Verdict
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is a great fomite to demonstrate the chop of the second - generation Intel Ultra chipsets . They commingle secure general performance with solid play power , include on battery powerfulness . Battery aliveness is the veridical high spot , nipping at the heels of 20 hr in some scenarios . Keyboard snobs might need to hold back for something with more meaty keys , though .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is a sharp - attend portable laptop that can present off with any good example you might see advertised on a large billboard . But one aspect of this model eclipses everything else .
It ’s the first laptop computer , alongside the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i , with a “ Lunar Lake ” second - propagation Intel Ultra 7 CPU .
On a retailer website these expect just like the Ultra 7 processor laptops we had betimes in 2024 . The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is nothing like those in reality , though .
The battery survive far , far longer . It can play more demanding games far well . It ’s quieter too . The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s unsanded processor power does n’t shanghai in the same way as these upgrades . But for the average , or even more picky , laptop buyer ? It ’s a dream personal computer , and makes you marvel why Intel did n’t get here earlier .
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED starts at £ 1299 online , or be £ 1499 for the same sort performance level see in this critique . But the actual revue model has 32 GB random memory , up the cost to £ 1599 .
Design and Keyboard
The plan goals of laptops in the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s class are simple . They ’re think of to seem graceful , look expensive and yet feel tough enough for a life on the route .
These are n’t conducive to actual personality . But Asus has at least endeavor to give the Zenbook S14 OLED a program line rump .
Across its eyelid , lustrous silver medal line are carved into a “ Ceraluminum ” surface . The gray-headed bits are ceramic - establish , the silver gray is where the aluminium underneath is revealed . It ’s a bold look , but not a too - bold one .
Inside the Zenbook S14 OLED everything is distinctive Asus . There are more severe and stark lines than you might expect from other manufacturers .
It also has a more serious and less minimalist show than some of thebest laptopsout there . I ca n’t depict Apple stuffing a neat bad heat radiator grille above the keyboard in a laptop computer that scantily postulate to utilize its fans .
It is an admirable invention , though , and the Zenbook S14 OLED is build up to the usual high standards expected in this category . The lower casing is all - metal , and there ’s very limited flex to the keyboard .
The hinge only lets the exhibit move back to around 130 - left degrees . It ’s no hybrid . But as is often the pillowcase , this limited hinge apparent movement direct to an almost zero - wobble video display . This is extremely desirable for working on the go .
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s inputs are satisfying , but not good enough to avoid criticism .
There ’s a classic ultraportable laptop keyboard here . The keys find as though some effort has been put into their flavour . Typing does not have a hollow hoop , and the way the backlight glitter through the lettering on the attractive ( and Asus signature ) typeface is pleasant .
For my preferences , though , the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED keyboard baby-sit a little too far to the shallow side of the key activity spectrum . Depth feel similar to that of aMacBook Air M3 .
I have found the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED tight to typewrite away on , and the size of the laptop have in mind Asus has not had to cut down any secondary key so much you end up having to spend time bedding into the fundamental layout .
The touchpad is similar , but again the feel is a minuscule off my recent faves like theMicrosoft Surface Laptop 7 .
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s touchpad resistance is a tactile sensation too high . The opposition of the keyboard , it lead to a slower and slimly dull feel — at least until your Spanish pointer finger’s breadth gets used to the clicker .
The rest of the touchpad is outstanding . This is a textured glass airfoil , not a plastic one . It ’s a near size of it and while I ’d tone down the clicker action given a chance , the underlying clicker style is big . It ’s fluid and glum , not the burnished and clicky flair that can often cheapen an otherwise good touchpad .
Display and Sound
The Asus Zenbook S14 organic light-emitting diode has an splendid screen . It ’s onlynottop of the game in one area . Like other OLEDs , while it ’s bright it ca n’t match the mini LED display of the topMacBook Pro .
I measure out 600 nit when displaying HDR cognitive content , but you ’ll only see up to 400 nits in normal apps ( 380 nits when HDR is turned off completely ) . This is enough to get by working outside for productivity apps , although it ’s a shame there ’s not a more effective anti - reflective layer on the presentation glass .
The green sheen to reflections suggests it may have some reflection - counter discussion here , but it does n’t do too much .
Everything else is high-flown . First up , like other OLEDs , the Asus Zenbook S14 organic light-emitting diode has invincible contrast and very deep colour . grant to my tintometer it fulfils 99.9 % of DCI P3 , and can exhibit colours far outside the gamut too .
Calibration is superb , and there was no visible difference before and after performing a manual calibration of the screen .
The 3 KiB resolution ( 2880 x 1800 ) search sharp-worded across the 14 - inch instrument panel and , like most others these days , this is a 16:10 aspect silver screen . It ’s matched with the now - coarse 120Hz max refresh rate .
And while the Asus Zenbook S14 organic light-emitting diode does not have hybrid - comparable flexibility , it has a touchscreen and support a style . You do n’t get one in the loge , though .
The laptop computer also has a potent quad driver speaker scheme . This gives off a great first opinion , but on encounter medicine I find oneself it does n’t play too well with the Dolby processing musical mode turned on by default . The dynamic loudness enhancement is right smart too obvious . you may twist it off all for a more even experience , though .
Performance
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is the first laptop I ’ve used with an Intel Ultra 7 258V processor . That final cosmic string of four numbers and letter is all important because the experience you get here is totally different to that of an Ultra 7 115H PC . Many of those are ground at retailers at the time of reappraisal .
This is a novel generation of chipset , one that might follow across as a reaction to the ultra - long - lastingQualcomm Snapdragon Elitelaptops released earlier this year . newfangled chipset generations are n’t devised in weeks , though .
It ’s not a Book of Revelation in all areas but the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s Intel Ultra 7 258V might go down as one of my most pleasant computer hardware surprises of 2024 . But let ’s start with the regretful bit .
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s raw central processing unit performance is not that honorable , and I ’ve recorded adept results from both Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite rivals and even the Old last - gen Ultra 7 laptop computer .
Single - core perfomance is solid . But multi - core ? Benchmark figures were never quite as high-pitched as I had hope , and were also a little all over the place between runs — at least compare to the usually tiptop - logical Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite .
Test Data
Those benchmarks suggest we ’re somewhere between the Apple M2 and Apple M3 in CPU power here . That ’s not to be sniffed at .
And while gaming laptop owners may scoff at this one , I ’m genuinely print by the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s performance in games . I tried out a caboodle of games on the laptop and found I was receive up to replicate the frame pace of a Snapdragon X elect laptop computer , and world power is 20 - plus percent up over the last - gen Intel Ultra good example .
you could practicably play Cyberpunk 2077 at Full HD result , about “ medium ” artwork preferences on the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED and have a good time . That good time can also be had unplugged , with no celebrated loss of GPU performance ( as long as you do n’t stop the low-toned heating plant vents ) .
It settles in at around 20 - 22W of force drawing card , which is n’t bad for what you get . And the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is very quiet while doing so . This laptop computer does use combat-ready temperature reduction — rooter — but even after playing a AAA game for an hour , the haphazardness generated is minimal and the fan tone is easy to ignore .
If you want the very best microcomputer for hardcore number scranch and video encryption , you ’ll regain faster out there . But there ’s a compelling mainstream appeal to a laptop computer so good across a orbit of disciplines .
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED rides the residuum on connnections well . Sure , there ’s not a carload of things , but there is a full - size HDMI , a USB - A and a headphone jack alongside the two USB - Cs , which areThunderbolt 4ports .
Battery Life
That multi - disciplinary angle reaches new heights in the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED ’s battery living . It has a 72Wh cell , a substantial number but nothing out of the ordinary for a more sharply - plan ultraportable .
Just like the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite work party , though , its stamen swash the onetime safeguard out of the urine . For video cyclosis , you could anticipate up to 19 hours . It lasts a similar amount of prison term during PC Mark ’s Modern Office assault and battery benchmark .
This is actually slightly safe than the Qualcomm Snapdragon X elect laptops I ’ve reexamine so far . That continues in gaming too .
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED last 2.5 hour when playing Cyberpunk 2077 , pipping the two hours of my personal favourite all - rounder Qualcomm Snapdragon X elect laptop , theLenovo Yoga 7X Slim .
What else is there to turn over ? The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED has a 1080p webcam , but it ’s a pretty weak one whose figure turns sloppy and delicate in the average home plate ’s ignition , during the eve .
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Should you buy it?
Great battery life , unanimous everyday functioning and criterion - set light gaming performance for this class make the Zenbook S14 OLED a top all - rounder and a barrel of low maintenance fun .
This laptop ’s CPU focus on efficiency , and its raw CPU performance is not crack - private-enterprise . The keyboard is also quite shallow , which again may limit ingathering for the serious body of work crowd .
Final Thoughts
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED set up a novel criterion for laptop computer , if only for a certain sort of buyer . Are you the kind of person who thrashes their laptop computer CPU with batch processing job ? You ’ll in all likelihood be disappointed by the lack of real gains in bleak processor power .
routine users who would n’t even consider benchmarking their personal computer are probable to bed the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED , though . It combined impregnable day-to-day performance with amazingly near gaming and GPU tycoon . It ’s one of thebest laptopson the market and a strong rival to Snapdragon machine , include the excellentMicrosoft Surface Laptop 7 , and other automobile like the Honor MagicBook Art 14 .
And not only can you employ the full whack of that art great power on battery , the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED barrage fire also lasts ages for general productiveness work . Laptops with these abilities and somewhat better keyboards and touchpads will make it , but these 2nd - generation Intel PCs are well worth investigating if you wish about graphics index as well as CPU speed .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop we review go through a serial of consistent checks designed to gauge key factor , include build tone , operation , screen quality and barrage lifetime .
These include formal synthetic bench mark and scripted tests , plus a series of real - world check , such as how well it runs pop apps .
FAQs
18 hours of light work is a reasonable first moment .
Yes , the display is spot capable , and supports a stylus ( not include ) .
It is not a CoPilot+ laptop , but does stick out some AI feature .
