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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tom the Tech Chap and I've got two of Asus' latest ultra-thin and light laptops.
00:06We've got the new ZenBook 14 and the ZenBook 15.
00:09There is also a ZenBook 13 to complete the trio, but Asus didn't send that one over.
00:15Asus claim these are the world's most compact laptops,
00:19meaning you get the biggest screen in the smallest body possible.
00:23And with a screen-to-body ratio of 92%,
00:26thanks to what Asus are calling their new four-sided nano-edge display,
00:30I think they might be right.
00:32I have to say these are two of the best-looking laptops I've ever used.
00:35I really like this royal blue color on the metallic chassis
00:39and you get this sort of rose gold color on the speaker bar at the top here.
00:43Speaking of which, the Harman Kardon speakers are actually surprisingly good.
00:47The ZenBooks have always had a classy and elegant aesthetic to them,
00:50but I think these new ones take it to the next level.
00:53And that's thanks in part to the ridiculously thin bezels around the screen.
00:57Asus have been clever though, or maybe sneaky.
01:00No, I think clever. I think clever because you can see the base lifts up a little bit.
01:05So what that does is not only give you a better typing position
01:08and also improve the airflow for cooling,
01:10but it actually means we're hiding that bottom bezel
01:13where they can put all the electronics and all the other gobbins they need to put in there.
01:17So actually what you see is a very, very small 92% screen-to-body ratio screen.
01:24And not only that, somehow,
01:26somehow when companies like Huawei and Dell have failed to do this,
01:30Asus have managed to put a webcam in a good position,
01:33in the normal position on the top bezel,
01:36which means it's not looking up your nose,
01:38as I say, like on a Dell or Huawei.
01:40They've also found room on the top bezel for a 3D IR camera,
01:44which means you can unlock the laptop with your face in any lighting conditions,
01:47even in the dark.
01:48Something that a lot of other laptops struggle with.
01:51Another nifty new feature is with the ZenBook 14's touchpad,
01:54which looks like any other normal touchpad until you click at the top right,
01:59which brings up this futuristic looking blue virtual numpad.
02:03Now, if I'm honest, I don't actually use a numpad that much,
02:06but it's a pretty cool feature and quite a smart space-saving solution.
02:11Smart space-saving solution.
02:12Try saying that when you're drunk.
02:14But it's pretty cool and you can just turn it off and on whenever you like.
02:17Now, of course, on the bigger ZenBook 15,
02:19because there's more space,
02:20there's room for a traditional physical key numpad beside the keyboard.
02:25These new ZenBooks also feel much more solid and durable than earlier models,
02:29particularly the screen,
02:30and compared to, say, the LG Gram,
02:32they feel a lot more substantial.
02:34There's almost no screen wobble,
02:36although there's still a little bit of flex under the keyboard and touchpad if you press firmly.
02:40Both laptops are impressively thin and light as well.
02:43In fact, the ZenBook 14 weighs just 1.2 kilograms,
02:46which is about 2.6 pounds,
02:48and that's actually over 100 grams less than the Huawei MateBook X Pro.
02:53There's a decent range of ports on both with USB 3, 3.1 Type-C, HDMI, and card readers,
02:59although only the ZenBook 15 has a full-size SD card reader.
03:02The 14 makes do with microSD.
03:04Unfortunately, the USB-C port does not support Thunderbolt 3,
03:09which is a bit of a shame,
03:10and it means you can't output to multiple high-res displays
03:13or even plug in an external graphics card.
03:16It's not the end of the world, but it would have been nice to see.
03:18As for the screens, obviously, we have a 14-inch on the ZenBook 14
03:22and a 15.6-inch on the ZenBook 15.
03:24Both of these are Full HD 1080p displays,
03:27but you can get the ZenBook 15 with a 4K display if you want 4K.
03:33Neither of these are touchscreen panels,
03:35but I don't think that's really a big deal,
03:37but you can see the difference between the matte panel that we have on the ZenBook 15
03:42and the glossy one we have here on the ZenBook 14.
03:46Now, there's pros and cons for matte versus glossy,
03:48but the good news is that you actually get the option to choose matte versus glossy
03:52on all the ZenBooks, which I really like.
03:54Color accuracy is pretty good as well.
03:56Both cover 97% of the sRGB color gamut.
03:59We've also got some solid specs,
04:01including the latest quad-core i5 or i7 Whiskey Lake-U series of processors.
04:06As well as that, you can spec it up to 16GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe SSD.
04:12The ZenBook 14 I have here uses Intel's integrated graphics,
04:15but you can pay more and get it with an NVIDIA GeForce MX150,
04:19whereas all models of the ZenBook 15 come with a GTX 1050 Max-Q graphics card,
04:25which gives it the horsepower for some light gaming.
04:27Fortnite on the ZenBook 15 averaged a very playable 57 FPS with high settings at Full HD.
04:34As for battery life, Asus claim you'll get 14 hours from the ZenBook 14
04:39and 16 hours from the ZenBook 15,
04:41which is possible, maybe, in lab conditions,
04:44but in real life, I'm looking at about 9 hours from the 14 and 10 hours from the 15,
04:49which is actually still very, very good and above average for ultrabooks.
04:52And they'll both easily get you through a full day of work.
04:55Moving on, and the backlit chiclet-style keyboard and the precision touchpad are lovely to use.
05:00The touchpad, which, as I say, doubles as a touch-sensitive numpad on the ZenBook 14,
05:05is smooth and responsive, and it supports all of Windows 10's gestures.
05:09The keyboard's also really comfortable to type on,
05:11although the keys are slightly on the spongier side.
05:14So there's a lot to like here, but no laptop is perfect,
05:17and there are one or two things that I think could be improved.
05:21As much as I do like the metal body, the lid especially can be a bit of a fingerprint magnet.
05:26Also, little things like the USB port on the side is just a bit wonky,
05:30and just takes away a little bit from the otherwise really premium look and feel.
05:34It's also a shame, as I say, the USB-C port doesn't support Thunderbolt 3,
05:38and it would be handy if we could also charge the laptops via USB-C.
05:42Aside from those things, though, I really like these laptops.
05:45They're stylish, portable, and surprisingly powerful.
05:48And let's not forget that title of World's Most Compact Laptop,
05:52which, I don't know, some people may not think that's a big deal,
05:54but I think it is genuinely quite useful, because when I'm out and about traveling,
05:59I often do work on trains and planes.
06:01It's so nice to actually have a laptop that will fit on a tray table,
06:05and not just jam into the seat in front of me, or dig into my stomach or something.
06:10So, having those tiny bezels, reducing the overall footprint of the laptop,
06:15is actually quite useful, I think.
06:17As for pricing, the ZenBook 14 starts at £999, and is available now.
06:22I've put a link in the description.
06:24And the ZenBook 15 will start from £13.99, and will be on sale in January.
06:29So, what do you think of the new ZenBooks, the World's Most Compact Laptops?
06:33Are you tempted to buy one? And if so, which size would you go for?
06:36Let me know in the comments below.
06:38Thank you so much for watching, guys.
06:39Hit that like and subscribe button down there somewhere,
06:42if you like my videos and you want to see more of them.
06:44I'll see you next time, right here on Tech Chap.
06:54Transcribed by https://otter.ai