The Asus Zenbook S 14 is a pleasant Home windows laptop computer that packs a punch

Asus’ Zenbook laptop computer lineup has a storied historical past, with the corporate providing a selection of thin-and-light Windows 11 PCs for fairly a while now. The most recent member of the product household, the Asus Zenbook S 14, will quickly be hitting retailer cabinets.

Windows 11 performed a job in reinvigorating the considerably stagnant PC market, and in 2024, competition from the likes of Dell, HP, Surface, and others is fierce. The query right here is whether or not Asus’ new 14-inch pocket book, mixed with a brand-new Intel chip, is worthy of standing alongside one of the best of one of the best. I took the Zenbook S 14 out for a spin to seek out out.

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Asus Zenbook S 14

A skinny-and-light Home windows 11 laptop computer that ships with the newest Intel Core Extremely 7 (Sequence 2) processor and a 14-inch 3K OLED show.

Execs

• Bodily effectively constructed
• One-handed lid operation
• Contains Home windows Hiya and Presence Sensing

Cons

• No haptic trackpad
• The USB-C ports are each on the one facet
• AI-ready processor, however not a lot AI to talk of

Worth, availability, and specs

The Asus Zenbook S 14 is a 14-inch laptop computer, however its footprint would have you ever consider it is packing a 13-inch panel. The system is available in at 12.26 x 8.42 x 0.47 ~ 0.51-inches (31.15 x 21.39 x 1.19 ~ 1.29cm) dimensions throughout the board. The wedge-shaped design makes it such that the laptop computer tapers down barely, from 0.51-inches at its thickest, to 0.47-inches at its thinnest. This, together with its 2.65lbs (1.20kg) weight, makes the pocket book svelte and simple to maneuver.

The star of any fashionable laptop computer is its show, and the Zenbook S 14 does not disappoint — Asus has outfitted the system with a 14-inch 2880 x 1800 pixel decision OLED panel, full with a quick 120Hz refresh price, 500nits of peak HDR brightness, and an non-obligatory contact display screen configuration with help for each pen and inking.

Beneath the hood you will discover considered one of Intel’s newest chips, upwardly configurable to the Intel Core Extremely 7 (Sequence 2). That is an x86 processor, which implies it presents full compatibility with the breadth of Home windows purposes and legacy applications. That is in distinction to the ARM architecture-based Snapdragon X processor present in choices like Asus’ personal ProArt PZ13 hybrid PC.

In the case of port choice, the Zenbook presents a good assortment of choices. The twin Thunderbolt 4 USB Kind-C sockets are naturally welcome, as is the extra USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-A port for interfacing with legacy peripherals. An HDMI 2.1 port is right here for straightforward exterior show connectivity, and there is a 3.5mm headphone jack on board as effectively.

The Zenbook S 14 is offered in Zumaia grey and Scandinavian white colorways, with a beginning MSRP of $1,500. The bottom mannequin ships with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and RAM might be configured all the way in which as much as 32GB.

What I favored concerning the Asus Zenbook S 14

The laptop computer’s ‘Ceraluminum’ lid materials lives as much as the hype

From an exterior perspective, the Zenbook S 14 is a stunner. The clear traces and design language minimalism are proper up my alley, and I admire that Asus has tried to craft one thing visually distinct from Apple’s MacBook and Microsoft’s Floor. The highest lid is made from a ceramic materials that Asus affectionately refers to as ‘Ceraluminum,’ and it feels each bit as nice because it seems to be.

The corporate describes the hybrid materials as providing each the resilience of ceramic and the lightness of steel, and the refined geometric sample provides a splash of persona into the combination with out coming throughout as gaudy. I examined the Zumaia grey model, which I discovered collected fingerprints fairly simply. Should you’re trying to keep away from the necessity to wipe down the system with a microfiber material to maintain it wanting pristine, the Scandinavian white mannequin may fare higher.

The laptop computer passes the lid-opening check with flying colours, as effectively. Time and time once more, I used to be capable of carry open the lid with a single finger, with out the remainder of the pocket book shifting or stopping simple hinge motion.

As soon as I satisfyingly swung open the lid, I used to be greeted by a vivid and delightful OLED show panel. The display screen might be my favourite side of the Zenbook S 14 — colours pop, brightness is passable even in brightly lit environments, and the 120Hz refresh price makes Home windows 11 feel and appear fluid. I am glad to report that Asus opted for a 16:10 side ratio right here, versus a extra normal (and cheaper) 16:9 widescreen panel. The added vertical actual property is indispensable in relation to workplace work, which I do quite a lot of in my every day life.

I am an enormous fan of Windows Hello facial security recognition, which the Zenbook S 14 manages to squeeze into its small prime show bezel. The inclusion of Presence Sensing {hardware} is one other constructive, which permits for the display screen to dynamically activate and off based mostly on whether or not I am sitting at my desk. Home windows 11 presents native help for the characteristic, and I hope to see it turn into normal throughout the PC {industry} sooner slightly than later.

The brand new Intel Core Extremely 9 (Sequence 2) processor carried out effectively in my testing, maintaining with all of the duties I repeatedly threw at it. For reference, the system achieved a Geekbench 6 rating of 1,384 in single-core and seven,536 in multi-core. As is the case with different skinny shopper laptops, the Zenbook S 14 is not greatest suited to graphically intensive gaming periods or hardcore video enhancing. It will carry out simply superb for lighter video games and enhancing wants, however actually, it is not constructed with these duties in thoughts.

For workplace work, together with phrase and spreadsheet processing, the Zenbook S 14’s keyboard presents a nice typing expertise. The 1.1mm journey distance of the keys was snug for longer typing periods, and I discovered the stability between clickiness and springiness to be a great one.

What I did not like concerning the Asus Zenbook S 14

The trackpad is ok, but it surely considerably lets down the in any other case premium consumer expertise

Whereas the keyboard could also be fairly nice general, the Zenbook S 14’s trackpad is extra of a blended bag. It is good and huge, and completely correct in relation to gesture efficiency, however I can not assist however want it was powered by haptics as a substitute of a bodily diving board mechanism. Haptic suggestions really elevates the laptop computer expertise in my eyes, and I really feel it might have been well-suited on a tool of this caliber. The present click on sensation is first rate by conventional trackpad requirements, however it will probably’t maintain a candle to what ships on a post-2015 Macbook or on a Floor Laptop computer 7, for instance.

The port choice is fairly nice on the Zenbook S 14, and the Thunderbolt 4 ports are able to a formidable 40Gbps of information bandwidth. In actual phrases, this implies the laptop computer might be hooked as much as 2 exterior 4k displays on the similar time with out placing up a fuss. A minor quibble, however one price noting regardless: as with many different PCs, each USB-C ports are positioned on the identical facet of the system. In the case of handy charging and peripheral growth, having one port on both facet is solely much more ultimate.

The laptop computer chips with a 65W USB-C charging adapter, and the unit is powered by a 72Wh energy pack. Asus says the system presents all-day battery life, and I discovered that for my private work move, this was typically the case. Intel’s newest chips are extra power-efficient than earlier generations, however they’re nonetheless not on the similar stage as ARM-based processors. Battery life and top-up speeds had been good, however actually not industry-leading.

After which there’s synthetic intelligence — the Intel chip throughout the pocket book touts a neural processing unit (NPU) able to 4 trillion operations per second (TOPS), which is considerably decrease than the 45 TOPS output of the competing Snapdragon X processor platform. That being mentioned, Home windows 11 does not leverage this in lots of significant methods, even when accounting for Microsoft’s current Copilot+ AI PC initiatives.

The Zenbook S 14 will not be receiving the upcoming Windows Timeline feature for AI-based snapshot indexing, but it surely does provide some fundamental Home windows Studio digicam instruments for blurring out backgrounds and the like. Nonetheless, the NPU does future-proof the system to a level, and it is good to know that the {hardware} is able to at the very least some domestically accelerated AI efficiency for purposes and options down the highway.

Must you purchase the Asus Zenbook S 14?

In order for you a thin-and-light Home windows 11 PC that is constructed effectively and natively helps Intel x86 apps, then the Zenbook S 14 is worthy of consideration

Total, Asus’ new Zenbook S 14 is a very stable 14-inch thin-and-light Home windows 11 laptop computer. The construct high quality and aesthetic design is arguably top-notch, the port choice is pretty beneficiant, and it presents further quality-of-life additions like Home windows Hiya and Presense Sensing expertise.

The OLED show is enticing, and it is bordered by skinny bezels that make the system really feel up to date and high-end. Whereas the keyboard was a pleasure to kind away on, I discovered myself eager for a haptic trackpad all through my total time with the pocket book.

New Intel-based PCs together with the Zenbook S 14 take an enormous step-up by way of energy effectivity, and I by no means discovered myself sad with battery life throughout common use. Nonetheless, by way of sheer effectivity, ARM-based Snapdragon X-based choices have Intel handily beat.

Should you’re available in the market for a premium Home windows laptop computer, and do not thoughts (or also have a choice for) Intel x86-based computing structure and its associated app compatibilities, then the Asus Zenbook S 14 is totally worthy of consideration.

This system was supplied to Pocket-lint by Asus.

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Asus Zenbook S 14