ASUS ZenBook 13 UX325 (11th Gen Intel version) First Impressions

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Released in the Philippines last month, the new ZenBook 13 UX325 is ASUS’ premium notebook offering that combines portability, style, and performance. And while ASUS already released a UX325 model a few months ago, the latest ZenBook 13 is a refreshed model that comes with the latest 11th gen Intel Core i5 processor. Thanks to this, the new ZenBook 13 has all the makings of a great laptop for professionals or for students in higher education.

While the new ZenBook 13 has an updated processor, it pretty much looks the same as its predecessor. That’s not a bad thing though as the ZenBook 13’s design still looks nice and premium, all while being slim and portable.

Aside from looking good when opened and viewed from the front, the ZenBook 13’s back also looks striking yet elegant. This is thanks to the brushed metal finish along with ASUS’ signature concentric circle design. If having a laptop that feels premium is important for you, the ZenBook 13 UX325 will not disappoint.

Another ASUS signature that the ZenBook 13 has is the NumberPad 2.0, an LED numpad that’s integrated into the touchpad. Thanks to this, users can enjoy using a numpad, even though the laptop does not have one in its keyboard. And if you don’t need it, you can simply turn it off by tapping the top right part of the touchpad.

Now we move on to internals, the biggest update in the new ZenBook 13. Powering the laptop is an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor that has an integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics card. The laptop also has a 512GB SSD and 8GB of RAM.

Compared to the 10th gen i5 of its predecessor, the 11th gen i5 of the new ZenBook 13 should provide a clear performance boost. The integrated Iris Xe GPU also promises better graphics performance which should be useful when running select programs. Of course, we still have to fully test out the ZenBook 13 before we can give our verdict on performance.

For its display, the laptop has a 13.3” Full HD screen with 2.9mm-thin side bezels and a 12.9mm bottom bezel, making for an 88% screen-to-body ratio. Thanks to this, the laptop’s display is quite promising for media consumption.

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As for I/O, the ZenBook 13 UX325 has 2 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, an HDMI port, and a MicroSD card reader.

While the headphone jack may be missing, the ZenBook 13 UX325 does include a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack dongle, as well as an ethernet port dongle that attaches to the USB-A port. While having these ports in the laptop itself would’ve been nice, the bundled dongles are much appreciated.

It may not have much of a difference in the looks department over its predecessor, the ZenBook 13 UX325 is a promising notebook for professionals and for students. This is becaus the it should have better performance over the previous ZenBook 13 model thanks to the new 11th gen Intel processor.

Before we can give our final verdict though, we’ll have to test out the ZenBook 13 some more to see if it is worth the PHP 54,995 price tag. So watch out for our full review coming very soon!