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 task 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.

Really helpful

Asus Zenbook S 14

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

Execs

• Bodily effectively constructed
• One-handed lid operation
• Consists of Home windows Good day and Presence Sensing

Cons

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

Value, availability, and specs

The Asus Zenbook S 14 is a 14-inch laptop computer, however its footprint would have you ever imagine it is packing a 13-inch panel. The machine 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 straightforward to maneuver.

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

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

On the subject of port choice, the Zenbook gives an honest assortment of choices. The twin Thunderbolt 4 USB Sort-C sockets are naturally welcome, as is the extra USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A port for interfacing with legacy peripherals. An HDMI 2.1 port is right here for simple 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 preferred 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 strains 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 fabricated from a ceramic materials that Asus affectionately refers to as ‘Ceraluminum,’ and it feels each bit as nice because it seems.

The corporate describes the hybrid materials as providing each the resilience of ceramic and the lightness of metallic, and the refined geometric sample provides a splash of character into the combo with out coming throughout as gaudy. I examined the Zumaia grey model, which I discovered collected fingerprints fairly simply. If you happen to’re trying to keep away from the necessity to wipe down the machine with a microfiber material to maintain it wanting pristine, the Scandinavian white mannequin would possibly 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 raise 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 exquisite OLED show panel. The display screen might be my favourite facet of the Zenbook S 14 — colours pop, brightness is passable even in brightly lit environments, and the 120Hz refresh charge makes Home windows 11 feel and appear fluid. I am completely happy to report that Asus opted for a 16:10 facet 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 day by day life.

I am a giant fan of Windows Hello facial security recognition, which the Zenbook S 14 manages to squeeze into its small high show bezel. The inclusion of Presence Sensing {hardware} is one other optimistic, 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 gives native help for the characteristic, and I hope to see it grow to be normal throughout the PC {industry} sooner fairly than later.

The brand new Intel Core Extremely 9 (Collection 2) processor carried out effectively in my testing, maintaining with all of the duties I often threw at it. For reference, the machine achieved a Geekbench 6 rating of 1,384 in single-core and seven,536 in multi-core. As is the case with different skinny consumer laptops, the Zenbook S 14 is not greatest fitted to graphically intensive gaming periods or hardcore video modifying. It will carry out simply high quality for lighter video games and modifying 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 gives 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 superb 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 combined bag. It is good and enormous, and completely correct in relation to gesture efficiency, however I can not assist however want it was powered by haptics as an alternative of a bodily diving board mechanism. Haptic suggestions really elevates the laptop computer expertise in my eyes, and I really feel it could have been well-suited on a tool of this caliber. The present click on sensation is first rate by conventional trackpad requirements, however it may’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 powerful 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 aspect of the machine. On the subject of handy charging and peripheral enlargement, having one port on both aspect is just way more very best.

The laptop computer chips with a 65W USB-C charging adapter, and the unit is powered by a 72Wh energy pack. Asus says the machine gives all-day battery life, and I discovered that for my private work move, this was usually 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 have been good, however definitely not industry-leading.

After which there’s synthetic intelligence — the Intel chip inside 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 stated, Home windows 11 would not leverage this in lots of significant methods, even when accounting for Microsoft’s latest 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 supply some primary Home windows Studio digital camera instruments for blurring out backgrounds and the like. Nonetheless, the NPU does future-proof the machine to a level, and it is good to know that the {hardware} is able to a minimum of some domestically accelerated AI efficiency for purposes and options down the highway.

Do you have to purchase the Asus Zenbook S 14?

If you need 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 gives additional quality-of-life additions like Home windows Good day and Presense Sensing know-how.

The OLED show is engaging, and it is bordered by skinny bezels that make the machine really feel modern and high-end. Whereas the keyboard was a pleasure to sort away on, I discovered myself eager for a haptic trackpad all through my complete time with the pocket book.

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

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

This machine was offered to Pocket-lint by Asus.

Really helpful

Asus Zenbook S 14