Asus ZenBook Pro UX501JW wants to shake up Apple’s tree, we find out whether it is the real deal or just a pretender.
Ever since Apple MacBooks came into the market, they have been the benchmark for the premium laptop segment. In time, Microsoft based laptop makers started competing with Apple, but no one has managed to create an aura the MacBook enjoys. The latest challenger to join this bandwagon is Asus. The Taiwanese company wants to be a serious player in ultrabook market. We review their flagship model ZenBook Pro UX501JW, and find out whether it can really match the mighty MacBook.
My first impression was that this ultrabook looks stunning, but its big in size. Lift it and yes its heavy too, you can feel the 2.2 kilograms weighing in on you. This is disappointing as the 15-inch MacBook Pro weighs 2 kilograms, and trust me when you have to lug your laptop around, you can feel the additional weight. Moving on from its bulky metal body, its aluminium build quality is right up there and feels very premium. I was even more impressed with the soft keyboard buttons, which is also backlit. The inbuilt Bang & Olufsen speakers beneath the keyboard provides crystal clear sound. The UX501JW’s USP is 15.6-inch UHD (3840×2160) IPS display as it provides vivid rich colours and it’s also touch enabled, which is quite responsive but you end up getting a lot of finger prints on the screen.
With most SSD based laptops, memory space is a compromise unless you are ready to a pay a premium But that’s not the case with Asus as it comes loaded with an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and Nvidia GTX 960M graphics. This translates into lightening performance for day-to-day usage. It’s not a slouch when it comes to gaming either, as it captures the graphics of most the leading titles. The ultrabook loses out on battery back up as it barely stretches to 6 hours.
The ZenBook Pro UX501JW is available at Rs. 1,15,999 lakhs, it feels premium and has a 4K display. Specifications wise, it is fully loaded, but the weight is something one can’t ignore. Asus needs to reduce the frame of the laptop as it’s too big in size.
