Asus Zenbook A14 Review: The Best Copilot Plus COMPUTER So Far

8.5/ 10
RATING

Asus Zenbook A14 (UX3407)

Pros

• Incredibly slim and light without really feeling lightweight.
• All- day-and-all-night battery life.
• OLED display screen at this cost is a wonderful shock.
• Ample RAM and storage space for the cost as well.

Cons

• Meh efficiency from Snapdragon X CPU.
• Meh mechanical touchpad.
• Meh audio speakers.

The Asus Zenbook A14 transformed heads at CES 2025 for its ultralight yet remarkably inflexible Ceraluminum framework and a case of 30 hours (!) of battery life regardless of including an OLED display screen that generally eats battery sources at a higher clip than an LCD panel. After evaluating, benchmarking and banging on the Zenbook A14, we prepare to provide it an additional honor. It won a Best of CES Award for finest laptop computer and can currently call itself a CNET Editors’ Choice honor victor.

Built around an Arm- based Qualcomm Snapdragon X cpu, the Zenbook A14 is the lightest Copilot Plus COMPUTER I’ve checked and the second-longest operating. Its efficiency is great for basic usage, however it’s absolutely an action or 2 behind various other Copilot Plus Computers with Snapdragon X Plus or Elite CPUs and those with Intel Core Ultra 200 collection chips. And while the general style is superb, the touchpad and audio speakers are just ordinary for an ultraportable.

Nitpicks apart, you will not discover an additional 14-inch OLED laptop computer that evaluates much less than 2.2 extra pounds with a battery life of greater than 24-hour. If transportability is critical, the Zenbook A14 is the choice.

The Asus Zenbook A14 I checked (version UX3407) is available from Asus andBest Buy for $1,100 It functions Qualcomm’s brand-new Snapdragon X X1-26-100 cpu, which rests one called listed below contribute the Snapdragon X Plus collection and 2 rungs listed below those in the Snapdragon X Elite collection. It has the very same 8-core CPU matter as the lower-end Snapdragon X Plus cpus however performs at a somewhat slower clock rate– 3GHz versus 3.2 GHz– without increase regularity.

The Zenbook A14 UX3407 is or else fully equipped, with 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. It relies upon Qualcomm’s incorporated Adreno GPU and includes the very same neural handling system efficient in 45 trillion procedures per 2nd, which certifies it as a Copilot Plus COMPUTER. The display screen is a 14-inch OLED panel with a pedestrian 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution and no touch assistance.

Asus prepares a 2nd Zenbook A14 anticipated to strike Best Buy’s racks at the end ofMarch It will certainly set you back $900 and include a CPU upgrade– a Snapdragon X Plus– and half the RAM and storage room. It does have the very same OLED display screen, however. Yes, you check out that properly: The less costly version has a quicker cpu. You’ll have the ability to inform both apart since they will certainly be various shades; my examination version is what Asus refers to as Iceland Gray, and the various other version will certainly be furnished inZabriskie Beige The highlight is no paints are made use of; the shades are developed with an oxidation procedure of the steel framework.

The Asus Zenbook A14 (UX3407) prices £1,100 in the UK and is not yet offered in Australia.

Asus Zenbook A14 efficiency

The Zenbook A14’s efficiency in laboratory screening resembled the open up to A Tale of Two Cities: It was the most effective of times, it was the most awful of times. It ended up near or at the end of the pack of various other Copilot Plus Computers based upon Snapdragon X Plus or Elite cpus and those with Intel’s Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V collection chips on our application criteria, Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024. It likewise tracked the M3 MacBook Air on these examinations.

The Zenbook A14 was incapable to run PCMark 10, which highlights the Windows- on-Arm compatibility problem. Before acquiring the Zenbook A14 or an additional Copilot Plus computer powered by a Snapdragon X, check to guarantee that the applications you utilize are compatible with Arm.

Compatibility likewise enters have fun with our 3DMark Time Spy examination. It does not run natively on Arm however with the integrated Prism emulator, which causes an efficiency hit. But its outcome was inadequate also amongst the Snapdragon X-based Copilot Plus Computers, consisting of the HP OmniBook X 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7.

While the Zenbook A14’s application and graphics efficiency tracked various other Copliot Plus Computers, it still provides ample efficiency for basic usage. Competing Copilot Plus Computers might be much faster, however they do not supply an additional course of computer. These are all general-purpose laptop computers that rely upon incorporated graphics that are much better matched for workplace jobs than requiring graphics job or video gaming.

The Zenbook A14 did much better on Procyon’s AI Computer Vision standard, ending up in the center of the various other Copilot Plus Computers we have actually checked. This result is not shocking considering that every one of the Snapdragon X CPUs include the very same 45-TOPS NPU, and the contending Intel Core Ultra 7 258V provides a comparable 48-TOPS NPU.

The finest of times gotten here with battery screening. The Zenbook A14 is just the 2nd laptop computer CNET has actually assessed with a battery life of greater than 24-hour, also if it was just by 7 mins. The A14’s battery time is 2nd just to the HP OmniBook X 14, which lasted 1 hour and 5 mins much longer. The Zenbook A14’s long life is perhaps a lot more outstanding than the OmniBook X 14’s since it includes an OLED display screen, which generally drains pipes the battery much faster than an LCD.

Asus states the Zenbook A14’s battery can last as much as 32 hours. On our battery examinations, it showed up a couple of hours except that number, however our examination of regularly streaming a YouTube video clip is a lot more requiring than a regular usage instance. At any kind of price, the Zenbook A14 provides such an extensive battery life that you can go days at once in between billing it.

Ceraluminum is definitely amazing

Many times, when a supplier tries an ultralight style, the outcome is a room that really feels as well light, with slim magnesium alloy, light weight aluminum or plastic surface areas that bend and flex under the tiniest stress. With the Zenbook A14, you can have your agility and strength as well. It includes a Ceraluminum framework that’s a mix of light weight aluminum and ceramic products. Adding ceramic to the structure includes a lot of strength and resilience, which enables the Zenbook A14 to be unbelievably light without really feeling lightweight or low-cost.

The Zenbook A14 evaluates simply under 2.2 extra pounds, or much less than a kg. By contrast, the a little smaller sized 13.6-inch MacBook Air M3 is over half an extra pound larger at 2.7 extra pounds. Heavier still is the 13.8-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and 14-inch HP OmniBook X 14, which are still 2 of the lightest Copilot Plus Computers we have actually checked at approximately 3 extra pounds. The Zenbook A14 likewise has a little power block that evaluates much less than half an extra pound, so the overall traveling weight is lighter than that of the MacBook Air on its own.

Asus consists of a light-weight natural leather sleeve in a wonderful, beige shade. If you leave the Zenbook A14 with the power cable and traveling sleeve, you’ll still lug just 3.1 extra pounds.

The Ceraluminum product not just causes an ultralight yet extremely inflexible laptop computer, however it is likewise scrape, spot and finger print immune. I such as the appearance of the matte grey coating of our examination system– it notes a separation from the combed light weight aluminum coating that’s come to be so typical– and it kept its tidy appearance throughout both weeks I utilized it. And I’m frequently snacking while functioning, and the key-board, touchpad and remainder of the framework stayed smudge-free.

The inflexible key-board deck help the keying experience on the Zenbook A14. The tricks use superficial traveling however a company action. Any flex in the key-board deck would certainly make the shallow-travel tricks really feel mushy, however rather, they really feel fast and stylish. The key-board is likewise spacious without reduced tricks that you should discover to suit.

The touchpad is likewise spacious and includes wise motions along the side and leading sides to readjust display screen illumination and quantity and control video clip playback. I really did not discover myself utilizing the sides to increase or reduced illumination or quantity since I’ve expanded familiar with utilizing the feature tricks for those, and the Zenbook A14 has actually committed feature tricks for every. There are no media control type in the Zenbook A14’s feature row, nevertheless, so I did utilize the leading side of the touchpad for rubbing onward and back on YouTube video clips and located it exact sufficient to utilize properly.

Besides its charitable dimension and wise motions, the touchpad is fundamental, with a mechanical click action. I a lot choose the dynamic and consistent click action from the haptic touchpad of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7. The Zenbook A14’s mechanical touchpad’s click action provides way too much traveling near its lower side and not nearly enough towards the top– the feared driving board result. At the Zenbook A14’s cost, nevertheless, it’s asking way too much to obtain both an OLED display screen and a haptic touchpad.

And you do obtain an OLED. It’s not a high-resolution OLED panel, however obtaining any kind of sort of OLED on a $1,100 laptop computer is a benefit. It’s a 14-inch OLED display screen with a 1,920x-1,200- pixel resolution. That’s a high sufficient resolution for a 14-inch display screen that message and photos show up crisp– simply not as sharp as the picture you obtain with the 2.8 K OLED on the Asus Zenbook S 14. The HP OmniBook X 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 have a little higher-res 14-inch screens, however they’re IPS LCD panels and not OLEDs.

I’d much instead have the Zenbook A14’s OLED display screen than either LCD (and the included pixels) that you obtain with the OmniBook X 14 or Surface Laptop 7. The superb comparison and deep black degrees of the Zenbook A14’s OLED display screen are exceptional. Color efficiency is likewise solid; my examinations with a Spyder X colorimeter revealed 100% protection of the sRGB and P3 rooms and 97% of AdobeRGB. It likewise strikes 391 nits of illumination, which is an excellent number for an OLED that generally has a reduced optimal illumination than an LCD.

Along with the prosaic resolution, the Zenbook A14’s display screen likewise provides a common 60Hz revitalize price. You’ll require to invest even more to obtain a laptop computer with a high-res OLED with a rapid 120Hz revitalize that causes smoother movement.

My various other small problem concerning the or else superb OLED display screen isn’t concerning the panel itself however the plastic bezels bordering it. They release budget plan feelings on a laptop computer where virtually every little thing else concerning the style looks spendier than its $1,100 cost would certainly suggest. I ask yourself just how much a lot more a smooth, edge-to-edge glass therapy would certainly contribute to the Zenbook A14’s expense.

To finish the display screen conversation on a favorable note, I’ll discuss the display screen joint. Similar to a MacBook’s, it’s a solitary joint that runs virtually the size of the display screen. And it’s wonderful, providing a real, one-finger opening of the display screen however still sufficient resistance to maintain the display screen at your selected angle with marginal wobble.

At the facility of the leading cover rests another little bit of budget-ness: the “ASUS Zenbook” wordmark. The font style is monotonous, and the spacing in between the letters looks off– why are the letters so commonly spaced? I would certainly’ve liked a repeat of Asus’s elegant “A” that shows up over the key-board on the cover. Or simply pick a much better font style with far better spacing.

The twin audio speakers release ordinary laptop computer sound, which is to claim it’s not excellent. The audio is adequate for YouTube video clips and Netflix programs and video clip conversations, however you’ll desire earphones or an outside audio speaker for songs and some motion pictures– dramatization where discussion is gently talked or activity flicks with big surges and excessive results.

The 1080p cam created a rather sharp picture in screening, however the photo was oversaturated. The cam has an IR sensing unit so you can utilize it for Windows Hello logins. That’s your just biometric choice since the Zenbook A14 does not have a finger print visitor.

Is the Asus Zenbook A14 an excellent laptop computer?

It’s a fantastic laptop computer, specifically if you’re searching for an ultralight, ultralong-running laptop computer for traveling. Its Ceraluminum room is both inflexible and light-weight, and the Snapdragon X cpu enables it to run around the clock. Plus, its display screen is the topping on this Copilot Plus computer cake at this cost.