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January 23, 2025
The Intel Lunar Lake processors offering AI features are finally rolling out in the market and Asus is unsurprisingly one of the first to lap it up. The new ZenBook S14 is already a known entity in its segment, and now people get it with the new Intel CPU in case they are not sure about the value of the ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite models.
The AI PC or the CoPilot + PC market is gradually offering more options for the buyers but none of them can be ranked as an affordable option, and the same stands true for the new ZenBook S14 which is priced starting from Rs 1,07,990 but the more powerful variants will cost you over Rs 1,30,000 which is a premium territory.
Does the Asus ZenBook S14 pack enough inside and offer on the outside to match the value of these figures? We got a chance to test the device for a few weeks to get the answer.
Asus has been known for making some sleek laptops over the years and the ZenBook S14 is part of that premium lineup. The model weighs just 1.2 kg which makes it extremely easy to carry in the bag and you don’t feel it being uncomfortable to lug around. Even the dimensions at 1.1 cm thinness, are on the friendlier side which is another plus point in terms of the comfort offered by the laptop.
The lightness is further complemented by the durable ceramic aluminium construction and the value of having a military grade standard cannot be understated. The hinge mechanism is another crucial part of the laptop’s engineering which gives you the confidence of handling rough usage. So, yes, the ZenBook S14 ticks all the boxes that a premium laptop needs to offer.
We got to test the 14-inch OLED touch screen variant of the ZenBook S14 that offers 3K screen resolution on a 16:10 aspect ratio and 120Hz refresh rate. The screen really spoiled us during our time, especially with its ability to offer comfort to the eyes while using it for long hours. Touch support isn’t a big deal for us, and if you are like us, then saving the extra money on the non-touch version isn’t the worst idea.
The OLED panel delivers crisp and bright output but the lack of an anti–glare coating on this technology means the glare was annoying most times and you have to place the screen at the right angle to avoid it. But that is just about the nitpicking we could do for the display which is clearly a delight and most people would love it.
The Intel Lunar Lake processors have a lot riding on them for the manufacturer, especially with its rivals and ARM moving quickly to bite into the AI PC market share. The new processors are claimed to deliver efficiency and performance that most people need, and it seems the ZenBook S14 is one of the first to take advantage of the new hardware.
The benchmark scores on 3D Mark and Ul Procyon clearly show the capability of the machine, which is meant to perform for the daily tasks and gaming to some extent. The Integrated Intel GPU offers a lot more under the hood compared to the previous versions, which is a definite plus for people who like to enjoy light gaming sessions between their work.
The NPU is entrusted with handling the AI tasks on-device which means additional privacy for your data. The processor feels more refined than before and the new architecture would have a big say in making that happen. Having said that, power users are still not the targeted user for this range and that is fine in this form factor.
The design aspect of the laptop does include the keyboard layout but the performance is something we’d like to cover in this segment. The keyboard travel is not very deep but the feedback of the keys is good enough to keep you happy while typing. In fact, we wrote this review on the ZenBook S14 itself, and during our time, most of our keystrokes were accurate, except for a few instances where the typo error came to the fore. The size of the keys are also fine, while the trackpad is large and intuitive to let you scroll and glide around the screen.
The size of the laptop doesn’t come in the way of the connectivity ports which is essential for most people. You get two Thunderbolt 4 USB C ports for charging and data transfers, there is one USB 3.2 port, 1 HDMI port and the headphone jack. Other options include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
Asus has equipped the laptop with 4 speakers powered by Harman Kardon and we were pleasantly surprised with its quality, which is better than what most Windows laptops offer. There were times when we were happy to play a video or vodcast straight from the machine rather than connect it to our external speaker.
However, the built-in webcam doesn’t get a shutter cap to keep the feature private which is not ideal these days. And Asus is happy to just offer the Windows Hello (Face ID) option and no touch biometric support on offer.
Asus is using the Intel Lunar Lake processor to deliver longer battery life and this Windows laptop gets it done quite nicely. We are never one to fall for the brand claims and in this case Asus claims 27 hours + on a single charge for the ZenBook S14.
We have been consistently getting 11-12 hours of juice out of the unit and the PCMark 10 battery test gave us one of the best numbers we have seen from recent laptops and speaks volume about the Lunar Lake platform and its promise.
The standby battery drain has been fairly negligible as well, mostly around 5 to 7 percent when the laptop is put on sleep mode overnight. Having support for 65W wired fast charging means you are back up and running in quick time but would have liked a bigger unit.
Asus ZenBook S14 is a quality laptop that shows the early promise of the new Intel lunar lake platform. The new processor has more power than before, which means gaming is more doable as shown in the benchmark scores. But the biggest upgrade has been in the power efficiency department, which means, you can keep using the machine all-day, and still have some juice left in the tank. Even the standby time has improved dramatically, without letting out any heat in the process.
Yes, the pricing of the ZenBook S14 is still on the higher side, but Intel clearly has shown that it can match with its rivals and now it needs more accessible products in its lineup.
