Lastly, a Home windows laptop computer I would not thoughts placing my MacBook Air away for

apr / 2025

When Asus formally introduced the Zenbook A14 at CES this 12 months, I wasn’t the one one to be low-key enamored with it. It is an awesome laptop computer in its personal proper, however it stands out as a profitable balancing act between efficiency and affordability whereas hitting all the precise notes that customers care about. 

Fabricated from Asus’ proprietary ceraluminum materials, the Zenbook A14 virtually seems like a prototype mannequin that is empty inside, because it’s exceedingly mild at simply 2.1 kilos (for reference, the 13-inch MacBook Air is 2.7 kilos). Whenever you set it down, the gadget opens simply with the raise of a single finger, revealing the good OLED show. 

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Asus dedicated to a neutral-forward aesthetic with the A14. The model messaging options muted tones and quiet, refined imagery punctuated by pure motifs, and, general, it really works to kind a cohesive identification. 

This aesthetic highlights Asus’ willpower to ship a cohesive model message whereas balancing innovation and price. For instance, the show on the Zenbook A14 appears good proper out of the field. It is vivid, crisp, and environment friendly. However nearer inspection reveals that it is not as premium a show as you’d discover on, say, Asus’ ProArt P16. 

The show is framed by plastic bezels fastidiously designed to not look low cost, however once more… this is not the ProArt. Moreover, the panel over the FHD show has some slight warping that can provide a funhouse mirror impact once you catch your reflection on the shiny floor.

As soon as the show is turned on, nevertheless, no matter jumpscare you simply noticed is rapidly forgotten, because it delivers a superb picture: distinction is crisp, colours are vivid, and it is vivid, at 600 nits and a full HD+ (1920 x 1200) decision that pairs nicely with the speedy efficiency. 

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Talking of efficiency, let’s focus on the tech that powers this gadget. Asus once more centered on steadiness, pairing the base-level Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor with the 32GB RAM configuration and the marginally quicker Snapdragon X Plus with the lower-end, 16GB RAM configuration. 

This balancing act ends in a barely unintuitive pricing construction: the laptop computer with the higher-end processor is cheaper ($999) because it comes with half the reminiscence (which is what you are actually paying for). The model with extra RAM and the lower-end Snapdragon X processor begins at $1,099. 

The distinction between the 2 processors is in the end not that large, each are eight-core chips, however the Snapdragon X chip is proscribed to three.0 GHz clock pace, placing a efficiency cap on this laptop computer. 

That cap is ok as a result of this gadget is not made to sort out intensive workloads. It is for the trendy skilled who lives within the cloud, works remotely, and values a pleasant show. 

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That being mentioned, the efficiency is stable. It is a quick laptop computer: it boots rapidly, masses apps swiftly, and navigates the online with out lag. It runs silent and funky, producing virtually no warmth — even with the slim kind issue. 

In our benchmarking checks, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processor carried out higher than I anticipated in opposition to extra premium gadgets with Intel’s Core Extremely 7 “Lunar Lake” chip, significantly in its higher-end sibling, the Zenbook S14, and Dell’s XPS 13 in multi-core efficiency. The processor even surpassed the latter in single-core efficiency. 

Evaluating this laptop computer’s numbers to HP’s OmniBook X with the Snapdragon X Elite, for instance, suggests the gadget is outclassed on the increased finish of efficiency however is very optimized for on a regular basis duties and in a position to ship a quicker, extra environment friendly expertise in these use circumstances.

The laptop computer’s sturdy efficiency is allied to an fulfilling bodily kind issue. The keyboard is improbable — it is probably the most comfy laptop computer keyboards I’ve used. I make this declare with out exaggeration and be aware its success is not because of something significantly costly or high-end. Asus simply hit the mark when balancing design and price.

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The keys are clean and matte, with a slick texture that borders on ASMR. I additionally love how the laptop computer’s ceramic physique is fingerprint-resistant and simple to scrub, even when splashed within the kitchen or espresso store. 

For distant or hybrid employees who transfer from place to put, the laptop computer additionally options the precise variety of ports (an HDMI, two USB-Cs, and one USB-A) to deal with no matter equipment you carry in tow or to cost the battery. I am (kind of) kidding, however that leads me to my final level.  

Fingers down, the very best a part of this laptop computer is the excellent battery life. Asus advertises as much as 32 hours on a single cost. Though that is the highest finish of the estimation, it is not far off from what you’ll be able to anticipate with on a regular basis use. Throughout my testing, a day’s work within the workplace did not take me down previous 50%. 

The Snapdragon X processor reduces energy consumption to a trickle when it is not in use. For those who do want juice, the A14 prices rapidly, reaching near 75% after simply an hour of charging. This functionality interprets to a laptop computer that may final a few days’ work on one cost, even when that features a number of video calls. 

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I will additionally point out a number of of the drawbacks of this laptop computer (however there aren’t many). The primary is that the Qualcomm Adreno GPU on this technique just isn’t designed for high-end gaming. Certain, it will probably definitely deal with informal video games. However this is not a tool made for the most recent FPS.

Additionally, the show, whereas it appears nice, continues to be capped at a 60Hz refresh charge, which retains the battery (and value level) low however additional limits any aspirations of high-end gaming. In the end, whereas the Zenbook A14 is competitively priced, this isn’t a $1,500 laptop computer.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Zenbook A14 has a coherent identification: it is a light-weight, aesthetic machine for the trendy skilled, effortlessly cellular in each kind issue and battery life, however trades some uncooked energy for all that endurance. That being mentioned, the Snapdragon X processor punches nicely above its weight and competes handily with chips which might be, on paper, extra highly effective. 

Due to its cohesive identification, how nicely it balances innovation and worth, and the {hardware} efficiency, the Zenbook A14 is among the greatest laptops I’ve reviewed up to now 12 months and one I might strongly advocate so long as its strengths align along with your wants. 

To prime all of it off, the beginning value of $999 is aggressive — if Asus succeeds in promoting this laptop computer’s model story in a manner that positions it as an alternative choice to different ultraportable, comparable to Apple’s MacBook Air.