Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review: A budget laptop star

Price When Reviewed

$849.99

Best Prices Today: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED

$849.99

AMD’s Ryzen cell chips are more and more aggressive with Intel’s Core cell lineup, and in recent times, AMD has taken a lead in some areas, similar to battery life. The new Ryzen 7 8840HS is certainly one of AMD’s greatest mid-range cell processors but, and it offers the Zenbook 14 OLED the sting it wants to face out from Intel-powered opponents.

Looking for extra choices? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Specs and options

The laptop computer’s headline characteristic is definitely the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor. This is a brand new chip from AMD, and it’ll be attention-grabbing to see the way it performs relative to older AMD chips, in addition to Intel’s new Core Ultra 7 sequence.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x 
• Graphics/GPU: AMD Radeon built-in
• Display: 1920×1200 OLED 60Hz touchscreen
• Storage: 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe stable state drive
• Webcam: 1080p digital camera with IR sensor for Windows Hello, bodily privateness shutter
• Connectivity: 1x USB-C 4 Gen 3 with DIsplayPort and Power Delivery, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen , 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
• Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition 
• Battery capability: 75 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 12.3 x 8.67 x .59 inches
• Weight: 2.82 kilos
• MSRP: $849.99

The laptop computer in any other case embraces typical price range to mid-range specs, together with 16GB of reminiscence, 512GB of solid-state storage, and a 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen. Asus costs their Zenbook 14 OLED on the retail MSRP of roughly $850, which is unquestionably an inexpensive value for the {hardware}.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Design and construct high quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED, very like its predecessors, is a black slate adorned solely with refined etchings throughout the show lid. I all the time grumble about this as a result of I bear in mind when the Zenbook featured a stunning concentric circle design that stood out from the group. The present Zenbook 14 OLED’s design is inoffensive, however consumers craving a extra luxurious look ought to contemplate the Lenovo Slim 7 14.

It’s a useful design, not less than. The Zenbook measures only a hair over 12 inches extensive and fewer than 9 inches deep, in addition to beneath 0.6 inches thick. It’s additionally mild at solely 2.82 kilos. These are wonderful numbers. It’s only a tenth of a pound heavier than the MacBook Air M1 13 or Dell XPS 13, and lighter than the Lenovo Slim 7 14 or Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.

Surprisingly, the Zenbook’s light-weight design doesn’t compromise construct high quality. The chassis permits minimal flex and feels stable when dealt with roughly. A large show hinge, which is almost as extensive because the laptop computer itself, supplies good pressure, but it’s nonetheless potential to open the laptop computer with a single finger. This is nice to see in any laptop computer, however particularly appreciated in a budget-friendly gadget.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

I used to be happy, although not overjoyed, by the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED’s keyboard. Though some keys are barely undersized, such because the backspace key, the format is in any other case spacious and extra accommodating than most 14-inch laptops. There’s a very good quantity of area on the palm relaxation as properly, so wrist cramps are unlikely.

Key really feel is appropriate. There is an inexpensive quantity of journey and crisp key activation, however the bottoming motion is abrupt. It’s completely usable and corresponding to many laptops however some equally priced opponents, just like the Lenovo Slim 7 14, have a slight edge. A white LED keyboard backlight is included and serves its function, offering a number of brightness ranges with none being too dim or overly vibrant.

The touchpad measures about 5 inches extensive and three inches deep. That’s loads of area for mouse navigation and customarily nice for Windows multitasking gestures, with one exception. I wish to see just a little bit extra depth, as three inches is barely sufficient for utilizing a two-finger gesture to scroll by way of an online web page or doc. There’s nonetheless just a few quarters of an inch of area above and beneath the touchpad that Asus would possibly handle to harness in future variations.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

Asus equips the Zenbook 14 OLED with a 1920×1200 decision OLED touchscreen with a most refresh fee of 60 Hz.

This is an entry-level OLED show, and its decision is decrease than the 2880×1800 shows which can be frequent in lots of dearer laptops. However, it nonetheless delivers the perks that will be anticipated from an OLED show, together with a superb distinction ratio and vivid colours. Movies and video games look practical and vibrant.

I recognize that the show is a touchscreen, as properly. This isn’t true of all aggressive laptops, as some manufacturers select to avoid wasting the touchscreen for 2-in-1 units. I all the time discover contact a pleasant choice when utilizing apps which can be optimized for it, and it’s good to see it included in a price range laptop computer.

Though vibrant sufficient, the OLED show might be tough to make use of in a vibrant room or open air, an issue not helped by the extremely reflective show coat. HDR is supported and works moderately properly for a laptop computer however, as talked about, the show’s most brightness isn’t up for delivering a really good HDR image. To be truthful, that is additionally true of equally priced opponents.

Audio efficiency is a nice shock. The laptop computer has downward-facing audio system with Harman Kardon branding, and so they present an ideal expertise with a excessive most quantity and an honest quantity of bass when required. The sound can grow to be a bit muddy when listening to advanced music at most quantity, nevertheless it’s an fulfilling expertise total, and house owners with much less essential ears received’t hear a cause to make use of exterior audio system or a headset.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

A 1080p webcam is stuffed within the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED’s prime bezel. It supplies crisp video with good shade copy with balanced publicity. I don’t suppose the webcam’s high quality stands out in 2024, as most laptops have now moved to 1080p webcams as properly, nevertheless it stays wonderful for video calls and different much less demanding video recording wants. The laptop computer additionally contains a number of AI-powered options together with background blur, computerized framing, and eye contact correction.

Asus supplies a bodily privateness shutter that slides over the digital camera and utterly blocks it. The shutter is vibrant purple, so it’s straightforward to inform when it’s activated (or not). The shutter doesn’t deactivate the microphone.

The laptop computer’s microphone array captures audio with clear, crisp copy, and it simply picked up my voice even after I spoke softly. AI-powered noise cancellation is included and might take away most repetitive background noise. The laptop computer additionally contains a number of noise canceling modes for various conditions: a single presenter, a number of presenters, and a “360-degree” mode for capturing all sounds across the laptop computer. These modes considerably modified how the microphone carried out, so it’s essential to make use of the best mode for the job.

Biometric login is supported by way of Windows Hello facial recognition. It works properly, as regular, with quick and dependable login as soon as the characteristic is about up. However, the Zenbook lacks the automated human presence detection characteristic discovered on some options, just like the Lenovo Slim 7 14. That laptop computer can routinely detect once you method the laptop computer after which activate Windows Hello for seamless, zero-touch login.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED’s connectivity is a bit slim however covers all of the bases. It has one USB-C 4.0 port and one USB-C 3.2 port; each of those help DisplayPort Alternate Mode and energy supply. That means each might be linked to an exterior monitor or be used to cost the laptop computer.

These ports are complemented by one USB 3.2 Gen 1 port for connecting older wired units. The laptop computer additionally has a single HDMI 2.1 port and a 3.5 mm combo audio jack. I’d have favored to see a further USB port, and there’s definitely room on the laptop computer for it. Ethernet is absent, as properly, so wired web isn’t an choice with out an adapter.

The wi-fi connectivity spans Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. I wish to see Wi-Fi 7 supported because it’s the latest customary, nevertheless it’s not frequent amongst price range laptops. Wi-Fi 6E might be sufficient for a few years in any case, as most individuals have but to improve their routers to that older customary. I additionally discovered the Wi-Fi to be speedy and dependable because it carried out properly, even in my indifferent workplace, which is a number of partitions and over 50 toes away from my router.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Performance

The Zenbook 14 OLED’s efficiency is noteworthy attributable to its AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor. This new chip from AMD options eight cores and 16 threads, and is manufactured utilizing TSMC’s comparatively new 4-nanometer course of. The processor additionally integrates AMD Radeon RX 780M graphics with 12 compute models, which is probably the most succesful model of Radeon built-in graphics obtainable at the moment.

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Zenbook will get off to a superb begin in PCMark 10 with a rating of 6,772. That is larger than most comparable laptops, apart from the Dell Inspiron 14 7440, which squeezes out a win by a margin of some hundred factors. Asus’ victories over the Lenovo Slim 7 14 and Acer Swift Go 14 are notable since they’re direct, equally priced opponents.

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

Cinebench R20, which is a short-duration, closely multithreaded CPU benchmark, produces a consequence just like PCMark 10. Once once more, the Zenbook is a tad behind the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, nevertheless it defeats different not too long ago examined laptops with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor. The new Zenbook enjoys a major enchancment over the older Ryzen 7 7730U, which we tested in last year’s Zenbook 14 OLED.

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

Handbrake shakes up the rankings a bit. This is a protracted, period, closely multi threaded CPU benchmark, so it supplies extra room for a laptops cooling answer to higher outline it’s efficiency as many laptops might be encountering thermal limits on this take a look at. Still, the Zenbook result’s fairly respectable and lands in the course of not too long ago examined price range and mid-range laptops.

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

Next up is 3DMark Time Spy, which we use to check laptops with built-in graphics. The new Zenbook posts a wholesome, but mediocre results of 3,160. On the plus facet, that is fairly a powerful rating for built-in graphics, and it’s an enormous improve over the prior AMD Ryzen-powered Zenbook 14 OLED. However, this consequence does land just a little bit shy of Intel’s Arc built-in graphics. The distinction isn’t sufficient to come back throughout in real-world gameplay, nevertheless it’s there.

The Zenbook 14 OLED isn’t a gaming laptop computer, and it received’t carry out properly in cutting-edge AAA video games that focus on current-generation recreation consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. However, it could possibly deal with most video games from the prior console era, albeit in some instances at low to medium settings.

It’s clear AMD has a winner on its palms with the Ryzen 7 8840HS, and that works within the Zenbook’s favor. Its efficiency matches or barely exceeds that of laptops outfitted with Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155H, which is widespread on this value bracket. I additionally observed that the Zenbook was quiet, with the followers solely changing into noticeable throughout probably the most demanding benchmarks. It’s an ideal alternative for anybody who needs a fairly fast but inexpensive machine.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Battery life

A 75 watt-hour battery supplies the Zenbook 14 OLED with its juice when away from an influence socket. That’s not an unusually massive battery for a 14-inch laptop computer, nevertheless it’s larger than common, as most opponents have a battery with round 65 watt-hours. The massive battery, alongside the power-efficient AMD Ryzen processor, leads to wonderful battery life.

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

I noticed over 16 hours of battery life in our customary battery take a look at, which loops a 4K file of the quick movie Tears of Steel. That result’s properly forward of many opponents and in some instances about 50 % higher than the outcomes recorded from options, such because the Acer Swift Go 14 and Lenovo Slim 7 14.

Real-world battery life was equally wonderful in my day-to-day expertise. Using the laptop computer consistently for my regular day by day workflow, which entails loads of writing, some net searching, and a little bit of photograph modifying, drains roughly 15 % of the battery each two hours. I sometimes use a laptop computer for half my workday, so I solely needed to cost the laptop computer as soon as each three days.

It’s essential to notice the battery might, in idea, be drained far more rapidly in a heavy and sustained workload (like 3D gaming or encoding a prolonged video), which is true of all trendy laptops. But the battery life is spectacular in typical use.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Conclusion

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 is an distinctive price range laptop computer. Though it’s not a lot to take a look at, it supplies nice efficiency throughout all kinds of benchmarks, lengthy battery life, stable construct high quality, a superb OLED display, sturdy audio system, and a high quality webcam. Even the laptop computer’s weaknesses, similar to its keyboard and connectivity, are common for the value and aggressive with options. This isn’t a efficiency or gaming laptop computer, so it has its limits—however should you’re on the lookout for a superb all-around Windows laptop computer at a good value, it’s onerous to beat.