built with the gamers and video producers in mind. The higher variant is installed with NVIDIA GeForce 1050Ti, while the lower variant is installed with NVIDIA GeForce 1050.
Meanwhile, consumers have the option to get a Zenbook Pro with 8GB or 16GB RAM.
Perhaps, one of the best things about the Zenbook Pro (which isn’t usually pointed out) is its 14-hour battery life. Of course, this is something that we wish to test if their claim reflects real world scenario. We’re reserving our thoughts until we review a retail version of the product.
As this is positioned to the high-net worth market segment, it’s pre-tax base price of $1299 (USD) is a little steep, but still way cheaper than the base model of the Macbook Pro, which retails for $1499.
ASUS Zenbook Pro Specifications
- Processor: (1) Intel Core i7-7700HQ / (2) Intel Core i5-7300HQ
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti/1050
- Display: 15.6” LED-backlit 4K UHD (3840 by 2160 16:9) / 15.6” LED-backlit Full HD (1920 by 1080 16:9)
- Memory: 8gb/16gb 2400 MHz LPDDR3 onboard
- Storage: 1TB / 512GB PCIe SSD512GB / 256GB SATA3 SSD
- Interfaces: 2 x Type-C™ USB 3.1 Gen 2 (thunderbolt); 2 x Type-A; USB 3.1 Gen 1; 1 x HDMI1 x Combo audio jack; 1 x Micro SD Card reader
- Keyboard: Full-size backlit, with 1.5mm key travel
- Touchpad: Glass-covered touchpad with finger print sensor
- Speaker: Harman Kardon-certified quad-speaker ASUS SonicMaster Premiere stereo
- Camera: VGA Web Camera
- Wireless Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
- Battery: Up to 14 hours battery life 73Wh 8-cell lithium-polymer
- Height: 1.89cm; Width: 36.5cm; Depth: 25.1cm; Weight: 1.8kg
- $1299 (USD)
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
