Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-DH51 Review
Our favorite Asus ZenBook 13 is back for 2021, packed with the latest 11 th generation processors and rocking a Full HD OLED panel for fantastic, vibrant colors and some solid CPU performance. The model we’re reviewing – the UX325EA-DH51, comes with Windows 11 pre-installed, but everything else remains unchanged over its Windows 10-based predecessor, the Asus UX325EA-DS51, from last year.
Once again, its Intel Iris Plus graphics card option makes it a better choice over the AMD Ryzen 5000 variant of the same model that features a Radeon graphics card; both models have Thunderbolt 4 support. Still, the lack of a headphone jack holds the ZenBook 13 from being truly great.
That doesn’t mean this isn’t one of the best Ultrabooks on the market now, though it is. From its gorgeous design and lightweight chassis to its bright and vibrant 400-nit OLED display, the Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA is one of the best-looking ultrabooks that easily takes on the Dell XPS 13 and Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) but rings a much lower price than both rivals. It’s also a good bit lighter than both of those, losing only to the very most lightweight notebooks like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano.
Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA Specs
Here is the Asus ZenBook 13 configuration in this Digital Weekly review:
- Laptop Class: Personal, Student, Business
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
- RAM: 8GB
- Screen: 13.3-inch, OLED 1080p, 400 nits
- Storage: 256B PCIe SSD
- Ports: 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1xHDMI 2.1, MicroSD
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
- Camera: 720p IR webcam
- Weight: 2.51lbs (1.14kg)
- Size (W x D x H): 11.97 x 7.99 x 0.55ins
Design
The design of the Asus ZenBook 13 is undoubtedly one of its main standout features. Asus created a seriously lightweight Ultrabook, measuring just 0.55-inches and weighing 2.51 pounds. The aluminum chassis has a sleek brushed metal design on the lid that radiates out from the Asus logo emblemed off-center on the front. It’s an art piece that you’ll proudly whip out in public.
Port selection is excellent for an Ultrabook: two USB Type-C, a USB Type-A, an HDMI 2.0 output port, and a microSD slot. You’ll notice that a headphone jack is absent, which, honestly, we’d have preferred to remain in exchange for a microSD card slot.
Display
The ZenBook 13’s display is colorful with precise detail when you’re watching movies. The Asus ZenBook 13 lacks a touch-enabled screen, which is still fine, despite the robust touch capabilities built into Windows 11 that are useful for everyday computing tasks like browsing the web and minimizing app Windows. The ZenBook 13 also lacks a 4K display option.
The only display available in the Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-DH51 line is a full-HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) LED-backlit panel, which can be configured with either 400 nits or 300 nits of brightness. Our review unit has the brighter version, which we highly recommend unless you’re looking to eke out as much battery life as possible, in which the 300-nit backlight would be a preferable choice.
Right above the display, there’s an HD (720p) webcam with IR sensors that support face recognition logins as well as Windows Hello. Its video quality is average; the picture is slightly noisy even in bright indoor lighting setups.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The edge-to-edge keyboard is comfortable enough for daily use, though some might find the keyboard layout too cramped, that’s expected of a 13-inch laptop. As for the touchpad, it is fine but not as responsive or comfortable as you’ll find on the XPS 13. Still, we like the tapping experience as you can even transform the touchpad into a calculator with virtual backlit buttons.
One thing that stands out, though, is the ErgoLift design that lifts the keyboard towards you as you fully extend the screen, making typing to be more pleasant than it would otherwise be.
Performance
The Asus ZenBook 13 (UX325EA-DH51) is one of the first production laptops we’ve reviewed with Intel’s Tiger Lake CPUs and Windows 11 pre-installed. The Intel Core i5-1135G7 has four cores, eight threads, and a base frequency of 2.4Ghz. It also uses Intel’s latest Iris Xe graphics processor. The integrated graphics engine offers performance that’s within striking distance of an entry-level gaming laptop with a discrete GPU and is a boon to people who prefer an ultraportable laptop but occasionally need to play games on the side.
To ascertain the ZenBook’s performance, we stacked it side-by-side with a few other comparably priced ultraportable laptops, including the Acer Swift 3 and the Apple MacBook Air. You can see their basic specs in the table below.
The Asus ZenBook 13 is great, especially in single-core performance, though the same can’t be said of the multicore performance. This is pretty typical of Intel chips which tend to lag slightly at multitasking than AMD chips but perform so well in intensive apps that require higher single-core power, like gaming or video encoding.
That said, the Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD storage are capable enough for general use and productivity work. The ZenBook 3 can launch 30 tabs of Google Chrome, with some tabs running YouTube, others Twitch streams, while others run TweetDeck and GSuite applications with random news pages. The laptop won’t show any signs of sluggishness even with such a load.
The ZenBook 3 excels well even on synthetic benchmark tests, scoring 4,756 on the Geekbench 5 overall performance test, pushing past the premium 4,030 premium laptop average. The Swift 3, with its AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, came closest to matching the ZenBook 13 with a score of 4,639. The MacBook Air (M1 chip) hit 5,284, which is the kind of performance you’d find on Intel Core i7/Ryzen 7 series notebooks.
With the arrival of 11 th Gen CPUs, we’re also getting a new integrated graphic chip, Intel Iris Xe. With this new component, Intel promises gamers more play at 1080p by doubling the gaming performance of the previous generation chip.
OK, can you play AAA titles on these new integrated chips? Yes, but we’re still not convinced you should. You can get away with games like Control, but on low, so it won’t be the best-looking experience.
Battery Life
The 11 th Gen chips are part of Intel Evo, the second stage in the company’s Project Athena initiative. Evo comes with several system requirements for laptops to receive Intel’s certification. One of those is at least 9 hours of battery life for 1080p systems.
The ZenBook 13 UX325EA exceeds those expectations with 13 hours 41 minutes while browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. That’s almost three hours longer than the 10:02 premium laptop average and much better than its direct competitor, the Acer Swift 3 (11:24), while the MacBook Air leads the pack with over 17 hours on a single charge.
Verdict: Affordable, Powerful, and Impressive Portability
The Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-DH51 combines power, portability, and affordable pricing, which are the top three features that all of us want in premium ultraportable laptops. Therefore, this laptop is an excellent choice for an under-1000 notebook, which is the bottom end of the premium ultraportable category.
However, Asus did need to make a few compromises to realize the optimal blend of features. That includes a slightly inferior build quality and no option for a 4K display or a touch screen, both of which are available in the more-expensive Editors’ Choice Dell XPS 13.
These few drawbacks only keep us from awarding the Asus ZenBook 13 an Editors’ Choice award. Still, they’re certainly not enough to keep us from recommending this excellent laptop to people looking for the latest and greatest Intel chip in a slim, attractive notebook that won’t break the bank.
Asus ZenBook 13
The Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-DH51 combines power, portability, and affordable pricing, the top three features that all of us want in ultraportable laptops. It adds a gorgeous HD OLED display that you can find even on some expensive models.
Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-DS59-CA 13.3-inch (2020). Core i5-1135G7. 8 GB. SSD 256 GB
This price is given by the seller and corresponds either to the manufacturer’s recommended new price or to the average new price found at various distributors.
This price is given by the seller and corresponds either to the manufacturer’s recommended new price or to the average new price found at various distributors.
Live on Back Market since 2020
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-DS59-CA 13.3-inch (2020). Core i5-1135G7. 8 GB. SSD 256 GB
Intel Core i5-1135G7 Processor 2.4 GHz (8M Cache, up to 4.2 GHz, 4 cores) | Intel Iris Xe Graphics 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM | 256GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD 13.3-inch, FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level Panel, LED Backlit,Anti-glare display, Non-touch screen | Bilingual Keyboard Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax) (Dual Band) 22 Bluetooth 5.2 Wireless Card Windows 10 Home
Our partners are electronics experts who test and verify that each item is 100% functional before it leaves the workshop. This is the reason you benefit from a minimum 1-year warranty with the purchase of a refurbished device at Back Market.
Welcome to Back Market
The best for high-quality reborn tech by sellers we’ve checked and vetted. We don’t mind if you Google us.
Asus Zenbook 13 UX325EA-KG333T Ci7-1165G7 8/512GB SSD, Win10
Intel Core i7.1165G7 processor. Quad-core processor. 2.8GHz processor speed with a burst speed of 4.7GHz. 8GB RAM LPDDR4X. 512GB SSD storage.
Windows 10 Home. Display features:
13.3-inch screen. Full HD Display. Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels. DVD optical drives:
About Product
Asus Zenbook 13 UX325EA-KG333T Intel Core I7-1165G7 8GB RAM 512GB SSD, Win10
With the beautiful new ZenBook 13 in a sleek grey colour you can be even more portable than ever before. It’s thinner, lighter, and incredibly compact, yet includes HDMI, 2 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, USB Type-A, and a microSD card reader for unrivaled versatility. Built to deliver powerful performance, ZenBook 13 is your perfect choice for an effortless on-the-go lifestyle.
With ZenBook 13’s amazing 22-hour battery life traveling without a charger isn’t a big deal. When you do need to top up its fast-charge feature can restore the battery to a 60 percent charge level in just 49 minutes, so you’ll be ready to go in no time.
We have introduced the new edge-to-edge keyboard design. It makes space for a whole row of extra function keys on the right side of the layout which helps to improve productivity. We have also included the intelligent touchpad which switches between Numberpad and a traditional touchpad. NumberPad is best for helping boost productivity and for those who need to crunch numbers on a daily basis.
General features:
Size H1.39, W30.42, D20.3cm. Weight 1.19kg. Up to 22 hours battery life. CPU, Memory, and Operating System:
Intel Core i7.1165G7 processor. Quad-core processor. 2.8GHz processor speed with a burst speed of 4.7GHz. 8GB RAM LPDDR4X. 512GB SSD storage.
Windows 10 Home. Display features:
13.3-inch screen. Full HD Display. Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels. DVD optical drives:
Disc drive not included. Graphics:
Intel Iris Xe. Shared graphics card. Interfaces and connectivity:
Micro SD media card reader. 1 USB 3.2 port. 2 USB 4.0 ports. 1 HDMI port. Bluetooth. Wi-Fi enabled. Multimedia features:
HD webcam. Built-in mic. ICEpower sound system. Software included: 1-month trial for new Microsoft 365 customers.
30 days Microsoft 365. General information:
Manufacturer’s 1-year guarantee.
Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-XS74 Short Review Tech Specs
The new Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-XS74 is a 13-inch ultralight all rounder laptop. I’ve written a more in-depth review of the ZenBook UX325EA-DS51 model which you can read by clicking the link. There are differences between the two, but not in terms of design, size, weight, or display quality. However, these differences makes this model significantly more expensive, but not that much when compared to direct competitors.
A more powerful flagship
Now, the Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-XS74 features more in terms of processing power, available system memory and storage space. Sure, you’ll end up paying around 1,100 for this flagship device. In my book, the price hike (of around 300 or so) is well worth it.
You’ll get an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, 16 gigabytes of system memory and a more roomy 512-gigabyte solid state drive. I especially endorse those 16 gigs of RAM compared to just 8 gigs you’ll get from the more affordable model. It makes for a significantly more future proof laptop. Not to mention you’ll be able to multitask more efficiently. If you need a bigger screen, the ZenBook 14 UX435EG-XH74 features the same exact hardware specs.
For average users, the increase in processing power shouldn’t be that noticeable, although some will appreciate getting things done faster. I’m thinking at video editing, photo processing, lightweight gaming, and so on.
The ZenBook 13: an ultraportable companion
The ZenBook 13 UX325EA series excels when it comes to portability and battery life. Its reduced weight of just 2.45 pounds, coupled with a small and slender body and good battery stats make the ZenBook a favorite among daily commuters and seasoned travelers alike. What’s more, it’s affordable and dependable enough not to break the bank in the long run.
And although features are modest, its fantastic and bright OLED display will allow for excellent visuals on the go. As for ports, they’ve managed to fit a full sized HDMI port and a Type-A USB 3.2 port alongside two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports. The ZenBook features the latest in terms of wireless and Bluetooth technology. Using it on an airplane, or in a coffee shop is real pleasure.
A budget friendly alternative
It’s always advisable to see how a laptop compares to its direct competitors. The Asus ZenBook UX325EA-XS74 has two. The LG gram 14 and the Dell XPS 13. While the gram is more lightweight, you’ll end up paying around 300 more for a similar model in terms of specs. The XPS also costs about the same as the LG, but is heavier than the ZenBook, although its screen is brighter.
In my opinion, the ZenBook 13 UX325EA-XS74 is the better choice of these three. In part because of how much more affordable it is, but also how it manages to be a dependable, lightweight companion, while offering you more power than you’d probably need for all your daily tasks, and them some more.
Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA-XS74 Specs
| Processor | Intel Core i7-1165G74 cores, 12MB cacheup to 4.7 GHz max clock speed |
| Memory | 16GB DDR4 RAM |
| Storage | 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD |
| Display | 13.3″ FHD IPS 400nit OLED |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics1.3 GHz max dynamic frequency |
| Interface | 2 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A1 x HDMI |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)Bluetooth 5.0 |
| OS | Windows 10 Pro |
| Battery | 4-cell Li-polymer 67 Whr batteryup to 13 hours of battery life |
| Weight | 2.45 lbs (1.1 kg) |
| Dimensions | 11.98″ x 7.99″ x 0.55″ |
