The Asus S14 is one of the latest high-end laptops from the company. The laptop was showcased early last month at the Always Incredible Media Day for IFA 2024 in Berlin, Germany.
I have had a chance to use the S14 for a few days and have been thoroughly impressed. In this review, I will highlight all this laptop has offer and if it is something you should consider if you are on the market for a new premium laptop. This is one of the new Asus Copilot+ PCs and comes with the latest Intel Core Ultra processor (Series 2). The model I have comes with the Intel Core Ultra 7 that has proven to be powerful and reliable.
The Zenbook S 14 will be available for around Ksh 298,599 when it is finally available in Kenya later this month.
Before we go further with the review, let’s highlight the key specifications of this laptop.
Asus Zenbook S 14 Specifications
- Processor – Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, up to 4.8 GHz
- Graphics adapter – Intel Arc Graphics
- Neural Processor – Intel AI Boost NPU
- RAM – 32 GB
- Display – 14 inch, 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED, 120 Hz
- Storage – 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Camera – FHD camera with IR function
- Battery – 72 Wh, 65W charging
- Weight – 1.20 kg
Design and Build Quality
Asus has nailed it with the build quality of the Zenbook S 14. It feels and looks premium and has a look we just don’t see on other laptops on the market. The laptop is made from Ceraluminum, a combination of aluminum and ceramic. Asus has made this material for its Zenbook laptops and it is light yet durable protecting it from scratches.
The review unit I have is what Asus calls Zumaia Gray and it looks stunning. You can see the effort Asus has put in the design of this laptop and I do appreciate that. This laptop can also be a statement piece as it turns heads everytime you take it out of the pouch it comes with. If you are always working on the go, this laptop is light enough for you to carry it throughout the day without any problems. It is lighter than all MacBooks and most other laptops on the market.
The Zenbook S 14 is also sturdy with hinges that allow you to open it with one hand. It does not wobble when typing on it and the trackpad is large enough for all my needs. The keyboard also has decent travel and is comfortable to type on. For someone who spends their day typing, this keyboard was a breeze to use. This is one of the things we may not really pay attention to but Asus definitely does. The trackpad supports intuitive controls allowing you to control the display’s brightness by sliding up or down the right side of the trackpad and controlling the volume by sliding on the left side.
If you are on the market for a thin and light premium laptop, this one should be perfect for you. The design and build feels premium by every standard and its unique appearance is just the icing on the cake.
Input and Output Ports
The Asus Zenbook S 14 has two USB-C (Thunderbolt) ports with power delivery, one USB-A port (3.2 gen2), HDMI port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It is impressive that Asus has managed to squeeze in all these ports considering that the laptop is only 1.2 cm thick. The full size HDMI port is a nice addition for power users and pro creators.
Display
Asus has used a 3K 120Hz OLED display on the Zenbook S 14. This display is vibrant and sharp and you will enjoy using it. If you edit a lot of videos and photos, this might be the perfect display for you. Since the display is one of the most important features on any laptop, Asus has made sure you get the best on its laptops.
This is a touch screen panel which works well with the Asus pen that is provided in the box. You can use the pen for all your artistic needs. The laptop does not fall flat on its back and it can not be placed in laptop mode like the Lenovo Yoga device so I don’t see much use of the pen as on now. It is usable but pressing it on the display feels a bit risky for my liking.
Since this is an OLED panel, you get rich contrast and the colours are vibrant too. For media consumption, this offers a very good experience. Watching videos on this display feels more immersive. Couple this with the included Dolby Atmos speakers that are Harman/Kardon certified and you get a very rich audio experience. The speaker setup is made up of 2x tweeters, 2x woofers and can get really loud.
The display has a peak brightness of up to 400 nits and this makes it easier to use outdoors. I did not use it much outdoors but for the few times I did, the experience was good.
Performance and Hardware
Powering the Asus Zenbook S 14 is the Intel Core Ultra 7 that is paired with 1TB SSD, Intel Arc Graphics and 32GB of RAM. This is a configuration meant to handle day to day use and intensive tasks such as photo and video editing/rendering. If you are a creator, this is the laptop for you. The laptop can also handle gaming even though it is not specifically meant to gaming. Asus has the ROG series which are perfect for gamers.
I did not have any performance issues during the review period, the laptop’s performance was reliable and exactly what I expected. It boots up really quick and apps open in record time. Multitasking is also a breeze with no lags at all.
The Intel Core ultra 7 comes with a built-in Neural Processing Unit (NPU) which is a nice addition when it comes to the processing power as far as AI is concerned. The NPU intelligently allocates resources to the different apps depending on which one needs it the most.
Battery Life
This laptop is very powerful and you would think the battery drains really fast. That is not the case as you can get it to last an entire day and have plently left by the time you go to bet. In most cases, I could get this battery to last for about 3 days when using the laptop for work a a little bit of media consumption. Heavy users can use this laptop for more than a day without the need to recharge.
Speaking of charging, it supports 65W charging that can fully charge the battery in a little over 2 hours. Charging it for 30 minutes takes the battery to about 35% with 1 hour of charing extending it to around 70%.
Verdict
The Asus Zenbook S 14 is the perfect portable Windows laptop for 2024. If you are looking for a portable and future-proof laptop (thanks to the Intel Ultra and the NPU), this is an ideal choice. The processor also ensures good performance which is what I look for on any laptop and it is what I get. All this power and the laptop still having a good battery life is what seals the deal for me. I cannot emphasise how good it is to have a portable Windows Copilot laptop with a very good display, powerful processor and good battery life. This is what truly makes this laptop worth recommending.
The laptop looks the part and will stand out from competition. Laptops can have boring and mundane designs but that is not the case with the Zenbook S 14. The use of Ceraluminum make it light and portable but also gives it a stylish look.
