Asus ZenBook UX360UA Convertible Review

Apart from the typical ZenBook back, the color that the manufacturer calls as "Rose Gold" ("Quartz Gray" is also available) and the rounded corners, Asus claims that it has redesigned the hinges that are now  colored in a particularly eye-catching copper tone. However, the hinges are also the biggest point of criticism in this test.

Although the convertible can be opened easily with one hand, the loosely pulled hinges simply cannot hold the lid in certain angles. The device shuts when opened to approximately just 45°. When the lid is opened to roughly 135° from 180°, the lid falls back to 180°. And, the slightest movements and jolts are enough to rock the lid inadvertently. Not only is this not justifiable in this price range, the tester has never experienced this even in 300-Euro (~$326) devices. We have asked Asus to comment on this or send us a replacement for clarifying this issue for this test, and we will publish the results in an update. Regardless of this, we give the hinges a sub-score of 1.5 out of 5 possible points for the present, and we also reduce the superordinate casing sub-rating by 10%.

We liked the solid base better. Although it is thin, it could be warped to a very limited degree with some effort, and only sometimes creaked slightly during our attempts. The lid is not particularly robust and twists only slightly in the aluminum back area, proving to be quite resilient to pressure. Like the very similar looking yet much cheaper Asus ZenBook UX360CA that we tested in June, the screen is float-mounted in the bezel, which prevents damages caused by lid deformations. There is no cause for criticizm in terms of the apparently first-rate quality workmanship.

We replaced our comparison convertibles with some 13-inch devices for better comparability in this section. As clearly evident, our review sample is one of the lightest and slimmest devices in the field. The ZenBook UX360CA-FC060T sister model is only marginally heavier and thicker, while Dell's Inspiron 13 5368 weighs approximately 400 grams (~14 oz) more and is, above all, much thicker. Lenovo's Yoga Pro 3 weighs almost as much as the ZenBook UX360UA, but it is roughly one centimeter (~0.4 in) wider. The 1.5 kg (~3.3 lb) Acer's Aspire R13 is the heaviest here.

Due to its size, the ZenBook offers only a limited selection of connectivity options. In addition to two conventional USB 3.0 ports, at least a USB 3.1 Type-C Gen.1 is present. Furthermore, enough room was available for a standard HDMI, making an adapter superfluous. Apart from one USB 3.0, all ports are on the right and situated in the back and center areas on the sides. This is an ergonomic advantage when using, for example, an external mouse.

We tested the card reader's transfer speeds with our Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference memory card. The outcomes are sobering since it does not exceed the USB 2.0 standard. Users who frequently transfer large volumes of photos to the Asus should invest in an external USB 3.0 card reader for little money.

The approximately two-year-old Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 is responsible for wireless communication. As the name suggests, it supports IEEE 802.11 ac that exclusively transmits in the less frequented 5 GHz band as well as in the traditional b, g, and n standards in the 2.4 GHz band. A maximum gross data rate of 867 Mbit/s (MIMO 2x2) was achieved in the 5 GHz band. As always, Bluetooth is integrated. It can be used after updating the driver to version 4.2 at latest.

Although HP's Spectre x2 is equipped with the same Wi-Fi module, it lags behind the review sample by about 13 to 38% under identical, ideal conditions. Considering the overhead, not more can be expected than what our ZenBook delivers - very good.

The box contains only the basic items such as the usual warranty and setup instructions and the power supply. Since no recovery media is included, the recovery partition should be left untouched.

A maintenance hatch or battery that can be removed from the outside should not be expected in a 13-inch convertible. The innards can only be reached after dismantling the base plate. Asus makes doing this even more difficult by using Torx screws.

Asus includes a 24-month manufacturer warranty (pick-up & return). Naturally, the legal retailer’s warranty applies. Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies & Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

The performance of Asus' ZenBook Flip UX360UA principally makes it a beefed-up office computer that copes with even sophisticated software, such as Adobe Photoshop, thanks to the feasible dual-core CPU with Hyperthreading, enough memory, and a large SSD that will usually ensure an absolutely smooth-running system. The only two existing physical cores and primarily the weak processor graphics will thwart playing up-to-date 3D games.

Probably there is not that much of  a measurable performance gain with the higher clocked Intel Core i7-6500U (2x 2.5-3.1 GHz, Hyperthreading, TDP: 15W) compared to the cheaper basic i5-6200UCPU (2x 2.3-2.8 GHz, Hyperthreading, TDP: 15W), which we believe would also have sufficed in view of the convertible's purpose in routine use. The efficient Skylake dual-core model that is suitable for even slimmer models than the review sample achieves a maximum Turbo speed of 3.0 GHz when both cores are loaded. Although for the first time DDR4 RAM support is on board, Asus has opted for the slower DDR3 memory. The CPU has to share the tight TDP with the integrated Intel HD 520 graphics unit.

Demanding software is not much of a challenge for the processor as long as it does not benefit clearly from four or more physical cores due to high parallelization, as is the case in many current games. Compared with other laptops based on the same CPU, the performance is within the expected range. Turbo utilization was not absolutely satisfactory in our Cinebench R15 multi-core loop. The clock rates ranged from 2.7 to 3.0 GHz with an average of almost 2850 MHz. The scores do not change in battery mode.

As expected in view of the configuration of the included SSD, the performance of Asus' ZenBook UX360UA is more than smooth. Cold starts and opening programs are fast, and excessive multitasking using diverse tabs in the memory-driven Chrome browser (improvements have been announced) hardly let the laptop stumble.

The scores of PCMark 8 used for evaluation are on the level of comparably configured laptops. The outcomes are quite close to each other in the field of the comparison laptops; only HP's Spectre x2 clearly lags behind with its considerably slower 4.5-watt CPU.

We refer to our corresponding page in the FAQ section for comprehensive information and benchmarks concerning the processor-integrated Intel HD 520 graphics unit without a dedicated memory. The power-efficient GPU copes easily with 2D-tasks but has to give up quickly when 3D-calculations have to be performed. The fact that the model in the ZenBook UX360UA is one of the fastest in our database does not change this either.

There is not much to say here either. Of the three tested games, only "BioShock Infinite" from 2013 actually runs smoothly at the lowest settings. The average (!) 32 FPS in "Battlefield 4" is not enough for a shooter. More current blockbusters, such as "Witcher 3", degenerate to an unplayable stutter bash. It looks better with isometric games such as "FIFA 16", "Sims 4", etc. The GPU sometimes manages relatively basic 3D games like "Counter Strike: GO" from 2012 even in high settings at 1366x768 pixels.

Frequency diagram in comparison (check boxes above can be turned on/off!)

Power Consumption

Comparing the consumption behavior of the ZenBook with those of other 13-inch laptops based on the same CPU and SSD and without a dedicated graphics card shows that the consumption rates in a shutdown state and standby as well as in all other load states are below the average. However, the ZenBook consumes 2.1 watts more in idle min and idle avg, placing it exactly in midfield. Thus, there are no irregularities. The 45-watt power supply can always cope with the demand.

We use the same laptops as in the Power Consumption chapter for analyzing the battery life. However, the laptops filtered in this manner naturally have different battery capacities. Our review sample has 57 Wh. In the maximum runtime test (Our test criteria), Asus' device can sometimes take the second place behind its ZenBook UX305UA-FC040T sibling with an almost equally sized battery (56 Wh).

Both ZenBooks again take the top two places in reverse order in our practical Wi-Fi test using medium brightness - and that with battery runtimes of around 9.5 hours, which should safely get every user through a day. The convertibles used in this test cannot keep up simply due to their lower battery capacities. Acer's Aspire is also a bit too thirsty for its configuration.