ASUS ZenBook Edition 30 (UX334F) Hands-on

Back in Computex 2019, ASUS announced a limited-edition ZenBook in celebration of its 30 years in the industry – the ZenBook Edition 30 (UX334F). Given the milestone it represents, it’s not just an ordinary laptop as it is one of the most luxurious and premium devices out there. If you have a taste for those things, then check out our hands-on below.

We have used the word premium plenty of times in most of our articles. But in the case of the ZenBook Edition 30, when we say premium, we mean it in the most luxurious way possible.

You can immediately feel the luxuriousness of the ZenBook Edition 30 from the packaging alone. Instead of the usual cardboard, it comes in this leather-like box that reminds us of a jewelry box, complete with stitches on the sides and the ASUS 30th anniversary rose gold logo in the middle.

Open the box, and the laptop and a commemorative card will greet you. Now here comes the luxurious, premium part — the outer lid is encased in Pearl White genuine leather. And yeah, it does smells good!

ASUS says that only the finest hand-selected Italian genuine leather from a world-famous tanner is used for this laptop, and is hand-stitched and hand-finished. They even shaved the edge of the leather to a precise 0.45mm thickness, so it blends almost seamlessly to the metal under it.

Pretty sure you’ve also noticed the distinctive 30th-anniversary logo, which reminds us of the Star Trek Starfleet insignia. We don’t mind that at all, considering that the logo on the lid is electroplated with 18-karat nanoparticle rose gold, which ASUS says will never dull or fade. It better be considering the price of this thing.

To enhance your premium experience, ASUS included premium accessories as well, like the leather-like mouse pad, and Pearl White wireless mouse and charger. It even comes with a genuine leather sleeve so that you can carry it in style.

Going back to the laptop, the rose gold treatment is found in the rest of the body, including the diamond-cut edges on the sides, the trim bar, and the edges of the Screen Pad 2.0.

The ZenBook Edition 30 features a 13.3-inch Full HD NanoEdge display. Unlike other laptops, all four sides have slim bezels. It still even managed to house the HD IR camera and microphones at the top. Like its other new ZenBook cousins, the bottom lifts when you open the lid for better airflow.

We also have the full-size backlit keyboard with 1.4mm key travel, and the 5.65-inch Full HD+ Super IPS display ScreenPad 2.0. It’s covered in glass that can resist fingerprints and smudges.

Moving to the ports, it has the DC-in, HDMI, USB 3.1 Gen 2, and USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 on the left.

On the right are the 3.5mm audio jack, USB 2.0, and microSD card reader.

Underneath are four rubber nubs, the vent, and two speakers powered by Harman Kardon.

Powering the ZenBook Edition 30 (UX334F) is the Intel Core i7-8565U processor, NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2GB GDDR5 VRAM, Intel UHD Graphics 620, 16GB LPDDR3 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, and Windows 10. We’ll discuss more on its performance in our full review.

Now, for the price. At PHP 99,995, yes, it’s expensive. Then again, it’s not for everyone and is for the few who have an appetite for luxury even when it comes to a laptop. Owners will also have some bragging rights as ASUS is only limiting 30 units for the Philippines.

ASUS ZenBook Edition 30 (UX334F) specs:
13.3” LED-backlit Full HD (1920 x 1080) 16:9 slim-bezel NanoEdge display
100% sRGB color gamut
178° wide-view technology
Intel Core i7-8565U processor
1.8GHz quad-core with Turbo Boost (up to 4.6GHz) and 8MB cache
NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620
16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM
1TB PCIe Gen3x4 SSD
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C (up to 10Gbps)
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A (up to 10 Gbps)
1 x USB 2.0
1 x Standard HDMI
1 x MicroSD card reader
1 x Audio combo jack
1 x DC-in
Full-size backlit keyboard, with 1.4mm key travel
ASUS SonicMaster stereo audio system
Array microphone with Cortana voice-recognition
HD IR camera
WiFi 5
Bluetooth 5.0
50Wh 3-cell lithium-polymer battery
65W power adapter
Windows 10 Pro/Home

ScreenPad:
5.65” FHD+ (2160 x 1080) Super IPS display
178? wide-view technology
Glass-covered for fingerprint and smudge resistance
Precision touchpad (PTP) technology supports up to four-finger smart gestures