Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Packs a powerful punch in a lightweight package

I’ve reviewed a fair amount of Asus devices – with a particular fondness of the Zenbook range – and the Zenbook 14 OLED is by far my favourite one.

Sure, the Pro 16X OLED has the Asus Dial and a very impressive trackpad going for it, but it was way out of my budget and I tend to prefer smaller, lightweight devices these days.

Another personal favourite was the Zenbook Flip 15, and even though it was lightweight, it still doesn’t beat the Zenbook 14 OLED – which is about 500g lighter.

The 14-inch laptop also has a long-lasting high-capacity battery and is available with either a 12th Generation Intel Core i7 P processor or AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor.

Asus ZenBook 14 OLED

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an Intel review model (the UX3402).

Let’s take a look.

Design

The Zenbook 14 OLED boasts, in Asus’ words, “a breathtaking new design that’s timelessly elegant yet totally modern”.

The elegance is on display from the get-go, with the aluminium alloy lid featuring the new geometric branding.

The Zenbook 14 OLED was created for that “on-the-go experience”, measuring only 16.9mm and weighing 1.39kg, while still encompassing everything you might need on the road.

The Zenbook 14 OLED packs premium specifications in an all-aluminium chassis “that is ready to go with you anywhere”.

Screen and display

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED has a 14-inch 2.8K touchscreen with a ratio of 16:10, and a 90 Hz refresh rate.

The cherry on the cake? It delivers up to 550 nit peak brightness.

A nit is the standard unit of measurement of luminance; the higher the rating, the brighter the display.

For reference, you’ll need about 250 nits to game in a dark environment.

The HDR NanoEdge touchscreen is also Pantone Validated, which means you’ll experience nothing less than cinema-grade visuals.

Keyboard and trackpad

If you’ve used other Zenbooks, you’ll be familiar with the layout.

It has an ErgoSense keyboard and touchpad – which, according to Asus, was engineered to enable “an unrivalled input experience in harmony with how you move, feel and touch”.

The keyboard offers a smooth typing experience and the trackpad is conveniently-sized as well. The keycaps may look thin, but it’s quite sturdy and doesn’t wobble.

The keyboard measures 19.05mm (which means it isn’t cramped) and the dished 0.2mm key caps are designed to match the shape of your fingertips.

That’s why typing on one of these bad boys feels like a tactile dream.

Apparently, there’s also a rubber dome of sorts under the keys which “guarantees your click force is met with just the right tactile bump you need for a nice grip”.

The trackpad has a NumberPad 2 overlay which can be activated or hidden by long-pressing the top right corner of the trackpad.

My only gripe is that the Enter key was a bit too small, but hey, I am on a mission to find the smallest, lightest laptop, so it’s not really a complaint.

Battery

Asus assures there is “no need to panic if power outlets are in short supply”.

That’s because the Zenbook 14 OLED’s has a long-lasting 75 Wh battery to keep you productive. In addition, the Easy Charge support means the laptop can be used with a wide range of chargers.

You can even charge your laptop on the go with airline chargers, portable chargers or power banks.

I/O ports

The Intel model has two Thunderbolt 4 connectors with 40 Gbps DisplayPort mode, as well as one USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.0 video output, and Easy Charge support.

Photographers and music lovers rejoice, the Zenbook 14 OLED also comes equipped with a microSD card reader and an audio combo jack.

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Performance

This laptop is not to be trifled with.

The Zenbook 14 OLED UX3402 model is powered by a 12th Gen Intel CPU.

The Intel models also feature the Iris Xe iGPU coupled with up to 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD deliver a superb performance.

So, about PCIe:

We need to have more discussions about PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) advancements, and here’s why the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is remarkable:

The fact that it supports the next-gen PCIe 4.0 – which doubles the throughput of PCIe 3.0 – means it delivers higher data transmission rates and lower latency.

So if you’re a content creator, for example, a laptop equipped with a PCIe 4.0 SSD would be the way to go.

Who doesn’t want lightning-fast video editing capabilities?

Other features

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED comes with WiFi 6E, so it connects ultrafast.

It also has a Dolby Atmos system powered by a smart amplifier “to produce 350%-louder distortion-free sounds”.

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Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Conclusion

If you’re looking for a quality designed laptop, this is it.

The Zenbook 14 OLED has a colourful and vibrant display and a decent variety of ports.

It’s lightweight, the keyboard is superbly engineered, and the Intel processor won’t let you down either.

Pros

• A better build (in my opinion) than other Zenbooks
• Bright OLED screen
• Powerful, long-lasting battery
• Competitively priced for a high-end device (around R25,000)

Cons

• Still not ultra-light
• Most of the outputs are on one side