ASUS Zenbook vs. MacBook Air

Last week when ASUS unveiled the Zenbook line of ultrabooks the company made direct comparisons to a certain best-selling competitor. Given that the Zenbooks are super thin and light, made of aluminum in a design dubbed the “monoshell,” and promise full-size computing power in a compact package, it’s not hard to connect the dots to Apple’s MacBook Air line.

At the presentation, ASUS Chairman Jonny Shih touted how much better the 11-inch $999 Zenbook is when compared, spec to spec, with this unnamed competition. Is it as cut and dried as he presented things? And does it hold up for all of the Zenbook models? Let’s compare.

zenbook vs air

Spec Zenbook 11-inch (UX21E-DH52) MacBook Air 11-inch
Resolution 1366 x 768 1366 x 768
CPU 1.6-GHz Intel Core i5-2467M 1.6-GHz Intel Core i5
RAM 4GB 4GB
Storage 128GB SSD 128GB SSD
WiFi/Bluetooth WLAN 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports USB 2.0, USB 3.0, micro HDMI, mini VGA (adapters included) 2 USB 2.0, Thunderbolt
Dimensions 11.7 x 7.7 x 0.11 – 0.67 inches 11.8 x 7.6 x 0.11 – 0.68 inches
Weight 2.43 pounds 2.38 pounds
Battery Life 7 hours 5 hours
Price $999 $1199

Note that there is a $999 MacBook Air 11-inch, but the specs aren’t as robust. Same CPU but only 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD. Also note that instead of USB 3.0 the Air has a Thunderbolt port. Both offer speedy transfers, but there are more USB 3.0 peripherals on the market at this time.

The Zenbook 11-inch comes in a second configuration (UX21E-DH71) with a 1.8-GHz Core i7 CPU for $1199. Adding this same CPU to the MacBook Air brings the price up to $1349.

Of the two, only the MacBook Air offers a 256GB SSD option, which adds $300 to the price.

The Zenbook also comes in a 13-inch version, just like the Air. Here’s the comparison:

Spec Zenbook 13-inch (UX31E-DH52) MacBook Air 13-inch
Resolution 1600 x 900 1440 x 900
CPU Intel Core i5-2557M 1.7-GHz Intel Core i5
RAM 4GB 4GB
Storage 128GB SSD 128GB SSD
WiFi/Bluetooth WLAN 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports USB 2.0, USB 3.0, micro HDMI, mini VGA (adapters included), SD card reader 2 USB 2.0, Thunderbolt, SD card slot
Dimensions 12.8 x 8.8 x 0.11-0.71 inches 12.8 x 8.9 x 0.11-0.68 inches
Weight 2.86 pounds 2.96 pounds
Battery Life 7 hours 7 hours
Price $1099 $1299

The Zenbook has three total 13-inch configurations. The UX31E-DH53 has the same specs as above but adds a 256GB SSD for $1349. The Core i5 MacBook Air with this same size SSD costs $1599.

The Zenbook UX31E-DH72 sports an Intel Core i7-2677M CPU and a 256GB SSD for $1449. The same configuration on a MacBook Air costs $1699.

Based on specs alone, the ASUS Zenbook UX21 and UX31 look like a better deal than the MacBook Air models. Price-wise, at any rate. And the speedy wake from sleep, long battery life, and excellent displays are all in ASUS’ favor. Once we get the Zenbooks in for review we’ll see if they can match the performance of the MacBook Air as well.

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