3 ms·

There's the Asus UX305 or UX303 and the Dell XPS 13, both 2015 versions, both configurable at different price ranges from around $700 or $800, up to around $170

There's the Asus UX305 or UX303 and the Dell XPS 13, both 2015 versions, both configurable at different price ranges from around $700 or $800, up to around $1700. The former is a bit slicker, the latter is a bit more powerful (although the infinity screen is pretty slick, too). I can't get over some of the Windows trackpads though, I've happily used Windows desktops for 15 years, the hardware on Windows laptops is alright value, but I still choose Macbooks for the trackpad and increasingly the OS (and the resale value has always been great, too. Selling a 4 year old Macbook for 40% of the price means I look at a $1500 MBP as if it costs me $900, at which point using it for 4 years costs me less than $19 a month. Not something I mind paying). And it seems like MS covered exactly that with a great trackpad for once and attention to the drivers (although I've yet to test it, it looks promising). I hope like Google's Nexus series, it sets some minimum benchmark standards for vendors. iirc I tried the Asus UX305 with my gf a few months ago and the trackpad... just ugh. It's surprising how big of a deal this is to be, usually I'm a pretty compromising person who doesn't fret the small stuff but the feel to the touch, responsiveness etc on the trackpads have become a major stumbling block for me for Windows laptops.

hsitz 11y ago
My main computer is a UX305 running Ubuntu, can still dual boot to Windows. Trackpad seems great to me. In fact, I don't like the feel of the trackpads on the Macs I occasionally use. I think a big part of it is what you get used to.
- IkmoIkmo 11y ago
  Ah that surprises me! I had very similar experiences to this reviewer as did my gf. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3VDcUP60sE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3VDcUP60sE I took her to the store to try some laptops before buying one as she'd been asking me to help with the buying decision. First stop, the UX305, had been reading great things, looked awesome and great specs for money (256gb SSD, 8gb RAM at $700 in a laptop that's thinner, lighter and smaller than a MBA yet has a 13' screen and a full HD (higher resolution than the MBA) screen while looking beautiful with a CPU that can handle most things a typical MBA user does? Talk about MBA killer! I mean hell right now this thing's on Newegg for $680, minus another $100 rebate, that's just ridiculous) so I'd been recommending it to her for days. But the trackpad and to a lesser extent the keyboard immediately turned her off. I didn't mind the keyboard much but coming from the MBP I really wasn't feeling the trackpad, perhaps it's as you say 'what you get used to', but I'd used Windows laptops for 5-6 years, never really liked the experience and was very much a desktop guy, but the MBP really changed that. I still keep it docked most of the time but I don't dislike this specific trackpad anymore (although I do still prefer a mouse). So the Windows trackpad I was used to I really didn't like, and was fine using the MBP's trackpad once I got it. Anyway despite me urging her to reconsider the UX305 and Dell XPS 13 she eventually chose the MBA in large part over that, which is still a really solid machine if you can look past the ridiculous resolution which to my complete surprise she was unable to notice after I pointed it out to her in the store a couple times. I've seen several 'fixes' to the UX305's trackpad by the way, like on Windows 10 there's a driver issue you can resolve and you can find how-tos on youtube to do this yourself. Perhaps in the store when we tried out the UX305 they hadn't implemented all the right drivers because I faintly recall thinking of the trackpad issues at the time 'this stuff must be fixable with some drivers'.

hsitz 11y ago

My main computer is a UX305 running Ubuntu, can still dual boot to Windows. Trackpad seems great to me. In fact, I don't like the feel of the trackpads on the Macs I occasionally use. I think a big part of it is what you get used to.

IkmoIkmo 11y ago
Ah that surprises me! I had very similar experiences to this reviewer as did my gf. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3VDcUP60sE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3VDcUP60sE I took her to the store to try some laptops before buying one as she'd been asking me to help with the buying decision. First stop, the UX305, had been reading great things, looked awesome and great specs for money (256gb SSD, 8gb RAM at $700 in a laptop that's thinner, lighter and smaller than a MBA yet has a 13' screen and a full HD (higher resolution than the MBA) screen while looking beautiful with a CPU that can handle most things a typical MBA user does? Talk about MBA killer! I mean hell right now this thing's on Newegg for $680, minus another $100 rebate, that's just ridiculous) so I'd been recommending it to her for days. But the trackpad and to a lesser extent the keyboard immediately turned her off. I didn't mind the keyboard much but coming from the MBP I really wasn't feeling the trackpad, perhaps it's as you say 'what you get used to', but I'd used Windows laptops for 5-6 years, never really liked the experience and was very much a desktop guy, but the MBP really changed that. I still keep it docked most of the time but I don't dislike this specific trackpad anymore (although I do still prefer a mouse). So the Windows trackpad I was used to I really didn't like, and was fine using the MBP's trackpad once I got it. Anyway despite me urging her to reconsider the UX305 and Dell XPS 13 she eventually chose the MBA in large part over that, which is still a really solid machine if you can look past the ridiculous resolution which to my complete surprise she was unable to notice after I pointed it out to her in the store a couple times. I've seen several 'fixes' to the UX305's trackpad by the way, like on Windows 10 there's a driver issue you can resolve and you can find how-tos on youtube to do this yourself. Perhaps in the store when we tried out the UX305 they hadn't implemented all the right drivers because I faintly recall thinking of the trackpad issues at the time 'this stuff must be fixable with some drivers'.