Abstract

• ASUS Zenbook S 14 affords improved efficiency, long-lasting battery life, and a high-quality construct.
• Accessible in numerous configurations with Intel Core Extremely processors, OLED 3K show, and a number of storage choices.
• The brand new Intel Core Extremely 7 Sequence 2 processor enhances efficiency, effectivity, and battery life, rivaling ARM-based ultrabooks.

The 2024 ASUS Zenbook S 14 solidifies its place as the most effective Home windows alternate options to Apple’s MacBook Air. With elevated efficiency, enhanced battery life, and strong construct high quality, the Zenbook S 14 culminates right into a laptop computer that gives significant enhancements in key areas.

Value and Availability

The ASUS Zenbook S 14 is obtainable immediately by ASUS’ web site and main retailers, together with Finest Purchase and Amazon. It’s obtainable with the Intel Core Extremely 7 258V, Core Extremely 5 226V, Core Extremely 7 256V, or Core Extremely 9 Processor 288V, and in both the Zumaia Grey or Scandinavian White colour variants.

Storage choices embrace both a 512- or 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, and reminiscence could be configured with both 16- or 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM. My evaluate unit is the mid-tier configuration, together with the Intel Core Extremely 7 258V processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage.

A Acquainted Ultraportable Design

When it comes to aesthetics and construct high quality, the Zenbook S 14 maintains the glossy, light-weight profile that characterised the earlier technology. The CNC-machined chassis is now obtainable in an understated Zumaia Grey and Scandinavian White, which each feel and look wonderful.

ASUS’ Ceraluminum materials, which is a ceramic-aluminum alloy, makes a comeback, and supplies a powerful strength-to-weight ratio, although the darker grey colorway stays liable to fingerprint smudges.

At 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs) and 1.1 cm (0.45 inches) skinny, portability stays the Zenbook’s key energy, with the laptop computer being very easy to slide into backpacks and neglect about. What’s extra necessary, is that ASUS nonetheless supplies a good variety of ports on this smaller laptop computer, with the S 14 getting two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A, and an audio combo jack, in comparison with the MacBook Air which solely offers you two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an audio jack.

The Zenbook S 14’s keyboard format stays largely unchanged from its predecessor, which isn’t a nasty factor. The chiclet-style keyboard affords 1.1mm of key journey, barely shorter than some rivals, however the delicate 0.1mm dish-shaped indentation improves key stability. The typing expertise is snug for lengthy periods, although once more, Microsoft’s and Apple’s keyboards nonetheless maintain an edge in tactility.

The trackpad can also be fairly good. ASUS has added a hydrophobic and PVD anti-fingerprint coating, which helps scale back smudging and guarantee smoother gliding, however truthfully, it’s not one thing you’ll actually assume or fear about—what issues is, this trackpad is correct and dependable, and it’s a good measurement for this kind issue.

It is also value mentioning that ASUS is utilizing an FHD 3DNR IR webcam, which affords subpar efficiency. Whereas it is nice to make use of with Home windows Howdy and logs in fairly quick, for video calls, it falls brief each by way of image high quality.

ASUS states that they are utilizing “3D noise-reduction know-how” to make photos much less grainy, particularly inside low-light environments, however in my testing, it is marginally higher than the standard webcams you will discover on a sub-$1,000 Home windows laptop computer, and nowhere close to the standard of one thing like Apple’s MacBook Air or MacBook Professional.

A Show That Holds Its Personal

ASUS continues to make use of its Lumina OLED panels for the Zenbook S 14, and this continues to be the most effective panels I’ve seen on a laptop computer wherever. The 14-inch 3K OLED show affords a 120Hz refresh price and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut protection, making it the most effective shows on a Home windows laptop computer in the present day, not just for content material consumption, however for critical picture and video enhancing as nicely. In comparison with the bigger Zenbook S 16, the 14-inch laptop computer actually feels fairly small with out sacrificing an excessive amount of in actual property.

This technology additionally improves upon eye consolation, with the show emitting 70% much less blue gentle than conventional LCDs. The one disadvantage is that the shiny end—whereas enhancing distinction—could be reflective in vivid environments. The opposite disadvantage with this OLED is it nonetheless solely has a peak brightness of about 500 nits, which suggests it’s fantastic for indoor use, however not exterior, particularly in direct daylight. A part of it has to do with the problem of manufacturing a large-screen OLED with excessive brightness, however we noticed Apple do it with its Tandem OLED on the iPad Professional final 12 months, so I hope that is an space ASUS can enhance upon.

It’s additionally value mentioning that contact help is obtainable, however the laptop computer’s 180-degree hinge prevents it from being absolutely convertible, which makes stylus enter much less sensible than on a 2-in-1 system.

Intel Redeems Itself

This 12 months’s largest change comes within the type of the brand new Intel Core Extremely 7 Sequence 2 processor, which dramatically enhances efficiency, battery life, and effectivity. Constructed on Intel’s newest Lunar Lake structure, the CPU incorporates a extra superior NPU for AI workloads, a brand new Arc-based GPU, and a redesigned core format to enhance energy effectivity.

These had been all guarantees Intel has made earlier than, however it’s clear that they’re lastly delivering on it as a result of the Zenbook S 14 rivals ARM-based ultrabooks fairly aggressively. In Geekbench 6, this laptop computer scores 2,460 on single-core and 10,353 on multicore.

In real-world use, purposes launch rapidly, multitasking is seamless, and the laptop computer stays largely quiet even below reasonable workloads. Net-based duties, workplace purposes, and media consumption run effortlessly, and make this a superb selection for professionals and college students, particularly since you don’t have to fret about app compatibility on an x86 platform.

Thermal efficiency is one other space the place the Zenbook S 14 has considerably improved over its predecessor. The laptop computer not will get excessively heat throughout informal utilization, and fan noise—whereas nonetheless current below heavy masses—is a lot better managed than earlier than. ASUS’ Whisper Mode retains noise ranges beneath 25dB in gentle workloads, which makes this one of many quieter thin-and-light Home windows laptops I’ve used.

ASUS has positioned this as an “AI PC,” and in my testing, AI-related duties carried out remarkably nicely. Operating Llama 3.2 regionally was easy—and I believe you possibly can anticipate these fashions to run sooner if you maintain the system plugged in. In fact, this laptop computer incorporates AI options similar to Home windows Copilot and ASUS’ personal StoryCube, which labored seamlessly, and I didn’t discover any hiccups when utilizing AI-driven purposes by Adobe’s Photoshop or Lightroom.

Battery life has seen a big increase because of the effectivity of the brand new Intel processor. The 72Wh battery constantly delivers round 10 hours of real-world use in my testing, with blended workloads together with looking, doc enhancing, and media consumption. That is typically actually nice battery life for a laptop computer of this form-factor, however I’ll admit, I’m spoiled by the M3 MacBook Air, which delivers for much longer screen-on-time and insane standby time that lets me use the laptop computer into the subsequent day, all with a smaller battery.

ASUS does embrace a 65W charger that may high up the battery to 50% in about 45 minutes although, which is kind of good once I do must plug in to cost.

Ought to You Purchase the ASUS Zenbook S 14?

The ASUS Zenbook S 14 (2024) is a superb selection in the event you’re on the lookout for a premium Home windows ultraportable that balances portability, efficiency, and practicality. It refines an already nice system with higher thermals, strong battery life, and a premium construct, making it the most effective alternate options to the MacBook Air. Should you prioritize a light-weight but well-built laptop computer with a high-quality show, a good keyboard, and a wide selection of ports, the Zenbook S 14 is a straightforward advice. It’s particularly compelling for college students and professionals who want a glossy, reliable machine for on a regular basis duties.

That mentioned, it’s nonetheless value contemplating the bigger panorama of the laptop computer market— it’ll be attention-grabbing to see the place Intel and its OEMs will go, particularly given that the majority the massive laptop computer makers, together with ASUS have been shifting to providing ARM-based machines, with the most recent Zenbook A14 being a extra direct competitor to Apple’s MacBook Air.

Whereas ARM is likely to be on its wind-up years on Home windows, and can battle with app compatibility for not less than a pair extra years, it’s solely a matter of time earlier than it takes away one among Intel’s final remaining benefits.

General, the Zenbook S 14 (2024) is an iterative however significant enchancment that culminates in being the most effective ultraportable laptops in the marketplace. Should you preferred the earlier mannequin or are on the lookout for a robust but light-weight Home windows laptop computer, this one ought to undoubtedly be in your radar.