Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Review: A Premium OLED Laptop With An Affordable Price Tag

|

Asus has emerged as one of the leading brands when it comes to innovative technologies, especially for its laptops. The company offers a diverse range of products that caters to every need as well as budget. Similarly, the newly launched Asus ZenBook 13 OLED UM325 offers premium features like an OLED display, AMD Ryzen's performance, and much more at an affordable price tag.

 

Rating:
4.0/5

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Review

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED

Here, the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED, as the name suggests, packs a 13.3-inch OLED screen. OLED panels on phones, laptops, or even smart TVs are generally priced on the higher-end. However, Asus says the ZenBook 13 OLED is one of the most affordable laptops with this kind of display. This laptop currently starts from Rs. 79,990 for the AMD version.

The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED laptops are also available with an Intel chipset, starting with the Intel Core i5 chipset that starts from Rs. 84,490. Apart from the OLED and the capable processors, the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED has a lot more to offer. I've discussed its performance and other functionality in this detailed review.

Specifications

Specifications

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics
Display: 13.3-inch OLED
Memory: 16GB LPDDR4X RAM
Storage: 1TB NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD
Battery: 67Wh battery
Weight: 1.14Kg

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Design: Classy And Comfortable
 

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Design: Classy And Comfortable

On the surface, the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED laptop looks like any other thin & light, premium laptop. You'll find a sleek build and a compact body. The laptop weighs just 1.14 Kg, making it ideal for carrying around or even for the work-from-home culture. It's just 13.9mm in thickness, which further makes it perfect to fit inside a bag.

Notably, the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED doesn't offer a convertible hinge that you can use as a tab. A lot of premium, thin & light laptops offer this feature, but Asus seems to have missed out on this. That said, this laptop gives you a precision-engineered ErgoLift hinge, enabling you to work seamlessly with a slightly tilted keyboard either on your lap or your desk or even on your bed.

packs a few ports

The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED packs a few ports. This includes 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support display/power delivery, 1x HDMI 2.1, and a Micro SD card reader. Compared to laptops like the Fujitsu UH-X convertible laptop, there are fewer ports on this one. For instance, there's no Thunderbolt support on the ZenBook 13 OLED.

The overall design element on the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED is simply classy and comfortable despite its shortcomings. The border-less display, lightweight build, edge-to-edge keyboard, among other things are flaunted with the Pine Grey-colored body. In short, this US MIL-STD 810H military-grade laptop is an ideal laptop to carry around and work with.

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED: The Screen Makes Everything Better

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED: The Screen Makes Everything Better

One of the best aspects of the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED laptop is the display. OLED screens are considered to be way better than their LED counterparts for several reasons. When it comes to picture quality, OLED screens are considered to be significantly better than LED, which is even more highlighted with smart TVs and laptops.

The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED offers a 13.3-inch OLED screen with 1920 x 1080 FHD resolution. The display packs a 16:9 aspect ratio with 400 nits peak brightness, DCI-P3: 100%, and a screen-to-body ratio of 88 percent. This Glassy display is Pantone Validated, offering an even better experience. This Asus laptop flaunts the NanoEdge HDR display, which simply makes the visuals even more vivid and real.

OLED screens

Several additional factors make the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED better. For instance, OLED screens make the entire chassis lighter and thinner as well as make it energy-efficient. I felt even with high brightness I could watch/stream video content on the laptop without much battery drain. The ZenBook 13 OLED also offers low blue light that can be quite damaging to your eyes. This is why Asus has included no-flicker eye care for this laptop.

That said, there are still a few setbacks. The laptop doesn't offer touchscreen support or Pen support. We've seen a lot of thin & light laptops shipping with a Pen or at least including touchscreen support. However, this laptop skips this feature, one of my reasons for a reduced rating.

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Keyboard, Audio, Camera: Seamlessly Efficient

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Keyboard, Audio, Camera: Seamlessly Efficient

The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED paves way for a unique keyboard system. This laptop brings out a new edge-to-edge keyboard design. As you can see, there's no room for waste, and every space is efficiently utilized. For instance, the extra function keys on the right side are surely welcome.

I also felt the trackpad was much bigger than other laptops. This gives you more space to move around with the cursor. That's not all. The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED includes the Asus NumberPad 2.0, which is a dual-function touchpad integrated with an LED-illuminated numeric keypad. Even when NumberPad is activated, the touchpad can be used for cursor control, making it handy.

audio system

The audio system on the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED also needs a special mention. The Harman/Kardon premium speakers offer Smart Amp Technology. The built-in speaker and the microphone have a few additional features. For instance, the laptop is equipped with AI noise-cancellation for clearer and better speech output. Hawkers or vendors disturbing your online meeting at home? Not to worry, this Asus laptop will cancel out the external noise!

Lastly, the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED includes an HD camera with an IR function. With support for Windows Hello, one can easily sign in to their system. I also used the laptop for a couple of video calls and the overall picture quality was impressive. The IR camera and the OLED screen together make a great setup for your online meetings.

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Performance: Benchmark Scorecard

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Performance: Benchmark Scorecard

The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED that I've reviewed here is a high-end model. This laptop gets its power from the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor that's coupled with the AMD Radeon Graphics. The processor is paired with 16GB LPDDR4X RAM and a 1TB NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD. Everything under the hood is quite powerful on this machine.

To test its real prowess, I ran a couple of benchmark tests. The Geekbench single-core test revealed 1156 points and 5776 on the multi-core test. Similarly, the CPU-Z benchmark test resulted in 477 points in single-core and 4062 in the multi-core test. Likewise, the Cinebench R23 testing showed 4481 points in the multi-core test.

PC Mark 10

Apart from these, I also ran GPU-based tests on the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED. The PC Mark 10 overall result showed 5008 points, giving 7829 points for productivity and 5082 points for digital content creation. Lastly, on the 3D Mark test, the laptop scored 3896 in CPU testing and 950 in graphics testing, with an overall score of 1071.

The numbers show the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED is on par with several powerful machines. For instance, the Fujitsu UH-X convertible laptop scored 4934 in multi-core and 1446 in single-core Geekbench test. However, this laptop was powered by the Intel Core i7-1165G7 chipset. Simply put, the AMD Ryzen 7 chipset here is a capable processor that'll get your work done.

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Real-Life Performance: Not A Glitch

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Real-Life Performance: Not A Glitch

I used the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED for a diverse range of activities, both personal and professional. And I didn't find a single glitch. The AMD Ryzen chipset seamlessly handles multiple tasks at once. I also played a couple of games on the laptop (low-end, basic games) and found it rather enjoyable. Be it browsing the internet for hours or working on your doc/excel file, this laptop can handle your tasks without a glitch.

 battery

The battery is another aspect that makes this seamless performance possible. The Asus ZenBook 13 OLED packs a 67Wh 4S1P 4-cell Li-ion battery. Asus says the laptop can last up to 16 hours on a single charge. However, this depends on the activities you run. For me, the laptop lasted a maximum of up to 10 hours, which is pretty good as it can get most of my daily routine done.

When it comes to the charging time, I must say the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED is quite impressive again. The company says it can charge up to 60 percent in under an hour - and this is true. I left it on for roughly an hour and a half, and it was nearly 80 percent full. This further helps in saving charging time, especially when there are power cuts and other problems while staying at home.

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Verdict: Worth Every Penny

Asus ZenBook 13 OLED Verdict: Worth Every Penny

Ultimately the question is whether you should buy this laptop. Based on my experience, the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED laptop will make a good buy if you're looking for a premium laptop. The lightweight build and the ergonomic design are huge plus points. And not to forget AMD Ryzen's performance that's simply top-notch. More importantly, the OLED screen here is the driving factor that makes it worth every penny.

Best Mobiles in India

Read More About: asus amd oled laptops news

Best Phones

Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Yes No
Settings X
X