ASUS kicked off Computex 2016 with the ZenBook 3, the latest iteration in its flagship ultraportable series. Weighing just two pounds and with a thickness of 11.9mm, the ZenBook 3 is lighter and thinner than the 12-inch MacBook, which comes in at 2.03 pounds and 12.3mm. ASUS' offering does all that while offering a processor that's twice as fast as the sixth-generation Core M line used in the MacBook, while fitting a larger 12.5-inch Full HD display.
Featuring a chassis constructed out of "aerospace-grade aluminum alloy," ASUS mentions that the ZenBook 3 is 40% stronger than traditional notebooks. Under the hood, the notebook is powered by a Core i7 CPU, and can be configured with up to 16GB of RAM. There's also a Thunderbolt 3 connector, and the ZenBook 3 offers a USB-C port for charging, as well as a fingerprint sensor with Windows Hello support.
The ZenBook 3 with a Core i7 CPU, 1TB PCIe SSD, and 16GB of RAM will be available for $1,999, and a variant with 512GB SSD will retail for $1,499 later this year. The entry-level model will offer a Core i5 CPU, 256GB SSD, and 4GB of RAM, and will be available for $999.
The notebook will be available in grey, blue, and gold color variants.
Reader comments
ASUS' ZenBook 3 is lighter, thinner, and faster than the MacBook
Looks amazing, but no touchscreen is a deal breaker for me.
no ... no touchscreen?? - Really?!
That blue looks pretty sweet, though the accents are weird with it.
Looks like everything is thinner than the Mac book...
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The blue and gold one is H A W T !!
Okay, typically I hate gold with a burning passion. But, that navy blue and gold looks real slick.
.... 4GB ram base .....
The base model should have at least 6GB of ram.
WoW! Royal Blue with a trim of gold is awesome!
very promising. any words on battery life?
Brilliant by Asus! Thinner lighter ultrabooks that doesn't break a bank is what we need. My ideal starter package would be an ultrabook with aluminum chassis, backlit keyboard, windows hello support, latest generation core i5 (or i7), 256GB (or more) PCIe SSD, 8GB (or more) DDR4 (or next generation) RAM, USB C / thunderbolt support, 2 (or more) full sized USB support, HDMI port and full sized SD card slot, weighing less than 2 pounds, thinner, 12-13" FHD (or greater) OLED (or IPS) screen AND STARTING PRICE OF $799 WITH ABOVE MENTIONED SPECS.
Royal blue looks amazing
Surface leads the way of engineering products others follow, surface phone will follow suit, they will build a monster phone amd other oem will follow
Yeah, surface is a reference device... That's the point.
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I'm really loving the royal blue. The specs seem really solid, but it's all about the little stuff that a spec sheet can't see.
Really exspensive though
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Yes but they look great and the specs are solid. You can't expect a dGPU at this size and that's honestly all these guys are lacking.
Windows Central for Windows 10-Nokia Lumia 830
Expensive as apple offering twice the quality.
...and productivity
And out of the blue, Asus comes out with some cool new laptops, including a royal blue. I'm not feeling so blue anymore. They blew apple away with these laptops.
I love all thoes blues! - That why I'm playing Blues! (The Blues Brothers Movie)
I had the pleasure of experiencing a Mac book pro recently, and was a little taken back by your heavy it was, especially when compared to my Kira 107.
The MBP is the biggest, heaviest and strongest of the MacBook... Although I believe it's due for an upgrade soon
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Man, just the 2012 MBP is heavy as hell, I have the 2015 model and it's pretty light (no HDD, no SuperDrive, LED display, Weight Reduction Bro!) :')
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You couldn't pay me to go back to my Macbook Pro.
I mean, well, you COULD, but I'd just pocket the money, sell the MBP and buy another Surface Pro device :P
*cough*Surface Book*cough*
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ROFL. Not first gen. Heard too many owners complaining about problems. Maybe third gen.
My MacBook pro is collecting dust until it makes its way to eBay. I have an Aorus x7 pro, a surface pro 3 and a pixel c. ALL of which destroy any apple product.
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These are very tempting. The royal blue option looks great
Everything new is faster and thinner than MacBook ;D
What is a MacBook? :-p