The 4K revolution is underway, and higher-than-HD displays have become a pretty big deal in the premium laptop space. Now Asus is in the game with the Zenbook NX500 ($2,699 as tested), a high-end desktop replacement that goes up against the likes of the Apple MacBook Pro 15-Inch Retina Display (2014) and the Toshiba Satellite P50T-BST2N01. If ultra-HD quality is what you're after, the selection of laptops to choose from just got a bit bigger. The Zenbook NX500 impresses with its sleek design, impressive sound, a fantastic display, and solid performance, but it comes with a premium price to match.

Design
It's easy to draw comparisons to the Apple MacBook Pro, but the fact is that Apple's aluminum unibody design has been aped by every laptop maker on the market. The all-metal, minimalist look is de rigueur for premium laptops these days, so I'll mention the passing similarity and leave it at that. Far more interesting is what Asus does differently with the design. On the lid is the same circular, brushed-aluminum pattern seen on past Zenbooks. The concentric circle motif is repeated when you open the laptop, with a circular pattern of dots and grille holes for the speakers on either side of the keyboard. The edges of the palm rest and lid are beveled for a more comfortable feel, and the use of edge-to-edge glass is functional, allowing touch input with gestures like swiping at the edges of the display.

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The overall design is nice, but once you power on the system, the screen may be the only thing you pay attention to. The 15.6-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) display has an eye-popping 4K (3,840-by-2,160-resolution) display, with bright, vivid color and 10-point touch with full gesture support. This puts the resolution ahead of Apple's MacBook Pro with Retina Display (2,800 by 1,800) and the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K (2,880 by 1,620), and puts it on par with the Toshiba P50T-BST2N01 (3,840 by 2,160). The result is a display that will be praised by both 4K fans and graphics-focused professionals like photographers and videographers.

When set side by side with the Apple MacBook Pro, the 4K display easily outshines the Apple's Retina Display, and Asus steps things up further with a richer, wider color gamut. The difference is especially clear when viewing high-resolution imagery and video—the Zenbook NX500 can display 4K videos in full resolution, while the Apple MacBook cannot—but for most content, such as YouTube and Netflix videos, documents, and the majority of Web pages, the differences are negligible. The Apple MacBook, however, has a marginally less-reflective glass panel over the display.

The full-size keyboard has square,
chiclet-style keys and backlighting that automatically adjusts in accordance with ambient lighting brightness. The keyboard does not include 10-key number buttons, unlike the MSI GS60 and the Toshiba P50T-BST2N01, but neither does the Dell XPS 15 (9530) or the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch. Below the keyboard is a glass-surface clickpad, which has the same 16:9 aspect ratio as the display, a touch that, in theory, makes for more intuitive cursor control. In practice, I didn't see any noticeable benefit, but there's also no apparent drawback.

The keyboard is flanked by Asus's ICEpower speakers (developed in partnership with Bang & Olufsen), which we've praised in the past for high-quality sound. The Zenbook NX500 is no exception, as the sound quality is crisp and clear, offering both clear vocals and rich bass, though the overall volume is a little low, and doesn't project enough to fill a room. It does, however, provide some nice sound for the user.

Features
The Zenbook NX500 is outfitted with three USB 3.0 ports, a mini DisplayPort, a full-size HDMI output, and an SD card reader. For wireless connectivity, the system has dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.