Quick look at ASUS ZenBook Flip UX360CA – a more refined version of the excellent UX305
We still remember the day we had to return the ASUS UX305 ultrabook – we really didn’t want to. The notebook offered unmatched portability, battery life, screen and build quality for the asking price and now the new ZenBook UX360CA seems to be even better for just about the same amount of money. It even adds a 360-degree rotatable hinge and challenges Lenovo’s Yoga lineup along with HP’s new convertibles.
You can find the available configurations here: http://amzn.to/1XHSwS8
Design
Design-wise, the notebook hasn’t changed much compared to the UX305 although looks a bit thicker and that’s totally understandable. We now have a tad larger battery, a touchscreen and somehow more massive aluminum construction.
Speaking of which, the notebook is entirely covered in aluminum with the iconic concentric brushed aluminum lid on top. The latter can be opened using one hand but provides fairly steady operation when using the touchscreen. Yes, it wobbles a bit but nothing too alarming. We will make sure to see how it handles during normal usage.
The interior uses the same anodized aluminum as on the outside so touching the surface in the morning gives you that pleasant feel of metal and the palm rest area remains cool. The keyboard offers decent spacing and key travel while stretching as much as possible to the end of the chassis. It’s comfortable to use as much as the touchpad – it has a cool surface, feels
responsive and accurate as well.
With a weight around 1.3 kg and thickness of just 13.9 mm, this 2-in-1 device will serve as perfect travel companion without breaking the bank. It’s just a no-brainer for the asking price of around €700-800, while the variety of ports (USB-C, 2x USB 3.0, mciro HDMI) won’t make you miss the convenience of having a full-sized laptop.
Hardware
The notebook is equipped with a Core m processor and thus adopts a passive cooling system (no fan). Configurations include the Core m3 6Y30, Core m5 6Y54 and the Core m7 6Y75 equipped with up to 8GB of LPDDR3 1866MHz RAM. Storage options include 128/256/512GB in a form of M.2 SATA SSD. A PCIe standard would have been appreciated but considering the expected price of the product, we aren’t allowed to get too picky.
The screen is either a 13.3-inch Full HD IPS touch or a QHD+ (3200×1800) panel but the most interesting part is that ASUS claims the NTSC coverage of the display is 72%. This means around 100% sRGB coverage. This sounds promising and we hope our expectations will be met as we have plenty of those since the UX305. Anyway, the battery unit powering all of this matches some high-end 15-inch laptops we’ve tested recently. The 54Wh unit should provide excellent battery performance with the Full HD panel and will probably be less impressive with the QHD+ panel.
Specs sheet
Processor | Intel Core m3, m5, m7 |
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RAM | up to 8GB (1x 8192MB) – LPDDR3, 1866MHz |
Graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 515 |
HDD/SSD | 128/256/512GB SATA SSD |
Display | 13.3-inch (33.78 сm) – 1920×1080 (Full HD) IPS touchscreen, glossy / 13.3-inch (33.78 сm) – 3200×1800 (QHD+) IPS touchscreen, glossy |
Optical drive | – |
Connectivity | LAN 10/100 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth |
Other features |
|
Battery | 3-cell 54 Wh Polymer Battery |
Thickness | 13.9 cm (0.55″) |
Weight | 1.3 kg (2.87 lbs) |