So I talked about how my 2-year-old Macbook Air failed me and how much it will cost to repair it.
And I really needed a laptop to help me with my study, and so with mama's help - I bought a new laptop!
Yes, I really wish I could by the new Macbook Air 2019, but it will cost close to RM7,500 including the extended warranty.
After careful and almost, but apparently not extensive readings on the internet, there are many ultrabooks that trumped Macbook Air which included Dell XPS 13, Huawei Matebook 13 and ASUS ZenBook 13.
Huawei Mate 13 cost a bomb, and somehow Surface Laptop 2 did not appear during my research.
Hence I narrowed my readings down to Dell XPS 13 vs ASUS ZenBook 13 (Surface excluded, as I didn't know abt it 😑 ).
I went to Low Yat to see the price, and ASUS ZenBook is the cheaper one.
So I bought my very own ASUS ZenBook 13 for almost RM4k. Thank you Ma and Hubs!
Let's do a bit of review abt this laptop, after abt 2-3 weeks using it.
Let's start with the good things first.
The Advantages
1. The Long-lasting Battery
Last week I left the charger in Mama's hse in KL during my visit there.
With the battery at only 53%, I was afraid it will die after using - so I barely use it. Only used it about 2 hours every day and I set the battery usage to minimal. I switch it off every time after using it instead of just letting it sleep.
It managed to last me 5 days when the charger Aisyah posted to me finally arrived via PosLaju.
2. The small and compact body but 13" screen
Like the new Macbook Air, this ASUS ZenBook didn't have the extra space bordering the screen, it is almost full-screen, like mobile phones nowadays. So the screen is still 13" like my old MacBook Air but the body became smaller, since it doesn't need extra space.
And it is very light, barely 1.5kg.
I have not brought it to work but I am pretty sure it will not weigh my bag down like my previous MacBook Air.
3. The USB ports!
Not just one, but there are TWO USB ports on this machine.
One USB 2.0 and another is USB 3.0.
Hence I can easily connect my mouse AND printer at the same time, without worrying about charging the laptop.
The major disadvantage of MacBook Air 2019 in my opinion is the lack of USB ports. It has 2 Thunderbolt ports - one of which is also the charging port.
The Disadvantages
I am sad, there are still more of these compared to the advantages but perhaps I just need to adjust myself to Windows.
1, 2, 3. iCloud
This might be the biggest trouble I am facing now.
I use iCloud heavily ever since my switch to Apple 9 years ago.
I even paid for the monthly cloud storage. So when I had to switch back to Windows, I had trouble syncing all my iCloud documents into this ZenBook. Although there is an iCloud Drive software for Windows, it isn't as automatic as it is in MacBooks.
The document parts are all solved now, I managed to sync it to my C: drive.
However it can't sync my photos from iPhone as efficient as my MacBook can - simply because they are using different platforms.
I used to be able to take a photo on my iPhone and with internet connection, the picture will be on my MacBook within seconds.
If I do not have Internet connection, I can just AirDrop the picture from my iPhone to the MacBook - which takes seconds as well.
Now, I MUST have an Internet connection to be able to have the picture on my ZenBook, since iPhone can't Bluetooth files to computers and there is no AirDrop in between these two devices. The iCloud Photos are not syncing really well, I am not sure why so I had to go to iCloud.com, and manually download the picture into my laptop.
With this change of platform, it also mean I can't use Notes anymore.
 |
| No, this is not my Notes. This is from the net 😂 |
I take notes on the Notes app on my iPhone, and then I can edit it on my MacBook - because they sync.
Now I can't view them easily anymore because there is no Note software for Windows.
Maybe I need to start using Evernote now.
Alternatively, I can do this.
4. Compact Keyboard
The keyboard is really compact, I always mistype words.
The "Shift" button is especially challenging because it is as small as all the other letters buttons.
"Shift" buttons on keyboards are usually as big as the "Enter" buttons on laptops - if u know what I mean.
So now, everytime I need to type a capital letter, I have to stop and see the "Shift" button to correctly press it.
It's the right side of the keyboard that I found difficult adjusting to.
5. Speaker Pecah-Pecah
I am not sure what to call it in English but at certain volume, the sound starts to disperse haphazardly.
Imagine sound waves coming out at certain speed from the speakers and colliding with each other and the music produced is scattered - if that makes sense.
When I read the reviews, there was no mention about this. In fact, most of the reviews stated that the speakers are really good.
I wonder if MacBook speaker is exceptional, hence I got so used to it that I feel this quality is sub par.
SUMMARY
I WILL adjust to this Windows ZenBook.
I aim to use it for years from now.
But as of now, I still have the intention to go back to MacBook. Perhaps after I complete my Masters training and become a Specialist and earn more
🤩
Some of the reviews I read: (in most of them, Dell wins. But ASUS is cheaper, but still more expensive than non-Ultrabooks)
1. ASUS ZenBook 13 vs Dell XPS 13
2. ASUS ZenBook 13 vs MacBook Air 2019
3. Dell XPS 13 vs MacBook Air 2019
-Because life is a test-
-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com
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