Asus Zenbook S14 OLED review: Gaming is a bonus on this all-rounder of an AI PC

An ultrabook that doesn’t compromise connected practicality

Despite the metallic build, the laptop is bladed and light. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Asus has managed to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt making the Zenbook Z14 OLED a airy instrumentality without affecting its practicality. The laptop weighs 1.2 kg, making it ever-so-slightly lighter than the MacBook Air M3. Despite that, it has a full-sized USB-A larboard and an HDMI 2.1 port, making it casual to brace it with peripherals similar an outer rodent and monitor.

The Zenbook S14 OLED comes with a full-metal unibody design, and I liked that it seemed similar a regular Windows laptop with well-spaced keys and a powerfulness fastener that requires a spot much activation vigor (a facet that distinguishes it from regular keys). Its IR-camera-powered Windows Hello look unlock besides works flawlessly, adjacent successful poorly lit conditions.

My archetypal content of the instrumentality has been that the Zenbook S14 OLED is simply a well-thought-out laptop that strikes the cleanable equilibrium betwixt premium acquisition and practicality.

One of the champion displays connected a 14-inch laptop

The OLED surface is fast, sharp, and vibrant. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Be it gaming oregon watching videos connected YouTube, I person thoroughly enjoyed astir everything I did with the Asus laptop. I americium mighty impressed with the crisp 3K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and the interaction enactment connected the display. The Zenbook S14 OLED tin beryllium the perfect workmate for professionals who question colour-accurate panels, arsenic the instrumentality supports a 100 per cent DCI-P3 colour gamut on with VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black certification.

Owing to its OLED panel, the laptop displays fantabulous contrasts and punchy colours. Moreover, the sheet is besides power-efficient, adding to wide improved artillery life. It is besides among the fewer Windows laptops I tested that connection auto-brightness accommodation support. This diagnostic is simply a invited addition, arsenic it improves artillery beingness portion automatically switching to the capable brightness levels.

A compatibility master

It tin tally immoderate Windows app that you propulsion astatine it. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Ever since the motorboat of Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite/Plus chips, determination has been nary dearth of high-performance and businesslike laptops. However, ARM laptops inactive person a agelong mode to spell and are not meant for everyone, particularly not for those who inactive beryllium a batch connected bequest software. In this case, the Zenbook S14 OLED has nary specified issues, arsenic it is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 spot based connected x86 architecture, wherever it tin tally astir immoderate app you propulsion astatine it, beryllium it a 90s video crippled that was precocious remastered oregon a captious open-source bundle from your favourite developer that stopped receiving enactment a fewer years back.

The caller CPU cores connection fantabulous azygous and multi-core performance. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

However, erstwhile compared to a laptop powered by Meteor Lake oregon the archetypal procreation of Intel AI PC processors, the Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 258V-powered Zenbook S14 OLED has less CPU cores, and it besides misses retired connected hyperthreading.

In our benchmark tests, we recovered that determination isn’t overmuch quality successful the multi-core show betwixt the 2 generations of Intel chips, though the second requires little powerfulness to connection the aforesaid magnitude of performance. Here are immoderate benchmark figures of the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED, powered by Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 258V with 32 GB unified memory.

An ultrabook that tin grip AAA titles astatine 1080p

This laptop tin play GTA: V similar a full-fledged gaming laptop. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Intel Arc integrated graphics is easy 1 of the astir susceptible GPUs connected an ultrabook, wherever it offered an mean FPS of implicit 70 connected GTA: V astatine 1080p and mean graphics settings connected battery, and the show went up to 90fps erstwhile plugged in. Results from the Superposition benchmark besides reiterate the same. If you are looking for an ultrabook that tin besides grip gaming, this is the 1 to get.

Copilot+ PC successful making

The laptop volition soon summation Copilot+ AI features. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED has each the hardware required to beryllium a Copilot+ PC, but the features aren’t determination yet. The archetypal acceptable of AI features from Microsoft, which are presently exclusive to the ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite/Plus powered PCs, volition marque their mode towards the Zenbook S14 OLED. However, astatine the clip of testing, the update wasn’t available, and the Windows 11 242H physique besides made the laptop a spot buggy.

Guaranteed all-day artillery life

All-day artillery beingness is simply a nary interest connected this machine. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Asus claims the Zenbook S14 OLED with its 72Wh artillery volition present 27 hours of artillery life. However, during testing, I recovered that the laptop tin easy past for astir 10 to 12 hours with ease, particularly erstwhile utilized for tasks similar writing, web browsing, and video streaming. Pushing the instrumentality to its bounds with continued gaming volition drain the artillery quickly, but astir bureau users tin complaint this instrumentality astatine night, instrumentality it to work, and enactment passim the time without needing a top-up. This is besides the champion artillery beingness that I person ever witnessed connected a Windows PC.

Verdict: Most balanced ultrabook of 2024

A versatile Windows laptop. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is 1 specified laptop that has nary large disadvantage and covers astir each aspects, making it a cleanable instrumentality for astir each benignant of laptop user. It looks premium, has a thin-and-light signifier factor, performs well, has fantabulous compatibility, tin grip AAA video games, and portion doing it all, it tin past each time long. However, astatine Rs 1,34,990, it is connected the costly broadside and is for those who privation thing but the best.