Apple's 2016 MacBook might find its match this year, as the Asus Zenbook 3, the latest in the Taiwanese manufacturer's line of ultraportable notebooks, was unveiled on Monday. With admirable internals and a design that definitely catches the eye, the Zenbook 3 seems to be designed to topple Apple's ultraportable in every aspect.

Though the two devices are quite similar in appearance, the Zenbook 3 does give the impression that it is a more refined version of Apple's device. Starting from the frame, which features the iconic concentric circles of the firm's trademark Zen devices and a unique two-phase anodizing process that gives the device a two-tone look in a unibody structure, the Zenbook 3 is a bit more eye-catching than Apple's ultraportable.

Asus' ultraportable sports a 12.5-inch display with a 1920x1080 resolution. With a very slim bezel, the Zenbook 3 is able to provide a pretty hefty 82 percent screen-to-body ratio while keeping the device relatively small. The entire screen is also coated with Corning Gorilla Glass 4, to prevent those nasty scratches.

The Zenbook 3's internals are quite admirable too, featuring an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 256GB SSD storage for the base model. Compared to the Core M processor found in the 2016 MacBook, the Zenbook 3's processing power is much higher.

In fact, the top variant of Asus' device will feel at home with power laptops, with its Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage, far beyond what the 2016 MacBook offers.

Interestingly, Asus seems to have channeled the 2016 MacBook not just in its strengths but also in the device's most prominent weakness. Just like the 2016 MacBook, the Zenbook 3 also features a single USB Type-C port. Indeed, from the early impressions from critics of the device, the single port has already been branded as the one Achilles Heel of the Zenbook 3.

However, Asus did manage to make the Zenbook 3 a much sweeter deal than Apple's 2016 MacBook. The firm was able to do this by including a dongle with USB 3.0, USB-C and HDMI ports with each purchase of the Zenbook 3. Only the larger, universal dock has to be purchased separately. In contrast, Apple's dongle is sold for more than $70.

Though the two devices are toe-to-toe in numerous aspects, the Zenbook 3 is quickly emerging as the 2016 MacBook's most notable challenger to date.

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