Asus Announces ZenBook 3, a Retina MacBook Lookalike That is Thinner, Lighter, and Faster

[MacRumors]

ASUS today at Computex 2016 in Taiwan announced a wide range of new products, including the ZenBook 3, its third-generation ultraportable notebook that is thinner, lighter, and faster than Apple's lookalike 12-inch Retina MacBook.

The 12.5-inch ZenBook 3 has an ultra-thin 11.9mm aerospace-grade aluminum alloy chassis that weights just 2 pounds and is "50% stronger than the standard alloy" used in competing notebooks. Comparatively, the Retina MacBook is 13.1mm thick and weighs 2.03 pounds.

ZenBook 3's display is crafted from edge-to-edge, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 4, with a 1,920x1,080 pixels resolution and wide 72% NTSC color gamut. The notebook has a slim bezel design that provides an 82% screen-to-body ratio for a maximum viewing experience with a minimal footprint.

The Windows-based notebook is powered by up to an Intel Core i7 processor and features 16GB of 2133MHz RAM, up to 1TB of PCIe 3.0-based flash storage, and quad-speaker audio by Harman Kardon. Like the Retina MacBook, the ZenBook 3 has a single USB-C port for charging and connecting peripherals.

ASUS includes a dongle with USB 3.0, USB-C, and HDMI ports in the box, while a larger universal dock is available with additional connectivity options.

ASUS sacrificed a fanless design like the Retina MacBook has in favor of increased performance, but the ZenBook 3 has an innovative cooling system that features the "world's thinnest fan design" at just 3mm. The notebook delivers up to 9 hours of battery life with fast-charging technology for recharging up to 60% capacity in 49 minutes.

ZenBook 3 is available in three spun-metal finishes, Royal Blue, Rose Gold, and Quartz Grey, based on a two-phase anodizing process that creates golden highlights on the diamond-cut edges. Whereas the Retina MacBook's keyboard is always black, the ZenBook 3's keyboard matches the color of each finish.

The full-sized backlit keyboard also has 19.8mm key pitch and a slightly deeper 0.8mm key travel, compared to 0.5mm on the Retina MacBook's ultra-thin butterfly mechanism keyboard that some have contested. Next to the keyboard is a glass trackpad with palm-rejection technology, Smart Gestures, and handwriting support.

An optional built-in fingerprint reader with Windows Hello support enables users to sign in and unlock the ZenBook 3 with one finger tap, in lieu of having to type their password or PIN. Similarly, the 2016 MacBook Pro may feature Touch ID as Apple works on an unlocking-via-iPhone feature for OS X 10.12.

ZenBook 3 will be available in the third quarter of 2016, starting at $999 in the U.S. for the base model with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. A 512GB SSD model will sell for $1,499, while the top-range Intel Core i7 model with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD will cost $1,999.

ASUS also announced the Zenbo home robot, the ZenFone 3 Series, the ASUS Transformer 3 Series, and multiple other new products.

Article Link: Asus Announces ZenBook 3, a Retina MacBook Lookalike That is Thinner, Lighter, and Faster

 

[Dilster3k]

Yeah what do you expect? A bag of potatoes are faster than the entire Mac line-up since they haven't been updated properly.

Edit: Ships with a USB-C adapter included? How generous, take notes Apple...

 

[KingOfStuff]

who gives a hoot how "Thin" stuff is

 

[StrangeNoises]

No retina/HiDPI screen. Lost interest. (No wonder it's cheaper.)

Which is a shame as otherwise it looks quite nice.

 

[JCrz]

Yeah? Well, at WWDC Tim Cook will unveil a full line of nylon covers for the MacBook that shows the world how innovative Apple is.

 

[east85]

I'd probably consider this over the new rMB if Windows 10 wasn't essentially spyware.

 

[lars666]

Fingerprint sensors included in our notebooks / desktop computer keyboards (in combination with a clever software communicating with our Internet browsers) to finally get rid of typing/saving passwords for every online account is SO overdue. It's by far the safest, easiest and fastest way, we wouldn't even need password managers like 1Password anymore. We have 2016, when will this finally happen?!

 

[sfwalter]

who gives a hoot how "Thin" stuff is

Apple does.

 

[Serban]

I'd probably consider this over the new rMB if Windows 10 wasn't essentially spyware.

test it before buy it, macbook still has a better keyboard trackpad battery screen and speakers

 

[mobilebuddha]

Really dig the blue.

 

[SteveJobs2.0]

You shouldn't have mentioned that it is thinner! Now Ivy will spend all of R&D resources on making the next MacBook the thinnest yet even if it means making sacrifices in other areas such as performance, battery life, camera, ergonomics, etc!

 

[DTphonehome]

That's a damn fine looking machine. Weak points vs MacBook look to be battery life and screen resolution. Surprised they didn't put in a second USB port to avoid all the drama Apple is facing over their decision to go with just one.

 

[8692574]

Surprised they didn't put in a second USB port to avoid all the drama Apple is facing over their decision to go with just one.

At least they include the dongle .

Fingerprint sensors included in our notebooks / desktop computer keyboards (in combination with a clever software communicating with our Internet browsers) to finally get rid of typing/saving passwords for every online account is SO overdue. It's by far the safest, easiest and fastest way, we wouldn't even need password managers like 1Password anymore. We have 2016, when will this finally happen?!

I do not have a problem with password...1Password solved every issue I had...it does the job fine and I don't have to give my fingerprint to everybody

 

[justperry]

Fingerprint sensors included in our notebooks / desktop computer keyboards (in combination with a clever software communicating with our Internet browsers) to finally get rid of typing/saving passwords for every online account is SO overdue. It's by far the safest, easiest and fastest way, we wouldn't even need password managers like 1Password anymore. We have 2016, when will this finally happen?!

But, if the police wants to get into your laptop they can legally do so with a fingerprint scanner, not with a password, but hey, I don't live in the states nor am I a criminal.

 

[Santabean2000]

Pretty sweet, but it ain't running OS X...

 

[username:]

The screen!!!! When are they going to realise they need to match the MacBooks PPI!!! Ffs

 

[A MacBook lover]

Looks great, but it runs Windows.

 

[JamesDo]

Intel i7, take notice Apple.

 

[wheelhot]

I don't get it why notebooks like these is able to put Intel Core i7 in it while the MacBook gets a crippled Intel Core M?

I remember the original MBA launch where SJ showed why netbooks is horrible and one of the points was Intel Atom (or along low powered processor or something) Guess what Apple, Core M is the new Atom, and you're using it in your MacBooks!

 

[lars666]

I do not have a problem with password...1Password solved every issue I had...it does the job fine and I don't have to give my fingerprint to everybody

You wouldn't give your fingerprint to anybody. It would be the same system used in the iPhone – your fingerprint would only be stored as a digital signature locally saved in a secure enclave. If the servers of your online service gets hacked, the hackers still won't be able to login to your account (like HBCI banking), in comparison to stored passwords. What's not to like and prefer?

And don't let me get started on 2-factor authentification – now that's a REAL pain in the ass. Hate it every time I want to quickly pay something with PayPal, but I keep it turned on anyway because I want to be on the safe side. Fingerprint sensor would make all this **** obsolete – much more secure AND much more easy. No compromise on ANY side.

 

[RedBear]

Uh, somebody screwed up in the article. It's 910g, that's just under 1 KILOGRAM, which is just over 2 pounds. Which makes a lot more sense than this thing being less than half the weight of the MacBook. It weighs about the same as the MacBook. Still has more RAM and is faster, though. Looks nice. Wonder if it can be turned into a hackintosh.

EDIT: They fixed it.

 

[furi0usbee]

Edit: Ships with a USB-C adapter included? How generous, take notes Apple...

Apples takes note, yet still doesn't dream of including one of their own

 

[jlc1978]

Pricing is said to start at the magic $999 price point. The big question, of course, is it fully Hackintosh compatible?

 

[soupcan]

1 USB-C port for everything?

Has Asus not payed attention? It's the thing that people don't like the most about the MacBook, other than that horrible keyboard, the underpowered Core M and that ****** 480p camera. That, Asus got right, but that one USB-C port will be a dealbreaker to a lot of people. Might as well buy a tablet at that point.

 

[Serban]

for a consumer, SO NOT FOR a heavy load WHO will opt for an i5 or i7 but has more heat and noise to a much worse experience than a macbook just for what, a beautiful screen is nice to have in any device. who needs more power dont buy a sleek ultrabook