Ben Madilynn
When ASUS announced the new Zenbook S14 UX5406SA at IFA 2024, I was immediately floored and excited to try it all out. As someone who’s constantly on the move, covering tech events and writing reviews, I am always excited when a laptop promises a slim design and performance, all with a good battery. After spending several weeks with this sleek ultraportable, I can confidently say that ASUS has crafted something truly special, and the Zenbook S14 has quickly become my favourite laptop of the year.
I won’t beat around the bush—I love the way the Zenbook S14 looks. From the moment you see it, it’s clear ASUS has put an immense amount of thought and engineering into its design. Measuring just 1.1 cm thick and weighing only 1.2 kg, this laptop redefines expectations for a thin and light device. It’s so slim and lightweight that I often found myself double-checking my bag to make sure I hadn’t forgotten it, something I’m known to do.
Beyond the weight and size, the design ASUS has crafted for the Zenbook S14 is stunning. The dark gray ceraluminum lid pairs perfectly with the clean lines and overall aesthetic of the laptop. The ports are strategically placed to maintain full connectivity while keeping the device as thin as possible. Impressively, it even manages to include a full-size HDMI port, along with dual USB Type-C, a single USB Type-A, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Even though it’s incredibly thin, ASUS has packed the Zenbook S14 with enough performance and specs to make it more than just a showpiece for meetings—it’s a legitimate primary laptop for everyday use. Opening the lid, you’re greeted by the 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED panel, which is a true feast for the eyes. Colours pop with vivid intensity, blacks are inky deep, and the 120Hz refresh rate ensures buttery-smooth scrolling and animations. Whether I was editing photos, watching Netflix, or simply browsing the web, the display consistently wowed me with its clarity and vibrancy.
“After spending several weeks with this sleek ultraportable, I can confidently say that ASUS has crafted something truly special, and the Zenbook S14 has quickly become my favourite laptop of the year.”
Looking down at the keyboard, you’ll quickly notice the unique and striking grill design. While it may seem like a minor detail, ASUS has implemented this geometric grille design, featuring 2,715 CNC-machined cooling vents, for good reason. Not only does it add a stylish touch, but it also serves a practical purpose by optimizing airflow and heat dissipation. During my testing, even when pushing the system with demanding tasks, the keyboard area remained comfortably cool to the touch. Considering the power under the hood of this laptop (which I’ll get to in a bit), that’s impressive.
Speaking of the keyboard, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed typing on the Zenbook S14. I’m usually very picky about the laptop keyboards I use, and I wasn’t expecting this one to deliver such a solid experience, but here we are. The keys offer a satisfying 1.1mm of travel, striking a great balance between tactile feedback and quiet operation. The backlit keys made late-night writing sessions effortless, and the inclusion of a dedicated Copilot key for quick access to Windows’ AI assistant is a thoughtful touch for those who want to incorporate it into their daily routine. I still only use it for testing, but it’s nice to see it included.
The same level of precision and attention to detail is evident in the touchpad. ASUS has expanded it to a 16:10 aspect ratio, providing ample space for multi-finger gestures. The surface is smooth and responsive, and I particularly appreciated the smart gestures that allow for quick adjustments to display brightness and audio volume. For those who prefer haptic touchpads over the standard glass design, you might be disappointed here. However, what ASUS has included feels fantastic to use and delivers a solid touch experience, even when you don’t have a mouse handy.
After some teasing, we’ve finally arrived at the main reason the Zenbook S14 is such an impressive machine: its internals. My review unit came equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 200V processor, representing Intel’s latest and greatest in mobile computing. This chip isn’t just about raw performance—though it certainly delivers—it’s also designed with AI acceleration and battery efficiency in mind. Intel has applied lessons learned from the Meteor Lake launch to create a chip that competes strongly with what AMD and Qualcomm have brought to the laptop market.
The inclusion of a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) capable of up to 47 tera operations per second (TOPS) opens up a world of possibilities for AI-enhanced workflows. During my time with the laptop, I noticed smoother performance in creative applications that leverage AI, faster processing of large datasets, and improved efficiency in tasks like video encoding. It will depend on the software what will be taken on by the NPU and what will hit the GPU, but for tasks that need to run in the background, an NPU is a massive help in reducing power consumption and keeping your laptop running longer.
ASUS has also equipped the Zenbook S14 with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a fast 1TB NVMe SSD, providing everything it needs to handle intensive workflows and gaming without struggling—unlike many ultrabooks we’ve seen in the past. Whether juggling multiple browser tabs and documents, doing light video editing, or even enjoying some casual gaming, the system remained responsive and snappy throughout. It also features a solid FHD webcam, Wi-Fi 7 support, and Bluetooth 5.4, offering everything you need for video calls and a future-proof experience, even if you haven’t upgraded your home network yet.
“ASUS has also equipped the Zenbook S14 with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a fast 1TB NVMe SSD, providing everything it needs to handle intensive workflows and gaming without struggling.”
On the graphics side, the new Core Ultra 200V comes equipped with Intel Xe2 graphics, delivering a much better experience than what we saw in Meteor Lake. The new Arc-based integrated graphics provide a solid all-around experience. While it won’t compete with a dedicated RTX 4080, it can still deliver a playable gaming experience—relatively well, in fact. Though it’s not a powerhouse for hardcore gaming, the ASUS Zenbook S14 is capable of delivering 1080p at 30 FPS, even with the latest games. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it handled more modern titles, including Cyberpunk 2077.
For testing, we ran a series of benchmarks on games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, Hitman 3, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, all at 1080p medium settings. Even games I was skeptical about running well on an ultrabook showed relatively impressive numbers. Cyberpunk 2077, for instance, performed well on Meteor Lake with its Xe1 graphics, but it did even better here, delivering a solid average of 37.5 FPS in regular benchmarks and an impressive 57.3 FPS when we enabled XeSS. Granted, this doesn’t include ray tracing and is at 1080p, but considering this is all running on an ultrabook, it’s impressive nonetheless.
Jumping to the other games in our testing suite, all delivered surprisingly good results, especially considering the laptop’s compact size and the absence of a discrete GPU. In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, I managed an average of 50 FPS, making it quite playable with a nice visual experience. The same goes for Far Cry 6, Hitman 3, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which averaged 55 FPS, 70 FPS, and 52 FPS, respectively, without frame generation enabled. When XeSS was enabled, Hitman 3 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider jumped to 90 FPS and 70 FPS, respectively.
I was blown away by how capable the ASUS Zenbook S14 is, and that’s before I even jumped into video editing and content creation. I tested the laptop with everything I typically use on my desktop, and while it has fewer resources at its disposal, it still managed to edit and export videos in DaVinci Resolve without any issues. Apps like CapCut and Premiere also worked flawlessly during testing. Even with large files, Affinity Photo, Affinity Publisher, and Adobe Photoshop performed smoothly, with no crashes or major slowdowns. I was able to edit an entire magazine on the Zenbook without any issues—something I couldn’t achieve with the new Qualcomm laptop processors at the time of writing.
What’s potentially most exciting is how well all of this ran while the Zenbook S14 delivered phenomenal battery life. ASUS has somehow managed to fit a substantial 72Wh battery into this slim chassis, and the results are impressive. With mixed usage—including web browsing, document editing, and media consumption—I consistently achieved between 12-15 hours of runtime. Even more impressively, the laptop sips power in standby mode, allowing me to leave it unplugged for days and still return to a healthy battery level. When running more intensive tasks like gaming or content creation, battery life did drop off a bit, but depending on power settings, it still managed well over 6-7 hours—something most gaming laptops can’t boast.
“Though it’s not a powerhouse for hardcore gaming, the ASUS Zenbook S14 is capable of delivering 1080p at 30 FPS, even with the latest games.”
I usually wouldn’t dedicate an entire paragraph to the audio on a laptop because, let’s face it, even the best laptops can’t compete with a proper audio system or a good pair of headphones. However, the Zenbook S14 managed to impress me—at least for an ultrabook. ASUS has implemented a quad-speaker system tuned by Harman Kardon, delivering rich, room-filling sound that defies the laptop’s compact size.
Whether I was listening to music, watching movies, or on video calls, the audio quality was impressive. Now, if you want the best audio experience possible, a good pair of headphones or a Bluetooth speaker will provide a more robust sound. But if you’re looking to watch a movie on the couch and don’t want to turn on the big TV, the Zenbook S14 can handle it and deliver a decent experience.
The combination of a stunning OLED display, a powerful Intel Core Ultra processor, long battery life, and thoughtful design touches makes the Zenbook S14 one of the best ultrabooks I’ve ever tested. While it’s not cheap, it delivers an experience that’s rare in a machine this light and thin, managing to outperform laptops twice its size. Although the price may be a hurdle, for those seeking a premium, portable Windows experience, the Zenbook S14 UX5406SA is an easy recommendation.
With the Zenbook S14 UX5406SA, ASUS has delivered one of the best ultrabooks on the market. It not only meets the demands of modern computing but does so while pushing the boundaries of design and engineering—and it’s one of the best-looking laptops I’ve used this year. For anyone in the market for a high-end, compact laptop that doesn’t compromise on performance or features, the ASUS Zenbook S14 UX5406SA should be at the top of your list.
