Asus’ Zenbook S 13 OLED Is a Breathtakingly Capable Laptop

I’m exhausted. Years of reviewing laptops and I nonetheless listen in on Best Buy workers telling prospects to both purchase very obscure Windows laptops or to “just go with the MacBook and Surface.” Part of the issue is competitors. Hold on now, no cause to start out sharpening pitchforks–I’m all for having choices, one thing the laptop computer business has in spades. It’s simply that discovering the precise gadget in a crowded area generally is a dizzying process for on a regular basis shoppers.

It’s additionally why the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED received’t get the eye it deserves. This 13-inch laptop computer is, in most methods, each bit as succesful because the XPS, MacBooks, and Yogas of the business, missing solely the family title. It is lighter and sleeker than these rivals, its AMD engine offers glorious efficiency, and regardless of having a shocking 2.8K OLED show, the Zenbook lasts a full day on a cost.

The Zenbook S 13 OLED is fairly rattling near the proper pocket book—so shut that if I had been available in the market for a laptop computer at present, this one could be it.

Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED worth and configurations

This is one tough laptop computer to search out on the time of writing. Asus says the Zenbook S 13 OLED ought to begin round $1,099 when it turns into obtainable (which was speculated to be in June). Our overview unit, geared up with a Ryzen 7 6700U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD ought to price $1,499. Asus additionally sells a convertible mannequin powered by Intel twelfth Gen CPUs.

As fairly and lightweight as a feather

Over the years, my reliance on my laptop computer has waned. Grabbing a smartphone to shortly examine emails or watch a brief video is much less of a burden, and consequently, my bigger rectangular sandwich lies dormant till it’s time for some severe work. However, with the Zenbook S 13 OLED, my unconscious stopped craving for the immediacy of a extra cellular gadget—I might seize this light-weight wafer, pry the display open, and shortly seek for one thing on-line or write a fast Slack message to a coworker.

That behavioral shift is basically as a result of Zenbook S13 OLED’s diminutive dimension (11.7 x 8.3 x 0.6) and a pair of.2-pound weight—carrying this pocket book from room to room required no effort and Windows booted up with immediacy when the system awoke. For context, the Zenbook weighs significantly lower than the XPS 13 (2.8 kilos) and MacBook Air (2.7 kilos). I must also observe that the Zenbook was petite sufficient for me to make use of on a cramped Lufthansa flight, made extra uncomfortable by the totally reclined particular person sitting in entrance of me.

This is a fairly little factor, too—significantly in the dead of night blue hue. Asus calls it Ponder Blue, however no quantity of cautious considering will make clear that title to me. Let’s simply go together with “Navy.” Not a fan? The Zenbook can be provided in Aqua Celedon (pastel metallic mint), Refined White, and Vestige Beige (rose gold). Apple obtained props for including two distinctive hues to the brand new Air, however Asus has all the time provided subtle colour choices, and I discover these on the Zenbook S 13 OLED to be extra eye-catching.

The Zenbook S 13 solves the portability versus sturdiness conundrum. Where most different choices provide you with one or the opposite, this magnesium-aluminum alloy pocket book is staggeringly light-weight but surprisingly sturdy. Those qualities made it the proper laptop computer for me to tackle a long-overdue journey to Germany. Sliding the Zenbook into the pill pocket of my backpack didn’t really feel prefer it added further weight. My shoulders survived an extended commute with the S 13 in tow, so I made a decision to carry it on an eight-mile hike within the Dolomites of South Tyrol—once more, the laptop computer spared my exhausted physique, by no means making its presence felt.

Lacking a couple of small touches

This laptop computer has a wonderful chassis, however tech journalists should nitpick and so I’ll—beginning with the shortage of an IR digicam. The fingerprint sensor is fast and dependable however not as handy because the facial recognition discovered on most different premium laptops. And as a lot as I really like the recent Star Trek/Space Force-esque monogram emblem, the laptop computer’s floor gathers fingerprints and a few paint has rubbed off within the corners (thoughts you, this overview unit has been by way of rigorous testing).

Then there are the ports: three USB 3.1 Type-C and a headphone jack. Less offensive than rivals forcing you to go Bluetooth (see: Dell XPS 13) or solely giving you two inputs (see: MacBook Air), however nonetheless solely “good enough” in my guide. And simply to make clear, there is no such thing as a Thunderbolt right here; that’s an Intel x Apple expertise, so AMD will get omitted within the rain.

A robust proper hook for a featherweight

Powering the system is a Ryzen 7 6800U CPU paired with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM. With 8 cores/16 threads and a max increase clock of as much as 4.7 GHz, that is one high-octane chip for such a compact system. Loading dozens of Chrome tabs, modifying in Affinity Photo, streaming music on YouTube Music, and watching YouTube movies didn’t trigger any slowdowns because the Zenbook juggled these duties with vigor. Heavy workloads did flip the underside right into a mini Coleman grill, however one which was graciously silent.

I’m pleased with the efficiency of the Zenbook S 13, despite the fact that it fell wanting the competitors. On the Geekbench 5 total efficiency take a look at, the Zenbook scored 7,498, placing it behind the Acer Swift 5 (9,585), Apple MacBook Air M2 (8,975), and Lenovo Yoga 9i (9,516). That may sound bleak, however the Asus matched the MacBook Air with M1 and outmuscled nearly each last-gen gadget we examined.

The Zenbook additionally lagged behind on our video transcoding take a look at, changing a 4K clip to 1080p in 9 minutes and 47 seconds. The Yoga 9i (9:02) and Swift 5 (8:56) had been a tad quicker, whereas the MacBook Air embarrassed the sphere with a time of 4:33.

The tables turned on the Blender take a look at, when the Zenbook rendered a 3D picture in a decent 4 minutes and 19 seconds, a couple of seconds forward of the Swift 5 (4:36) and MacBook Pro 13 with M2 (4:35). The Yoga 9i (6:00) wanted almost two further minutes to finish the identical process.

No surprises: one factor you received’t be doing on the Zenbook is taking part in fashionable video games. Relying on built-in Radeon Graphics, this slim wedge performed Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (1080p, excessive) at 23 frames per second. No want to check that to the competitors. The backside line is evident: much less demanding video games will run at medium settings at 1080p and that’s about it.

Once you go OLED

Asus dedicated to adopting OLED throughout its 2022 laptop computer portfolio, and the Zenbook S 13 OLED didn’t miss out. Dazzlingly wealthy colours popped off the 13.3-inch, 2.8K OLED (16:10) panel as I watched Season 4 of Stranger Things and a few not-so-airplane-friendly episodes of The Boys on my flight to Europe.

Unlike mini-LED, which advantages from HDR content material, you don’t have to be watching Planet Earth to reap the advantages of OLED. Everything appears higher: icons, webcam photos, and people snazzy new Windows 11 backgrounds. My members of the family (who’re newbie photographers) had been awestruck seeing how attractive their mirrorless digicam pictures regarded when showcased on the Zenbook.

One oft-cited shortcoming of OLED is restricted brightness. These panels simply don’t shine as shiny as others, and that was true of the Zenbook S 13, which maxed out at 340 nits. While above my “300+ nits or bust” threshold, the display is outshone by the LCD or mini-LED panels on different premium laptops, which frequently attain as much as 500 nits. Compensating for this shortcoming is an infinite distinction ratio that makes white backgrounds and colours stand out and textual content seem crisp so nothing will get washed out in direct daylight or when considered at an angle.

Master of just some

Less noteworthy are the keyboard and touchpad. They are completely superb, neither enhancing nor detracting from the general bundle. That’s considerably of a reduction, given the pattern towards ultra-low-profile keys on moveable laptops. There is a few bounce to those and their satisfactory dimension and spacing ought to accommodate most folk. My palms felt proper at house on the Zenbook’s conventional format and I hit an above-average 117 phrases per minute on a standardized typing take a look at.

The touchpad can be commonplace fare. The clean glass floor was a comfortable pillow beneath my pores and skin, although I might have accomplished with out the slight stickiness. Erratic swipes had been tracked with precision and window-switching gestures had been a one-take affair. One social gathering trick distinctive to Asus fashions is the illuminated numpad overlaying the Zenbook’s touchpad when activated through a small icon within the top-right nook. The hidden characteristic works surprisingly and could possibly be fairly helpful to quantity crunchers.

Average audio system are certainly one of few misfires from the Zenbook S 13 OLED. The twin bottom-firing drivers are superb for YouTube movies or podcasts, however wrestle when taking part in sure music genres. The tuning is definitely fairly good relying on the track, however this Zenbook is begging for an additional set of drivers to amplify sure components of the soundstage.

When listening to Glockenbach’s “Brooklyn,” the highly effective vocals took heart stage whereas the digital devices fell behind. The bass tones had been punchy however a lot too absent and sure tones turned muddled and tinny as they grew in complexity. Simpler ballads like Frightened Rabbit’s “400 Bones” had been a pleasing hear regardless of a somewhat offputting hollowness to the midrange and a restricted max quantity.

Upgrades wanted

On to the webcam, and the Zenbook as soon as once more lands in middling territory. 2022 has welcomed a real push to make 1080p a regular decision; sadly, the Zenbook S OLED wasn’t cc’d on the group e mail. The 720p webcam housed within the slim prime bezel is ok by at present’s requirements however might—please tech gods lets this be true—quickly look antiquated.

The video I shot on this laptop computer was ok for the fast convention name however I’d resort to my trusty Logitech C920 for job interviews or when talking in a digital convention.

OLED isn’t a battery loss of life sentence in spite of everything

Perhaps the perfect factor in regards to the Zenbook S 13 is its lengthy battery life. Until now, choosing an OLED show meant sacrificing runtimes. I used to be, due to this fact, awestruck when the Zenbook S 13 OLED lasted for 11 hours and 10 minutes on our battery take a look at, which consists of video playback with the display set to 200 nits. That is longer than the Swift 5 (8:39) and the Yoga 9i (8:41) however can’t match the MacBook Air (14 hours).

Should you purchase the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED?

Yes. When I return the Zenbook S 13 OLED, it would really feel as if I’m dropping a trusty companion. Fine, I’m being melodramatic, however the level is that I’ve hardly ever dreaded sending again a overview unit as a lot as I’m this Zenbook. Though it doesn’t essentially carry main improvements to the desk, the Zenbook S 13 OLED looks like a contemporary, cutting-edge machine that showcases a few of the finest applied sciences—particularly an OLED show and Ryzen 6000 CPUs—inside a featherweight chassis. And towards all odds, the S 13 OLED can final a whole workday, or in my case, the length of a transcontinental flight.

Asus is just a few elements away from making this recipe much more scrumptious. Something so simple as upgrading to a 1080p IR webcam would handle what’s arguably the Zenbook’s largest flaw. If that’s my essential fear, then you understand the Zenbook S 13 OLED is a top-class product—one which deserves a seat on the desk beside the likes of the XPS 13 and MacBook Air.