I'm looking for an ultraportable laptop for school. The two machines I've narrowed my decision down to are the Apple Macbook Air 13 (base model 4gb ram + 128gb ssd) and the Zenbook Prime UX31A-DB51 (base 13 inch model, 4gb ram + 128gb ssd). Does anybody on OCN have a good argument for one or the other? Every thread I post in other places turns into a Mac VS Windows debate... They're very similar machines, but here are the most glaring differences:
MacBook Air:
More highly touted keyboard/trackpad (The original Zenbook had a bad trackpad, the new Zenbook Prime is said to have improved on that, but I think the MacBook Air's trackpad should still be better by a good margin)
Slightly more powerful processor (1.8GHz vs 1.7GHz on the Zenbook Prime)
Much faster SSD (the Zenbook Prime sandisk SSD tested very very slow)
I think I also read that it has a superior battery life (90% sure about this one)
Zenbook Prime:
That beautiful 1920x1080 Matte IPS Display
Cheaper! (Price isn't too much of a factor because both will be within my budget)
(if I missed anything please let me know!)
Thanks OCN!
MacBook Air:
More highly touted keyboard/trackpad (The original Zenbook had a bad trackpad, the new Zenbook Prime is said to have improved on that, but I think the MacBook Air's trackpad should still be better by a good margin)
Slightly more powerful processor (1.8GHz vs 1.7GHz on the Zenbook Prime)
Much faster SSD (the Zenbook Prime sandisk SSD tested very very slow)
I think I also read that it has a superior battery life (90% sure about this one)
Zenbook Prime:
That beautiful 1920x1080 Matte IPS Display
Cheaper! (Price isn't too much of a factor because both will be within my budget)
(if I missed anything please let me know!)
Thanks OCN!













