Asus ZenBook Edition 30 review: “Just take my money”- These were the words of an acquaintance as soon as he saw the images of Asus Zenbook Edition 30 -- the limited edition laptop designed by Asus to celebrate its 30thanniversary. The reaction didn’t surprise me as this beautifully designed notebook with Italian leather and an 18-karat rose gold logo is likely to impress everyone at first look. 

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While smartphone makers are consistently experimenting with the design, trying to turn devices into accessories, not much has been done with laptops. They are largely associated with productivity and this is where Zenbook Edition 30 stands out. It is a notebook that you can flaunt. 

The only problem is that you won’t be able to do so in India. The company claims that it has made only 3000 units of this stunning device and has decided not to bring it to India. But, it was kind enough to send across a unit to us and here is our review of the same. 

As I said, form factor is the biggest positive of Zenbook Edition 30. It has killer looks that catch your eye instantly. It comes with a white anodised aluminum chassis that has a handcrafted pearl white leather back. The laptop has a premium built and Asus has also added an 18-karat rose gold logo as an additional design element. 

You get the HDMI port, one USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type-A and one USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type-C connector on the right side while the microSD card slot, USB 2.0 port, and 3.5mm headphone jack are on the left.

The laptop features a 13.3-inch FHD non-touch display with abput 92 per cent screen-to-body ratio. Asus has tried to keep the bezels at minimum and it certainly helps. For somebody who is still using an Apple MacBook Air, this is quite refreshing. The screen is good for watching videos. However, it catches reflection from certain angles which can be highly annoying. 

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A major highlight of this notebook is that it features a ScreenPad instead of the usual touchpad. The 5.65-inch acts as a smaller secondary screen allowing tyou run several apps including Spotify. It also has standard touchpad features. You can also drag apps between the two screens to improve productivity. 

Asus Zenbook Edition 30 is powered by Intel’s quad-core i7-8565U processor. It packs Nvidia’s GeForce MX 250 discrete GPU, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB PCIe SSD. This makes the laptop quite effective for daily tasks like exchanging emails, preparing reports etc. 

Asus has also used Harmon Kardon speakers on Edition 30, which as always, deliver excellent audio output. 

Saving the best for the last, you get a cool mouse with this notebook. The pearl white mouse is a beauty itself and will have have your eyes rolling. Also, you get a genuine leather sleeve inside the box to protect the laptop. 

Asus ZenBook Edition 30: Final Verdict

Asus has been experimenting a lot lately and deserves a pat on its back, just for that. The Zenook Edition 30 is another attempt in the same direction. Since its not for mass sale, there is no point going deep into the technicalities. Instead, this notebook is a fine example of company’s craftsmanship and emerges as one of the most attractive notebooks in the market. 

It’s just sad that you can’t get your hands on this one in India.