Asus is back with a new offering, the Intel-powered Asus ZenBook S14. It is a premium ultra-thin laptop that aims to deliver both style and performance for users who need a sleek, lightweight device for daily tasks. Priced at Rs 1,42,990 in India, it comes with a 3K OLED display, option for Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, quad-speaker system, ultra-slim form factor and more. Sounds good on paper, but is it really worth the money? Let’s find out in this review.

Stylish design, solid construction and performance

Asus ZenBook S14 stands out with its premium design, which has become the hallmark of the ZenBook series. The laptop’s minimalist and silver paint job (along with its aluminum and ceramic construction) adds a sophisticated touch to its aesthetics.

However, it’s not just about looks. The Asus ZenBook S14 is lightweight at just 1.2 kg, making it highly portable and great for users on the go. The build quality is solid, and the fact that you can open the lid with one hand shows the well-thought-out design. Despite its thinness, the laptop feels sturdy with minimal lid wobble.

Asus has included a good selection of ports, like 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS, and a 3.5mm audio jack. However, one downside is the absence of a fingerprint biometrics sensor for easy unlocking. This means you have to type the password every time you want to access the laptop.

The 14-inch 3K OLED 120Hz touchscreen of the new Asus laptop is a visual treat, offering vibrant colors and minimal bezels. With a brightness of 400nits (peaking at 500nits in HDR mode), the display looks attractive indoors. However, its glossy finish makes it highly reflective in bright environments or outdoors. It would be great to see companies offer high brightness support for a better viewing experience.

keyboard

Typing on the ZenBook S14 is a pleasant experience. Despite its ultra-thin profile, the keyboard deck remains solid, with little or no flex under pressure. The keys themselves offer shallow travel but quick response, making for a comfortable typing experience. I found I could type quickly and accurately on the ZenBook S14, thanks to its well-designed keyboard. Like all recent Asus laptops, you’ll see a CoPilot key on this device too. This helped me quickly access a service for creating AI images.

Display

The unit we received for review is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 chip, coupled with 32GB of RAM. Its price is Rs 1,49,990. Although it performs well in the real world, it lags behind some competitors in benchmark tests. It scored 10,676 on Geekbench and 477 on Cinebench. These numbers are lower than you’d expect from rivals like the MacBook Air M3 or the HP Specter x360 (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H). even snapdragon

However, in real-world use, the ZenBook S14 is smooth and capable. No crashes even with 40 tabs open on Chrome. The laptop does not get hot even after prolonged use. You can edit even heavy images without any problem. That said, this isn’t a gaming machine by any means, but it can handle casual gaming. The laptop performs well in everyday tasks like browsing, photo editing and content creation, although its multi-core performance leaves room for improvement.

Besides, its battery life is also good. In my experience, the laptop lost 50 percent of its battery in 5 hours of use, which included writing, image editing, browsing, and watching some videos. This translates to about 10 hours of battery life with average use, but expect it to drain faster if you’re doing more intensive tasks like watching movies. Overall, it offers a respectable battery for a workday.

camera and speaker

The 1080p camera works well for video calls with passable quality. It’s a bit disappointing that Asus didn’t include a privacy shutter, a feature that many users now expect.

However, the audio system is more impressive. The ZenBook S14 has four built-in speakers, which are certified by Harman Kardon and support Dolby Atmos. Despite the laptop’s compact size, the sound quality is surprisingly good. It can produce clear and full sound with little bass.

Asus ZenBook S14: Should you buy it?

The Asus ZenBook S14 is a great choice for those who need a stylish laptop with solid display quality and good general performance. However, the lack of fingerprint biometrics and the lack of an average camera may also be drawbacks for some users. Overall, you are getting a good laptop, but I would recommend you to buy it during festive sales when it will be priced lower. If you want fast performance and solid battery life, you can consider buying the Snapdragon X Elite-powered Asus VivoBook 15 OLED laptop (Rs 1,24,990) or the MacBook Air M3 (Rs 1,14,900).