Asus surely has pioneered all the tech with portable notebooks and laptops and have been designing some of the powerful computing devices for all segments. For every user category be it professionals, gamers, or even students, the company has a dedicated series handling all demanding tasks as directed. A new offering that comes as an all-in-one package for creators and productive masses is the ZenBook S 14 OLED (UX5406S). Priced starting at Rs. 1.34 lakh, the ZenBook S 14 OLED stands out as a Copilot+AI powered laptop topped up with ultra-premium features such as K 120 Hz ASUS Lumina OLED touch display, all-metal ceramic-infused sleek body, latest Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chipset, and more.
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Also Read: Asus ZenBook S13 OLED Laptop Review: A Compact Beast Machine!
Pros And Cons
Pros | Cons |
1. Ultra slim lightweight design | 1. Keyboard offers average key travel distance |
2. Large and vivid OLED panel with 3K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate | 2. Outdoor screen visibility is lower |
3. Loud and clear audio output | 3. Multi-core performance could have been better |
4. Solid battery backup even with extensive usage |
Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED Design Review: Ultra-Slim, Sturdy
At the first look, you might find the ZenBook S 14 OLED wearing a familiar attire. While it resembles closely to its predecessor, the ZenBook S 13 OLED, it’s Ceraluminum construction (ceramic aluminum) combined with CNC etched silver geometric design on the lid adds to its luxurious appeal. This design stands out in a way that you won’t need additional skins which is the case with usual boring solid laptop lids. Besides, this material isn’t prone to pick up fingerprints or smudges which makes it ideal for extensive daily usage.
And it’s not just the good looks where the ZenBook S 14 OLED’s design stands out. The ultra slim profile of this notebook where the 1.2cm thickness along with just 1.2 kg of weight makes it portable too. Asus has used an all-metal construction for the rest of the ZenBook S 14 OLED which combined with the US MIL-STD 810H certification makes it rugged and durable. This notebook’s hinge is designed to operate smoothly and you wouldn’t find it wobbly at any point. But unlike the S 13 OLED which came with a 180° folding hinge, this one doesn’t lay flat on the table.
Moving on to the ports and keys selection, the ZenBook S14 OLED comes with one HDMI 2.1 port, two USB Type-C port, one USB Type-A port, and one 3.5mm audio jack. All the ports and keys are neatly distributed across the side and rear panel keeping the overall design minimalistic and clean.
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Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED Keyboard And Trackpad User Experience
Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED’s keyboard is smooth with the clicks being nimble in operations. While the chiclet keyboard is good to use, an improved key travel would have made it much better. It’s only the slightly lower key cap distance which makes the user experience average. However, we still are impressed how Asus managed to fit this functional keyboard with dedicated Copilot key into an ultra-slim laptop chasis. The keyboard is backlit which allows you to continue with typing in dark light settings.
Coming to the touchpad, the ZenBook S14 OLED integrates a smooth touchpad. It is fast and accurate and also comes with multi-gesture support. You can configure the touchpad settings as well instead of using the default window settings.
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Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED Display Review
Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED as the name hints packs a 14-inch screen. The OLED panel comes with both touch and non-touch options. Our review unit comes with touchscreen compatibility which is fun to use. The touch response is smooth and accurate. But the use case scenarios might vary considering the overall laptop design is conventional and creative designing could be a task.
That said, the OLED panel supporting 3k resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels is genuinely vibrant. It produces real-life like colors with 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut coverage and Pantone Validation. With the 120Hz refresh rate the frame transitions are smooth too and you won’t notice any screen lags while playing graphic-extensive games.
The S 14 OLED’s display comes with 500 nits rated peak brightness which we found to be decent for indoor usage. But the brightness levels might not suffice for outdoor usage and you’ll probably struggle viewing content. Dolby Vision and HDR compatibility refines the overall screen output and you’ll enjoy video streaming online.
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Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED: Performance Handling, Benchmark Scores
Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED has the powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chipset under its hood. And as you would expect with a top-end Asus notebook, it delivers an exceptional performance even if you through some complicated tasks at it. The integrated LPDDR5X RAM of up to 32GB into the SoC allows enhanced multitasking speeds with its improved CPU, NPU, and GPU simultaneous communications. It has the Intel Arc GPU and comes with up to 1TV M.2 NVMe onboard storage. You can easily toggle between the Balanced and Full Performance modes from the Settings which not only will help with the optimized battery usage but also improve the performance as required.
You will find this notebook perform basic tasks quickly with no lags. And it doesn’t disappoint while handling complicated and extensive tasks. While you get the best-in-class experience with basic software usage and web browsing etc., it operates smoothly with heavy apps as well as games. Thankfully, enabling Full Performance mode when the notebook is plugged in to the charger is an option. You can easily install an play some of the best gaming titles and can see this notebook unleash its potential there. At some point you might listen the fan running at top speed to lower down the device thermals. This is only when the usage is heavy and the laptop’s plugged in to a charger.
We also ran some benchmark tests on the ZenBook S 14 OLED to asses its performance metrics. Starting with the PC Mark benchmark test, this ultra-slim notebook logged a total of 6021 points. Remaining breakup of the test results are below:
PC Mark Total Score: 6021 points
Essentials: 8036 points
Productivity- 8786 points
Digital Content Creation: 8118 points
In the CrossMark benchmark test, the ZenBook S 14 OLED logged an overall score of 796 points and performed fairly well in productivity, creativity, and responsiveness measures.
CrossMark Overall Score: 796 points
Productivity: 778 points
Creativity: 899 points
Responsiveness: 592 points
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Asus ZenBook S 14 OLED: Battery Backup
Intel chipset-backed laptops are well known for their performance handling but battery backup has been a slight challenge. Seems like, Asus has cracked the code here and used a larger 72 kWh battery to drive the ZenBook S 14 OLED notebook. With general and basic usage, this laptop lasts easily between 10- 12 hours without the requirement of a second plug-in. But extensive software applications and games can drop down the backup significantly. Asus ships a 65W fast charger with the ZenBook S 14 OLED. This charger quickly refuels the notebook and adds charge from 20- 80 percent in less than an hour. This makes it handy for travel.
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Giznext Verdict
Asus has once again set up a new benchmark in the ultra-notebook segment with the ZenBook S 14 OLED. This laptop ticks most the boxes and emerges to be a potent option for the productive and creative masses. It’s new-age processor combined with vibrant display, Copilot AI, and a powerful battery pack which gives it an edge. Besides, you can’t really overlook its ultra-slim design which is also durable and rugged at the same time.