For those constantly on the move: ZenBook 14 UX425 review

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ASUS Malaysia announced both the ZenBook 13 and 14 duo. In the case of the 14 version, the UX425 and UX434 looks pretty similar, but they do have pertinent differences. The UX425 is more focused on the portability aspect, while the UX434 is for general performance, with the former being even more compact and lighter than previous models. So, now for the review!

Compact and new connections

As mentioned, the UX425 is thinner, smaller and lighter than the previous ZenBooks in the series, available in Pine Grey or Lilac Mist colour options. This model has an ErgoLift hinge, raising the notebook up by 150 degrees. It makes typing more comfortable, as well as helping the chassis cool down better. Speaking of the chassis, it’s aluminium-made and fulfills the MIL-STD-810 standard.

The UX425 has a 14-inch IPS 1920 x 1080 FHD screen with thin bezels, giving it a 90% screen-to-body ratio. The screen is quite good, but it won’t have that detail, brightness and smoothness that content creators would prefer. If you do need to make video calls, there remains a webcam above the screen despite the thin bezels.

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The connectivity options have increased, with:

Wi-Fi 6
2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 3)
1x USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1 – up to 5Gbps)
1x HDMI 1.4
1x microSD card

ASUS certainly deserves to boast with their ability to stuff so many I/O ports with how thin this laptop already is. It does lack a 3.5mm jack, however, so you’d probably want a wireless headset.

Keyboard and trackpad in hand

The UX425’s greatest features are probably the trackpad and the keyboard. For those who like long key travel keyboards – this refers to the actual distance the keys of a keyboard have to be pushed down before the keystroke is recognized – the UX425 claims to have a 1.4mm key travel distance for you. The arrangement of the keyboard is quite neat, though the additional column on the right side might need some time getting used to.

Additional shortcut keys have been added, like F9 for locking, F10 for turning off the webcam, F11 for screen capture and F12 for opening the MyASUS app for getting the overall picture for the ZenBook. The trackpad, with thanks to Windows Precision and a glass layer, it is accurate, smooth and responsive. It also utilizes the ASUS NumerPad 2.0 technology so that it’s usable as a numpad as well. Tap on the icon on the top right for the numpad, while the top left icon changes between two levels of brightness.

The trackpad can be both used as intended and a numpad at the same time, as the software is able to identify the finger movements. It does mix up the controls on occasion, but otherwise it’ll be just fine.

Specifications and performance

The UX425 uses a stronger Intel Core 10th generation processor to give it better and faster response, with 8GB RAM for smoother daily tasks.

It also comes with 512GB SSD PCIe storage for quick boot times and lessens loading times. Thanks to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), wireless connection is up to 3 times faster than Wi-Fi 5, with four times more capacity and up to 75% less latency. The GPU is modest, using an Intel Iris Plus, but it’s good enough for daily tasks and some light gaming. Below are the specs in brief:

ASUS ZenBook 14 UX425
Display	14-inci, 1920 x 1080 FHD
CPU	Intel Core i7-1065G7
Memory	8GB
Storage	512GB SSD
GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphic

The ZenBook 14 UX425’s general performance is pretty expected for its specifications. Interestingly, the lack of memory doesn’t cause any slowdown, though of course, for the graphics department, it’s hardly satisfactory. 3DMark’s test gave the UX425 a 642 score which is quite low, and if you want to compare it to modern gaming laptops, the difference is over 2000 points. This will not be a laptop you will use for gaming.

Valorant

Even for something not as demanding as Valorant, the UX425 can’t run it on maximum settings, with FPS drops and certainly not for anywhere near competitive play. It’s still playable, on the lowest settings at least.

Mafia II: Definitive Edition

Highest settings are out, and even on the lowest possible quality, rendering and frame rate is still pretty terrible with screen tearing. You could still try to play it, but it won’t be particularly enjoyable.

3DMark Time Spy

PCMark 10

Cinebench R20

Long lasting battery

Besides the trackpad and keyboard, the battery would be the next best thing for the UX425: the 670-watt battery offers up to 22 hours life on a single charge, and even if you do somehow run low on power, it has a fast-charge function that can charge the battery from 2% to 60% in just under 50 minutes.

With USB-C Easy Charge support, the ZenBook is able to utilize many varieties of USB-C standard charges from 5V to 20V, including power banks, so you’re most assuredly never going to run out of power.

Verdict

For a strictly work notebook, the ZenBook 14 UX425 will be just fine, highly portable and light with sufficient power for your productivity on the go with high battery life. It won’t have the greatest graphics, nor would be capable for heavy loads like video editing, so it’s not for the more rigorous of users. It’s got innovative features, like the comfortable keyboard, large trackpad that doubles as a numpad, and USB-C charging support.

There’s plenty of connectivity ports if you need them for its size, so it’s the ultimate workplace companion and doubly so for the worker constantly on the move. It’s unfortunate it doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack, but quite a few flagship phones don’t have it either anyway so it’s not the biggest mark against the ZenBook 14 UX425. You can get our review variant at RM4699, or the Intel Core i5-1035G1 at RM3999. Find out more via the official website or Facebook.