Larger battery than the now classic UX305 (still a great value), better arrangement of ports, even more config options, plus the 360 hinge... For basically the same price? Looks like an instant winner unless they screw something up badly or I'm missing something.
Personally I'd still like to see dedicated Page Up/Down keys or a right hand Fn button... Am I the only one bugged by needing two hands to use Page Up/Down on a laptop?
Not the $699 model, but a cheaper model is going to only have 4gbs of ram instead of 8gb standard on the UX305 based off the table Anandtech posted.
Now the question if they do release a 4gb model will they still stick with the Core m3 6Y30 cpu or will they downgrade to the Skylake Pentium 4405Y which is a drop in replacement using the same motherboards and everything as the m3 6Y30.
What is the pentium 4405Y you may ask, it is the budget cpu that uses the same motherboard as the m3 6Y30. It is a skylake 1.5 ghz dual core but with hyperthreading (rare but this is the exception to the general rule), with the same graphics as the m3 6Y30. What you gain with the m3 6Y30 is that it can turbo up to 46% faster (2.2 ghz vs 1.5 ghz). Now the list price which is not really what OEMs pay due to volume discounts for the cpus is $281 for the core m3 6Y30 and the m5 6Y54 while the Pentium 4405Y list price before volume discounts is $161 or a 120 dollars cheaper.
While. I like the specs, but having been burned by the ASUS UX303 series with the terribly flawed design of the weak screen hinge, that breaks and renders the laptop useless. I am going to steer clear of any future ASUS laptop's.
They repaired it the first time it happened. About 8 months later the other hinge broke. The laptop is now out of warranty. So I have a laptop that is pretty much useless. This basic design/structural flaw makes me questions this companies ability to make fundamental business decisions. I am steering clear.
You can file a lawsuit for a crappy product, but you won't win it. It is not against the law, criminal or civil law, to produce an inferior product. That said, the new hinge on the 360 is a completely different design---much smoother, developed probably in response to the earlier problems. It's getting rave reviews.............but I'm not taking a stand yet one way or another. Just trying to be objective.........
"where products have sold with known defects" - "known defects" probably being the important thing here. If you can prove that, great, sue them. But it's not a slam dunk as mdw9604 makes it seem.
Ugh. Why not include TWO type-C ports and make them PD compliant? That way you get another data port instead of a single use AC plug. Thus far, iirc, only google has gotten this right with last year's chromebook.
"Make them PD compliant" - looking at Benson over on G+, looks like even basic USB type-C compliance is a struggle.. I'd *die* to see someone like ASUS try to cram PD into a $700 notebook.
The chart above says that ASUS is using 7W cTDP up mode. However, Apple uses the same chips with the same base clock speeds and claims that the chips draw 5W. Are there any "in between" modes between Core M's standard 4.5W and the 7W cTDP up mode?
Hmmm, I feel this design is not that practical as when flipped you have to know where you put it as it will sit on it's keyboard...
A screen that rotate is better I think, Lenovo has a good design, and Sony VAIO ( now just VAIO ) has a very interesting design too thought the first variant of it has it's flaws of sturdiness, but the second version was much better according to various reviews...
Never mind, Core M is not my type of a CPU at all.. having to deal with have apps like Adobe's ones and being a heavy user by my self also ( too many apps working in the same time ) let me think of i5 as the lowest possible CPU with 8GB, preferring i7 with 16GB
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29 Comments
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Qiasfah - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
Interesting that this laptop has an AC power plug. Does it support charging the laptop through the Type-C connector?Geranium - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
Bezel under the screen looks ugly. But spec is good for a light laptop.nirolf - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
Maybe, but other than that the specs look really good.I see no big compromise, a good price. I want to see a review on this one!Impulses - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
With too little bezel there it'd probably be too close to the surface it lays on when the keyboard is facing down (left mode of the trio pictured).WorldWithoutMadness - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
The screen looks like a tablet slapped unto a weird metal case with some plastics to secure it.Impulses - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
Larger battery than the now classic UX305 (still a great value), better arrangement of ports, even more config options, plus the 360 hinge... For basically the same price? Looks like an instant winner unless they screw something up badly or I'm missing something.Impulses - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
Personally I'd still like to see dedicated Page Up/Down keys or a right hand Fn button... Am I the only one bugged by needing two hands to use Page Up/Down on a laptop?Impulses - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
I goes on the former 305 you can currently get an m5 or better with a lower TDP for that same price, so there's that trade-off.ImSpartacus - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
That's a good way to put it. This one is probably one to watch.Roland00Address - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
Not the $699 model, but a cheaper model is going to only have 4gbs of ram instead of 8gb standard on the UX305 based off the table Anandtech posted.Now the question if they do release a 4gb model will they still stick with the Core m3 6Y30 cpu or will they downgrade to the Skylake Pentium 4405Y which is a drop in replacement using the same motherboards and everything as the m3 6Y30.
What is the pentium 4405Y you may ask, it is the budget cpu that uses the same motherboard as the m3 6Y30. It is a skylake 1.5 ghz dual core but with hyperthreading (rare but this is the exception to the general rule), with the same graphics as the m3 6Y30. What you gain with the m3 6Y30 is that it can turbo up to 46% faster (2.2 ghz vs 1.5 ghz). Now the list price which is not really what OEMs pay due to volume discounts for the cpus is $281 for the core m3 6Y30 and the m5 6Y54 while the Pentium 4405Y list price before volume discounts is $161 or a 120 dollars cheaper.
coolhardware - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
No backlit keyboard? :-(Impulses - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
At those prices, something's gotta give.Meteor2 - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
Just a single type-C is a breaker for me :(. I want twin Thunderbolt ideally, or at least twin USB 3.1 type-C.speculatrix - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
No mention of thunderbolt on the USB C connector.ikjadoon - Sunday, July 10, 2016 - link
On a $700 notebook? I'll give up running my RAID'd SSDs or my external dedicated GPU, thanks.With less sarcasm, haha, I think it doesn't have TB3. :(
mdw9604 - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
While. I like the specs, but having been burned by the ASUS UX303 series with the terribly flawed design of the weak screen hinge, that breaks and renders the laptop useless. I am going to steer clear of any future ASUS laptop's.Impulses - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
Bad warranty service or did it happen again?mdw9604 - Sunday, July 10, 2016 - link
They repaired it the first time it happened. About 8 months later the other hinge broke. The laptop is now out of warranty. So I have a laptop that is pretty much useless. This basic design/structural flaw makes me questions this companies ability to make fundamental business decisions. I am steering clear.Impulses - Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - link
Interesting, thanks for sharing.mdw9604 - Sunday, July 10, 2016 - link
Go to amazon and read the reviews on the UX303 I am surprised there isn't a Class Action Lawsuit against ASUS.https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-UX303-13-Inch-Laptop-m...
observer2020 - Monday, July 11, 2016 - link
You can file a lawsuit for a crappy product, but you won't win it. It is not against the law, criminal or civil law, to produce an inferior product. That said, the new hinge on the 360 is a completely different design---much smoother, developed probably in response to the earlier problems. It's getting rave reviews.............but I'm not taking a stand yet one way or another. Just trying to be objective.........mdw9604 - Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - link
You are dead wrong about suits not being actionable and where plaintiff's prevail in cases where products have sold with known defects.Death666Angel - Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - link
"where products have sold with known defects"- "known defects" probably being the important thing here. If you can prove that, great, sue them. But it's not a slam dunk as mdw9604 makes it seem.
tuxRoller - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
Ugh. Why not include TWO type-C ports and make them PD compliant? That way you get another data port instead of a single use AC plug.Thus far, iirc, only google has gotten this right with last year's chromebook.
ikjadoon - Sunday, July 10, 2016 - link
"Make them PD compliant" - looking at Benson over on G+, looks like even basic USB type-C compliance is a struggle.. I'd *die* to see someone like ASUS try to cram PD into a $700 notebook.tuxRoller - Monday, July 11, 2016 - link
It's only a struggle for vendors who don't care.The spec is there, people, READ THE DAMN SPEC AND IMPLEMENT IT PROPERLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KPOM - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
The chart above says that ASUS is using 7W cTDP up mode. However, Apple uses the same chips with the same base clock speeds and claims that the chips draw 5W. Are there any "in between" modes between Core M's standard 4.5W and the 7W cTDP up mode?Xajel - Monday, July 11, 2016 - link
Hmmm, I feel this design is not that practical as when flipped you have to know where you put it as it will sit on it's keyboard...A screen that rotate is better I think, Lenovo has a good design, and Sony VAIO ( now just VAIO ) has a very interesting design too thought the first variant of it has it's flaws of sturdiness, but the second version was much better according to various reviews...
Never mind, Core M is not my type of a CPU at all.. having to deal with have apps like Adobe's ones and being a heavy user by my self also ( too many apps working in the same time ) let me think of i5 as the lowest possible CPU with 8GB, preferring i7 with 16GB
nemoshotyany - Monday, July 11, 2016 - link
Now I just need a release date for the transformer pro 3 and I'm good.