Asus Zenbook 14x OLED review: Brilliant all-rounder with secondary screen

The Asus Zenbook 14x OLED was built for stellar performance. You might recall the Space Edition being featured at CES 2022 in January 2022.

Sadly, the Space Edition remains out of my orbit, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Intel review model (the14x OLED UX5400). Let’s take a look.

Asus Zenbook 14x OLED

Design

The chassis is made of lightweight, diamond-cut aluminium alloy. It also features the concentric-circle Zenbook finish we’ve come to love.

As we’ve come to expect from Asus, it’s compact and lightweight – weighing only 1.4 kilograms and measures less than 16.9mm from the side.

It’s available in Pine Grey – a “glossy shade that evokes calm and peace” – and Lilac Mist for a “subtle touch of high-end luxury”.

The 180-degree Ergolift hinge allows you to completely flatten the laptop, making collaborative efforts in a group setting a breeze.

Screen and display

This is where the laptop truly shines, pardon the pun. The 4K OLED HDR NanoEdge touchscreen has a ratio of 16:10. Why does this matter?

Glad you asked! With the 16:10 ratio, you won’t lose as much vertical screen real-estate as you would with a normal LCD laptop.

And fun fact, the 16:10 ratio is very close to the Golden Ratio.

To take a slight detour, 16 divided by 9 is 1.777; but 16 by 10 = 1.6. Which is pretty darn close to the 1.618, which is the Golden Ratio. Make of that what you will. Let’s continue.

Keyboard

Silent typing, that’s what I like. The keyboard also has a broad layout which makes tapping away at the keys even better than you would expect.

It’s firm, feels good and has the ideal key cap travel distance. And thanks to the ErgoHinge, you won’t experience any strain from typing.

Intelligent touchpad

This was, by far, my favourite feature. The 14X OLED has a secondary touchscreen – and it’s interactive! Talk about taking multi-tasking to the next level.

While working on the main display, as one does, you could have companion apps on the ScreenPad, which not only eases up screen space but also allows you to focus on the task at hand.

Manage your social apps from the ScreenPad or play music. Using the additional screen also won’t drain your battery, so that’s a huge win.

You’ll never want to go back to a regular touchpad ever again. Trust me.

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I/O ports

The Intel model has one USB Type-A port on one side. On the other, two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, which support both display and power delivery.

There’s also an HDMI 2.0 port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack and a microSD card reader.

Performance and battery

This Zenbook is equipped with the latest Intel 11^th Core i7 processors and a long-lasting battery to get you through an 8-hour work day.

Pro tip: Activate Performance mode in MyAsus for better gaming results.

The 63Wh lithium-polymer battery will give you approximately eight hours of battery life. With extensive use, you’ll get about five to six hours, even less if brightness is full-on.

It’s enough to get you through an average day, but it could have been better.

Asus Zenbook 14x OLED: Conclusion

I absolutely loved the ScreenPad and keyboard, but was not a fan of the battery.

If you have the Vivobook Pro 14X – with its 2.8K display – you might want to consider upgrading to the Zenbook 14X OLED instead.

ALSO READ: Asus Vivobook Pro 14X OLED: Powerhouse to ignite your creativity

While the Zenbook 14 OLED impressed us – fitting a cinematic audiovisual experience into a lightweight package – the 14X OLED goes an extra mile.

Pricing for the 14X OLED starts at R27,999.

Pros

• Secondary touchscreen in the touchpad
• 4K OLED display
• Lightweight and portable
• Powerful processor
• Nice typing experience

Cons

• Low battery life
• Not enough ports