Design
How do I put this? It’s a thinner MacBook Air with a much better screen, a slightly worse but still quite competent trackpad, and a slightly thinner keyboard. Nothing about it feels quite as painstakingly crafted as a MacBook or as comfortable as the Dell XPS 13, but it’s all surprisingly good for the price! Well above average in every way, with no major dealbreakers. The aluminum chassis feels solid and durable, the keys are a little stiff but still reasonably comfortable and quick to type on, and you get three whole USB 3.0 ports and an SD card slot for your money. (There’s also a micro-HDMI port for video-out duties, but there’s no adapter in the box.)
As far as looks go, the UX305 doesn’t really stand out… unless you’re in just the right light. Most of the time, it looks like a dark grey MacBook knockoff, but when the sun shines, you can see it’s actually a subtle purple MacBook knockoff with some eye-catching concentric circles brushed into the lid’s design. (The concentric circles have been an Asus trademark for a while.)
The Best Part
Effortlessly lifting this 2.6-pound laptop off a table and sliding it into a bag, then pulling it out again just as easily. The machine is so thin, light, quiet, and boots so quickly that I find myself whipping it out even for email duties I’d normally tackle from my phone. You know the word “cumbersome”? The UX305 is the exact opposite.
The Tragic Flaw
It just doesn’t feel powerful enough to be my only computer. Like other computers I’ve tried with an Intel Core M processor, it’ll tackle most general purpose computing tasks with surprising panache. For instance, I had no trouble running full Adobe Photoshop and Premiere to turn some DSLR videos into high-quality animated GIFs for my Apple Watch review. But I also saw plenty of stuttering just opening a whole bunch of Chrome tabs, and even streaming video. Though Netflix worked just fine, the 4.5W Intel Core M-5Y10 chip wasn’t able to keep up with The Sopranos streaming from HBO Now.
And, like other Core M notebooks I’ve tried, things go to shit when the battery’s on its last legs. I got about 5.5 hours of real-world use out of the machine, but the last 20 minutes are like a slideshow. Even five hours isn’t bad, but it’s no better (and sometimes worse) than you can get with a more powerful processor… which seems a little counterintuitive, no?
Should You Buy It?
Yes—unless you can afford to pay more! The Asus UX305 is a well-rounded laptop at a great $800 price, but you can get an even better one for just a little bit more money. At $800, the Dell XPS 13 is slightly better in almost every single way, with longer battery life, a more powerful processor, and more creature comforts too.
But hey, perhaps you don’t have $800 or $900 to spend. Or perhaps you really need more than their meager 128GB of storage—the Asus comes with a 256GB solid state drive, and HP and Dell charge way more for that. If so, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised how far your money goes with Asus. The UX305 might not be my favorite, but it’s still a winner.
