If you ’re looking for some of the best thin - and - visible radiation laptops on the market , these two devices are the weft of the bunch in 2024 . We ’ve full reviewed the Apple MacBook Air M3 and Asus Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode . Here ’s how they compare .
2024 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting years for thebest slight - and - visible light laptopsaround . Intel Core UltraandAMD Ryzen ’s 8000series have offer key boosts while the Apple M3 has bring some surplus succus to Macs . The unsung measure of theSnapdragon X Eliteis close in too . For now , theZenbook 14 OLEDandMacBook Air M3are our top - rated machine for most people . These are what we recall are all the key points of difference after our thorough testing .
Price and Availability
The pricing for the MacBook Air varies greatly depending on your desired conformation , as well as if you prefer for the 13 - in or 15 - inch good example . The range set off at £ 1099/$1099 for the base 13 - inch model , with the 15 - inch bulge at £ 1,299/$1,299 . There are a lot of form so we wo n’t go through every single one of them here but the fundamental principle are that boosting up to a fasterGPUwill price you £ 100 then go from 8GBunified memoryto 16 GB and then 32 GB will be you £ 200 for each step up . For a largerSSD , it cost £ 200 to go from 256 GB to 512 GB then again to 1 TB before it ’ll be you another £ 400 for the extended rise to 2 TB . Faster index adapters will also cost you £ 30 .
By comparison , thing are simpler with the Asus , only offering one size , a smaller set of configurations and less expensive upgrades . The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED starts at £ 1,049 in the UK for the Intel Core Ultra 5 125HCPU , 16GBRAMand 512 GB SSD model . In the US , the price vary , with a start Mary Leontyne Price of $ 1,299.99 on the Asus website for the same model but , at Best Buy , you get the more advanced Core Ultra 7 155H , 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD version for less at $ 1,049.99 . In the UK , you could bump up the storage to 1 TB for £ 200 then , with an additional £ 100 , you could venture up to 32 GB RAM and that raises the C.P.U. up to the Core Ultra 185H.
Design
Apple has long been the Rex of lightweight luxury design in the laptop space but brands like Asus are get up . Both these laptop are exceedingly thin and tripping , with the MacBook Air come in at 11.3 millimetre slight and 1.24 kilogram for the 13 - in good example then 11.5 mm thin and 1.51 kg for the 15 - inch . Next , the Asus Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode amount 15 mm slurred and 1.29 kg . So , the MacBook Air retain the edge in terms of thickness across both model but the 15 - inch does come in a shade heavier .
The Apple and the Asus feature all - metal designs , with the MacBook Air sport the shimmering signature metallic look that the range has had for so many years , even with the raw flatter invention replacing the cuneus . The Asus resist out a number more with a logo straggle across the hat , which feels ceramic - like in grain .
There ’s a clear-cut achiever on the ports front , with the MacBook Air only offering two Thunderbolt 4 port and a earphone jackfruit . But , with the Zenbook 14 OLED , you get the two Thunderbolt 4 , one USB - A 3.2 , an HDMI 2.1 and a earpiece jack .
These are two luxury laptop that , despite both being all - metal , the MacBook does have the more unibody and symmetrical feel that come with giving off the impression it was crafted into one piece of metal . The Asus put up something a little different and intriguing . So , it ’s a mater of taste here .
Screen and Sound
The new MacBook Air M3 give way to bring about a presentation raise , meaning you still get the same 13.6 - in 60Hz 2560×1664 / 15.3 - in 2880×1864 Liquid Retina panel . Now , we were big fans of the screen in our followup , touting just how penetrating and smart it can get . It does n’t stand out as being poor in anyway , but Asus has just take thing a bit higher .
Unlike theMacBook Proand its Mini light-emitting diode technology , the MacBook Air miss such an upgrade . Another tech standard it lacks is OLED , which the Zenbook 14 OLED does offer . As such , the Asus leave a display that offers truly luxurious and vibrant colours . There ’s also a slightly higher resolution at 2880×1800 and a 120Hz refresh , with the latter providing that smoother scrolling experience .
The Asus Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode ca n’t quite keep up with the excellent MacBook Air when it fall to audio though . We dub the former laptop as a adequate player of multimedia while the Apple is just a grand machine in terms of how full the sound is from such a diddy machine .
Performance
Since the inception of the Apple M - series , the MacBook Air range has stormed ahead in term of its symmetricalness of efficiency and power . Intel Core Ultra aimed to clap back and , to some extent , it has . Our experience with devices like the Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode has show the generation offers a bit of spare battery life and a bit of extra graphic functioning when compared with the MacBook Air .
So , on operation , the Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode is able to stand toe - to - toe with the M3 in multi - core work load testing but the Apple still holds the lead-in across most mental test . The results are n’t staggeringly dissimilar , meaning both these laptops will master productivity body of work and can comfortable tackle basic to mediate 4 green TV redaction . However , Apple still has the bound for offering the same public presentation off force as it does on , and it does it all without a fan . To compare , we did find the Zenbook 14 OLED to offer a good amount of fan racket when really pushed , something the Apple would never do .
Of of course , as a Windows laptop , the Zenbook 14 OLED offers better access to gaming . We find the new Core Ultra silicon chip enabled around 30fps at Medium options in Returnal then 67fps at Ultra setting in the Rainbow Six Extraction first someone shooter title .
Software
For software , you ’ll discover the traditional MacOS experience on the Apple MacBook Air M3 , with Sonoma being the latest loop . There were n’t any immense upgrades wtih its introduction , with new thingmabob being the highlighting .
The Asus Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode offer up a few more dedicated features from Asus software program , such as MyAsus for do the machine , Screen Xpert for organize apps across unlike desktop and GlideX for screen sharing . The Asus also apply the Core Ultra ’s AI NPU to take advantage of the young Windows Studio effects , allowing native scope blur , motorcar - framing and auto - eye contact have across your picture conferencing apps .
Battery Life
The MacBook Air remains the loss leader on the market in term of thin - and - light assault and battery life , managing between 15 and 18 hour across our examination . It ’s a stunning feat that let you go well into a second solar day off power without having to worry about your bombardment .
The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED does benefit from the Core Ultra boost , coming in at just under 13 hour . It is a self-coloured number and many multitude will be felicitous with that result as Windows laptops of the last couple of year have often float between 8 - 11 hours on the productivity side of thing .
Final Verdict
As always with a MacBook and a Windows laptop , especially when both are top quality like these two , the conclusion is potential to come down to whether you require to use MacOS or Windows . The latter , of course , offers more access code to games and an superfluous story of freedom .
It ’s severe to fault either of these on performance , with the MacBook Air M3 and Asus Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode being extremely capable productiveness taskers that wo n’t winkle for your median World Wide Web browsing and multi - tasking . For creative work , both of these will also suit budding content creators . But , the MacBook Air offers that extra portability , with supreme power when unplugged , as well as that fanless design .
The excogitation will again come down to personal penchant . The MacBook Air has a signature tune style that you ’ll know if you ’ll care , with a slightly higher Venus’s curse of sumptuousness that the Asus . But , the Asus offer something more interesting and redundant ports .
The Asus Zenbook 14 also has the glorious OLED exhibit that take on it above the MacBook Air in terms of consider experience . It ’s an joy to calculate at whether you ’re doing some light gaming , originative work or take in some videos .
Ultimately , we gave both of these laptops 4.5 - star and it is extremely hard to separate them in documentary mode . alternatively , it ’ll come down to your immanent notion on our testing and verdict to make up one’s mind if the Asus or Apple is good for you . Price may play a key element , with the Apple providing a depleted starting price but quickly rising when you ’d like to upgrade while the Asus offer a strong base specification .
