With the clever use of product engineering and possibly black magic, Infinix has managed to make its already affordable Zerobook more powerful and even more value for money. The new generation of Zerobook irons out a lot of quirks but still misses some important ones that really need some attention in a laptop design that’s beginning to show its age. Also crucial components like a dedicated GPU or even an AMD model are the much needed options which the brand needs to deliver in its upcoming iterations.
Infinix Zerobook - Intel 13th Gen Review - More Power, Less Price But What’s The Catch?
You might not know this but Inifnix is a brand that’s really killing it in the laptop game! For instance, the Infinix Inbook x1 Slim, the Y1 Plus, and many more offer really good value for money for budget buyers! But what about high-end users? Well, Inifnix has something for them as well. The Infinix Zerobook is an Intel Core i9-powered laptop that’s really capable of a wide variety of demanding tasks.
My colleague had previously reviewed the Intel 12th gen variant of the Zerobook sometime ago and it was pretty impressive. In fact, it was one of the most affordable Core i9-powered laptops with some serious performance. And today we have the 13th gen variant of the Infinix Zerobook so we will try to find out what all changed, what all remains the same, and most importantly, whether is it a good deal for you or not!
Infinix Zerobook Ultra (2023) - Specifications
Processor: Intel® Core™ i9-13900H, Intel Iris® Xe Graphics
RAM: 32GB LPDDR5X
Storage: 1TB NVMe PCIe4.0 SSD
Display: 15.6 inches IPS 16:9 display with 1920*1080 max resolution, 400 nits brightness, 100% sRGB coverage, 178 degree viewing angle
Weight: 1.80 Kg
Battery Size: Lithium polymer 70 Wh
Infinix Zerobook Ultra (2023) - Design, Keyboard And Trackpad Review
Now if you’ve been paying attention until now, you might have noticed that both the 13th Gen and the 12th gen variant of the Zerobook look almost identical! Both have the same keyboard, the same trackpad, the same I/O ports and also the same screen size! Even the charger is identical.
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But don’t let this fool you because there are differences. Firstly, the hinge feels a lot smoother in this variant. Like if you try to open the laptop’s lid on the previous version, you will at some point end up lifting it up from the base, but in this variant you can easily lift the lid and the laptop will stay in its place! And the second difference is in terms of performance, about which I’ll tell you a bit later in the article.
Visually, the Ininfix Zerobook Ultra will remind you of a Macbook but with some minor differences. Like, the trackpad, despite the laptop being a 15.6-inch in size, still is relatively small. Because if we’re comparing it with a MacBook, you can see side by side, how big the trackpad on the latter is. But in functionality it works well. Try clicking on either the left or the right side and the Zerobook’s trackpad will be pressed down at an equal level. That is to say, the trackpad is installed with high precision.
I have similar issues with the keyboard too, the keys feel a little bit cramped for a laptop of this size. Just take a look at how it compared to an HP Envy 15, one of the upcoming laptops, and you’ll see the difference more clearly. The keys have good travel and even the laptop’s chassis is pretty solid to make for a good typing experience. But it is just that the keys themselves are a bit small.
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One of the reasons why the keyboard is like that is because of Infinix’s decision to place the speaker grille right next to the keyboard. Now, I love upward firing speaker grille more than MS Dhoni loves expanding his motorcycle collection. But if Infinix has already gives us upward firing speakers, there really was no need to put two additional speaker grille under the laptop. Now I might think that I can place this laptop on my bed and watch movies with a good sound output but I won’t be able to do that because the soft surface of my bed would cover up the downward facing speaker. Mind you, the speaker output is great if you keep the laptop on a solid surface.
The I/O port selection is identical to the previous generation and so is the “Zerobook” engraving on the laptop’s lid along with some additional etching all around it. One sort of visual carry over from previous generation is that when you put the laptop in “Over Boost” mode a red light starts to glow under the hinge. So overall, the build is quiet solid and boasts some improvements but still this design has some quirks to iron out.
Infinix Zerobook Ultra (2023) - Display Review
Also carried over from the last year in the Inifinix Zerobook Ultra is the same 15.6-inch FHD 60Hz “glossy” display. In Digit’s display test I found the screen to be almost identical to the previous generation and it is a good thing. Mainly because last year’s Zerobook display had good brightness and punchy colours.
It is not the most colour accurate display of the bunch but it is great for watching movies, scrolling through web or watching YouTube. I’d rather not recommend you perform colour grading using this display particularly due to low DCI-P3 coverage and a not so colour accurate colour projection. Now, it is not as inaccurate as PC gamers thinking the problem with gaming industry will solve itself out even if they don’t stop pre-ordering videogames, but I’d still not recommend it for professional grade colour grading.
Infinix Zerobook Ultra (2023) - Battery Performance Review
My main uses for this laptop included research, internet browsing, and content creation. With these activities, the laptop could easily last over 6 hours on a single charge. It's worth noting that I mostly used this laptop in Economy mode, which is designed to conserve power. The laptop is equipped with a 70Whr battery, and if you choose to use it in Balanced or Over-boost mode, you should expect a bit more power consumption and slightly less battery life.
Although the laptop supports fast charging via a USB Type-C port, it was a bit of a letdown to see that it came with a 100W proprietary charging tech.
One of the standout features of this laptop is its hybrid CPU. It combines P-cores and E-cores and uses thread director technology to allocate tasks efficiently. This means that basic tasks like web browsing and content consumption are assigned to the low-powered cores, while the P-cores are put to work when you're doing something more intensive, like rendering a photo or a video.
Inifninx Zerobool Ultra (2023) - Performance Review
The Infinix Zerobook Ultra is a top-performer. It is more powerful than any literally any other laptop in its price and class range, in terms of outright CPU performance. Ok, now, before I get too excited let me walk you through its spec sheet once again. The 2023 variant of the Infinix Zerbook Ultra comes with 32GB LPDDR5 RAM running at 6400MHz and it is paired with a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD as well.
Powering the laptop, and our main point of focus, is the Intel 13th Gen Core i9-13900H CPU featuring 14-cores and a boost clock speed of up to 5.40GHz. And Infinix has done its bit to further customize the laptop’s performance by giving users the choice between the different power modes namely - ECO, BALANCED and OVERBOOST. And here is a breakdown of how much power the laptop consumes in each mode and also the performance it delivers.
And the best part is that the power delivery remains fairly consistent across the board. You do not get the 54W of power all the time in OVERBOOST mode but you can expect the processor to deliver 50W consistently even under heavy loads. But I’d still ask you to use the ECO mode for as far as possible during everyday tasks. Because by just sipping 33W, the laptop easily delivers as good as or even better CPU performance as a gaming laptop powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H at full power, which is pretty impressive.
Meaning you can do all kinds of power hungry tasks like photo editing, video editing, 3D animation, photoshop, and much more. My only recommendation to Inifinx for future interactions would be this - “please install a dedicated GPU.” In a laptop as powerful as the Zerobook Ultra, a dedicated GPU would sit right at home. Not just that it’d also expand the notebook’s capability to also being a quiet capable gaming laptop.
And if installing a dedicated GPU is not something Infinix can do then an AMD version with a powerful iGPU would also immensely benefit the overall feature set of this machine.
Infinix Zerobook Ultra (2023) Review - Verdict
The Infinix Zerobook Ultra (2023) with Intel's 13th Gen Core i9 processor is an impressive offering, especially for its affordable price point. In terms of design, the laptop resembles a MacBook and its solid build showcases a few improvements from its previous generation. While the keyboard and trackpad may feel a bit cramped, they function well, and the speaker output is commendable on solid surfaces.
The display is decent, providing good brightness and punchy colors but is not suitable for tasks that require color accuracy like professional-grade color grading. When it comes to performance, the laptop stands out among its competitors. Powered by a 14-core i9-13900H CPU, it delivers powerful performance for demanding tasks such as photo editing, video editing, 3D animation, and Photoshop.
However, the Zerobook could benefit from a dedicated GPU to enhance its functionality, especially in terms of gaming. Alternatively, an AMD version with a powerful iGPU could also expand its feature set. Overall, the Infinix Zerobook Ultra (2023) delivers high performance and good value for money. It is a robust offering for budget-conscious consumers but leaves room for improvements, particularly in terms of its design and the inclusion of a dedicated GPU.
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