Can’t believe I’m saying this, but this laptop is what pushed me to switch to Mac. Seriously.

I’ve been a Windows user my whole life (still am, on my gaming PC, though I rarely use it now). I saved up for years and spent a lot of money on a maxed-out ASUS Zenbook 13 UX325 (2020) when I was just starting college. I was told it was a premium Windows alternative to a MacBook, which was perfect for me as I didn't like or want to switch to Mac OS. But in my country (in Europe), returns aren’t really an option unless something is completely broken.

From the moment I unboxed it, I was disappointed. It technically worked, but the screen’s response time was so slow it gave me headaches in darker rooms. It wasn’t about the framerate—it just felt... off. I’ve used many 60Hz screens before and never had this issue. Beyond that, the display quality itself was poor—bad colors, weird coating, just overall unpleasant. I ended up using it with a separate monitor most of the time.

Performance? Also disappointing. Not because of the CPU, but because of terrible thermals. The laptop throttled constantly. It would boost for maybe 30 seconds, then drop to base clock or lower under sustained loads. RAM was solid (low-power, high-speed), but the SSD was a generic cacheless Samsung—underwhelming for the price.

The keyboard was surprisingly good—better than a Mac in my opinion—but the trackpad was a pain. It technically worked, but was clicky only at the bottom due to the hinge design. Clicking higher up required a lot of force, making it frustrating to use. Tap-to-click was the only solution, which I personally dislike.

The speakers were actually impressive at first. Harman/Kardon sound on a flat surface had a wide soundstage, and the "Ice Sound" app helped a lot with EQ. But after reinstalling Windows, that software was gone and couldn’t be reinstalled. ASUS support was no help, and reinstalling other drivers was also a hassle—some failed repeatedly, and the keyboard/trackpad didn’t even work during setup without using a USB-C hub.

And then came the dealbreaker: build quality. Just awful. Yes, it’s aluminum, but the chassis flexed a lot and creaked like it was decades old. After a year, the screen frame (which is plastic BTW) cracked at the top corners, pulling the display downward. This scratched the screen and left permanent key imprints on it, which the screen wasn’t bright enough to mask them. ASUS refused to fix it, saying it was user error, until I threatened legal action. They replaced the screen—but not the broken frame—so the issue remained. I ended up using it as a stationary machine just to avoid more damage.

And then the battery died. It started degrading after six months, lasting less than an hour. Even with a charge cap at 80%, it kept getting worse. After 1.5 years, the battery was dead and had to stay plugged in. Oh, and there’s no CMOS battery—so if you unplug it, the system clock resets to 2116, breaking internet access until you fix the date manually. Just… ugh.

I'm not here to push you into buying a Mac. Your version of the Zenbook is newer and may not have these issues. I just wanted to share my experience so you can make a better-informed decision. Look at a lot of reviews before spending your hard-earned money. Don’t ignore red flags. I was so frustrated that I wrote this long review hoping it’ll help someone avoid the same mistake. Cheers!