If you look at the screenshots from other sites, the vents on the bottom are missing. Either they went the Apple route and are drawing air from the vents or this is indeed the Core M, which is suited for fanless devices.
Oh, we know for sure it's Core M, and given the TDP it could very well be fanless -- after all, Intel is talking about fanless 11.6" tablets with Core M, so a 13.3" laptop should be easy enough. Performance is the real question.
Based on what Intel said on the Core M presentation, the CPU performance may not be too far off. The GPU is the question. They've noted improved CPU performance before, but nothing about the GPU.
It's probably worth it for them since the UX301 was way too expensive. The Iris 5100 Graphics wasn't all that great either. 10-20% gain over HD 5000 on a device costing $1500-2000 is a ripoff.
and even with the "lowly" core-m, seeing the price of the current 1440p zenbook, i somehow doubt this thing will be under 1500 bucks.
fanless sounds great though (no pun) and i don't mind the absence of a touchscreen, but i think they really should have sticked with a 1080p screen, for battery life's sake. also, coupling a 1800p screen to a ULV CPU with low power graphics just seems wrong to me.
I can believe the $1000 price. The Asus Transformer Book Chi with 25x16 display is said to aim for $799 price. So with the next generation, the cost adder for high res displays are really going down.
Also there will be absolutely no issues running 1800p display, even for Atom's graphics, of course unless you are doing anything intensive 3D.
With a screen this small or smaller, I'd rather have the 1800p to use 200% scaling. 1080p at this size can make some desktop elements pretty small (i.e. using Outlook). I'd rather deal with the slow progression of app updates to support the high DPI, and have the flexibility for a really good looking 900p effective resolution or up to 1800p when I need a lot of screen real estate.
Excellent, if it really is Core M then it should throttle when gaming, making this a serious choice for a consumer around $1000 as the 5100 is more than enough to play most games
The question with such a premium laptop is whether each component will be very good, or if there will be one 'deal breaker' component. I am thinking in particular about the high DPI screen - there is a history of yellow-tinted high DPI panels which seems to be a cost-cutting measure. Asus has denied any issue despite massive evidence. Will this premium panel be defective in this way too?
I hope that ASUS will produce a laptop that is the ideal road machine for those of us who have virtual offices and need high portability and long battery life. Intel M processors might be the key, but will the UX305 fit the bill?
A few years ago ASUS produced the superb UL30A, which even today when retrofitted with an SSD drive and a wireless AC card performs admirably well with 10-12 hrs. battery life and weighs approximately 1.4 Kg. with standard office apps running well. Once you have true all day battery on a 3 lb. or less platform, it is hard to go back. Portability is even better when you consider that most of the time, you don't need to carry the charger.
Unfortunately, for the last 4 years, most laptops fall into two categories; either they are cheap, bulky and heavy or they are expensive and have more power-user features than required for the mobile business user. There have been very few middle-ground offerings that are very portable with all day batteries.
What is needed is a mid-priced, high quality, laptop with good computing power, fast startup and second to none battery life all on a sub 3 lb. platform. We are not talking bare bones either since most mobile small businesses users also share the device with their personal use. With this in mind, some tactical nice features would be great such as a decent high definition screen without going overboard trying to have the highest res touch screen available.
Since ASUS has a history of producing such a product, those of us who run mobile businesses are turning to them for a solution for our underrepresented market segment.
A suggested configuration would be: M Processor 250-256 GB SSD 1080P or better screen touch-screen NOT required wireless AC USB 3 ports HDMI 8 GB RAM or better No DVD True all day battery life (Note that an 8 hr. rating is NOT good enough)
To follow up on my earlier comment about the need for a long battery life Ultralite for mobile businesses, I hope that ASUS will take a look at their competitor: Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014. They almost got it right. They are boasting huge 14 hr. battery life, but unfortunately, at 4 lbs., t is simply to heavy. I should have also added to the ideal configuration list that it would be great to have changeable SSD using either a 2.5" or mSATA form factor so we can use the SSD drives that we prefer since I have no idea what SSD ASUS uses. One of the best things about the Samsung competition is that, presumably, they use Samsung SSDs, which are among the best in performance and are definitely the best for power consumption. Ca you get a Samsung SSD in a UX305?
Nobody needs QHD+, not on such a small screen. At least, not until MS fixes the Windows scaling issues.
To all manufacturers, quit trying to 'check marketing boxes' and focus more on what your customers want and need! Since I'm ranting, NO MORE TOUCH panels. Should all be matte on this format of a laptop. Touch is great, on tablets, convertibles, super heavy laptops with super strong hinges, but definitely NOT on this small ultrabook format.
Other than that, very nice looking laptop. I just wish the screen didn't have such a large border.
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dunemessiah - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
If you look at the screenshots from other sites, the vents on the bottom are missing. Either they went the Apple route and are drawing air from the vents or this is indeed the Core M, which is suited for fanless devices.dunemessiah - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
Drawing air from the hinge*JarredWalton - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
Oh, we know for sure it's Core M, and given the TDP it could very well be fanless -- after all, Intel is talking about fanless 11.6" tablets with Core M, so a 13.3" laptop should be easy enough. Performance is the real question.IntelUser2000 - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
Based on what Intel said on the Core M presentation, the CPU performance may not be too far off. The GPU is the question. They've noted improved CPU performance before, but nothing about the GPU.It's probably worth it for them since the UX301 was way too expensive. The Iris 5100 Graphics wasn't all that great either. 10-20% gain over HD 5000 on a device costing $1500-2000 is a ripoff.
fokka - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
looks like micro HDMI to me.comparison: http://www.welches-hdmi-kabel.de/wp-content/upload...
and even with the "lowly" core-m, seeing the price of the current 1440p zenbook, i somehow doubt this thing will be under 1500 bucks.
fanless sounds great though (no pun) and i don't mind the absence of a touchscreen, but i think they really should have sticked with a 1080p screen, for battery life's sake. also, coupling a 1800p screen to a ULV CPU with low power graphics just seems wrong to me.
Hulk - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
I just hope it's at least 8GB RAM.IntelUser2000 - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
I can believe the $1000 price. The Asus Transformer Book Chi with 25x16 display is said to aim for $799 price. So with the next generation, the cost adder for high res displays are really going down.Also there will be absolutely no issues running 1800p display, even for Atom's graphics, of course unless you are doing anything intensive 3D.
Bob Todd - Thursday, September 4, 2014 - link
With a screen this small or smaller, I'd rather have the 1800p to use 200% scaling. 1080p at this size can make some desktop elements pretty small (i.e. using Outlook). I'd rather deal with the slow progression of app updates to support the high DPI, and have the flexibility for a really good looking 900p effective resolution or up to 1800p when I need a lot of screen real estate.dragantoe - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
Excellent, if it really is Core M then it should throttle when gaming, making this a serious choice for a consumer around $1000 as the 5100 is more than enough to play most gamesMadMan007 - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
The question with such a premium laptop is whether each component will be very good, or if there will be one 'deal breaker' component. I am thinking in particular about the high DPI screen - there is a history of yellow-tinted high DPI panels which seems to be a cost-cutting measure. Asus has denied any issue despite massive evidence. Will this premium panel be defective in this way too?Nuke_off - Friday, September 5, 2014 - link
It seems they use an Core M 5Y10 which includes a HD 5300.http://www.computerbase.de/2014-09/asus-zenbook-ux...
MadeOfDirt - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
I hope that ASUS will produce a laptop that is the ideal road machine for those of us who have virtual offices and need high portability and long battery life. Intel M processors might be the key, but will the UX305 fit the bill?A few years ago ASUS produced the superb UL30A, which even today when retrofitted with an SSD drive and a wireless AC card performs admirably well with 10-12 hrs. battery life and weighs approximately 1.4 Kg. with standard office apps running well. Once you have true all day battery on a 3 lb. or less platform, it is hard to go back. Portability is even better when you consider that most of the time, you don't need to carry the charger.
Unfortunately, for the last 4 years, most laptops fall into two categories; either they are cheap, bulky and heavy or they are expensive and have more power-user features than required for the mobile business user. There have been very few middle-ground offerings that are very portable with all day batteries.
What is needed is a mid-priced, high quality, laptop with good computing power, fast startup and second to none battery life all on a sub 3 lb. platform. We are not talking bare bones either since most mobile small businesses users also share the device with their personal use. With this in mind, some tactical nice features would be great such as a decent high definition screen without going overboard trying to have the highest res touch screen available.
Since ASUS has a history of producing such a product, those of us who run mobile businesses are turning to them for a solution for our underrepresented market segment.
A suggested configuration would be:
M Processor
250-256 GB SSD
1080P or better screen
touch-screen NOT required
wireless AC
USB 3 ports
HDMI
8 GB RAM or better
No DVD
True all day battery life (Note that an 8 hr. rating is NOT good enough)
I hope that ASUS reads this forum.
MadeOfDirt - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
To follow up on my earlier comment about the need for a long battery life Ultralite for mobile businesses, I hope that ASUS will take a look at their competitor: Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014. They almost got it right. They are boasting huge 14 hr. battery life, but unfortunately, at 4 lbs., t is simply to heavy. I should have also added to the ideal configuration list that it would be great to have changeable SSD using either a 2.5" or mSATA form factor so we can use the SSD drives that we prefer since I have no idea what SSD ASUS uses. One of the best things about the Samsung competition is that, presumably, they use Samsung SSDs, which are among the best in performance and are definitely the best for power consumption. Ca you get a Samsung SSD in a UX305?deeps6x - Thursday, October 9, 2014 - link
Someone is going to do it right. Core M, 1080P MATTE screen, 256GB (non-proprietary connection) SSD. Proper power connector (a la macbook).Too bad it doesn't appear to be Asus with a Zenbook. I love my UX31A, but it is breaking down.
Looks like the replacement won't be from Asus.
deeps6x - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
Nobody needs QHD+, not on such a small screen. At least, not until MS fixes the Windows scaling issues.To all manufacturers, quit trying to 'check marketing boxes' and focus more on what your customers want and need! Since I'm ranting, NO MORE TOUCH panels. Should all be matte on this format of a laptop. Touch is great, on tablets, convertibles, super heavy laptops with super strong hinges, but definitely NOT on this small ultrabook format.
Other than that, very nice looking laptop. I just wish the screen didn't have such a large border.