Don't expect too much from the ZenBook Pro UX550

[Redaktion]

Many are eagerly awaiting Asus's new ZenBook Pro UX550 as a powerful but portable multimedia workhorse, but initial reports suggest the same kind of issues that have caused users to look to the UX550 may cause them to again have to look elsewhere for their dream machine.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Don-t-expect-too-much-from-the-ZenBook-Pro-UX550.236696.0.html

[Digress]

Don't just about all IPS displays suffer from light bleed at least a little? How bad is the light bleed on this one? Is it a deal breaker?

I've known Asus ultrathin laptops to have always-on fans in all default settings (see reviews for the UX410/430 etc.), I'm guessing this is to increase the life span as the lower the temps remain the better the hardware longevity. Generally, it's an easy fix with NBFC, though. I'm guessing this is no different.

Also, don't exaggerate the keyboard flex. It doesn't seem that bad from the video, and pushing on the top is not really normal usage.

I was thinking on getting one, but I'm realistic and I had by no means assumed that it was going to be the perfect laptop.

I'm mostly concerned about the battery life given it doesn't have the biggest battery, but when you see how long the razer blade lasts on a small battery it seems that what Asus claims is not completely impossible, given how much battery life on current windows laptops can still be improved.

I'm thinking of buying one and I'll await the reviews, not really phased by this user review as there is no laptop without it's quirks, except perhaps every apple laptop as they all seem to be perfection in a basket according to many reviews except when I've tried them.

In Europe, XPS is more expensive than in the US, and stuff like Gigabyte Aero and Razer Blade is hard to get and also at a steep premium.

I'd like to find a nicely priced really good, mobile 15" laptop for my day-to-day development work, I'm holding off on getting the XPS 15 until I see how this one fares in comparison. I've owned Dells and asus and I'm generally more satisfied with Asus stuff. Bought a UX410UA for the kid and I'm happy with it. A FHD UX550 with no touch, good specs, matte screen, good battery life and good build quality at a lower price than the XPS15 would suit me fine, if not I'll go ahead and wait for stuff like a Razer Blade or Gigabyte Aero to become available  for decent prices in Europe. Or maybe get the Vivobook Pro.

[rewt]

Hey, see this new reddit thread about a potentially revised UX550 (one guy has it) which fixes some of these gripes, mostly about build quality: https://www.reddit.com/r/laptops/comments/6phcbz/so_i_just_got_my_new_zenbook_pro_ux550ve_and_im/

[dthrp]

Never understood the hype with this laptop. Seems very overpriced for what it offers, especially considering the previous model was only US$1,500 at maxed out specs. IMO Gigabyte Aero 15 is the "perfect" laptop at the moment and the XPS 15 or Yoga 720 15 don't even remotely come close to that.

If someone wants a light 4GB 1050-Ti / 6GB 1060 laptop but without battery capacity at cheaper price, something like Gigabyte P34K R7 or MSI GS43VR are much better picks. That is, if one doesn't care for the "professional-looking" aspect.

[Gyle Danakana]

I don't care about what they said that this is not a perfect laptop. I still rather want to get this laptop than Dell XPS15 or Lenovo Yoga720. The closest one is not 720 but Yoga 910. You people are comparing the wrong material. First, there is no such thing as a perfect Laptop and never will be. All the laptop failed whether it is the screen resolution, backlit leaks and SSD life span is only 3 years compared to HDD 5 years. Yes better spec with better speed running programs but life span will be shorter for laptop with SSD flash memory. ASUS Zenbook Pro UX550 lasts with 14 hours of battery life which is pretty great. Don't even complain about keyboard. All laptop keyboards are not great please buy some external keyboard that's what USB ports are for. Don't go nuts if you want to wait for a perfect laptop it will be an another 20 years to 30 years from today

[is dthrp serious?]

Don't see how Aero 15 could be anywhere close to the perfect laptop with its build quality. It looks and probably feels so cheap. I realize build quality is not only about how premium something looks/feels or even materials (e.g. macbooks) but how also it is constructed. (e.g. business class like thinkpad/zbook) But the many people who have reviewed the Aero 15 so far haven't exactly raved about it's build quality or even how premium it feels compared to mbp/xps 15. Even this would be fine if it had some sort rigid military grade sort of testing like MIL-STD-810 certified or if it had stood the test of time of abuse. (You see far more uni students on college campuses still using ~5 year old macbooks which are still working perfectly fine than hp pavilons or dell inspirons) But with Gigabyte they simply don't. They don't exactly have a stellar record reputation of build quality. They don't have military grade certification. They don't even feel premium like apple laptops. And this is me judging solely on one metric -- build quality (argueably one of the most important factors for a laptop but still). I've not even gotten into the other issues like keyboard and its layout/macro keys and speakers. This would be all ok, if they were charging something more sensible like $900 for it but not when they're charging almost as much as a macbook pro 15 or surface book performance base. IMO, there is no perfectly laptop only good value for what you priortise or compromise on. But I think build quality is far too big of a sacrifice, especially at ~2k price range. What is the point in investing 2k on something which breaks in < 2 years?

[dthrp]

@is dthrp serious?

I understand what you're trying to say, but not sure if you're actually familiar with these systems. You don't have to believe me but I've used these laptops in person, and Aero 14/15 (daily driver) as well as a similar laptop called Clevo P950HP6/HR both have good build quality compared to what I've been seeing from both manufacturers in the past. To clarify, I recently used MSI GS/GL/GE builds as well, and I'd put these two above them. Not sure if you knew, but both of these are constructed out of partial aluminum and a tough plastic material called Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS), which is a polymer alloy used on many high-end business laptops as well, the Thinkpad T470p for instance.

Clevo P950HP6 (here's the Max-Q model review -
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Eurocom-Q5-Clevo-P957HR-i7-7700HQ-GTX-1070-Max-Q-Laptop-Review.244590.0.html) starts from US$1250 where I live, so it isn't terribly expensive either, much unlike the premium/business options you mentioned which all have poor/non-existent dGPU selection. You may disagree, but business grade build quality hasn't been all that useful for me, and I'm a type to throw around my laptop and not handle anything with much care. Long before, I actually used a Dell Inspiron for 4 years without any issues. MIL-SPEC - don't need that either, not taking it out into any open extreme conditions. Yes I know all about Macbook/Razer build, I've used them but more importantly, my brother broke the lid off his MBP 3 times, then switched to the Blade and dented the keyboard area to an unusable state and eventually had to pay for his err of judgement. Strong chassis no doubt, but certainly not durable when it comes to "accidental-shock-resistance".

I'm aware of the keyboard issue, somewhat weak hinges, bad touchpad and audio compared to macs, but no laptop is perfect. For the specs, the XPS 15 9560 and Zenbook Pro UX550 are ridiculously priced imo, and I didn't even consider the Aero initially because it was also simply too expensive (US$2,100) compared to Clevo and Acer models I've been eyeing. So I considered Gigabyte P56XT (1070 + 8 hour battery life) which was US$2,050, but due to poor thermals, just settled for the Aero. The build quality is quite similar to my old Inspiron, so I expect it'll last 6+ years but I'd probably sell it for a new laptop before hitting 3 years (which is when their value starts to quickly diminish). Plus I like a lot of things about this laptop - 2 removable ram and m.2-2280 ssd slots, great keyboard feel, small form factor, factory calibrated display (which helps loads because games tend to ignore custom icc profiles), etc. All the features that I couldn't find in any other laptop, so that's nice.

[GregMahony]

Just a note - the laptop in the video is not the Zenbook Pro UX550. The Zenbook has a silver lining, while the computer in the video has gold.