Asus ZenBook 14 UX425 – probably the best ultrabook right now

Parameters and details

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested the predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Basic parameters

Details

The packaging of UX425 is similar than the predecessor, UX431F , and so on the box you can see the typical ErgoLift and gold accents associated with the ZenBook series.

The content of the package is still minimalist. Cardboard box, documentation and charger. This time, however, you will also find a USB-C to 3.5 mm audio adapter in the package, which we will talk about more later.

The new ZenBook 14 UX425 comes with a significant redesign compared to the previous generation UX431F and UX433. The main domains are ultra-thin frames around the display, low weight and compact dimensions. Nevertheless, it got an Intel Ice Lake processor, a pair of Thunderbolt 3 connectors, a numeric keypad in the touchpad and a 3D IR camera for face recognition and unlocking via Windows Hello. The mentioned low weight is 1198 grams in the case of the tested piece, which is less than Acer Swift 3 with 1214 gramsand significantly less than Lenovo Yoga C940 with 1369 grams and Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 with 1321 g (the last two are convertible). The already mentioned predecessor, UX431, even weighed 1505 grams. The only lighter competitor is Acer Swift 5, which weighs less than a kilo, specifically 969 grams. The UX425 is therefore lighter than the Swift 3, which didn’t look very premium, but rather a bit plastic. The ZenBook has an all-metal body and is rock-solid. I don’t know how the manufacturer did it, but the UX425 is extremely light, yet it looks very solid, valuable, just like the XPS. So in this area the novelty is really top notch and compared to the competition it has the upper hand.

You can get ZenBook 14 in two versions, Intel and AMD. The Intel one is designated UX425 and AMD one UM425. As you may have noticed, we are testing an Intel version that has a Core i7-1065G7 with Iris Plus graphics, 16 GB LPDDR4X RAM and 512 GB PCIe 3.0 ×4 SSD. Ice We have tested Ice Lake several times and we will be able to compare the performance well. Lower configurations received i5-1035G1 and i3-1005G1, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. Conversely, a higher configuration offers up to 32 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD. Thanks to the Swift 3 test, we already know that the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U is a beast, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you would rather reach for the UM425, where this processor is available. However, you will get a maximum of 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of SSD. The Ryzen 5 4500U is in a lower configuration. The difference between Intel and AMD is also in RAM speed. The blue team got 3200 MHz, the red up to 3733 MHz. In both cases, however, we have already seen the use of faster memory. However, the manufacturer justifies that the lower RAM speed was deliberately chosen in the design of the notebook, either because of consumption, temperatures, but certainly also the price. Dedicated graphics card, e.g. Nvidia MX350/450, is not to be found in this model.

I’ve already praised the build quality of the laptop, but I have to add something. Asus really cared about this area and one can tell. The base does not bend, nor does the display when grabbing corners. It is not a problem to hold the laptop by the edge of the base with one hand. Nothing creaks or cracks. Even when attempting to bend the display, excessive flex is not visible. It’s one of the best laptops I’ve seen, and comparing this novelty to Apple isn’t a utopia. Really, hats off, Asus.

Port selection and today’s ultrabooks don’t go well together. Evidence of this was, for example, the mentioned XPS, where there were only two USB-C ports and an SD card reader. No classic USB type A or video output like HDMI. On the other hand, both the Swift 3/5 and the UX431F had USB 2.0, which is really incomprehensible nowadays. It is precisely such things that can make daily use uncomfortable, especially on the road. Personally, I have already fully embraced life with USB-C, but I would lie if I said it was easy. Of course, I carry adapters everywhere, otherwise I’d have a hard time. At home and at work, I have Thunderbolt 3 docks, so it’s really convenient to use. With one cable connected, I get many more USBs, monitor, LAN, mouse and keyboard in seconds. But this is not a solution for presentations at meetings, at school, or on your knees in a hotel or car. You just need the adapters there. Therefore, I find it very important and useful when manufacturers ask users what they need and what they prefer when choosing a laptop.

Last few presentations of Asus have thrown numbers and percentages at us on how many people want this or that function, so apparently they really do such surveys, which I applaud, because the results can be seen right away. The ZenBook 14 UX425 is proof of that. Let’s go in order. A pair of USB-C ports, 40 Gb Thunderbolt 3 for Intel variants, 10 Gb USB 3.2 gen 2 for AMD variants. 5 Gb USB type A, a microSD card reader and HDMI 2.0. Really great selection that can be envied even by much more expensive laptops. I really have nothing to criticize here. Yes, maybe a fully supported SD card reader would be a better solution for designers and photographers, but given the dimensions, I don’t blame it. Personally, I am also happy for the microSD reader, which did its job for me when viewing recordings from a dash cam.

I am even more pleased with the presence of Thunderbolt 3, which I have been using since 2015 and I will not buy a laptop without this port. That is why I often criticize its absence. I appreciate HDMI 2.0 for use with 4K monitors, which I have also been using for a very long time, and most of my previous laptops like Lenovo X1 Carbon 5/6 only had HDMI 1.4, which meant only 30 Hz in 4K, i.e. a laggy image.

Perhaps the only port you could expect on a laptop is a 3.5 mm audio jack. Unfortunately, according to the manufacturer, it no longer fits due to the thin body and internal components. That’s why you will find a reduction from USB-C to 3.5 mm in the package. However, according to the manufacturer’s surveys, most people already use wireless headphones, and the absence of jack can therefore be seen as a reasonable compromise.

You will no longer find any ports or other elements on the front and back. The edge is slightly chamfered and therefore the laptop is easy to open. It lacks a classic cut-out, but it doesn’t matter at all. You can also open the laptop with one hand, which I praise. Again, a certain resemblance to Apple. At the back, only the cooling ventilation and the ZenBook inscription are visible.

The top view again shows the lid, which has the typical structure of “concentric” circles that you will find on all ZenBooks. Ventilation and rubber feet can be seen from below.

The bottom cover is relatively easy to remove to access the components.

However, it is necessary to peel off a pair of rubber feet, under which the screws are hidden.

After unscrewing and removing the bottom cover, you get to the components. You can see the battery here, one fan that cools the CPU. At the top, covered, is the M.2 SSD and the WiFi card is right next to the fan on the right.

We have already mentioned the configuration options a few lines above. Just to repeat, the tested piece includes Intel Core i7-1065G7, 16 GB LPDDR4X 3200 MHz RAM and 512 GB NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD from Intel. For me personally, the configuration with Ryzen 7 4700U would be a great attraction, but I would lose the Thunderbolt 3 and the possibility of up to 32 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD. However, replacing the SSD is the least of the worries, but you will not install RAM and Thunderbolt on your own. I praise the use of the new Intel WiFi AX201 card, which supports the new WiFi 6 ax standard, which you can read more about in our tests of WiFi 6 and Mesh systems. The tested configuration costs about 1269 euros, which means that we’re not moving very far from the Swift 3, which cost about 1200 euros. Its configuration with Intel Core i7-1065G7 and MX350 costs 1300 euros. However, it has a 3:2 display with a resolution of 2256 × 1504 px, which is glossy. It also offers Thunderbolt 3, which you will not find with Ryzen. Other laptops compared are significantly more expensive. The Yoga C940 attacked the price of 2000 euros and the XPS even 2300 euros. Despite its more expensive Intel configuration, the ZenBook offers more than a competitive price tag. Out of curiosity, Asus UM425IA-AM020T, thus the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U piece, costs under 1000 euros, specifically 959 euros. This is a really great price, especially compared to the Acer Swift 3.

You can see the speakers on both sides of the batterywhich play surprisingly well, considering that there are only two. Of course, the maximum volume is not as high as with thicker devices with multiple speakers and let’s say a subwoofer, but the UX425 plays really well for these dimensions and weight.

When opening the lid, you may notice a slight lift of the base. This is a typical feature that the manufacturer calls ErgoLift. On the one hand, this makes typing more comfortable, but it also creates space for better ventilation of the cooling air. However, I must say that on the UX425 the lift of the base is very small, only 2.5 degrees, and on other laptops I have already seen larger lifts. Opening at the straight angle is not possible due to the opening mechanism. The maximum possible angle between the base and the display is 150 degrees.

The keyboard has undergone a significant redesign. It boasts of an Edge-to-edge design and really fills the entire width of the base. This creates a series of Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn buttons on the right side, along with a power button. Personally, I don’t really admire this layout. I expect to find Enter, Backspace and Delete at the very right edge. Fortunately, the Power button is stiffer, so it’s harder to press than others, so you shouldn’t shut down your computer all the time when you want to press Delete. However, it will take a little practice and habit, no doubt about it. I’m also not a big fan of the bar-shaped Enter and the ‘\’ key above it. This is how the US layout is usually arranged. I prefer the L-shaped Enter and therefore an international English layout or a regular SK/CZ, where Enter is also two-lined. The top row of function keys offers everything you need, e.g. to control volume, brightness, keyboard backlight, screen sharing, turn off the touchpad and camera or screenshot, and launch the Asus app.

A touchpad is just as an important input device on laptops as a keyboard. That did very well on the UX425. It is glass and above average size. It responds well to gestures and regular monitoring of finger movements. It is definitely one of the best touchpads on a Windows laptop that I have had the opportunity to try. Apple doesn’t have it yet, but 99% of people will be extremely satisfied with it. It has another interesting feature, which is the Asus NumberPad 2.0, i.e. the numeric part. This is activated using the keyboard icon in the upper right corner of the touchpad.

The 720p camera is a common standard among laptops and the quality does not deviate in any way. That’s enough for emergency video calls, but your phone definitely has a better front camera. However, what is the added value is the presence of a 3D IR camera for face recognition. Subsequently, the connection with Windows Hello enables fast and convenient login. It works really great. When you open a closed laptop, the camera is activated immediately and you are already authorized and logged in before you can place your hand on the table. Personally, I consider it an even better solution than a fingerprint reader.

Another surprise is the new ZenBook inside, which is the battery. It has a capacity of 67 Wh, which is probably the best value in this category of laptops. Usually ultrabooks have around 50 Wh, the better equipped ones approach 60 Wh. However, the UX425 attacks 70 Wh, which I consider a small miracle. The manufacturer states the battery life of up to 22 hours, which is only a marketing data though and the real value will depend on the configuration and especially the use. In this area, I assume that the AMD versions will have the upper hand, but we will see how the version with Ice Lake performs in our demanding test.

I have criticized the last few laptops for not using USB-C for charging, having some own format of circular connector, or for less powerful chargers – 45 W and so on. This is not the case with the ZenBook 14. In the package you will find a 65 W USB-C charger, as a modern device should have. I praise the fast charging that charges the laptop from 0 to 70% in 1 hour. The total charging time is a little over 2 hours. A unique feature is the possibility of charging 5–20 V via USB-C, which in practice means that you can also charge the notebook with a standard charger from a smartphone. In that case, however, it is only a 4.5 W charge, which means a significant extension of the charging time. A better idea is to carry a laptop charger and use it to charge your smartphone or tablet.

At first glance at the components, you may have noticed the large 67 Wh battery. This is a significant increase over the 48 Wh in Swift 3, which is still the king of our YouTube battery life test. To be more precise – the former king, as the ZenBook 14 defeats it with a value of 9 hours and 5 minutes, which is a new record. The manufacturer states the battery life of up to 22 hours, but when using a 1 W display and in the MobileMark test. However, it should not be a problem to exceed 10 hours for office work. It would certainly be interesting to compare with AMD Ryzen variants, I will try to obtain them sometime in the future.

Let’s look at the test results.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested the predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Testing methodology

We tested the notebook at home, not in a laboratory environment. Nevertheless, the effort was made for the most accurate results. These are therefore the average of the measured values from repeated tests.

The tests include synthetic benchmarks to compare the performance of both the processor and the graphics card. We also measure storage speed, battery life, charging speed and gaming performance. The goal is to test laptops and desktops in various scenarios and get a comprehensive overview of their performance and operating characteristics.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Gamut, brightness and color difference

We measured the image properties of the display using the Datacolor Spyder5Elite tool. It is a 14″ IPS display with Full HD resolution, 16:9 (1920 × 1080 px) and 60 Hz. As it is not a gaming notebook, there is no technology to eliminate image tearing. You will appreciate the classic widescreen aspect ratio, especially in videos, but a higher display, such as 16:10, would be more suitable for working with text, but I appreciate the thin frames around the display, which have only 2.5 mm on the sides and a 10.9 mm lower chin, making the notebook itself very compact. The display occupies up to 90% of the body.

Only an almost frameless body is promoted on the manufacturer’s website, but there is no mention of the quality of color reproduction. But I’ll check it out right away.

The ZenBook 14 is offered with multiple displays. The test piece has a lower configuration with 300 nits. Nevertheless, the display has a very good color reproduction. It covers 99% sRGB, 76% AdobeRGB and 77% DCI-P3. Gamma with a level of 2.1 and a minimum deviation is also very good, and the low color difference of the Delta E with a level of 1.36 is also great. Values below 2 are considered very good. Uniformity is also good, the color has almost no deviations, the backlight has a slight deviation at the top left. The maximum brightness was 313 nits, which corresponds to the specification.

The higher model is offered with a configuration of 400 nits, but more interesting is the consumption of only 1 W. Thanks to this, it could have even lower power draw.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Rendering, Geekbench

We have seen Ice Lake i7-1065G7 several times in action. However, we found that the performance depends very much on a particular piece of laptop and its cooling. The ZenBook 14 UX425 is relatively compact and lightweight, which may be an indicator of less efficient cooling. But we will see in a moment. A deeper thought to consider is the performance advantage of the tested version. The UM425 offers the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U, which we saw in the Acer Swift 3 and you will also see it as one of the products being compared. It can therefore be assumed that the AMD version of the ZenBook 14 would have similar results as Acer.

Let’s start traditionally with Cinebench for a first look at raw CPU performance. In R15, the ZenBook surprised with the best single-core performance of the laptops being compared. It is only by 2–3%, but still. As expected, the multi-core is already fully in the hands of the 4700U and the i7-1065G7 is beaten by 350 points. The ZenBook is the second best of the Intel variants, but the XPS with 22% lead is still a surprise. The difference between the i7 is really big, the ZenBook has a 5 to 43% lead over the Swift.

The newer version, R20, also shows a balanced single-core result. This time, however, Renoir in Swift 3 has already surpassed all i7s by a few percent, where we see Lenovo, Dell and the tested Asus in the range of 2%. In multi-core, the Swift 3 with AMD leads and the variance between the i7 can be seen again. In this case, the ZenBook is already 11% behind Lenovo and 35% behind XPS, but holds a 30% lead over Swift 5. We can expect to see similar results in future tests.

Cinebench has indicated that long-term load is a bigger problem for the ZenBook than short-term performance spikes. Blender and POV-Ray practical tests only confirm this. In Blender, the UX425 is even the slowest Ice Lake i7 tested, although only 3 seconds behind the Swift 5. However, it should be noted that this is an average and in this case the difference between the two results was significant, more than a minute and a half. Ryzen shows its strength in this test, and the Swift 3 render took only half the time as the ZenBook.

The situation is similar in POV-Ray, but as it is not such a long test, ZenBook did much better in it. It loses only by 11% to Yoga and 43% to XPS, but has a 50% lead over Swift 5. So again it approached Yoga and XPS and distanced from Swift unlike in Blender. Acer with Renoir AMD is again playing another league with half the time against Asus. This is exactly why I would consider the AMD ZenBook 14 labeled the UM425.

Geekbench tests are shorter than Blender and POV-Ray ones, so ZenBook can be expected to give better results. This assumption was fulfilled and in all versions, i.e., 3, 4 and 5, it achieved the best score in single-core. The comparison with the competition in single core is as follows: XPS 2/4/2, Yoga 7/6/6, Swift 5 16/30/51 and AMD Swift 3 4/16/10%. In all single-core tests, the UX425 beats the competition with Intel, but also with AMD. Multi-core, as previous tests have shown, is not the strongest point of the novelty. It beats the Acer Swift 5 with the same processor by 44/69/84 and also the Yoga by 12/9/9%. It no longer defeats XPS, where it loses -5/0/-5%. The AMD Renoir version of the Swift 3 is dominant in the multi-core, which is also confirmed by the results and thus the ZenBook lost by -44/-7/-15.

Iris Plus graphics performance should be similar to other Intel laptops. In practice, the ZenBook is 7–9% slower than Lenovo and Dell. On the MX250 in Swift 5 it loses 19% and Vega in 4700U in Swift 3 has up to 20% lead. The UX425 only beats the Swift 5 with the same integrated GPU by 4%. The newer version of Compute in GB5 reduced the difference from Lenovo and Dell to 4–5% and Renoir Swift 3 to 19%. On the contrary, Swift 5 with the same processor already loses 42% and 3% when using the MX250.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

3D/PCMark and Unigine Heaven/Superposition

PCMark tests both CPU and GPU performance. This is a relatively long test, so it can be expected that the ZenBook will not enjoy it fully. The result shows that Lenovo and Dell are 3 and 8% apart, which is not a bad thing at all. But again, AMD in Swift 3 dominates with a 30% lead. In 3DMark you can see again that Asus does not like long-term workload and loses about 40% to the competition and up to 70% to AMD.

As a representative of the graphical game test, Unigine Heaven presents to us that the UX425 will probably not be suitable for gaming, as it lags behind other models with Ice Lake, although it beats the weakest Swift 5 by 36/34%.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Gaming tests – integrated graphics

Let’s start with CS:GO, which is one of the most popular games ever. The tendency from previous tests is confirmed and thus that the ZenBook 14 is not completely built for a continuous load such as playing games. The result is the occupation of the second to last and last position among 1065G7 processors.

GTA V is one of the most popular games on the market and offers complex and challenging graphics. Same situation as with CS:GO, The ZenBook beats the Swift 5 in integrated graphics mode, but is not enough for Dell, XPS and AMD Swift 3.

Nothing changes in Dirt Rally.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Encryption, encoding

Encryption and decryption were surprisingly the strengths of ZenBook, where it defeated all the Ice Lakes. Again, however, it doesn’t reach Renoir and loses 18–20% there.

Working with videos is one of the longer tests, and history repeats itself here. The UX425 lags significantly behind Lenovo and Dell by 27/26 and 54/68%. Swift 3 with AMD is again 2× faster.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Memory and disk tests

The lower frequency of 3200 MHz memory was reflected in speed where the ZenBook lags behind Dell and Lenovo by about 15%, which have a higher 3733 MHz frequency. Interestingly, however, the results are identical, or even better, than the Swift 3, which has LPDDR4X 4266 MHz RAM. Swift 5 with 2667 MHz lags behind ZenBook by up to 20%. Asus latency is almost identical to Dell and Lenovo and significantly better than both Acers.

If I can blame something, it is the SSD speed, which I have been noticing for a long time with Asus products. Unless it’s a completely top model, speeds are usually average to below average. In this case, 1777/976 MB/s is not catastrophic in any way, but the write could really be better. The reason is the use of the Intel 660p SSD, which is not one of the fastest SSDs on the market and the performance is quite far from the commonly used ones from Samsung. However, replacing a faster or larger SSD is a matter of minutes. It can also be assumed that the 1 and 2 TB versions will have better speeds.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Heating and battery life

Ice Lake is in the area of temperatures brought almost no improvements and like the competition, the ZenBook 14 under maximum load attacks 100 degrees.

The ZenBook 14 UX425 is the new king of battery life with a value of 9 hours and 5 minutes, also thanks to the large 67 Wh battery.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Blender

Just as we started to monitor the development of clock speed, consumption and temperatures in Blender and 3DMark in gaming laptops, we will also address these areas for non-gaming laptops. In this case, we are mainly interested in the visualization of the performance progress, as we found out from the tests that the ZenBook gives great results under a short-term load, but longer tests do not suit it at all.

The Blender test is one of them. As you can see from the bar chart, the clock is above 3 GHz in the beginning, but then falls to the 2 GHz limit, which is reflected in the longer result time.

Power draw exactly copies the clock curve. After the power reduction, the draw stabilized at 15 W.

The temperature progress after the high initial value decreases and remains around 70 degrees.

3DMark

A similarly long load test is the old familiar Fire Strike. Here we see the bars fall and rise depending on the current scene.

Power draw fluctuations are smaller than those of clock speed, but again they are heading for 15 W.

The temperature is more or less dependent on the clock speed. The higher it is, the more the temperature rises.

Summary

After analyzing the graphs, simple conclusions can be drawn. The ZenBook 14 has a processor configured for 15 W, while other Ice Lakes have even 25 W. During long tests, the clock therefore drops and the processor has lower power, although temperatures are normal. It is not completely suitable for gaming and rendering, but in normal use it benefits with high instantaneous performance, which we have also seen in previous tests. It is therefore more suitable for ordinary office and multimedia use than for gaming and production workload.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

MyAsus

Asus also offers a utility app called MyAsus for control and management of your laptop.

It contains details about the device and the possibility to register the product.

You will also find a hardware check here.

You can control various settings, such as fan mode or charging capacity limitation.

Updates and recommended applications are also not missing. You can also connect your smartphone to your laptop using Link to MyAsus.

The application is very nicely designed and easy to use.

At the end of June, Asus revealed refreshed ZenBooks, which immediately impressed me with their design, elegance, but also their equipment and compact dimensions. We tested its predecessor, ZenBook 14 UX431F, which looked a bit awkward and didn’t interest me much except for the price. However, the new UX425 is a completely different story. Will it dare to be the title of the best ultrabook with the 10th generation Intel Core we have tested?

Rating

Asus ZenBook 14 UX425JA-BM040R nicely surprised me. Already during the presentation, its design and specifications approached me, but one cannot make an overall opinion from paper parameters. However, after spending time with ZenBook 14, I can say that it is really amazing. I praise the build quality and compact, light but still very strong body, which offers the highest quality. The port selection is excellent, including my favorite Thunderbolt 3 ports, but also full-featured HDMI and USB. The IR camera is great for quick unlocking and works really fast and reliably. The display, although not in the highest configuration, offers great colors, uniformity and a modern frameless design. The touchpad with a numeric backlit part is also an interesting feature that you just don’t normally see. And we must not forget the 67 Wh battery, which is the largest in its class, which was confirmed by the victory in the battery life test.

Of course, there are also negatives. Personally, the layout of the keyboard does not suit me very well. The tests also showed that UX425 is, on average, the second slowest i7-1065G7 in the test. Both the Yoga C940 and XPS 13 2-in-1 scored higher on average. However, the analysis of the course of performance tests showed why. The ZenBook is configured for 15 W rather than 25 W, such as the XPS, so its performance in longer tests is limited. Therefore, it is not very suitable for playing games or long video rendering, etc. But remember that I’m talking about a 1 kg ultrabook and not a workstation. Interestingly, however, it beat all the competition in single-core instant performance tests. Therefore, it will serve very well for what it is intended for. However, if you want even more performance, you can reach for the AMD version labeled as Asus UM425IA-AM020T.

The two weeks with the ZenBook 14 UX425 were very pleasant and the negatives are hard to find for me. After a long time, this is a product that has no significant weakness, and although we had great machines with high performance or a unique design, often their price was not affordable to most users. However, this is not the case with the UX425. For 1259 euros, it is a very interesting choice, especially when comparing with other Ice Lake laptops in the test, which exceeded the 2000 euro border. Even cheaper is the AMD version with a price below 1000 euros, which I consider a really great offer. After considering all the above reasons, I therefore decided to award the ZenBook 14 UX425 an editorial award Go for it!

Asus ZenBook 14

• UX425JA-BM040R (i7/16GB/512GB) – 33 990 Czk/1 285 Eur
• UX425JA-BM005T (i5/8GB/256GB) – 24 490 Czk/925 Eur
• UM425IA-AM046T (4500U/8GB/512GB) – 22 990 Czk/868 Eur

• Contents
• Parameters and details
• Testing methodology
• Display tests
• Rendering and Geekbench
• 3D/PCMark and Unigine Heaven/Superposition
• Gaming tests – integrated graphics
• Encryption, encoding
• Memory and disk tests
• Heating and battery life
• Analysis of clock speed, power draw and temperatures
• Utility app
• Rating