ASUS Vivobook Pro VS Macbook Pro: Can The $799 Device Compete With The Apple Mainstay?
ASUS has another proud product this year. It’s just the start of the midyear releases and the tech company is already wowing critics. In their latest ASUS VivoBook Pro, they are introducing the combination of performance and price.
There are very few companies who have successfully gotten a market share in the space together with Apple, but ASUS seemed to be moving ahead of the pack. With the price tag of $799, the gaming version of the VivoBook S15 has jam-packed features that one can ask of when it comes to portable laptops.
According to CNet, the lower version, VivoBook S, which is priced at $500, is already a standing competitor for the Macbook. The VivoBook S and VivoBook Pro both have thin bezels designed to “maximize the display and keep the laptop’s footprint small.”
The keyboard has spring features to make a better experience for typing and they did not compromise when it comes to the laptop’s performance.
The VivoBook Pro has a couple of similarities with the ZenBook, another highly-rated ASUS Laptop. The highest processor version is the i7-7399HQ from Intel’s new seventh-generation line. It also has Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1050 and about 2TB of HDD storage.
Asus announces ZenBook and VivoBooks (2017) laptops https://t.co/cAKP9UCrGO pic.twitter.com/U76U8p6Eji
— Pureinfotech (feed) (@PUREinfoTechWeb) May 31, 2017
“In order to fulfill our vision of creating this empowering luxury for everyone to enjoy, we have to relentlessly go back and forth to the drawing board with precise calibration,” Shih said during the launch.
“We achieved the perfect balance among beauty, portability and performance.”
Shih is also right when he said the VivoBook Pro will redefine the perception of mainstream notebooks. Because of the low price tag and the high performance, current notebooks in the market would be competing directly to the VivoBook Pro. At present, the $799 would get consumers a lower version of the Surface Pro without the additional keyboard and stylus.
With VivoBook Pro, the consumers are also offered an elegant design, almost similar to the ZenBook. It’s wrapped in gold and has an aluminum feel. There’s also a matte version to choose from.
The laptop has a 47Wh battery and for a gaming, portable laptop, this is already an impressive one.
But will it last with the requirements of gamers? According to ASUS, the VivoBook Pro has a “robust cooling system to ensure smooth and stable performance during high-load multitasking or gaming marathons.”
With an ergonomic backlit board, a fingerprint sensor with Windows Hello, and a fast-charge technology, the VivoBook Pro can definitely compete head to head with the MacBook series.
Though it has been noted that its metal built seemed to have a cheaper make, this could be one of the things consumers can expect considering the price tag. However, when it comes to performance, it has, if not similar, competitive features to match the MacBook series.
The other advantages of the ASUS VivoBook Pro is its OS, Windows. Up to this day, the Windows users all around the world still trumps OS X users. This also enables the laptop to be easily accessible for gamers since the MacBook series has been known to not really be that game-friendly.
“They’re not powerful enough to play the latest games at high-settings, either. Even if you spend thousands on a high-end Mac Pro, you’re going to be disappointed with its gaming prowess — especially if you want to drink in some of those sweet, sweet 4K graphics.”
There are no announcements yet on when it will hit the market for sale, but the positive response of the critics as well as the fans show that there is already a high demand for both the VivoBook S and the VivoBook Pro.
[Featured Image by David Becker/Getty Images]
