Microsoft's announcement of Copilot+ PCs powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processors earlier this year, with Satya Nadella highlighting their efficiency as a true competitor to Apple, spurred Intel to action. Accepting the challenge to rival both Apple and Qualcomm in the efficiency race, Intel launched its Core Ultra 200V series chipsets. Asus is among the first manufacturers to embrace this new offering, incorporating the Core Ultra 7 258V processor into its latest Zenbook S14 OLED. This marked a significant step in Intel's bid to reclaim its dominance in the laptop market with a focus on power efficiency and performance.
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED , featuring Intel's latest Lunar Lake platform, is a strong contender in the thin-and-light laptop arena. The ZenBook S 14 2024 32GB RAM + 1TB storage model is priced at Rs 1,49,990 -- this is the same model that we got for review in Zumaia Gray colour -- that echoes the nuanced hues of the flysch cliffs in Zumaia, Spain. Can Intel’s latest offering truly challenge the competition? We’re here to find out.
Design and display
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED essentially inherits the sleek design of its larger sibling, the Zenbook S16, including the distinctive “Ceraluminum” finish. According to Asus, this innovative material blends the durability of ceramic with the sleekness of aluminium, giving the laptop a sophisticated aesthetic.
The matte-like finish is augmented by the crisscross silver lines, offering it a distinct look and feel. The Zenbook S14 has a compact 14-inch form factor, weighing a mere 1.2 kg and measuring a slim 1.1 cm thick. Moreover, there is minimal flex in the display and there is no flex around the keyboard and touchpad area, highlighting the solid construction of the machine.
The laptop can be easily opened with one finger with the ‘soft’ hinge offering ample resistance to keep the display lid at any supported angle. As far as ports are concerned, the Zenbook S14 OLED sports a comprehensive set of I/O ports, including Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, a full-sized HDMI port and an audio jack.
The Zenbook S14 also gets a geometric grille design just above the keyboard, featuring 2,715 CNC-machined cooling vents for enhanced airflow and enhanced thermal efficiency. The laptop's ambient cooling system features dual fans and an ultra-slim vapour chamber that ensures quiet operation even under load, maintaining a consistent 28W TDP without any signs of thermal throttling.
During our testing, the Zenbook S 14 remained cool with heat primarily concentrated above the keyboard. This means that the palm rest and keyboard area remained cool, thanks to the effective thermal management of Intel's advancements in power efficiency with its Lunar Lake platform.
The touchpad is large enough for a 14-inch machine and the keyboard is well laid out. The keys have a soft touch and decent travel, allowing users to easily register the press. The typing is silent and printed letters are large for easy legibility. There is a dedicated Copilot key for easy access to the Microsoft Copilot integrated with the new laptops.
The Zenbook S14's 14-inch, 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED touch-enabled display is a visual treat. It boasts vibrant colours, sharp details and impressive colour accuracy, fully covering the DCI-P3 colour gamut. Asus says that the laptop has a peak brightness of 400 nits, which means that it can be used under sunlight with fair legibility.
We relished our time with the laptop, however, the display is reflective and we did feel some problems while working near a window or in a cab while travelling to office, though, this is not a deal breaker. Despite its slim profile, the Zenbook S 14 delivers surprisingly clear and well-balanced audio. The quad-speaker system, certified by Harman Kardon, produces crisp sound with minimal distortion even at higher volumes.
Watching movies and shows on the laptop is a treat. Even in dark scenes, like those in Matt Reeves' “The Batman,” the OLED screen delivers deep blacks and excellent contrast, making for an immersive and enjoyable viewing experience.
The colour reproduction in the show “Something in the Rain” was appealing. The nuanced hues and subtle tones in the romantic drama were rendered beautifully.
Performance
Now before we dive into the performance of the laptop, there is a need to understand where the new Intel processor stands. The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is powered by Intel Core Ultra 7 processor (Series 2), which is essentially a mid-range offering and maxes out at 8-cores. It is specifically designed for the thin-and-light machines, with Intel planning to bring more powerful variants in near future.
Intel claims that the latest series of processors offer the fastest single-core performance and integrated graphics performance on Windows. The processor gets an Intel Arc 140V integrated GPU, based on Intel's Xe2 architecture, which means that it can be used for casual gaming -- something that Intel has highlighted point-and-again when talking about the overall performance. Despite that, Asus maintained that the laptop is particularly aimed at productivity and efficiency.
Now real-world usage performance may differ from what has been claimed. The processor is paired with 32GB of onboard LPDDR5X RAM and a 1 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD -- that adds to the ‘quickness’ of tasks such as booting time, opening of apps, swifting between two screens/ desktops and more.
We put it through its paces with a workload that included hours of web browsing, a constant stream of music playing in the background, with two Google Chrome windows that had multiple tabs running during our work shift.
On weekends, we subjected the laptop to different scenarios like movie watching sessions, binging the entire season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on AppleTV+, and even using lightroom for editing photos for our reviews. The performance puts it on par, if not less, with most comparable laptops running on other processors.
A great display and an able processor, along with an impressive audio quality for a laptop of this size and form factor, provides a satisfactory multimedia experience.
Battery
The Zenbook S14's battery life truly impressed us during our time with it. Despite the heavy usage, the laptop effortlessly powered through an average of 15 hours on a single charge. In our review of the Vivobook S15 powered by the Snapdragon X Elite (12-core) processor, we got between 12 to 16 hours of real-world use, depending on workload.
This comparison, though not entirely direct, highlights the real-world benefits of Intel's efficiency gains. It's important to remember that different benchmarks measure performance in various ways, so this isn't a direct apples-to-apples comparison. However, the Zenbook S14's impressive battery life provides a clear indication of Intel's progress in maximising efficiency in Lunar Lake laptops.
Verdict
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is a compelling thin-and-light laptop that excels in both efficiency and performance, thanks to Intel's new Lunar Lake platform. Its standout feature is undoubtedly the exceptional battery life, reaching an average 15 hours in our tests. It delivers more than enough power for everyday computing tasks and excels in single-core performance. Furthermore, the integrated Intel Arc 140V GPU punches above its weight, handling GPU-intensive workloads like AI processing and content creation with surprising ease.
Priced at Rs 1,49,990, the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED strikes an impressive balance between performance, efficiency, and design. Its exceptional battery life, vibrant display and surprisingly capable integrated graphics make it an excellent choice for users seeking a premium ultraportable laptop that can handle everyday tasks, content creation and even casual gaming.
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED , featuring Intel's latest Lunar Lake platform, is a strong contender in the thin-and-light laptop arena. The ZenBook S 14 2024 32GB RAM + 1TB storage model is priced at Rs 1,49,990 -- this is the same model that we got for review in Zumaia Gray colour -- that echoes the nuanced hues of the flysch cliffs in Zumaia, Spain. Can Intel’s latest offering truly challenge the competition? We’re here to find out.
Design and display
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED essentially inherits the sleek design of its larger sibling, the Zenbook S16, including the distinctive “Ceraluminum” finish. According to Asus, this innovative material blends the durability of ceramic with the sleekness of aluminium, giving the laptop a sophisticated aesthetic.
The matte-like finish is augmented by the crisscross silver lines, offering it a distinct look and feel. The Zenbook S14 has a compact 14-inch form factor, weighing a mere 1.2 kg and measuring a slim 1.1 cm thick. Moreover, there is minimal flex in the display and there is no flex around the keyboard and touchpad area, highlighting the solid construction of the machine.
The laptop can be easily opened with one finger with the ‘soft’ hinge offering ample resistance to keep the display lid at any supported angle. As far as ports are concerned, the Zenbook S14 OLED sports a comprehensive set of I/O ports, including Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, a full-sized HDMI port and an audio jack.
The Zenbook S14 also gets a geometric grille design just above the keyboard, featuring 2,715 CNC-machined cooling vents for enhanced airflow and enhanced thermal efficiency. The laptop's ambient cooling system features dual fans and an ultra-slim vapour chamber that ensures quiet operation even under load, maintaining a consistent 28W TDP without any signs of thermal throttling.
During our testing, the Zenbook S 14 remained cool with heat primarily concentrated above the keyboard. This means that the palm rest and keyboard area remained cool, thanks to the effective thermal management of Intel's advancements in power efficiency with its Lunar Lake platform.
The touchpad is large enough for a 14-inch machine and the keyboard is well laid out. The keys have a soft touch and decent travel, allowing users to easily register the press. The typing is silent and printed letters are large for easy legibility. There is a dedicated Copilot key for easy access to the Microsoft Copilot integrated with the new laptops.
The Zenbook S14's 14-inch, 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED touch-enabled display is a visual treat. It boasts vibrant colours, sharp details and impressive colour accuracy, fully covering the DCI-P3 colour gamut. Asus says that the laptop has a peak brightness of 400 nits, which means that it can be used under sunlight with fair legibility.
We relished our time with the laptop, however, the display is reflective and we did feel some problems while working near a window or in a cab while travelling to office, though, this is not a deal breaker. Despite its slim profile, the Zenbook S 14 delivers surprisingly clear and well-balanced audio. The quad-speaker system, certified by Harman Kardon, produces crisp sound with minimal distortion even at higher volumes.
Watching movies and shows on the laptop is a treat. Even in dark scenes, like those in Matt Reeves' “The Batman,” the OLED screen delivers deep blacks and excellent contrast, making for an immersive and enjoyable viewing experience.
The colour reproduction in the show “Something in the Rain” was appealing. The nuanced hues and subtle tones in the romantic drama were rendered beautifully.
Performance
Now before we dive into the performance of the laptop, there is a need to understand where the new Intel processor stands. The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is powered by Intel Core Ultra 7 processor (Series 2), which is essentially a mid-range offering and maxes out at 8-cores. It is specifically designed for the thin-and-light machines, with Intel planning to bring more powerful variants in near future.
Intel claims that the latest series of processors offer the fastest single-core performance and integrated graphics performance on Windows. The processor gets an Intel Arc 140V integrated GPU, based on Intel's Xe2 architecture, which means that it can be used for casual gaming -- something that Intel has highlighted point-and-again when talking about the overall performance. Despite that, Asus maintained that the laptop is particularly aimed at productivity and efficiency.
Now real-world usage performance may differ from what has been claimed. The processor is paired with 32GB of onboard LPDDR5X RAM and a 1 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD -- that adds to the ‘quickness’ of tasks such as booting time, opening of apps, swifting between two screens/ desktops and more.
We put it through its paces with a workload that included hours of web browsing, a constant stream of music playing in the background, with two Google Chrome windows that had multiple tabs running during our work shift.
On weekends, we subjected the laptop to different scenarios like movie watching sessions, binging the entire season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on AppleTV+, and even using lightroom for editing photos for our reviews. The performance puts it on par, if not less, with most comparable laptops running on other processors.
A great display and an able processor, along with an impressive audio quality for a laptop of this size and form factor, provides a satisfactory multimedia experience.
Battery
The Zenbook S14's battery life truly impressed us during our time with it. Despite the heavy usage, the laptop effortlessly powered through an average of 15 hours on a single charge. In our review of the Vivobook S15 powered by the Snapdragon X Elite (12-core) processor, we got between 12 to 16 hours of real-world use, depending on workload.
This comparison, though not entirely direct, highlights the real-world benefits of Intel's efficiency gains. It's important to remember that different benchmarks measure performance in various ways, so this isn't a direct apples-to-apples comparison. However, the Zenbook S14's impressive battery life provides a clear indication of Intel's progress in maximising efficiency in Lunar Lake laptops.
Verdict
The Asus Zenbook S14 OLED is a compelling thin-and-light laptop that excels in both efficiency and performance, thanks to Intel's new Lunar Lake platform. Its standout feature is undoubtedly the exceptional battery life, reaching an average 15 hours in our tests. It delivers more than enough power for everyday computing tasks and excels in single-core performance. Furthermore, the integrated Intel Arc 140V GPU punches above its weight, handling GPU-intensive workloads like AI processing and content creation with surprising ease.
Priced at Rs 1,49,990, the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED strikes an impressive balance between performance, efficiency, and design. Its exceptional battery life, vibrant display and surprisingly capable integrated graphics make it an excellent choice for users seeking a premium ultraportable laptop that can handle everyday tasks, content creation and even casual gaming.
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