Asus ZenBook 13 UX333FA review 


Dell’s XPS 13 has hogged our top spot among laptops for the past few years, but a strong contender has always lingered in its shadow. The Asus ZenBook 13 300-series. Though not quite as nice as the XPS 13, the ZenBook 13 consistently delivers great performance and practical portability. Its workmanlike look was its only weakness.






The new Asus ZenBook 13 UX333 directly addresses that sore spot. It’s slimmer, more compact, and sports the stunning blue-and-gold look Asus debuted on earlier, more expensive laptops like the ZenBook 3.


Trickle-down luxury

As mentioned, the ZenBook 13 UX333 has a unique blue-and-gold colorway that first arrived on the Asus ZenBook 3, a top-tier laptop line Asus debuted in 2017. It absolutely stands out from the crowd, but it’s not so garish that you’ll be shy about whipping it out at a meeting. A darker, Slate Gray model is available, but the more common “Royal Blue” model is our favorite.



Otherwise, this ZenBook 13 is the very picture of a modern laptop. It’s slim at 0.55 inches thick, and light at about 2.7 pounds. The display has thin bezels, something earlier models notably lacked, and the chassis is constructed from durable metal that feels luxurious in-hand. We also like the “concentric circle” etching across the lid. It’s subtle, but it adds texture to what would otherwise be a slab of flat, matte metal.



A good keyboard that makes weird choices

Let’s start with the good news. Asus’ ZenBook 13 UX333FA doesn’t sacrifice keyboard travel to achieve its thin profile. The keyboard feels great, easily on par with the Dell XPS 13. Apple’s MacBook Air feels like a block of wood by comparison.



That’s a good first impression, but there’s a problem. Asus made the strange decision to cram (almost) full-sized arrow keys into the lower right corner. That means the right-side Shift and Control keys must be smaller. That’s annoying.