ASUS ZenBook UX425JA Detailed Review: Ultra-thin, lightweight and ultra-durable

The version I hold in my hand is the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA (BM076T), marking the breakthrough of ASUS and the success of bringing the laptop to meet both office, graphics and gaming needs. Let's explore this thin and light laptop now.

1. ASUS ZenBook UX425JA's slim, yet durable design

First of all, ASUS ZenBook UX425JA possesses a completely positive change in overall design. You will see the look of this year's version in a simpler look and with less fussy details around. However, it is the simplicity that makes the machine more and more sophisticated and sophisticated.

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Overall Design of ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

ASUS ZenBook UX425JA has a back with the logo lying on the right side instead of right in the middle like the previous generation, it looks more comfortable. The surface will still be patterned with many concentric circles around the ASUS logo, and I also saw this design on the ASUS ZenBook Duo Series before.

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The back design of ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

The version I am using is ASUS ZenBook UX425JA in Clear Gray. This color is really sweeping and changes to blue, black from many different angles. According to a survey of 5,000 users that ASUS announced earlier, most of them need a thin and light laptop with buffalo battery life rather than a bulky laptop that has to be plugged in regularly, especially in the segment. businessmen. And those factors are on the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

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The laptop has a clear gray color and changes color according to the angle we see.

This laptop is only 13.9 mm thick and weighs only 1.13 kg. Very light and compact, isn't it, really, the experience of holding a laptop is very fond of it. ASUS understood that business users needed a laptop that was highly portable, easy to carry around, so it evolved convincingly.

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The feeling of holding the laptop is thin, light and comfortable.

In terms of connectivity, ASUS ZenBook UX425JA makes major changes when turning USB Type-C into a port in accordance with the trend of product modernization. ASUS has equipped an HDMI port, 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports for fast connectivity (2 4K monitors can be connected) and a notification light on the left side. Meanwhile, on the right side, we will see a USB Type-A port and a microSD card slot.

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The left edge of the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

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The right edge of the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

Despite having to complete the main task of optimizing the design, ASUS still does not ignore HDMI, USB Type-A or Thunderbolt 3 ports. According to a survey from previous users, because of the specific work, it should be more than 69% Office users use HDMI ports and about 76% of users use USB Type-A ports every day.

Notice a little, you will see the priority HDMI port on the top as a demonstration of the importance of this connection in practice. In addition, ASUS also included a USB Type-C to 3.5mm port and USB to LAN port.

2. The screen is the second eye-catching spot on the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA

The keyboard experience is a blessing, but the display is still the strength of the ASUS ZenBook series, and that's maintained on the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA. You may not know, the laptop owns a 14-inch screen with Full HD resolution, but I feel like the screen is bigger than that. Simply because the surrounding edges are optimally optimized for a wider frame and great experience.

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ASUS ZenBook UX425JA has a beautiful display.

Featuring NanoEdge technology that optimizes 4 completely thin surrounds, ZenBook UX425JA delivers a screen that takes up 90% of the total for a truly enjoyable experience. The screen has a high sharpness, and good contrast is also a huge plus point that cannot be ignored.

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The laptop for sharp and clear display.

ASUS ZenBook UX425JA also comes with an IPS LCD panel for high brightness and wide viewing angles, as if ASUS is making the most of modern technologies and doing everything to make display more efficient. In addition, the laptop also integrates anti-glare technology Anti Glare that allows you to use in harsh sunny environments.

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It has a wide viewing angle and high brightness thanks to an IPS LCD panel.

3. Breakthrough Edge-to-Edge Design on ASUS ZenBook UX425JA

One of the most obvious changes is the keyboard design. As you can see, ASUS designed the keyboard that spills out and stretches from left to right as if for a complete range of everyday tasks.

 ASUS ZenBook UX425 has been optimized around the keyboard and brings an irresistible beauty, this design is also known as: Edge-to-Edge. In addition, ASUS has not forgotten to bring Ergolift technology to make the viewing experience more comfortable.

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Keyboard of ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

The user experience is really comfortable and the flexible space of the hands is effectively shown on this high-end laptop. The keys have a fairly airy distance for quick operation and above all, the machine is integrated with the key light below allowing you to use in many different environments and conditions. The backlight has a lot of brightness and this is something I cannot ignore.

The integration of virtual numeric keys on the touchpad helps to use data entry quickly. I appreciate the touchpad's effectiveness, especially the smooth surface with fast response speed.

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ASUS ZenBook UX425JA touchpad.

4. ASUS ZenBook UX425JA - slim on the outside, powerful on the inside

Design innovation is not enough, ASUS also brings powerful configuration to meet the needs of using graphics, gaming for users. How does ASUS ZenBook UX425JA deliver compelling performance? Stay tuned below.

First of all, we will quickly score through the parameters of ASUS ZenBook UX425JA:

1. 14 inch screen, Full HD.
2. CPU: Intel Core i5-1035G1.
3. RAM: LPDDR4X (On Board).
4. Hard drive: 512 GB M.2 PCIe SSD.
5. Integrated graphics card Intel UHD Graphics.

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ASUS ZenBook UX425JA owns a Core i5 Gen 10 CPU.

In the thin and light laptop segment, ASUS ZenBook has always been rated as one of the product lines that meet both the needs of study, work and entertainment. With the presence of the Intel Core i5-1035G1 CPU, ASUS ZenBook UX425JA provides a smooth working experience even when running heavy applications like Adobe.

Test the ranking of this CPU on the cpubenchmark, you will see the Intel Core i5-1035G1 ranked 512/2987 and only two levels behind the Intel Core i5-9300H (gaming chip).

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Test the Intel Core i5 Gen 10 CPU on the cpubenchmark.

Performance testing through scoring software

As usual, I used Geekbench 5 to test the CPU and performance of the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA. As a result, I got a score quite compatible with the actual experience:

1. CPU measurement: single core reached 1,085 points, multi-core reached 2,889 points.
2. Performance measurement: ASUS ZenBook UX425JA has a score of 5,307 points.

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Test the CPU of ASUS ZenBook UX425JA using Geekbench 5.

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Performance test of ASUS ZenBook UX425JA using Geekbench 5.

The second software I use to measure CPU is Cinebench. After a period of time, Cinebench gives the following results:

1. The CPU reaches 1,058 pts.
2. CPU (single core) 373 pts.

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Measure laptop performance with Cinbench.

In addition, I also measured the read / write speed of the 512 GB M.2 PCIe SSD through Crystal Diskmark software:

1. Read speed: 2,249 MB / s.
2. Write speed: 1,212 MB / s.

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Measure read and write speed of 512 GB SSD hard drive.

Is the actual experience really as expected?

Equipping CPUs with "G" series instead of "U" series was a big change. As a thin and light laptop, the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA can still meet the demands of heavy duty usage, such as graphic design and gaming.

First of all about the ability to do graphics, the laptop allows me to handle Photoshop and Lightroom smoothly. Best of all, I can run 2 Adobe applications on the same chrome tabs at the same time easily.

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ASUS ZenBook UX425JA provides a smooth task experience.

How smooth? That's when you launch the app quickly, don't get jerky, and switch tasks, the virtual key touch is very smooth. Smooth is also when you open tabs, switch applications are done efficiently and cursor moves flexibly.

The combination of the power from Workstation laptop into ZenBook UX425JA is a huge improvement and that factor helps me to confidently carry with me as a true companion at work. Speaking of gaming capabilities, the laptop does not own a discrete graphics card, but still allows me to battle League of Legends with high average graphics and FPS over 50.

In addition, I also measure the open speed of common applications and tasks and generate statistics. You can see below:

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Measure the speed of opening apps on ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

5. Unable to use ASUS ZenBook UX425JA nearly 10 hours

I previously attended the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA launch event in District 1, and one of the big surprises was battery life. Offering a slim design and strong performance is not enough, the company also comes equipped with a battery with more than 10 hours of battery life for office use. Not to let you wait, I used the familiar BatteryMon software to measure the battery life of the laptop.

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Battery life of ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

I still cannot believe that a laptop as thin and light as the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA can last nearly 10 hours of use like this. To produce the above results, I opened up to 7 Chrome tabs and used Photoshop as well. According to ASUS announced earlier, the new ASUS ZenBook series can last up to 22 hours and I think that this time only appears when you use it intermittently and only use the chrome tab. Also, nearly 10 hours of continuous use is impressive, right?

6. ASUS ZenBook UX425JA heatsink works well

In terms of design, the laptop's heat sink is located on the back of the keyboard and spans most of the space of the edge. To evaluate the ability of the heatsink to release air, I used familiar software AIDA64.

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ASUS ZenBook UX425JA CPU cooling test with AIDA64.

As you can see, the laptop's CPU got an average temperature of 64 degrees C for a period of 35 minutes. At the time of measuring the temperature, I used 3 heavy tasks including Photoshop, Lightroom and BatteryMon to measure the battery and I rated the laptop's heat dissipation at a good and efficient level.

7. Audio on ASUS ZenBook UX425JA vivid

ASUS ZenBook UX425JA has a speaker design located at the bottom of the machine and close to the side of the laptop. I do not know how you see, but I like the speakers located in this position and will create a vivid surround sound effect.

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Speaker design on ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

Speaking of audio technology, ASUS ZenBook UX425JA uses Harman Kardon technology, which can satisfy the needs of watching movies and listening to music without the need for external speakers. But most importantly, this technology makes sound more vivid and real than ever when you watch action movies.

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Speaker technology on the ASUS ZenBook UX425JA.

Conclude

And those are my experiences when using ASUS ZenBook UX425JA. I personally appreciate perfection and machining, durability and, more importantly, aesthetics. But besides that, ASUS also does not ignore the internal performance and the battery life reaches attractive numbers.

Samuel Daniel

Update 26 October 2020